Hullbreaker is being nerfed little over six months after it was introduced
After having a surprisingly large influence on the meta lately, the legendary item, which was initially released in patch 11.13, is being nerfed for the first time as part of patch 12.5.
Hullbreaker had been lurking in the shadows since its League of Legends debut. Despite delivering considerable stats for split pushers, it was hardly used due to the meta back then, except by a few chosen champions.
That was until pro players, particularly LCK players, began rushing the item as soon as possible in practically any match. Hullbreaker has dominated the top lane meta since then. It’s been a mainstay on pro selections like Graves, Urgot, Tryndamere, Gnar have been causing havoc in the top lane.
Statistics also show that Hullbreaker, as an item exceeds 200% gold efficiency at Level 18 when its passive is in use. This, paired with the recent fighter item update that nerfed most of the items for Fighters, including the Goredrinker, made Hullbreaker the must-buy for any top laners.
In such a scenario, Riot is releasing a nerf on the item in patch 12.5, which goes live on March 2, to reduce its power.
The adjustment reduces its efficacy against ranged top laners like Graves, but it also affects picks like Urgot and even Quinn. The resistance benefit received will be reduced by half, from 20-60 armor and magic resist to 10-30, with scaling dependent on level.
While the nerfs will keep Hullbreaker effective against melee champions, ranged champions with higher defensive stat will not be as fortunate. However, just to make sure, Riot Games will also keep an eye on how the adjustments would unfairly target specific champions, like as Urgot.