After consecutive patches of the same champions dominating the League of Legends meta, Riot Games is stepping in to give some champs the buffs they need to allow them to reappear healthily on the Rift.
Jeevun “Jag” Sidhu, the current lead game designer on the Summoner’s Rift team for League, revealed Riot’s plans for tentative buffs to champions scheduled for release in Patch 11.15. Many of the champions chosen for buffs this time around haven’t been seen in pro play in quite some time since other options have proven to be much more stable and efficient.
In the top lane, Mordekaiser and Kennen are set to receive buffs, though the specifics are unknown right now. For the last few patches, champions like Gwen, Dr. Mundo, and Nocturne have been some of the most dominant picks in pro play, leaving some old favorites in the shadows.
As for junglers, Nidalee and Shyvana will be receiving buffs of some kind in the next patch. Both champions haven’t been priority picks in solo queue or pro play for some time. Fighters and assassins have made their way to the front of the jungle meta and haven’t shown any signs of slowing down.
Syndra and Casssiopeia are the only mid laners listed as receiving buffs in Patch 11.15, which shows that Riot is acknowledging the prevalence and sheer power that assassins have right now. Mages like these two champions have been commonplace in the mid lane for some time due to their snowball potential and massive damage but suffer from their inability to roam freely due to a lack of mobility skills. While Syndra is a common pick in pro play still, her pick/ban rates haven’t been at the level that they have been for years.
In the bot lane, Caitlyn, Xayah, Blitzcrank, and Rell are stepping into the spotlight. The two ADCs, although powerful in their own rights, have struggled to dominate their lanes due to their builds not adequately benefitting their skills in the same vein as champions like Ezreal and Kai’Sa. Also unlike these champions, Caitlyn and Xayah tend to fall off quickly due to their lack of mobility, which is a vital part of survival in the meta right now. While it’s unlikely that their damage will be boosted too much to the point that they become overly oppressive, they’ll likely receive some buffs that let them live better in the bot lane.
The support meta consists of little more than Nautlius, Thresh, and Leona right now, so buffs to Blitzcrank and Rell, two other engage tank supports that have been overshadowed as of late, might be what the role needs. Both of these champions are powerful already, though other champs do their jobs more efficiently. Therefore, to align them with other engage supports, they’re going to need substantial buffs.
All of these changes are subject to change and may be altered before their release on the live servers in Patch 11.15. These buffs join numerous nerfs also scheduled for this patch, such as long-awaited nerfs to Gwen and Viego. This patch is scheduled to release on July 21.
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