Item Changes In Set 10
This guide covers item changes in Set 10, Remix Rumble. It is written for players who are already familiar with the items in Set 9, Runeterra Reforged. If you weren't, join the Discord and ask me any questions you have!
Red Buff
Rapid Firecannon was removed from the game for Red Buff, built out of Bow + Bow. Red Buff gives gives bonus attack speed, damage, and antiheal. It is an incredibly strong flex carry item that both AP and AD carries can both use, although AD carries benefit much more from the high attack speed. Due to the lack of antiheal on strong units in this set (only Corki and Katarina, which are not commonly played units), it is much more important to build antiheal by lategame through your items. Red Buff is the best of the 3 antiheal items due to the amount of extra stats it can give to your main carry, but it will be challenging to get two bows.
Morellonomicon
Morello can now apply on autoattacks, which makes it significantly stronger than before, especially in the early game when units don't cast as often relative to fight length. However, there are not as many great holders that hit the entire board as in previous sets- the best holders are Lux (if not main carry), Ziggs, and Yorick. While it does give a small AP bonus, it is not an item you want on your main carry in the lategame.
Steadfast Heart
Night Harvester was removed from the game for Steadfast Heart, so now a pure defensive item that builds out of Glove now finally exists. It gives percent damage reduction, which stacks multiplicatively (i.e., poorly) with other sources of damage reduction which include Pentakill, K'Sante, Pantheon, and Bramble Vest. I would still be willing to put this item on a Pantheon instead of playing too greedily, it will just be slightly less effective. This item is very strong so don’t forget to build it!
Bramble Vest
Bramble Vest previously reduced critical damage, which it no longer does. Now, it gives bonus armor, percent max HP, percent damage reduction, and area of effect melee damage. The damage can be very relevant in the early game especially if you are running a very tanky comp, but typically you want to prioritize this item over alternatives if you specifically want the high armor (if you scout and see many players with AD items such as Infinity Edge). As with Steadfast Heart, it loses a small amount of value when stacking with other percent damage reduction.
Blue Buff
Blue Buff was adjusted to not give a chunk of starting mana and bonus mana on takedown; instead, it now gives percent bonus damage. It is best used on carry champions with low mana pools, ideally 50 or less- otherwise Shojin or Adaptive Helm is a better mana generating item. The more mana a champion has, the weaker Blue Buff is in comparison and vice versa. Blue Buff can be a good choice if committed to playing Spellweavers as some of the best holders are Ahri and Lulu, but it is less flexible as high mana AP carries such as Twisted Fate and Karthus cannot use it effectively so I would generally prefer building Shojin early if given the option. Blue Buff is also very strong on Jhin. Note that even though units such as Kayle or Urgot have low mana pools, Blue Buff is very weak on them because of their long ability lockouts.
Deathblade, Rabadon's Deathcap
Both of these items still give a ton of AD and AP, respectively, but a bit less than before. In exchange, they now both give percent bonus damage. Unlike percent damage reduction, percent bonus damage stacks additively instead of multiplicatively. This may seem confusing at first, but it's very simple- just as with every other stat in the game, it is less effective the more you have so you want to diversify. You will lose a bit of value if you have multiple sources of it which could be from Jazz, Pentakill, Red Buff, or Blue Buff. The diversity in stats means that Deathcap on high AP units such as Spellweavers is slightly better now, but generally you will still use these items in the same way you did before.
Warmog's Armor
Very similar to the changes to Deathcap and Rabadon's, Warmog's now gives slightly less base HP but gives some percent HP to compensate. Warmog's has historically been difficult to balance due to how strong it is early game compared to lategame, and this change makes the difference not as sharp. Warmog’s is now slightly stronger on high HP units compared to before, but ideally you would prefer to pair it with more resists or percent damage reduction.
Guinsoo's Rageblade
Rageblade has slightly less base stats but gives much more attack speed scaling throughout the fight; prioritize this item on your main carry when you have a very tanky board and you expect your fights to be nearly reaching overtime. Despite giving a bit of AP, it is much better on AD carries than AP carries due to their high base damage per auto. The best users are Jinx and Miss Fortune as they have short ability cast animations. Rageblade is a very overrated item- it has consistently been the most built item in low ELO every single set, but is almost always worse than rod alternatives on AP units, and is frequently worse than Last Whisper, Giant Slayer, or Hurricane on most AD units.
Quicksilver Sash
Quicksilver Sash still grants immunity to crowd control but now lasts a shorter duration but gives significantly more attack speed, scaling up throughout the fight. This makes it much more appealing as a backline carry item if you are forced to use it as one. However, this item is best served on melee carries. It is even more important now due to the high amount of stuns that affect your frontline in Set 10; it will depend on the meta but I expect this to be an extremely important item to prioritize on melee carries that rely on their basic attack such as Yone, Zed, Viego, Riven, and Yasuo.
Thanks for reading! Did you know Redemption doesn't reduce area of effect damage anymore? This was changed at the end of Set 8. Check out the discussion thread in the Discord for tips on how to use Redemption!