Riot Games is releasing one of its biggest League of Legends patches of the year thus far. As the 2021 League season comes to a close and the game’s competitive World Championship gets closer, Riot is making a conscious effort to balance out as many champions on the game’s roster as possible. In Patch 11.18, 32 champions in total are receiving changes, with 23 set to receive buffs.
Jeeven Sidhu, Lead Game Designer for League of Legends, said on Twitter today that Patch 11.18 is “effectively part 1 of our Worlds patches. ([Patch] 11.19 will finish it off).” Sidhu also went on to clarify that any changes made on the patch weren’t limited by a requirement of “matching buffs for nerfs 1 to 1.”
Among the champions getting buffed in Patch 11.18, a handful of them are receiving buffs regarding only their viability in the jungle. Lillia, Qiyana, Talon, and Zed are all set to see their jungle capabilities buffed in the upcoming patch. Talon and Zed will see certain abilities, including Rake (W) for Talon and Contempt for the Weak (P) for Zed, buffed against jungle monsters in the next patch. The only other champion to be played in the jungle on a more consistent basis that will be receiving buffs in the upcoming patch is Taliyah.
Whether these jungle changes will make their way onto the live servers by the time the World Championship rolls around is yet to be seen, but it’s important to remember that Riot buffed the jungling potential of certain lane-focused champions ahead of this year’s Mid-Season Invitational as well.
Apart from the jungle, the top lane and AD carry positions will also have five different champions buffed in Patch 11.18, while mid lane and support players will see just four champions buffed in the upcoming patch.
Regardless of how many changes are made in Patch 11.18, though, the patch is simply a primer for Patch 11.19, which Worlds will be played on. Patch 11.18 is set to go live on League servers on Sept. 9, according to the game’s official patch schedule.
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