Stat Shard Guide - Season 9 Rune Changes

What's a Stat Shard?

In Patch 8.23, League of Legends will introduce the stat shard mechanic that removes stat bonuses from rune paths. Players will be able to take the runes they want without feeling restricted by path style bonuses.

How Do Stat Shards Work?

Players will select three stat shards, one from each of three rows on the rune page. Example below was the original that Riot announced, but subject to change:

• Row 1: 10 Adaptive (6 AD or 10 AP), 9% Attack Speed, 1-10% CDR (lvls 1-18).
• Row 2: 10 Adaptive (6 AD or 10 AP), 5 Armor, 6 Magic Resist, (We’re debating adding a 4th here).
• Row 3: 15-90 HP (lvls 1-18), 5 Armor, 6 Magic Resist

What Shards to Pick?

Currently, players can select any of the three options for each level, and what you select does not impact or limit your choices for the other two rows. The first row is for offense, the second for flex, and the third for defense.

Overall, the stat points for each choice are relatively equal and will depend on your personal playstyle or match-up. The only thing you want to worry about is capping out on cooldown reduction.

Here are some sample shard setups that could work:

• Riven - CDR in offense, adaptive force in flex, and your choice of defense.
• Lucian - Adaptive force offense, adaptive force flex, armor defense.
• Thresh - CDR in offense, armor flex, armor defense.

Overall, there don't seem to be too many "wrong" choices, but you'll want to pick up attack speed for most junglers that rely on their auto attacks for sure.

Conclusions

The new shard changes are certainly a welcome change to the game and will help additional builds with viability and variability. I'm sure we'll find some overpowered setups going forward, but need to experiment more in the preseason.

Source

What do you think about the shard changes? Comment below!