Riot Games might have already introduced another champion to the League of Legends fanbase, but the developers’ last release is still holding a lasting impression on the game today. Runeterra’s favorite Void queen Bel’Veth had the highest ban rate of any champion in the game through Patch 12.11.
The Empress of the Void had a sky-high 56.7 percent ban rate at ranks platinum or higher in the jungle position, according to League stats aggregate U.GG. Even with a relatively high ban rate, Bel’Veth still had a respectable 51.2 percent global win rate through more than 180,000 matches.
Most new champions are banned by players because they either don’t know how to play against the champion, they don’t want their teammates to play a new champion in ranked, or she is generally just too strong on release. In this case, Bel’Veth needed some time to settle into the meta so players could learn which items and runes were ideal for her before she started to pick up in popularity.
Bel’Veth found her role as a scaling jungler that relies on her mobility and infinity scaling attack speed to take over in the latter stages of a match. She does have a weak early game, making her vulnerable against strong skirmishing champions that can invade her like Olaf, Kindred, and Graves. If her team can help protect her in the opening moments, however, she can quickly turn into a monstrous carry who can shred tanks and snowball through teamfights with her ultimate, Endless Banquet.
Even though an attack speed-based build has been the most popular with Bel’Veth enthusiasts, there are other ways to build the Empress in certain situations. For example, players can opt into more bruiser-style items so that she can survive burst with ease while she and the rest of her team battle through skirmishes.
She also pairs really well with other meta champions, like Yuumi or Renata Glasc, two supports who can keep her healthy while also boosting her attacks at the same time. As a result, she has quickly jumped up as a viable pick that could continue to climb into the next patch.
