New champion Samira gets nerfed just one day after release

William Davis Published 23/09/2020

It didn’t take long before Riot Games stepped in to deliver a hotfix nerf to new marksman Samira.

Samira made her debut in League of Legends recently, but despite being tested on the Public Beta Environment (PBE), she was way too strong on release. The new marksman is a mix between a ranged and melee champion, with a lot of mobility and damage available in her kit. 

Players quickly realized that her damage output was way too strong, which had Riot act quickly. Lead gameplay designer Mark “Scuffy” Yetter announced on social media that Samira received an immediate hotfix nerf, toning down the damage on her Inferno Trigger (R) and lowering her base HP. 

Scuffy also admitted that Samira clearly looked too strong based on Riot’s estimates and goals so they acted fast. 

“We’re still very committed to releasing new champions long term balanced,” Scuffy said. “Sometimes we get lucky and nail it exactly on launch, but most of the time it’s about fast follow up,”

Samira gets nerfed after release

As Riot quickly realized, the damage of Samira’s ultimate was the biggest problem during the first day after her release. Clips of Samira dominating team fights with her ultimate quickly started trending on social media. The clips included everything from quick assassinations to pentakills. 

Professional players and streamers have also been showcasing Samira in her most broken form, with carry performances that are rarely seen in solo queue. Evil Geniuses bot laner Bae “Bang” Jun-sik in particular had fun with her live on his stream, proving to the whole world that Samira needed the nerfs. 

The hotfix nerf will hopefully put Samira in a more balanced spot. Samira won’t be available during the 2020 World Championship, so she won’t see her debut on the professional stage for quite some time.

Read Also

League of Legends

LYON vs Shopify Rebellion LCS playoffs lower bracket: Best bets and predictions Ben Boland LYON faces Shopify Rebellion in the lower bracket of the LCS Summer Playoffs 2026. The winner of this match claims North America’s final spot at the 2026 League of Legends World Championship, while the loser ends their season in fourth place. Neither team should have been in this spot. LYON entered the playoffs as the favorite and they’re now in the loser’s bracket, and SR was expected to lose much ...

League of Legends

Team Liquid vs Cloud9 LCS Playoffs Upper Bracket Finals: Bets and Predictions Ben Boland The LCS Upper Bracket finals are one many would not have predicted. Team Liquid takes on Cloud9 to see which team will lock in their spot in the Worlds 2026 Swiss stage and the LCS Summer Grand Finals. League of Legends bettors are in for a treat in this best-of-five, with many good bets available. Let’s take a look at some of the best bets for the Cloud9 vs. Team ...

League of Legends

The LEC’s Viewership Is Down 20% From Summer 2025 Ben Boland As the Summer Split has concluded, the results are out — and the LEC’s viewership keeps declining for the second year in a row. Even though Europe has achieved strong results this year, fewer viewers follow these teams regionally afterwards. According to Escharts, the LoL European league has recorded 173,989 average viewers in Summer 2026, and 438,821 peak viewers. In 2025, the LEC had an average viewership of 213,292 with ...

League of Legends

Is Voice Chat Coming to League of Legends in 2026? Ben Boland After a decade of being opposed to it, Riot has finally taken steps to implement voice chat in League of Legends. However, the launch of voice chat in LoL has been delayed as the feature is experiencing setbacks. Here’s a rundown of the situation. Earlier this year, players discovered voice chat-related files on the LoL Player Beta Environment (PBE). Following them, Riot communicated on March 13 that they were now ...

League of Legends

LoL: Europe Shines Against Korea in 2026 As NA Struggles To Keep Pace Ben Boland In 2026, Europe has had its best results against the East in LoL Esports history. While their losses to North America may overshadow their achievements, EU has a winning record against South Korea this year. Meanwhile, NA has the LEC’s number but has its worst head-to-head against the East since 2023 — here I will break down the key statistics that show this. After years of Europe being a shell ...

League of Legends

Which League of Legends Region Will Win 2026 Worlds? Hannan Mundia The League of Legends World Championship is easily the game’s most important annual tournament. The top teams from every major region compete for a chance to win the substantial cash prize and etch their names in League of Legends history. This year will be no different, with the 2026 Worlds coming  beginning on October 15. Teams from multiple regions have already qualified for the tournament, though their performances throughout the ...

Esports Betting

Cloud9 vs LYON LCS Summer Playoffs Upper Bracket: Best Bets and Predictions Ben Boland It’s a great time to be a League of Legends esports bettor with the LCS Summer playoffs heating up. We have Cloud9 looking to slay their playoff demons against LYON, a side that is looking to win their third straight championship. With LYON picking Cloud9 as their opponent, perhaps they are extremely confident they will get the job done, or are they underestimating the boys in blue? Stay tuned as ...