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League of Legends Season 13 saw a major Mythic itemization overhaul for attack-damage carries (ADC) in the mid-season update. As part of this rework, many items moved items from the Mythic status to Legendary and vice versa, and it also brought back the fan-favorite item Statikk Shiv in LoL Patch 13.10. However, upon return, it was reported that Statikk Shiv had certain bugs in-game. Players reported that they were able to interact with allied minions, which is not at all possible in League of Legends.
Interestingly, in the ongoing League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) 2023 Summer Split, there was an issue surrounding Statikk Shiv in a match between KT Rolster and GEN.G on 9th June. Following this, the game was paused and it was revealed that Statikk Shiv was a “forbidden item.”
Here’s all we know about why Statikk Shiv was called a forbidden item in LCK.
Statikk Shiv not allowed in LCK?
In the first-round matchup between GEN.G and KT Rolster, when KT’s ADC Kim "Aiming" Ha-ram bought Statikk Shiv in game two of the best-of-three (BO3) series, a pause was initiated. Following this, the LCK broadcast revealed the following message on screen:
“KT Aiming bought a forbidden item.”
It was then made clear that the pause was a result of Aiming purchasing Statikk Shiv despite Riot Games Korea stating in the rule book that the item cannot be purchased due to a bug.
After a long pause and deliberation, Aiming was asked to sell the item, thus losing around 900 gold.
Korizon Esports co-founder and journalist Ashley Kang wrote on Twitter, “While there are no specific guidelines on follow-ups to ‘buying disallowed items’ the LCK referee decided that the resolution for the situation should be that Aiming sells his Statikk Shiv. There were disagreements towards the decision and the delay was extended.”
Additionally, Kang reported that the teams were notified twice by Riot Games that Statikk Shiv is disallowed.
While Riot Games officials did not specify why the item is disallowed in LCK, many prominent members in the League of Legends community pointed out that it could be due to the item interacting with allied minions.
Former Fnatic coach Jakob "YamatoCannon" Mebdi wrote on Twitter, “Statikk Shiv apparently can kill your own minions and generate gold.” He explained further that the teams get a full list of known bugs on patches ahead of matches but pondered why Riot Games does not disable the item completely from the shop when the bug is known.
However, giving more insight into the issue, esports personality Nick "LS" De Cesare stated that the Statikk Shiv bug is only triggered when there is a Renata Glasc present in the team, questioning the referees’ decision.
He tweeted, “Additionally, the item doesn't cause the bug since the bug apparently only happens w/ Renata in the game, this should be brought up. Ridiculous ruling imo. Just fine Aiming but don't alter game IMO.”
The issue with Statikk Shiv, as reported by many players on social media, is that certain champions who have the item can now deal damage to their own minions. Besides killing the minions with the Statikk Shiv proc, it also reportedly rewarded the player with gold. This is game-breaking since it allows teams to generate gold and simultaneously deny gold to the opponent.
