For League of Legends, it looks like a year of change. The meta has changed drastically with 12.10 and even the champions, more or less, are seeing their kits transformed. We will talk in particular about Udyr, Zeri Aurelion Sol and Skarner.
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In the space of two months we have seen several changes between “Durability Update” and changes to the champions among which the mid-scope update of Taliyah that is dominating the middle lane and, among the best picks in the jungle, Olaf, who will be nerfed seen the problems caused in the top lane, and Swain, also very strong at the moment after the changes to the E and especially the R. But it does not end there.
It seems that Riot Games already has several projects in the works in the start-up phase (and some already started) with which they will try to give some more chances to “unlucky” champions.
Let’s start with Udyr: about a year ago its rework was announced and at the moment it seems to be the biggest challenge that the dedicated team has faced to date. The Freljordian shaman is, in fact, the first of the oldest champions of the League of Legends Roster to have a supreme skin (a peculiarity that adds further difficulties in the rework phase to what opens). But what is the real underlying problem? The reworks in general are always quite complicated because they have to stay on the tracks already “traced” at the time of the creation of the character; therefore, it is necessary to update the abilities of the champion without distorting him.
However, it seems that the wait will end a few patches after 12.14, where it is assumed that the 161st League champion (therefore after Bel’Veth) will come out, which seems to be an atypical Adc, a carry melee (melee). So for Udyr we should wait around 12.16 or 12.17.
Let’s now pass to Aurelion Sol, the star-forging dragon who, however graphically successful, has no place in the current meta (and also in the past ones). Released in 2016, Asol has experienced ups and downs but without ever standing out: there are (and have been) the problems of a kit that cannot be effectively balanced (the rework that took place in 2019 was of little use), which is why the next he will be the champion to receive a CGU (Comprehensive Gameplay Update). Only the skills will change, so there will be variations in the gameplay, but without touching the graphics component. The only thing that is known is that he will arrive in late 2022, probably in the fall.
Skarner, on the other hand, will receive a VGU that will land on live servers in 2023 early in Season 13. This will not be a simple graphic rework but there will also be improvements to the skills of the crystal guardian with one exception: impalement. His R seems to be still part of the kit (fortunately). For him the situation is not as drastic as that of Udyr or Asol but he certainly needed a makeover.
Finally, let’s talk about Zeri. There is a lot to be said about Zaun’s shooter, starting with the devastating impact she had on Summoner’s Land upon her release to the nerfs that made her a niche pick. He is not a very easy champion to play but in the right hands (at least until a few patches ago) he could do very badly what he can no longer do given his very low WinRate in only Q. To help her, Riot Games, has decided to change something in his kit: [Nuovo] Removed the slowdown on basic attack.
Burst fire (Q). Damage increased from [7-15]+[110%-120% AD] a [8-20] + [110%-130% AD]. Energized Q (r) AP scaling increased from 80% to 90%. Energized Q (R) damage scaling on HP increased from [1-10%] al [3-15%]
Laser ultrashock (W). [Nuovo] Now deals critical damage to champions and monsters if it passes through a wall. Slowdown reduced since [30%-70%] al [30%-50%]. Scaling with AD increased from 140% to 150%. Cooldown reduced from [13-9s] a [12-8s]. [Nuovo] Cast time now scales with attack speed.
Spark discharge (E). Cooldown decreased from [26-20s] a [22-16s]. Cooldown reduction decreased from 1s to 0.5s (reduced DC on critical hit: from 3s to 1.5s). Electric crash (R). Magic resist per stack decreased from 1.5% to 1%. Increased stacks per champion hit from 4 to 8. Cooldown time reduced from [120-70s] a [100-70]
This change of Zeri will arrive in 12.11 but you can already try it on the PBE. Probably some numbers will change between now and the release of the patch, however it is hoped that with these changes, the zaunita shooter will be able to increase her win rate (which is around 46% in soloQ). As you can see, the surprises are still not over in this Season 12 which seems more and more a season of transition towards a new League of Legends. What do you think? Do you like changes?