League of Legends Releases 11.5 Update

            League of Legends recently saw its 11.5 update and with it came a ton of nerfs, buffs, and changes to the overall mechanics. Plus a lot of bee-themed stuff, but we will get to that. We want to get through the key mechanical changes that people are going to be invested in, then we will have all the time we want to talk about the fun stuff, like bee costumes.

            Let’s start with talking about the nerfs. You know, the changes that are powered by your hatred for getting slaughtered by the same overpowered ability/item combo every match. At least the League of Legends developers seem invested in listening to their player base, which is more than you say about some developers. So who got de-powered in this round of changes?

            Azir got his Sand soldier damaged decreased for starters to try and even out his power curve a little. Gragas got an increase to the cost of his barrels and got in made flat for every level in order to stop him from dominating the top lane. Rammus had his base health reduced. He is supposed to be a tank, but he isn’t supposed to be invincible, at least so say the developers. It’s unsurprising that the next champion to see a nerf is Rell, considering her relative newness she will likely take a few more tweaks to get just right. This time around her base armor was decreased and the cooldown on her W abilities was increased. Seraphine, also one of the newer champions, is getting a lot more of her mechanics nerfed. Her passive notes are being removed altogether, her ally-supported notes getting reduced damage as well. Her R ability is also getting an increase to its cool down. Shaco is getting hit hard with the nerf in 11.5, this champion dealing less basic and single target damage. To compensate they are increasing Shaco’s damage to monsters, but overall this change is rough enough that it’s still considered a nerf. Lastly on the list is Udyr who is getting an overall health reduction and the damage to his R ability is also getting reduced.

            And the half of the list that makes everyone equally unhappy, because people are so hard to please, the buff list. Jax is getting a basic attack growth buff, a small change but an important one. Karma is getting an additional buff as she still isn’t performing in the way that the team would like, so her Q ability is getting a decreased cooldown. Kog’Maw is seeing a buff too, but it’s a small one. The damage on the W is getting an increase, but only in its higher levels. We are seeing another damage buff with the champion Master Yi too, his E ability seeing an increase in overall output. When we get to Qiyana we are noticing a trend in the buffs. Her W ability is seeing an overall increase in damage and her R ability seeing a gradual increase instead. Samira’s seeing a base damage growth increase as well as a ratio damage increase for her Q ability. The second hit damage ratio for Sejuani is seeing an increase as well, a minor change but enough that the devs thought it would make him a bit more viable. Lastly, for the flat buffs, we have Trundle whose cooldown for their Q ability was decreased by a whole half a second. Not bad.

            There are a couple of characters who have seen some flat adjustments to how they operate. Pyke’s passive ability, Gift of the Drowned Ones was changed so instead of adding as much health storage instead it increases lethality depending on the number of enemies in the area. Twitch also received an adjustment. Their passive damage ratio for Deadly Venom has been reduced but the bonus damage for their R ability and its duration have both been increased.

            The newest champion, Viego, also had several bugs with his character and abilities fixed in this patch

. So if you’ve seen anyone exploiting damage immunity bugs or bugs that increase the ranges of abilities, well those just got patched out. No more worries about getting long-range possessed, not in the game anyway.             

            As usual, Champions aren’t the only ones to see changes, as several items got tweaked as well. Muramana got an overhaul to make it more distinct from Essence Reaver, correlating its bonus damage with overall max mana. Stridebreaker is having its ability balanced to make it more even overall without necessarily changing how powerful it is. Guinsoo’s Rageblade has been given additional rules so it is a more broadly useful item instead of making those who depended on it for critical buffs become extremely OP. On the other side of things, Serpents Fang had its ability simplified to be closer to something Grievous Wounds but specifically for shields. Maw of Malmortius just had its price dropped. This doesn’t change the power, but may make it a better contender when you consider your options. Black Cleaver also saw a price reduction, but also with a significant buff to its health and damage to make it a better pick for longer fights.

            Last, but far from least, March 4th saw the release of a handful of bonus skins and colorations that were all bee-themed. You have Beezahar, Yuubee, and Bee’Maw so if you are a fan of any of those champions but don’t think their aesthetic choices are cute enough or insect-y enough well the 11.5 update has the content you have been waiting for. These cutesy costumes may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but let’s consider the tactical advantage. You ever equip a cute skin just so the enemy will let their guard down? Even if they don’t then you haven’t lost out on anything. Can’t hurt, just saying.

            And there you have all the major balance changes, along with some bee commentary, that came to League of Legends with the 11.5 update. Hope your favorite champions got buffed and those you hated got nerfed. And if they didn’t, hey there is always the next update to cross your fingers and look forward to.  With any update, not everyone is happy so if you are looking to sell your League of Legends account, we have you covered!