League of Legends is about to receive a major update. Patch 12.18 will hit the game next week and will be the one on which the World Championships will be played. A situation that always prompts the developers to fix the problems and which, on this occasion, has included a somewhat controversial buff. It’s not that the champion who will receive it doesn’t need it, because Lee Sin has needed changes for months that would allow him to shine a little more in ranked. However, it’s irritating that the studio has ignored their situation for ten patches in a row.
A change that demonstrates the shortcomings of Riot Games
Since Lee Sin’s power was decreased with the 12.7 update (which was the patch the MSI played on), champion champion win rate hovers around 45% (although it remains popular with the community). In terms of timing, this means that for the past five months it has been virtually unplayable for the majority of League of Legends players. A situation that didn’t seem to bother Riot Games until Worlds 2022 finally approached. Probably intending to increase the interest of professionals in the character again, since even they were not using it, the developer announced improvements to fix the situation once and for all.
Lee Sin is a problematic champion in competitive play, and Riot Games is using this to explain why he has to perform so poorly in ranked. However, the developers’ next move is a contradiction: if the character is so dangerous in professional games, why is he getting upgrades before the biggest tournament of the year? The simple decision to increase his power ahead of Worlds 2022 clearly shows that, rather than relying strictly on gameplay, the developers are pushing a champion arbitrarily.
After receiving his power cuts, Lee Sin was among the least powerful champions in a game that had the two worst characters in its history this season. A situation that should alarm the League of Legends balance team, but which has been thoughtlessly ignored for ten consecutive patches. All the while, the champion only received a 10 damage boost to his Q as his win rate dropped below 44%. There was also an adjustment to his energy costs, but it was just imperceptible.
There is even more context to add to all of this. Riot Games has announced that Champions impacted by Patch 12.18 changes will only receive a “little nudge”. A situation that creates an even more incomprehensible combination: in the last ten updates, no one in the company thought that improvements were necessary? We’re not talking about titanic jobs like the ones Zeri or Yuumi will receive, but small stat boosts that certainly don’t require five months of preparation. A simple glance at the data would have sufficed.
It’s understandable that the company wants to increase the diversity of champions useful for major League of Legends competitions, since millions of people are watching the matches and these aren’t just changes so only the pros can enjoy. However, Riot Games shows a weakness — or rather a blind spot — in forgetting that the champions used by the pros are also important for the rest of the community and, as players, it’s extremely frustrating to see certain characters changed just for the competitive schedule.
esport-lol
League of Legends Worlds will begin on September 29. The groups have been drawn and everyone has their own prognosis. If we rely on a somewhat unusual statistic, the future winner should be in the G2 Esports group…