Nocturne is dominating solo queue in three roles on patch 11.13

League of Legends season 11 has been a wild ride of different metas so far and patch 11.13 helped shake it up once again. 

With a lot of changes in the recent patch to systemic mobility, champions, and items, the solo queue meta has once again seen changes. One of the most significant champions to rise even more in popularity is Nocturne, who is currently dominating the ladder in three roles. Before this patch, Nocturne was still a solid pick and seen in both solo queue and competitive play but his current state is out of this world.  

The Eternal Nightmare is currently topping the win-rate chart in top, mid, and jungle. This makes Nocturne the overall best champion for solo queue on the current patch and an incredibly scary flex pick. There are many reasons why Nocturne is currently this strong and a lot of it has to do with his own kit, the items he builds, and the fact that immobile carries are currently very popular in the bot lane especially. 

Nocturne has a dominant win rate on LoL patch 11.13

Since the release of patch 11.13, Nocturne’s win rates have gone up a notch once again. Nocturne was already a solid pick with an over 50% win rate in the previous patches but has now surpassed those numbers by a mile. 

Nocturne is currently the strongest in the top lane, where he is fielding a win rate of a whopping 54.73%. This is the second-highest win rate in Platinum rank and higher, only beaten by Swain at 54.83% as a bot laner. Nocturne isn’t the most-picked champion in top but is winning a lot whenever he is picked. 

For the mid lane, Nocturne is also working very well as a scary assassin. His high damage output isn’t to be underestimated, especially not against squishy and immobile mages. Nocturne can dish out a lot of damage right from the first levels, which shows with his 54.03% win rate in the mid lane. 

At last, Nocturne is also performing well in the jungle. This is his original and most popular role. With a 53.45% win rate in the jungle, Nocturne is the absolute best pick to climb as a jungler according to the win rates. He still has an effective clear in the jungle and can pull off unexpected ganks whenever he hits level 6. 

With a win rate of over 53% in three different roles, there’s no doubt that Nocturne is currently in an overpowered spot. It doesn’t only make Nocturne a feared pick in the jungle, but also as a solo laner. This puts Nocturne at a high ban rate as the strongest flex pick in the game. 

Early-game power and roams make Nocturne strong

Nocturne and the current meta fit very well together, which makes up for one of the big reasons why he is performing so well. Previously, Nocturne was only considered a jungler but now the assassin is just as strong as a solo laner. This has to do with the way the meta is and all the new items added for season 11. 

In the current state of the game, the tanks aren’t dominating the meta which enables Nocturne heavily. As an assassin, Nocturne wouldn’t perform well in a tank meta but now he is able to shine. His early-game power in lane will enable him to trade evenly against most champions and farm up until he is level 6. When he gets his Paranoia (R), Nocturne starts to come online. With the ultimate, Nocturne can roam as a solo laner and help his jungler pull off strong ganks. 

The same goes for the players who pick Nocturne for the jungle, except that he can pounce anywhere on the map without the opponents predicting it. Pulling off these unexpected roams or ganks on Nocturne requires great vision control, but it will be rewarding. In the late game, Nocturne isn’t the best scaler but that usually won’t give him trouble. First of all, the current meta is fast-paced and it’s rare that a game goes late. Secondly, a lot of bot and mid laners are immobile carries, which makes Nocturne able to assassinate targets even in the late game. 

Stridebreaker nerfs didn’t tone down Nocturne in LoL

Nocturne was also one of the champs that weren’t really hit by the recent Stridebreaker nerf. The Mythic item had its strong dash removed on patch 11.13. While this was a big hit to many bruisers, Nocturne was never relying on the dash. Instead, Nocturne is utilizing the stats from the item and its extra damage. 

Nocturne already has movement speed through his Duskbringer (Q) and crowd control through Unspeakable Horror (E) to stick to targets whenever he jumps in with Paranoia. 

With the current state of Nocturne, it’s likely the Riot will look to bring out the nerf hammer in one of the upcoming patches. LoL patch 11.14 is set to release on Thursday, July 8, and could very likely have changes in store for Nocturne.