LDR vs The Collector, which is the better second-item of choice for Aphelios in League of Legends

The debate between the Collector and LDR as a second item of choice for Aphelios has picked up a lot of heat (Image via League of Legends)
The debate between the Collector and LDR as a second item of choice for Aphelios has picked up a lot of heat (Image via League of Legends)

Item optimization has always been a crucial aspect that the League of Legends community has debated since the game's inception.

Therefore, it is of no surprise that at League of Legends Worlds 2021, such a thing popped up once more. Aphelios is one of the most popular ADC (Attack Damage Carry) champions in the game, and there is a massive debate on his second item of choice. The potential candidates for this are Lord Dominik’s Regards (LDR) and the Collector.

The community is quite divided on which one is better as many claim that the Collector is a trash item and LDR should always be prioritized. However, several professional players have shown that they prefer the Collector over LDR, which has raised quite a few eyebrows.


A brief study on the debate between LDR and the Collector with respect of Aphelios in League of Legends

The Collector's damage window in the case of Aphelios is smaller compared to LDR (Image via League of Legends)
The Collector's damage window in the case of Aphelios is smaller compared to LDR (Image via League of Legends)

Aphelios is one of the strongest ADC champions in League of Legends who has insane AD (Attack Damage) scaling. This means that he is something that players call a hyper-carry who has the ability to turn the tides of any game practically.

An Aphelios with five items can melt through anything, and therefore, he is pretty popular amongst both professionals and solo-queue players. This is why Aphelios has been chosen for this discussion, as the AD scaling and lethality he obtains from his passive is quite unnatural.

While his first item is always the Immortal Shieldbow to provide protection, his second item is the issue. Some players claim that the Collector is better, while others claim LDR is better.

The Collector is an item that provides 55 attack damage, 20% critical strike chance and 12% lethality. Its passive is such that if a champion happens to have 5% remaining health after taking damage, then that champion will get executed.

LDR provides 55 attack damage, 20% critical strike chance and 35% armor penetration. Its passive is such that it deals 0-15% bonus physical damage based on the difference of health points.

The Collector is an item that provides a lot of big numbers. When a champion gets executed, it shows “999” on the screen, which is immensely satisfying. While it looks good in solo-queue games, in professional matches, this item does not come in as handy for Aphelios. Apart from that, the Collector does not scale that well in League of Legends.

LDR, on the other hand, is an item that scales insanely well. Players are bound to buy LDR at one point or another within the game. If bought early in the game, it provides a lot more flexibility and damage to Aphelios.In short, the auto-attack damage for Aphelios with LDR scales way better than for the Collector.


Final verdict on Collector vs LDR in League of Legends

In truth, the Collector is not a bad item, as it is very effective if the enemy has fewer defensive options. However, if the enemy team ends up stacking a lot of defensive items, then obviously, the LDR is beneficial in League of Legends.

It ultimately comes down to personal preference, as in professional games, players will build defensive items, while in solo-queue games, that seldom happens. For someone like Aphelios, who scales a lot, it is understandable if players make the LDR as the second item.

This is because the third item is always Infinity Edge, and if players build Collector as the second item, they will have to build LDR as the fourth item. This means it can delay items like Guardian Angel for survivability or Wit’s End for Magic Resist.

The debate took precedence, especially after one of the biggest League of Legends streamers LS pointed out that the Collector is a bad item on Aphelios. This is because the extra lethality that Aphelios obtains from his passive has good synergy with LDR.

This means that the period within which the Collector can out-damage LDR for Aphelios is relatively small within League of Legends.

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