Before the month-long break between League of Legends Patch 12.5 and 12.6, Riot Games is shipping a smaller “B” patch this Wednesday that will bring a plethora of big changes to some of the game’s most popular champions.
Riot Phlox, one of the designers on the Summoner’s Rift team, said that along with Patch 12.5b, the patch previews will be getting juggled around between him and a few other people starting next update. But although the list might be small, the champions they’re affecting are quite mighty.
Master Yi, for example, was gutted by a recent hotfix nerf that sent his win rate plummeting to an abysmal 29.6 percent win rate in Diamond+ and a 41.6 percent win rate in Silver. As a result, the team has added him back to the buff train, along with a collection of AD carries like Lucian, Varus, Ashe, and Draven.
On the nerf list, four major picks in pro play are getting attention; Zeri, Jinx, and Aphelios have been some of the most contested champs in the bot lane. Jinx is currently the most picked ADC in global competitive play, with a roster-leading 83 percent pick-ban presence, according to League stats aggregate, Games of Legends.
Aphelios is right behind the blue-haired bomb enthusiast with a 64 percent presence, while also boasting the second-highest pick count among drafted champions. Zeri, on the other hand, doesn’t have the highest pick-ban rate but does have the third-most bans of any champion featured in pro play with 1067 bans across all regions.
Lastly, Locket of the Iron Solari is getting a nerf this coming micropatch, after the item racked up a 52.2 percent global win rate in ranks of Platinum or higher. The item is a staple for many supports, since it can provide a ton of resistances for the user and their teammates at any point of the game.
Patch 12.5b is set to release on Wednesday, March 9.
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