Early season 13 bot lane meta guide

The bot lane is a wild place right now in League of Legends. The meta in competitive play is something we have never seen before. On the other hand, ranked gamers are playing a different game. Riot Games is still recovering from the cyber attack it sustained. It resulted in patch 13, 01 B being incomplete and flawed. But it significantly altered the season 13 bot lane meta, and everyone should be excited aobut it.

Item changes in bot lane meta

Patch 13,01 B was a big one. Not just in terms of size but in impact as well. The changes Infinity Edge and Navori Quickblades sustained completely reshaped the meta. Bot laners got accustomed to a three item power spike over the last two years. But one update later and none of that exists. For the most part, items are still situational. But this is how you should plan your build depending on the game.

Infinity Edge as an item has always been considered a damage multiplier. Rabadon’s Deathcap is the biggest power spike for mages. The passive on Infinity Edge does the same for ADCs. Auto attacks that crit would deal 35% more damage. But the passive was locked behind a 60% crit chance threshold. Meaning you only ‌get to use it after completing 3 items. This made the learning curve much easier. You buy your mythic item, the second is situational depending on what you need and the third one is Infinity Edge. 

If you were fighting tanks, Lord Domink’s Regards is the obvious answer. Struggling against poke champions meant that Bloodthirster was your best choice. If you were winning early on, the lethality from the Collector was always nice to have. Well none of that is true anymore, because of patch 13,01 B. 

Navori Quickblades was supposed to serve the same role for ADCs that used abilities more than auto attacks. And that might sound like a niche scenario. But lowering the passive threshold for both items to 40% is what drives this meta shift. 

Best bot lane champions in early season 13

With Infinity Edge being a possible second item, early game ADCs are in a good spot. And that’s where Draven and Samira fit. Any champion can now build IE second, but who makes the best use of it? Some need more attack speed. Other champions might like other items better. But Draven and Samira are designed to get an early lead and finish the game as soon as possible. And these changes help them achieve that.

Draven

Draven in particular is in the best state he has been in nearly 6 years. Despite being one of the hardest champions to play in the game, if you want to play him, this is the best time. The buffs Essence Reaver received in patch 13,01 B were more than enough. With the Infinity Edge changes, there isn’t a stronger bot laner on two items right now. Nothing can contest a good Draven, and pro play statistics show it. In games where mana is not an issue, the buffs to Bloodthirster also make the item very enticing for Draven players. The BT and IT power spike from season 7 is back and Draven players are loving it. 

Samira

Samira is a shell of her former self. Riot did their best to completely decimate the champion after letting it wreak havoc for half a year. The durability update was also really hard for Samira. A short ranged ADC that depends on engage supports to enable her. Well, Nami, Lulu, and other champions from our preseason support meta guide couldn’t help her with that. But having so much damage on two items was all Samira needed. Skipping your Mythic item in favor of the same build path Draven goes is an option. But Samira is one of the best Immortal Shieldbow users in the game. Remember to build Infinity Edge second and abuse the changes the latest patch brought.

1.5k dmg e on cait XD pic.twitter.com/DIOY9PMWbN

— TL HONDA APA (@alwaysplanahea1) January 31, 2023

Honorable mention: Tristana

Samira and Draven might be hard to play. But Tristana is one of those champions that can be strong early and late. If you are looking for a new main to climb the ranks in season 13, Tristana is your pick. Not only can she fight and win against Draven and Samira early on. But she also doesn’t need many items to outscale them. Her Q ability gives her enough attack speed to justify building the buffed items second. While other champions might need Phantom Dancer, the Lethal Tempo rune is all Tristana needs. Kraken Slayer is by far her best mythic item. The mythic passive on it also gives you much needed attack speed. But she can use all three in various situations. Slamming Infinity Edge second makes Tristana a load to deal with. But she can also use Navori Quickblades. Her E ability is the only one that benefits from the damage buff the item gives. But in some scenarios, it’s more than worth it.

Best Navori Quickblades users in season 13 bot lane meta

Infinity Edge has been in the game for a long time. And ADC players have gotten sick of it. When Navori Quickblades was introduced with the item rework, everyone was excited about the new item. But truth be told, the item wasn’t good until now. Apart from Tristana, these are the best ADC champions that can use both Infinity Edge and Navori Quickblades.

Xayah

If you are serious about your ranked climb, Xayah needs to be your second choice. While Tristana is geared toward the more aggressive players, Xayah is perfect for backline DPS carries. Nothing beats the tanks in the top lane meta, like our favorite feather girl. Riot Games have been buffing her for nearly a year, hoping she makes a return in competitive play.

In the meantime, she has only gotten stronger in the ranked queues. One of her main items in Essence Reaver got buffed on the last patch. If you could play around her mana issues, she is one of the best champions using Navori Quickblades. Similarly to Tristana, Xayah can use any of the three available mythic items. But unlike Tristana, all of Xayah’s abilities do damage. And even more when you buy Navori Quickblades. Add the cooldown reduction passive on top of it, and you have one of the best bot lane champions in the meta.

Ezreal 

Ezreal is another hard champion, similar to Draven and Samira. Hitting skill shots is something many players struggle with. But just like Xayah, Ezreal loves building cooldown and crit damage. Not only does his Q ability benefit and apply it, but it also reduces the rest of his cooldowns. Building a mythic item on Ezreal boils down to personal preference. But the main two items you should be building in season 13 are Essence Reaver and Navori Quickblades.

Not only were these two items recently buffed, but similarly to Xayah, they have great synergy with Ezreal. Not only does his Q ability gain 20% more damage at two items, but it also lowers its own cooldown. Since his Q is registered like his auto attack and can crit, an Ezreal with these two items can be a load to deal with.

Lucian

The URF game mode is a fan favorite and is available right now in League of Legends. But what if you wanted to play URF in ranked games? Well, now you can do it. All you need to do is lock in Lucian and Ezreal and build Navori Quickblades as your second item. Ezreal needs Essence Reaver to compensate for not buying a Tear of the Goddess. But Lucian is free to get his mythic item.

Once you buy Navori Quickblades, the real fun starts. If you know how to properly use Lucian’s passive, and you get lucky with 40% crit chance, you will be playing URF Lucian in ranked. The passive that reduces cooldown synergizes greatly with his passive, making Lucian hard to lock down while dealing insane amounts of damage. 

Best on-hit ADCs in season 13 bot lane meta

Not all bot lane champions want the new toys Lucian and Ezreal will be playing with. The preseason jungle meta was filled with beefy tanks that can handle crit damage. The main counter to them is on-hit damage and a lot of attack speed. Apart from Vayne and Kog’Maw who do that naturally, these are the best on-hit ADCs for the season 13 bot lane meta.

Kai’Sa

You might be surprised to see Kai’sa on this list but here we are. Riot Games knew what they were doing when they designed this champion. Not only is it a machine for selling skins, but it’s also a good way to get wins. Her kit makes her viable with multiple builds and runes, but Navori Quickblades puts it all together.

A new build Korean ADC players have started using is the one with Kraken Slayer and Navori Quickblades. Both items have enough Pickaxes and AD items to help her evolve her Q ability. With Berserker Greaves and Kraken’s mythic passive, she also has enough attack speed to evolve her E ability. The cherry on top is Nashor’s tooth, which helps her evolve her W ability and dish out insane amounts of damage. Not only would you have your abilities available all the time, but tanks can’t itemize against your mixed damage.