Balance Changes in Summer 2021

More than a decade has passed since the original 2009 release date of League of Legends. Yet, the MOBA continues to grow and evolve. New Champions are added according to a stable schedule. Balancing this constantly expanding roster requires constant tweaks to the characters’ stats and abilities. As well, players keep discovering new strategies that put some champions on top while rendering others nonviable outside normal games. The game has to keep changing to avoid going stale. It often takes a while for major changes to settle in, though. Many buffs or nerfs end up being corrected following actual play. For this reason, it makes sense to examine the changes made over the entire summer of 2021.

Akshan Introduction

This time period has brought one new character to the League of Legends roster. Akshan, added in July 21, is the 156th hero in the MOBA. To set him apart in such a large crowd, the developers have defined him as a marksman/assassin hybrid who thrives in the mid lane. His abilities allow him to inflict burst ranged damage, hit and reveal enemies in a line, and zip around with a grappling hook. He can earn extra gold by marking hostiles who killed his allies for death and then taking them down with the help of mobility and mana buffs. The ultimate ability allows him to lock on to a specific foe and fire several bullets, doing more damage based on the target’s missing health.

Despite the thought that went into this Bollywood-inspired hero’s mechanical design, it soon became clear that he would need improvements. With 34% wins on his first day, the Sentinel was deemed to be underperforming in his assigned role. A series of hotfixes in July boosted his base damage and health. The Avengarang line attack received higher damage and faster cooldowns. By August, his results improved enough to place a slight nerf, reducing his maximum damage bonus while zipping and preventing him from claiming bounties when dead. Even so, he reached a near-50% win rate in both top and mid lanes by the end of summer. Barring major nerfs, his place in the meta seems secure.

Character Reworks

Several established characters have received major reworks that go beyond mere buffs or nerfs. Most notably, Dr. Mundo has received a long-awaited “relaunch” in the 11.12 patch released on June 9. The mad doctor’s basic attack and ultimate have not changed much. However, his base stats have been increased, along with the damage potential of many abilities. He can now occasionally shrug off immobilizing spells, deal damage based on missing health, and electrocute himself to harm nearby enemies. Although his core playstyle remains unchanged, Mundo is now better-suited for the jungle role. Many of his cosmetics changed as well, although progression such as Champion Mastery remains intact.

There were several smaller reworks as well:

• 11.13 and 11.14 diversified Tahm Kench’s toolkit. His overall survivability has been decreased to make the experience more risky, especially in higher division and pro play. Devour is now an ultimate that allows him to swallow champions, shielding friends and harming foes who have been marked with Tongue Lash. Moreover, he can dive and strike from below more easily now, expanding his movement options;
• 11.16 upgraded Sona, turning this previously neglected Champion into arguably the best support character in the MOBA. Her ranked win percentage has put her consistently ahead of the competition since the change. The main innovation is Accelerando stacks earned from basic abilities, which reduce cooldowns on her entire kit and make her vastly more versatile;
• 11.17 resulted in major improvements to Amumu’s jungle win rate. While his health and armor growth have gotten nerfed, many abilities were strengthened to improve early-game performance, particularly in higher division games. Notably, his Bandage Toss ability now holds two charges and has a lower cooldown, increasing the mummy’s versatility.

Other Highlights

Many other changes occurred as well. Here are some of the highlights from all the summer patches:
Aphelios receives buffs to attack damage increase and magic resistance, although the base damage was later reduced. His weapons have been rebalanced to encourage the use of previously-neglected options.

• Lillia has lost some of her early game speed and clearing power, but gained armor and an innate self-heal, making her more formidable in one-on-one fights and solo queue play generally.
• Irelia has been tweaked, reducing her overall power but improving health growth.
• Blitzcrank’s base armor and Rocket Grab damage have both been significantly buffed.
• Viego’s overall damage has been reduced, though this was partly mitigated by an increase to damage against monsters. The Ruined King’s capacity to heal from minions has been significantly downsized.
• An increase to Sylas’ Chain lash detonation has been balanced by decreased Kingslayer healing.
• Aurelion Sol has been hit with an increased cooldown for Starsurge.
• Thresh has similarly received a longer cooldown for Flay.
• Gangplank’s Parrrley and Powder Keg critical damage has been increased.
• Several of Lucian’s abilities now have synergies with his allies, making him more popular in the duo queue than before.
• Xayah received a series of buffs, gaining damage for Double Daggers and Featherstorm and shortening the casting time for the former and the cooldown for the latter.

While minor in themselves, those lesser stat tweaks still add up to a whole new meta. In this case, the changes were more visible at lower ranks. Still, the increase in Blitzcrank’s and Lillia’s win rates is probably not a coincidence. Neither is the noticeable drop in Viego’s and Aurelion Sol’s recent performance. Players who have skipped this summer may encounter many surprises if they try to compete at higher ranks or in the Clash tournament.

The League of Legends meta is constantly evolving. There are undoubtedly more changes to come. In particular, the recently upgraded characters and Akshan are likely headed for some nerfs in the near future. Lillia has already been nerfed since September began. Barring surprises, there are still approximately two months left before the end of this competitive season. If you wish to go up in ranks now, it would be wise to both read up on previous changes in detail and pay attention to the patches as they arrive. To further help you adapt and avoid being caught off guard, you can also seek out our professional coaching services.