The fifth League of Legends patch for season 11 is right around the corner, and gameplay design director Mark “Scuffy” Yetter has provided a detailed preview.
LoL patch 11.5 is looking to be another big patch for the game, where the focus is to nerf some of the most prominent champions while also trying to bring in new faces to the meta. The recent meta has been heavily dominated by Seraphine in both the mid and bot lanes, which is why Riot will give her a significant nerf. Udyr is another champion who will see some balance adjustments, as he has been on a dominant run of play. Nerfs are also coming to Rell, who has taken Summoner’s Rift by storm after her release.
On the other end, Riot will be buffing Samira as she got “a bit over nerfed” in the last patch.
11.5 Patch preview with the full changes. Not 100% final but we’re getting close.
Samira (a bit overnerfed) and Qiyana added to the buff list as well. pic.twitter.com/RJjQsNTW1e
— Mark Yetter (@MarkYetter) February 23, 2021
Seraphine and Udyr receive big nerfs in LoL patch 11.5
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Riot will be adjusting both Seraphine and Udyr. Both champions have been heavily represented in both competitive play and solo queue over the last few patches. Seraphine especially has been hard to deal with, as the pop star is viable in multiple lanes. This has made Seraphine a scary flex pick and close to a permanent ban in several competitive leagues.
Seraphine
- P – Stage Presence, ally notes deal 100 >> 25% damage
- P – Stage Presence, note decay after the first removed
- P – Stage Presence, note damage 4-16 >> 4/8/14/24
- R – Encore, cooldown 160-120 >> 180-120 seconds
To put Seraphine in a more balanced spot, Riot will be heavily targeting her Stage Presence. This passive has proven to be very strong, especially in the bot lane where Seraphine is constantly surrounded by an ally. Riot will also tone down the cooldown on her Encore in the early game, but will keep her strong scaling intact through her ultimate.
On paper, it looks like these changes will be enough to make room for other champions, but Seraphine could still be a viable pick moving forward.
Udyr
- Health per level 99 >> 92
- R – Phoenix Stance, total aura damage 50-275 >> 40-240
Udyr has been a contested pick in the jungle for most of season 11, and now a nerf has been called for. In the current meta, Udyr players are maxing Phoenix Stance to deal big burst damage and clear jungle camps in record-breaking times. It’s therefore only logical that Riot is targeting the damage on Phoenix Stance to make it easier for other junglers to keep up with Udyr. Udyr should still be in a playable spot after this, as his speed and potential to pressure in the early game will remain.
Rell gets toned down in LoL patch 11.5
- Base armor 35 >> 32
- W – Ferromancy, cooldown 11 >> 13 seconds (for both W cooldowns)
After her release in December of last year, Rell quickly made her way into the competitive meta. Professional players from all over the world are using Rell in the support position because of her tankiness and her great ability to engage. Pulling off a crowd control combo with Rell can spell disaster for the enemy team and will likely win games on its own.
Riot has kept track of Rell’s performance since release and it now seems to be time to nerf her. The nerf will target Rell’s base armor to make her less tanky in her early levels while also giving her a longer cooldown on both of her Ferromancy casts. The nerf might dethrone Rell as the queen of tanky supports, but likely still keep her viable.
Samira gets a bit of her power back on LoL patch 11.5
- Attack damage per level 2.3 >> 3
- Q – Flair, damage ratio 80-110% >> 80-120% total attack damage
Despite many significant nerfs on popular champions, Riot will be buffing Samira after giving her a huge nerf in patch 11.4. According to Scuffy, Samira got a bit overly nerfed in the last patch and she will be compensated for that. This will likely make some Samira fans happy, but this buff is nowhere near enough to bring her back to her previous state. Instead, it might be enough to merely get Samira back on track. On patch 11.4, Samira dipped all the way down to a 45.36% win rate in Platinum rank and higher, which is clearly too low for Riot’s comfort.
When is LoL patch 11.5 being released?
According to Riot Game’s patch schedule, 11.5 will be hitting the live servers on March 3. Until then, the changes will be available for testing on the Public Beta Environment (PBE).
