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. 

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