Most league of legends champions have problems that are relatively easy to solve. After all, even when a champion is overpowered, Riot only has to draw the nerf hammer to bring him back into line. The problem is that there are situations where tweaking statistics and values is not enough and where the studio must look more seriously at the issue, via an overhaul or, at the very least, a small rework.
This is particularly the case when a champion has a win rate that varies drastically from one division to another. What to do when the Challengers excel with it while the Bronzos fail?
An impossible champion for Riot Games
Currently, Gwen is the League of Legends champion who manifests this problem the most. While the character accumulates a 44.7% win rate in Gold, their win rate jumps to 49.2% once Platinum is reached — and it gets worse the higher you go. And, faced with this situation, Riot is struggling to find a balance that responds to a particular level of play without tainting another.
The case is even more exaggerated than that of Ryze, who has historically been considered the most problematic champion in this regard.
The situation was already serious before the changes made to the champion in patch 12.5. However, what was already inviting us to think about major changes has now become an emergency. A situation that Riot Games usually has only one answer to: a gameplay overhaul — a method that the studio has already employed in the past with Amumu.
In the case of the Mummy, Riot achieved its goals by making subtle changes to its game-changing gameplay. Technically, this isn’t really a rework, since the champion basically remained the same — but adding a second charge to his Q did heavily benefit the champion. With this change, the disparity in Amumu’s win rates at different ranks has been drastically reduced — to the point where, from Bronze to Diamond, they only experience a 0.7% difference.
Given the situation with Gwen, one frankly wonders how Riot hopes to reduce that same disparity. One thing is certain: this process is likely to be even more complicated than that of the mummy. While it is usually enough to improve an ability in itself for a champion to become stronger in the hands of the best players, the opposite exercise is more difficult to achieve.
In any case, it seems that there is a major challenge ahead and we can already prepare for Gwen to receive some changes in the upcoming patches…
Original content by MGG Spain
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