Many people might well be focused on the 2020 World Championship, however, Riot Games is also looking towards the future with League of Legends Patch 10.21.
Riot lead gameplay designer, Mark Yetter, has revealed some of the planned buffs and nerfs to some key champions on League Patch 10.21 as the end of the season approaches.
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Riot to nerf Samira, shift Pantheon away from support long-term in League Patch 10.21
For instance, one long-term adjustment is to move Pantheon away from the support position and back to the solo lanes for which it was originally designed. Over the past season, the Unbreakable Spear has quickly become a power pick in the bottom lane for competitive teams, especially in Korea.
His ability to click and stun any target, while also blocking all subsequent damage with his Aegis Assault, made him a great champion to start a tower dive, or to lead a successful gank with a jungler. As a result, this champion was favored by top-tier players, such as BeryL, DAMWON Gaming’s support.
Samira is going to get some nerfs in Patch 10.21, following her blazing debut on Summoner’s Rift. According to U.GG, she has a 50 percent win rate in the ranks above Platinum, and currently has a massive 74.2 percent ban rate in the solo queue.
Other champions including Graves, Hecarim, Camille, and Nidalee are all getting nerfs. These four champions have all been power picks at this year’s Worlds, so we might be looking at a quick preview of how the meta will be changed next year.
Aphelios, Lee Sin, Corki, and more to receive buffs in League Patch 10.21
In terms of win rate, Aphelios, one of the worst-performing bot laners, is set to receive another buff. Beside other bot lane marksmen Vayne and Sivir, Aphelios was recently buffed on Worlds Patch 10.19 last month. This slight buff to his damage scaling has not affected his win rate at the professional-level play rate or his abysmal win rate in solo queue. According to League of Graphs, so far, Aphelios has been picked once at Worlds and has a 46% win rate in platinum and above.
Additional buffs are heading to some of the former jungle meta, like Lee Sin and Trundle, all of which have shifted slightly out of professional play in recent history. For Patch 10.21, Corki, Karma, and Udyr round out the list of planned buffs.
In the same manner, Corki, once known as the common pick into Azir in the middle lane, has shifted out of the mid meta in favor of scaling mages and deadly assassins. So far, Corki has already been picked once at Worlds.
Lee Sin is one jungler that is still played fairly consistently at the professional stage. Earlier this year, he had received a nerf to his W, Safeguard, but the change was fairly minor. Known as one of the most complicated junglers in the game, Lee Sin’s typical lethality build in professional play has been slightly modified to support a tankier style that has work well for the Blind Monk at the highest level.
On Oct. 14, Patch 10.21 will hit the live servers and will not have a direct effect on the ongoing World Championships, which play on Patch 10.19.