In previous patches, Riot has already stated that they want to remove the gold funneling strategy from the game. They are displeased with the prominence of the strategy as it leads to non-interactive lanes which makes games boring. They also state that it’s hard to balance champions when they receive two income streams. Riot has now stated that by patch 8. 14 they will implement a solution
The solution is that champions with tier 1 or tier 2 jungle items, while also owning the most gold on the team, will receive a reduced amount of gold from minions. The solution is not very intuitive since Riot desperately wants to remove the gold funnel strat from the game. They have said that the solution is only temporary and that they will need more time to implement a solution that won’t have any collateral damage on the jungle as a whole.
The current solution would work to remove gold funneling towards champions with jungle items without a doubt, however, you would have to wonder if people will come up with different ways in order to make the funneling strategy work. If you just d on’t purchase a jungle item on the champ you’re funneling gold towards you wouldn’t be penalized. While this makes the strategy a bit harder to pull off it could still work in a well-coordinated team.
Another problem with the current solution is that it will affect aggressive jungle champions. Junglers that need to come ahead and snowball through the game will often acquire a gold lead when played correctly. This means that they might be in a position where they have the most gold of their team, purely through good play. To be penalized for good play by a reduction in gold from minions might make aggressive junglers obsolete after the new patch hits the rift.
While I understand that Riot wants to remove the gold funneling strategy as soon as possible, it’s better for them to take some more time and think it through rather than hastily implementing changes. League has already seen so many different metas this year that another complete shift in the meta might not really be appreciated. However, Riot seems to have made up their minds regarding the temporary solution so all we can do is wait and see how it will affect the game.
