Nerfs to Hecarim, Udyr will shift LoL jungle meta in patch 11.7

League of Legends patch 11.7 is looking to be a big one and will potentially change the meta in multiple lanes. 

In a recent patch preview, gameplay design director Mark “Scuffy” Yetter presented 17 adjustments for champions with the goal being to “shake up” the jungle, bot, and support metagame. In both solo queue and professional play, these roles have benefitted from seriously strong champions. In patch 11.7, players might get a number of new viable options for those roles.  

Riot changing jungle meta with Hecarim and Udyr nerfs

The most dominant junglers both in solo queue and professional play are Hecarim and Udyr. To shake up the meta a bit, Riot is targeting both speedy junglers with nerfs. 

Hecarim

• E – Devastating Charge, move speed 75 >> 65%

The main issue with Hecarim right now is his high speed. With his Devastating Charge and items like Turbo Chemtank, Hecarim can reach astronomical movement speeds which enemies usually don’t have any counter for. To change that, Riot will be decreasing the movement speed of Devastating Charge by 10%. It’s unlikely that’s enough to keep Hecarim off Summoner’s Rift, but it might open up for other picks on the priority list. 

Udyr

• Base attack damage 66 >> 64

Some players might have wanted some bigger nerfs for Udyr, but this time around Riot will only be toning down his base attack damage. This nerf will make Udyr weaker in the early game and less impactful at low levels. 

Udyr will still remain a fast jungler with reliable crowd control though, as his stun on Bear Stance and AOE damage on Phoenix Stance won’t be affected. Just like with Hecarim, Udyr will get an indirect nerf as Riot is nerfing the move speed of Turbo Chemtank. This has been a go-to item for Udyr and helped him a lot when chasing down enemies. Turbo Chemtank will also see a nerf on its slow percentage, giving Udyr and Hecarim a harder time when it comes to sticking to the enemy. 

Tristana and Kai’Sa to be nerfed in LoL patch 11.7

Nerfing junglers isn’t the only thing happening in this patch, as Riot will also target the two strongest marksmen in Tristana and Kai’Sa. Both champions are usually picked in professional and solo queue games if they aren’t banned. To make other viable picks for the bot lane, it only seems fair that the nerf hammer is brought out. 

Tristana

• Base attack damage 61 >> 59

Tristana will get a fairly simple nerf with lowered base attack damage. The nerf will remove some early-game power and keep her as a solid scaling marksman. Tristana is usually viable in the meta because of her carry potential in the late game, but has recently been just as dangerous in the laning phase. 

This is mostly due to the Hail of Blades rune, which allows Tristana players to dish out a lot of burst damage. This output will be lowered, but it still looks like Tristana could continue performing well in the bot lane. 

Kai’Sa

• R – Killer Instinct, cooldown 110-70 >> 130-70 seconds

For Kai’Sa, the nerf will be focusing the cooldown on Killer Instinct. The current state of Kai’Sa allows her to jump in and assassinate enemies very early in the game. By extending the cooldown in the early levels, Kai’Sa will have to find her own ways into fights. The change could slow down her potential to snowball and get out of control before the late game. 

Ashe, Varus, others buffed in LoL patch 11.7

To make up for all the nerfs, Riot will be buffing a total of nine champions in the hopes of their return to the meta. Some of the buffs are going to Ashe and Varus, which are two marksmen that are considered very weak. Ashe will gain more damage on her Volley (W) while Varus will get more attack damage per level. With these buffs, it looks promising that both marksmen to return to Summoner’s Rift with great poke strength. 

For the jungle, Riot will be bringing buffs to Kindred and Amumu while Yasuo, Mordekaiser, and Lissandra are all buffed to be more viable in either the mid or top lane. 

Patch 11.7 is scheduled to hit the live servers on Wednesday, March 31.