Matt Leung-Harrison@RiotPhroxzon
Patch 26.8 Preview
We have a small patch as we aren't looking to change a bunch of things with 26.9 (Season 2) coming out soon.
26.9 has quite a few systems changes in it and so we expect those to have rippling effects on what champions are strong and weak.
There are also a few champions that have been having larger scope changes to them that we're looking to release on 26.9 as well, but weren't quite ready for prime time on 26.8
Fantasy Facing Changes
- A lot of the direction of our changes in the near future are aimed at emphasizing the unique strengths/strategic differentiators of champions, even if it will cost some aspect of the champion being flat in winrate across skill levels
- In many ways, a champion that has lost resonance with a core portion of their user base, even if they can sit at a higher power level may represent a downgrade in experience for players of that champion
- Expect the buffs this patch to translate more of the power budget into the area of the champions that are unique to them and we want to be moving the power of the roster like this over time
Yuumi Bugs
- We recently discovered a Yuumi bug where her ultimate was healing her attached ally each time it heals another ally
- While the number of times you're hitting multiple people with ult are rare, it is a significant nerf to the healing in the best case
- We're fixing this bug and compensating the ultimate (and other sources of healing)
Mel
- Mel's buffs in 26.5 ended up being a bit over magnitude, so we're pulling some of that back
- While we think after these changes Mel will be in a balanced state, that is different to whether she is in a state that is sometimes too frustrating for players
- We're continuing to evaluate whether making further changes to her is going to be able to adequately resolve "play against" while also remaining resonant and accessible for her Arcane audience
- We've been testing a few things, but nothing to share just yet
Dr Mundo
- Mundo consistently rates at the top of our frustration surveys and he's been overperforming especially in average play jungle
- We're tapping down some of that late game damage so that when he's popping off, he can still go where he pleases, but he's going to solo killing champions a bit less while doing so
More on the other champs later when the changes are more locked in
