League of Legends lead gameplay designer Mark “Scruffy” Yetter showcased the detailed Patch 10.19 preview today, breaking down the tentative nerfs and buffs hitting the Rift.
With the 2020 World Championship only a couple of weeks away, Riot is prepping for the occasion by balancing the meta. And since Akali and Lucian “could take over the Worlds meta” in their current state, they made it on the nerf list.
Akali’s Five Point Strike (Q) is taking a hit. This should make her laning weaker, forcing her to play safe in the early phases of a match. It’s also possible that a little less damage won’t be enough to keep her out of pros’ hands.
Lucian has also wandered into flex pick territory, being picked up in the mid lane. Riot is targeting his AD per level, dropping it from 2.75 to 2.3. This AD nerf might make him less threatening to mages and assassins in the mid lane and force him back to the bot lane.
Yetter explained that the two champions are at risk of being 100 percent pick-or-ban status at Worlds, which starts at the end of the month. So Riot wants to get ahead of things with slight nerfs that will still make them playable but not overpowered.
Pantheon was last year’s culprit with 100-percent presence, getting banned 119 times and picked once at Worlds 2019.
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