It’s been quite some time since Swain saw any significant changes. However, that’s about to change as Riot Games has officially announced that a major overhaul is on the way for him, promising to bring him more in line with the League of Legends meta.
Swain has been in a somewhat awkward position ever since his rework in 2018. Despite having decent AP scaling, he never truly fit the mold of an AP burst mage, and he struggled to compete with the game’s more dominant battlemages. As a result, he slowly transitioned from a solo laner into more of a support role.
Recognizing this, Riot has decided to make adjustments to Swain, specifically aimed at shifting him back into the role of a solo laner. In a recent video update titled “An Update on Some Projects,” Riot Phreak provided some insight into the changes coming to League of Legends later in the year, including the exciting news of his upcoming update.
Overview of the Upcoming Swain Changes
Although Riot hasn’t fully detailed all of the changes Swain will undergo, they have shared some key insights into what they are working on. Many of the updates will focus on revamping Swain’s playstyle, making him more reliable and versatile in various matchups. Here’s a breakdown of the major adjustments that Riot has teased so far:
Q – At the moment, his Q ability is particularly effective against melee champions but can be somewhat unreliable when facing ranged opponents. Riot aims to address this by making his Q more consistent and effective in all matchups, not just against melee champions.
E –Phreak also revealed that his E ability will be receiving a buff in the form of increased recast speed. This change should significantly improve his ability to land his E on mobile champions.
E/W– Currently, most Swain players tend to max out his W ability second. However, Riot wants to make Swain’s E a more viable option for second maxing. To do this, they plan to shift some of the power from his W to his E.
R– Although Riot hasn’t gone into full detail about what changes will be made to Swain’s ultimate, they did mention that they are experimenting with the possibility of allowing Swain to cast his ult multiple times during its activation.
These are the main changes Riot has announced so far, but there’s likely more to come as development progresses. The adjustments aim to make him more competitive against a wider range of champions.
As for when these changes will be live, Riot has not provided a specific release date. However, they did confirm that Swain’s rework will be coming sometime after Patch 14.19. We’ll be keeping an eye out for more information, and will update as soon as more details become available.