With Riot readying the pro League of Legends scene for the summer playoffs, next week’s patch seems to include extensive balance changes.
League lead gameplay designer Mark “Scruffy” Yetter outlined the tentative Patch 10.16 changes today, placing three premier junglers on the nerf list. Volibear, Karthus, and Kha’Zix appear to be performing too well and have caught Riot’s attention.
10.16 Patch Preview: (Summer Playoffs Patch)
This is a very big list, but most of these changes are going to be small ones. Diversifying the playoffs meta as much as we can before fine tuning it for worlds. pic.twitter.com/Q2xDeVH20y
— Mark Yetter (@MarkYetter) July 27, 2020
It seems like the Patch 10.14 nerfs to Volibear weren’t enough to curb the thundergod’s power. Riot removed some basic attack speed and reduced Frenzied Maul’s (W) healing against monsters by 50 percent. While the devs hoped that would slow down his speedy jungle clear, it doesn’t seem to be enough. Scruffy hasn’t outlined the exact nerfs yet, but Volibear’s jungle clear may be on the hit list again.
Patch 10.14 was also too generous to the Deathsinger. Increasing Karthus’ base health and movement speed, as well as his Lay Waste (Q) damage, might’ve been over the top. The champ has been excelling in the jungle, with almost a 53-percent win rate in Platinum ranks or higher, according to Champion.gg. Riot might similarly reduce his jungle clear speed or take away some power from his Q.
Kha’Zix has also seen impressive win rates as of late, hovering around 53 percent in Plat and above, according to Champion.gg. Patch 10.14 increased his Q’s isolated bonus damage to 120 percent, up from 100. It’s unclear if that damage will be reverted or if his clear time will be targeted.
Syndra, Nocturne mid, Sett, Karma, Ashe, Bard, and Nautilus are also looking at nerfs for Patch 10.16. Ziggs, Akali, Neeko, Veigar, Yasuo, Fiora, Jax, Evelynn, Hecarim, Tristana, Lucian, Miss Fortune, Morgana, and Rakan will be getting buffed.
Patch 10.16 is set to hit the live servers on Aug. 5.