The League of Legends balance team has today announced nerfs for newest champion Naafiri who, along with four others, will be brought down a notch through Patch 13.16 changes after sufficient time at the top of the Rift.
Riot Games balance developer Raptorr originally said Naafiri’s nerfs would be put on pause from July 27 soon after her win rate stabilized following her successful launch. But, as revealed by lead designer Matt “Phroxzon” Leung-Harrison on Aug. 7, the Hound of a Hundred Bites will receive a negative change after all next week.
The champion was whacked with a hotfix quite quickly after launch but her win rate has since remained more stable—right up until Patch 13.15 eventually dropped. Changes across the board outside of Naafiri’s core stats took hold and, going unchanged, she quickly took hold of the League ladder. This patch has seen her mid lane win rate rise to 52.41 percent, according to stats site U.GG, all while maintaining a similar record in top lane.
As such, her time at the top of the tier list is at its end. Exactly what we can expect out of these changes remains to be seen, but Riot was planning nerfs to her mid-game scaling and attack damage bonuses on her Eviscerate ability.
Also on the chopping block this update is Shyvana, whose AD build is expected to receive a hefty blow with 13.16. Arguably one of the best Mythic scaling junglers on the roster, Shyvana hasn’t exactly lit the world on fire in Platinum and above this patch but has remained consistently strong through 13.14 and 13.15.
Related: Sylas, Caitlyn among 10 receiving buffs in huge League Patch 13.16
Season 13 has been one to remember for Rek’Sai mains. The Void Burrower has been slapped with stat and ability nerfs four times this year as the Riot devs work to reverse the buffs from the past several seasons, but still Rek’Sai has topped the jungle charts for the bulk of 2023. The question is now: just what will it take to squish this bug’s dominance?
Tristana, who has been present in over half of pro League this Summer Split, according to Games of Legends, and Shaco’s support build cap off a shorter list of nerfs. Also under the microscope is Duskblade of Draktharr, which Phroxzon mentioned is seen far too often and is becoming an unintended pickup on Illaoi and Aatrox.
By nerfing Duskblade and buffing a few weaker assassin items, Phroxzon and the team hopes assassins will be spoiled for choice in terms of item selections as opposed to sticking by the tried-and-tested Duskblade.
We’ll know the exact buffs and nerfs for each champion, item, and everything else before League Patch 13.16 officially drops on Wednesday, Aug. 16.
