These are the big changes coming to the LoL item shop

Riot Games is embarking on a comprehensive modernization initiative for League of Legends, with the in-game item shop receiving the most significant overhaul in years. This transformation addresses long-standing player concerns while introducing innovative features that will fundamentally change how players approach itemization decisions.

Players can expect to experience the revamped shopping interface when the offseason commences in November. The development team has identified three core issues driving this change: excessive item redundancy where multiple options serve identical purposes, insufficient build diversity between matches, and an outdated user interface that hampers purchasing efficiency.

In competitive League matches, proper item selection often determines victory or defeat. Strategic power spikes achieved through timely purchases can completely shift game momentum. Currently, the roster exceeds 100 distinct items spanning from basic consumables to legendary game-defining equipment. This sheer volume creates decision paralysis that affects players across all skill levels.

The existing item interface suffers from multiple design flaws that have accumulated over seasons. Its cluttered layout, inconsistent categorization, and redundant options create unnecessary cognitive load during critical gameplay moments.

Common player frustrations include discovering that certain passive effects provide minimal combat value, while other items appear functionally identical with only marginal statistical differences. The upcoming redesign will maintain only 34% of current items in their present form, while substantially modifying another 33% and introducing an equal percentage of completely new equipment.

Practical Tip: Before the overhaul, document your core builds to compare how the new system changes your preferred item paths.

Every item in the updated system will fall into one of two clearly defined archetypes, creating a more logical purchasing framework.

Contextual items serve as situational counters designed to address specific champion threats or game state conditions. These reactive purchases help players adapt to enemy team compositions and strategic developments.

Kit augmentation items form the foundation of champion builds, providing essential stat boosts and abilities that synergize with core kits regardless of matchup dynamics.

Common Mistake: New players often over-prioritize contextual items before securing core enhancements, weakening their baseline performance.

The exact number of items being removed from the current roster remains unspecified, though the substantial restructuring suggests significant curation.

The primary objective behind the shop rework centers on creating intuitive navigation and providing context-aware purchasing guidance. Developer insights indicate the updated system will generate dynamic suggestions based on real-time game conditions rather than static champion-specific templates.

Veteran players who prefer manual item selection will appreciate the consolidated central screen displaying all available options. Consistent positional layout enables muscle memory development for rapid purchases during tense engagements.

Leveraging aggregated gameplay data, the intelligent system will highlight optimal items for your champion based on current gold, level, and matchup dynamics.

Optimization Tip: Use the first week to familiarize yourself with both recommendation and expert modes to determine which interface best suits your playstyle.

We’re going through every class’s items and solving problems, filling needed gaps, and reworking old or unhealthy items.

So each class will have its own smaller set of goals and changes tailored to what they need.

— Mark Yetter (@MarkYetter)
June 12, 2020

Riot will conduct an extensive six-week evaluation period on the PBE server before implementing finalized changes to live environments. This rigorous testing phase allows for community feedback integration and balance adjustments.

The development approach involves methodical examination of each champion class’s item ecosystem, addressing specific deficiencies while introducing strategic variety. This class-focused approach ensures that tanks, mages, assassins, and other archetypes receive tailored solutions addressing their unique itemization needs.

Time Estimate: Allocate 2-3 hours during the PBE phase to test the new system across multiple champion types.

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