Previously meta staples, both Kassadin and Orianna have fallen to the wayside in League of Legends‘ fast-paced meta, but that could be changing after the latest PBE update.
Both champions require time to scale, especially Kassadin, and with games rarely lasting past the 30-minute mark, neither are usually able to reach their late game powerspikes. Riot is looking to change that. Orianna is receiving a cooldown buff on one of her key abilities that should improve her effect on all stages of the game, while Kassadin will be doing more damage than ever.
The Lady of Clockwork relies upon her W, Command: Dissonance, for a large part of her damage. The cooldown on this ability is dropping from nine to seven seconds at all ranks, making both her waveclear and her harass much more prevalent. While the buff may not be enough to ensure she sees the late game fights she excels in, it will go a long way to helping her control the pace of her lane.
Unlike his fellow mid laner, Kassadin is receiving a host of damage buffs. The scaling on his W, Nether Grasp, is being raised to 80 percent of his Ability Power, up from 70 percent. An “invisible” mana cost is also being added to the ability to allow it to stack Tear of the Goddess, Kassadin’s favorite item. This will help the Void Walker reach his breaking point much faster, as well as boost his strength come that point. The AP ratio on his E, Force Pulse, is also going up to 80 percent from 70 percent, and his ultimate, Riftwalk, is also receiving a 10 percent boost, with its AP ratio rising up to 40 percent from its current value of 30 percent.
Everyone’s favorite Void-man creature is about to be doing tons more damage. While he definitely needs help to stay afloat in the current meta, one can’t help but think back to his permaban status in Season 3. Back then, Kassadin was the most feared champion in the game, and any team that had him were essentially guaranteed a win. Buffing his damage across the board will ensure Kassadin can take over games singlehandedly once he reaches enough items, so it’s hard to see Riot Games keeping these changes for long.
These changes are likely to ship with Patch 8.13 next week unless they are reverted before then.
