The Yuumi Nerf in League of Legends Patch 12.23 has sparked heated debate as Riot explains why the adjustments were done
The balancing team has been attempting to figure out how to balance her for a long time. Yuumi’s win rate is low in the current patch, but a nerf is on the way. Her problem is that she is not as powerful in the solo queue, yet her performance in professional play is far superior.
The balancing team must walk a tightrope to balance her in this case. Thus, Riot Phroxzon detailed their thought process for nerfing Yuumi in Patch 12.23 on Reddit.
Riot addressed Yuumi’s nerf
- P Cooldown: 14 – 6 (based on level) >>> 18 – 6 (based on level)
- R Root duration: 1.75s >>> 1.25s
Riot Phroxzon commented on a Reddit thread regarding Yuumi getting nerfed to express his thoughts. His reply has a lot of information to analyse, but it provides a clear picture of what the balancing team were looking at before deciding to nerf Yuumi. These are the three primary concerns with Yuumi, according to Phroxzon.
- As tuned, she is a Pro Play bound champion
- Yuumi can be frustrating for some player segments (varies significantly by region X skill bracket)
- Tends to abandon lane partner later in the game
Riot expects that the adjustments would make Yuumi less successful in professional play. They aim to bring Yuumi to a decent point while also reducing player dissatisfaction. Riot Phroxzon stated that they are nerfing Yuumi’s passive since it is part of her kit that makes her competitive in pro play.
The balance team believes that the way they are adopting will nerf her in pro play and minimize the annoyance caused by the champion for all players. Riot did consider other possibilities, but this seemed like the best way to go.
He also stated that they want to make Yuumi as new player friendly as possible, therefore they are not attempting to modify the champion’s functionality.
This is one of several changes going to Yuumi in order to ultimately balance the champion. Riot intends to weaken her for “advanced players” while keeping the champion balanced around her ideal skill range.