Riot Games is nerfing all second lives in Summoner’s Rift by increasing the price of Stopwatch, Zhonya’s Hourglass, and Guardian Angel in the same update.
“With stasis being more expensive, players should feel as though they need to deliberately itemize Stopwatch and its corresponding items as opposed to them feeling like auto-buys just because you purchased a Stopwatch,” the game developers explained in their League of Legends patch 12.17 notes.
In return for the higher cost, GA’s attack damage has been increased by five. This is not much, especially since players tend to buy this item in the late game.
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Guardian Angel just got more expensive in League of Legends patch 12.17
- Combine cost increased from 50 gold to 150 gold
- Total cost increased from 2800 to 3000 gold
- Attack damage increased from 40 to 45
GA’s combined cost has been increased by 100 gold. Not only that, its total cost is up by 200 and is overall pricier, so it’s a straight-up nerf.
League of Legends analyst and content creator Nick “LS” De Cesare believes this item is one of the most misunderstood purchased items in-game, according to his patch 12.17 rundown.
“For you to justify Guardian Angel, you have to be in a situation where if you are killed, the cost of the opponents killing you will be greater than your own death,” he said. “It’s an anti-pick measure.”
Upon taking lethal damage, Guardian Angel revives a champion for four seconds. During that duration, the champion is invulnerable, untargetable, and unable to act. When players with GA active get picked off, it gives them a second life.
However, it also means that in that four seconds, teammates on both sides have the chance to reposition and fight during the suspended animation, which may or may not lead to a favorable outcome for the GA user.
The real issue LS has with pros buying the item no matter the circumstance relates to the concept of “Wake Up,” which he defines as “what happens the second you respawn” — what kind of utility, damage output, and evasive abilities a champion has the moment they return to life.
When purchased on AD carries like Kalista, Zeri, and Sivir, who typically go up against hard engage team compositions in the current meta, they don’t have much chance of maximizing their Wake Up. At most, they can only get off one auto attack when resurrected, as opposed to other champions like Fizz, or AD carries like Kai’Sa, Ezreal, or Vayne, who have evasive abilities.
So at the end of the day, it depends on the state of the game, the enemy team composition, and whether a champion’s Wake Up value can justify purchasing a Guardian Angel. The same applies to Zhonya’s Hourglass as well, as they are both more expensive now, and therefore more niche purchases.
Read the full League of Legends patch 12.17 notes here.
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