Riot is looking to buff Varus and nerf Ivern on patch 11.1

William Davis Published 05/01/2021

The preview for the first patch of Season 11, patch 11.1, has been out for some weeks now, but Riot recently added a few changes to the list. 

Riot will be starting out the new season with quite a big patch that includes both changes to champions and items. One of the most significant changes is the nerf to Grievous Wounds, which was already announced back in December. To add to the patch, gameplay design director Mark “Scuffy” Yetter announced that six champions have been added to get a hotfix in on the first day of the patch.  

Varus receiving buffs on patch 11.1

• Q – Piercing Arrow, mana cost 70-90 >> 65-85 mana
• Q – Piercing Arrow, cooldown 18-10 >> 16-10 seconds

Riot had already presented some solid buffs to Xayah for patch 11.1 but has decided to add Varus and Sivir to the list. Most notably is Varus, after having some rough patches with very poor win rates. 

After some crucial nerfs, Varus fell out of meta with a bang and hasn’t been seen since. Riot is looking to change that by bringing some of his strengths back, which is his ability to poke from afar, of course. By reducing his cooldown and mana cost on Piercing Arrow, Varus might be able to return to a poking style on Summoner’s Rift. 

As of patch 10.25, Varus is sitting at the worst win rate among marksmen at 46.42%. This is far too low so the buffs will be welcomed by Varus players. Varus is currently succeeding the most with a lethality build, which fits perfectly into the poke playstyle. Items such as Manamune, Duskblade of Draktharr, and The Collector, will therefore still be the way to go for Varus players on patch 11.1

Ivern getting toned down for season 11

• Q – Rootcaller, cooldown 12-8 >> 14-10 seconds
• E – Triggerseed, ability power ratio 90 >> 80%

From an underpowered champion to one who has been dominating solo queue on patch 10.25. Ivern isn’t usually a heavy hitter on Summoner’s Rift. But that changed towards the end of 2020. The Green Father has a win rate of 54.27%, which is by far the highest among any champion in the game. 

To tone the friendly jungler down a notch, Riot will be giving him a longer cooldown on his Rootcaller and adjusting the ability power ratio on Triggerseed. These nerfs will likely have an effect on Ivern, but he will still be able to be the supportive jungler that he is known to be. While some of his buffs from patch 10.25 are now reverted, Riot isn’t touching his ultimate Daisy!, which is currently one of his biggest strengths. 

Riot to shift burst into stats on patch 11.1

Since the preseason will officially be over when patch 11.1 hits, Riot is also looking to make last-minute adjustments for items. One of the changes includes shifting burst into stats on several items in the game. The Riot balance team has previously expressed that they want burst from item passives or actives to shift into stats, making players less reliable on item abilities. 

To make these adjustments, Riot will be targeting seven different items but the exact changes are still unknown. More information about the adjustments is likely announced through the official patch notes. 

Riot will be adjusting the following items: 

• Duskblade of Draktharr
• Prowler’s Claw
• Hextech Rocketbelt
• Night Harvester
• Trinity Force
• Goredrinker
• Stridebreaker

Patch 11.1 is set to hit all live servers on January 6, according to the LoL patch schedule. 

When does Season 11 start? 

With patch 11.1 right around the corner, the official start to season 11 is ready. The season will include the annually ranked reset and allow players to finally climb the ladder for real again. Season 11 is set to start on January 8, which is only two days after the first patch of the year hits. To follow the countdown, players can check out the LoL client to keep track of when the season will start. 

What is the current patch for LoL? 

The current patch for League of Legends is patch 10.25 as of the beginning of January 2021. The patch will only last for a few more days until the official season 11 patch hits to kick off the new season. This will be patch 11.1 and will be the start of a new season with lots of balance changes. Patch 11.1 will officially hit the live servers on Wednesday, January 6. 

Read Also

Esports Betting

Karmine Corp is the third LEC team to go winless against major regions at MSI Wasif Ahmed With their 0-3 defeat against Team Liquid, Karmine Corp is now the third LEC team to bomb out of the Mid-Season Invitational without taking a single game off of the top four regions. Before them were MAD Lions in 2023 and G2 Esports’ infamous debut run in 2016. NA, on the other hand, has only once gone winless against major regions. Karmine Corp's MSI 2026 run included taking down the ...

Esports Betting

G2 Esports reverse sweeps Top Esports at MSI 2026 Wasif Ahmed It starts with success, and Fnatic is now avenged. G2 Esports started the 2026 Mid-Season Invitational by beating Top Esports 3-2. After starting the series 0-2, they managed to pull off the first reverse sweep in main stage MSI history. The 2026 Mid-Season Invitational started with seven back-to-back 3-0 series. G2 finally broke that streak by beating TES in five games. In doing so, they also broke a much longer-standing ...

Esports Betting

Why are ranged top laners so common in League of Legends? Wasif Ahmed In League of Legends Season 2026, top lane has been filled with ranged champions. Outside of the usual few, marksmen and even control mages have found a new home in top. This change in meta is much to the displeasure of players who prefer facing tanks and bruisers. Why did ranged top laners become so frequent and how does one beat them? LoL has always had a few ranged characters ...

Esports Betting

Bilibili Gaming beats T1 at MSI 2026 Wasif Ahmed Bilibili Gaming faced T1 in round 1 of the 2026 Mid-Season Invitational. In five games, BLG took down the World champion. The LPL first seed now moves on to face LYON in round 2, while T1 goes to the lower bracket. BLG went up against the LCK’s second seed, and the match turned into a brawl, a rare sight for this tournament. That said, even though T1 won two games, ...

Esports Betting

BLG vs T1: Best betting odds and picks for MSI 2026 Hannan Mundia BLG and T1 are among the favorites to win the 2026 MSI tournament, which is why so many fans are anticipating their match in the bracket stage’s first round. After BLG’s performance at last year’s World Championship, those who haven’t kept up with the team’s performance may not expect much from it. However, with the LPL team’s revamped roster and strategic approach to League of Legends, there’s a good chance ...

Esports Betting

G2 Esports vs Top Esports: Best betting odds and picks for MSI 2026 Wasif Ahmed After Karmine Corp’s crushing defeat, the hopes of Europe turn to G2 Esports as they face Top Esports. For the LPL, this is their debut match as they seek to defend their current title of best region. The last time, TES won 3-1, while G2 went 3-0 the year before. For this year, here’s our G2 vs TES MSI 2026 prediction. Tournament: Mid-Season Invitational 2026 Stage: Bracket Stage Game: League ...

Esports Betting

League of Legends Classic will be back in 2026, here’s what we know Wasif Ahmed Riot has announced that League Classic will come out in Season 3 of 2026, as a game mode. League Classic is “old League of Legends”, the ability to play the game on a specific patch from over a decade ago. How much information do we have? What is League Classic, when will League Classic release, and what patch will it be for? Ever wanted to rediscover the old version of ...