How many champions will Riot Games release that are impossible to balance?
Zeri is one of League of Legends’ most controversial champions lately. She has been constantly buffed or nerfed since her release in January 2022, with the exception of a few patches, making it a total of 13 adjustments. Unfortunately, she is either too weak or too strong to counter after each patch.
As a result, the developers are making yet another attempt to finally balance Zeri before Worlds in League of Legends PBE patch 12.16.
Zeri nerfs in League of Legends patch 12.16
Passive
- Bonus MS while shielded reduced from 10% to 7%
Q
- Base Damage increased 8-20 to 11-23
- AD ratio reduced from 105%-125% to 100%-120%
W
- AP ratio reduced from 60% to 40%
However, the constant nerfs and buffs have irritated fans. Several believe that if the developers are having difficulty balancing Zeri, they should simply rework the champion rather than adjusting her and failing continuously.
Zeri’s nerfs are clearly focused on reducing her scaling. Her ratios are clearly being targeted by the developers, which will limit her late-game potential.
The issue is that the AP ratio nerfs to her W makes no sense because players, especially pro players, rarely build AP anymore. With similar builds, she is built as an AD champion, and her W can deal massive critical damage.
As a result, it appears that the developers are making a mistake with this decision. In any case, this change will have a significant impact on the champion’s solo queue win rate.
Zeri’s win rate could fall even further, and she could become League’s second Ryze. In any case, these nerfs will arrive on the live server in Patch 12.16 on August 24.