Getting Back into the Rift for Season 14
Alright, so Season 14 kicked off. I logged in, you know, same old routine. But then, bam, the client looked a bit different, talking about big item changes. Didn’t think too much of it at first, figured it’s just another season shuffle.
Hopped into a practice tool game first, just wanted to poke around the shop. And man, it hit me. Where did my usual stuff go? I mained mages for a bit last season, and suddenly, Mythics were just… gone. Like, completely vanished. That threw me for a loop. I spent a good ten minutes just clicking around the shop, trying to figure out what replaced things like Liandry’s or Luden’s as that ‘first big item’.
My First Real Game Was a Mess
Decided to just jump into a normal game. Picked my comfort pick, Lux. Went to lane, got some gold, backed. Opened the shop. Total brain freeze. What do I even build now? The recommended items looked weird. I saw some new icons, things called Stormsurge, Malignance, Caster’s Companion? Felt like learning a new language.
I ended up just buying pieces of things that looked familiar, trying to cobble together something that made sense. Needless to say, that game didn’t go well. Felt like I had no power spike, my damage felt off. Enemy team seemed to know exactly what they were doing, building these crazy new items that melted me.
Trying to Adapt
Okay, so plan A didn’t work. I spent the next few days doing a few things:
- Reading Item Descriptions: Seriously, just sat in the practice tool, reading what each new item actually did. Had to figure out the new passives, the stats they gave. Some seemed really strong, others… situational?
- Playing Different Roles: Jumped onto support for a bit. Their item changes seemed pretty big too, with that new single item that upgrades. Seemed simpler in a way, but still different. Tried ADC, saw some Lethality changes, new stuff for fighters too. Everything felt touched.
- Watching Others (Carefully): Didn’t go reading guides online, but I paid close attention in my games. What was that fed Katarina building? What did the enemy support rush? Tried to piece together patterns from what I saw succeeding.
It was slow going. Some games I’d try a new build path based on the new items, felt super strong. Next game, same build, felt useless. The removal of Mythics really changed the build order and power curves. You don’t just rush that one big item anymore; it feels more like building components towards a broader goal.
Getting the Hang of It (Sort Of)
After maybe a week or two of consistent playing, things started to click a bit more. I found some new core items for my main champs. Still experimenting a lot, though. Some of the new mage items feel really good when you get ahead, like Stormsurge. Others seem designed for specific situations.
The map changes also play into it, those Voidgrubs especially. Fights happen earlier, and item choices need to reflect that maybe? Still figuring that part out.
It’s definitely a big shake-up. Feels like they wanted to break away from the rigid Mythic system, give more flexibility. Whether they succeeded… I’m still deciding. Some builds feel really fun, others feel a bit lost. But hey, that’s part of the learning curve each season, right? Just gotta keep playing, keep trying stuff out. It’s a process, takes time.
