Huge Caitlyn buffs in LoL Patch 13.16 have done little to turn around ADC’s slide

"My aim is perfect." Well, not anymore, Caitlyn.

Woman wielding a glowing fun wearing cyberpunk armor in League of Legends
Image via Riot Games

League of Legends players are still struggling to win with Caitlyn after Patch 13.16, despite what many assumed would be meta-defining buffs to her headshot counter being shipped live in the August update.

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Caitlyn finally received a couple of buffs to her kit in League Patch 13.16, including reducing the number of stacks she needs for headshots and increasing her ​​critical strike ratio. So far, these buffs have only slightly helped the AD carry, increasing her win rate from 47.91 percent (in Patch 13.15) to 49.02 percent today, according to League stats tracking page U.GG.

These numbers are a little worse too when you add that she is one of the most-picked bot laners with over 800,000 games played, so we can’t really consider her an outlier pick that is struggling to break into ranked-play drafts.

One issue she may be facing is how many other power picks there are; Caitlyn players have to battle through a multitude of Kai’Sas, Ezreals, and Ashes in season 13.

Normally, piloting a champion with an average win rate wouldn’t be a big deal, and the buffs she just got have made her more powerful, but when she’s pitted against these high-performing meta picks, there’s no way she can compete right now.

Caitlyn may well need more buffs, either directly relating to her stats and abilities, or simply indirectly through the items that she builds (Statikk Shiv, Infinity Edge, Rapid Firecannon, and more) or the stronger picks above her may need to be nerfed slightly in the next few updates before she can begin to compete again.

Related: League devs nerfed this item three patches in a row, and are doing it again in 13.17

For now, we’d recommend shelving Caitlyn until the meta evolves and instead picking a stronger champion like Kai’Sa, Ezreal, or even Nilah if you’re brave.

Author
Image of Hayley Andrews
Hayley Andrews
Hayley Andrews is a staff writer for Dot Esports with a dual degree in business and human resource management. After discovering her passion for creative writing and gaming, she now writes about MOBAs, MMOs, and cozy games.