The League of Legends community doesn’t always opt for the strongest champions. Even though there are hundreds of Tier Lists and more game data than ever before, there are times when a character just isn’t quite compelling. Maybe his style of play is not the most suitable for most people or it is not easy to perceive that he is really powerful. A situation that can drag on for months and that makes Riot Games more lenient towards champions who find themselves in this situation. However, it’s only a matter of time before the studio decides to proceed with a nerf that surprises us far more than it should.
The champion who quietly dominated League of Legends
The last clear case of characters who found themselves in this situation is Taric. Believe it or not, he’s quietly dominated the game for the past three months. He’s been doing this since Riot Games added a small buff to him in patch 12.11, which increased his healing, reduced the mana cost of his Q, and temporarily improved his E – Glare. Since then, he’s consistently been the best support in the entire game, peaking in the current patch. So far in patch 12.16, the character has been able to win 54.5% of games played at a rank above Silver. This number only increases as you go up the ladder.
What is curious, but common, is that during this period he was only selected in 3% of the games. A very low rate for such a successful champion. This is precisely what prompted Riot Games to reserve a nerf to it that will arrive with the next patch. In truth, he’s not a particularly frustrating champion, and he doesn’t get too many bans. Heroes like Yuumi are much more criticized by the community while their performance is much worse in Summoner’s Rift. This puts more pressure on League of Legends developers, who are much quicker to act.
The reason why Riot Games probably decided to reduce some of Taric’s power in patch 12.17 is because of the upcoming 2022 Worlds. The truth is that, despite not being very popular in competitive play, Valorant’s Shield is a dangerous champion. It should be noted that his win rate increases as his rank rises, which is usually an indication that a champion will do well in professional play. In addition, the fact that he gave birth, during history, to alternative strategies that we would not want to see during the Worlds, plays against him.
It doesn’t look like the champion will be in freefall when League of Legends receives its next patch. However, power reduction leaves a number of answers open to your choice. Less magic resistance means suffering more against very common supports like Lulu or Nautilus, which leads to an even more difficult lane phase and concentrates its power even more around the late game. This mostly affects players with high MMR, as games are shorter at higher ranks.
The changes that League of Legends receives with almost exclusively professional play in mind aren’t usually the most popular. However, Riot Games is stepping up its efforts as Worlds approaches. Some changes might not be convincing, but power reductions like Taric’s or new additions like the Maokai and Hecarim updates in patch 12.17 can make the game much more interesting.
esport-lol
The Worlds of League of Legends have not yet started, that already two exceptional situations have occurred. From a random pick in LCK to a setback that could be historic in China, back to a Friday like no other.