LoL – Patch 11.22 rundown: last patch before the preseason

As we inch closer to the end of World’s, preseason seems to be right around the corner. A few days ago, Riot Phlox released the detailed preview of patch 11.22, which is the last patch before the preseason starts.

The patch will be released on live servers on Wednesday, November 3, and in it, we have a small number of adjustments. With no competitive play for the next two and a half months following Worlds, a lot of repeat offenders in terms of pro-play balancing are getting some buffs. 

Fixing Renekton and other buffs

Renekton is one of them, and on patch 11.22 he’s getting a revert on his recent stun changes. This might be good news for the dedicated mains, but it will reopen an issue Riot has been facing for the last three years. As one of the oldest champions in the game, Renekton has a dedicated player base that must endure the consequences of his pro-play presence. For the last three years, he has always managed to find a spot in the meta and be a dominant pick. This can be attributed to his synergy with items like Spear of Shojin, Botrk, and Goredrinker or just his kit. His innate tankiness from Ultimate, wave clear and sustain from the empowered Q, as well as the setup and safety his empowered stun and double dash provide will always make him a viable pick in pro play. But his pro-play-oriented nerfs always leave a mark on his Solo Queue win rates. Riot tried to balance him through adjustments to his numbers, but with the Goredrinker nerf he became one of the worst champions in the game.

Akali, Kalista, and Varus are other champions similar to Renekton that either dominate pro play or their numbers are so low that they’re basically unplayable. With no pro play for the next two months, they’re also getting some love. Riven and Red Kayn(Rhaast) are two champions that are also getting buffs because they felt the impact of the 11.21 Goredrinker nerfs the most. The removal of the Spite passive, the damage nerf to the active, and the addition of omnivamp have really made the item underwhelming, so Riot is buffing it now in other areas.

Goredrinker: Health 400>>>450 Omnivamp 8%>>>10%

Qiyana and Kha’zix dominating the jungle

On the other end of the spectrum, Qiyana has been dominating Solo Queue in the higher ranks ever since her back-to-back jungle buffs. She was also a Goredrinker abuser, so these nerfs of her sustain and clear might help balance her, but her mid-lane presence might suffer as well. Graves and Yuumi have been dominant picks in the Worlds tournament, winning most of their games and being banned in the rest, which means Riot has to intervene.

Meanwhile, Kha’zix and Maokai are getting nerfed through numbers adjustments, which might surprise a lot of people. Especially since these two picks don’t seem to be that problematic, especially Maokai, who has greatly struggled in the top lane and is barely viable in the support role. The reasoning for this is that despite going unnoticed, these two champions have had a 53% win rate worldwide in Platinum+ games for the last month. This was detected by Riot’s balancing tools and they’re rightfully getting adjusted. If you’re interested and want to read more about how Riot approaches balancing champions, you can check out our article that explains the process right here.(link balance framework article when released)