Why has Nocturne dropped out of solo lanes in LoL patch 11.14?
Patch 11.14 has rolled out in League of Legends and brought some big power shifts, particularly to Nocturne.
After dominating the solo queue ladder during patch 11.13, Nocturne has now taken a big hit after recent changes to his passive and the Stridebreaker item. These changes were made by Riot to get Nocturne out of the solo lanes and back into the jungle. So far, this has been a success as Nocturne is currently performing best in the jungle while his win rate in the top lane has plummeted.
One of the ways for Riot to get Nocturne out of the solo lanes was by targeting his Umbra Blades passive. So far, Nocturne has been great in lane because he could shove out waves with his AOE damage. A lot of that AOE damage came from his passive, which has gotten a 50% decrease in damage and healing towards minions. This was the first change that forced Nocturne players to look towards the jungle again.
Stridebreaker nerf in patch 11.14 has affected Nocturne
Another big reason for Nocturne’s power shift is the big changes that Riot released for the Stridebreaker item. Together with many other top laners, Nocturne has been a frequent user of Stridebreaker because of its solid stats and AOE active.
Riot has nerfed this item several times, including a big one in patch 11.13 where the Stridebreaker dash was removed completely. While this affected a lot of bruisers, it wasn’t enough to scare away Nocturne completely. In patch 11.14, Riot returned with more changes by adjusting the stats of the item. The biggest change was to the Halting Slash slow, which now slows for 40% flat. Beforehand, this slow was much stronger right off the bat which was great for a champion like Nocturne.
With his passive and Stridebreaker nerfed over the past few patches, it looks like Riot has finally found a way to force Nocturne back into the jungle. As of right now, Nocturne is performing well in the jungle with a 51.33% win rate and is clearly still a solid champion. For the solo lanes, Nocturne is no longer tracked as a mid laner in Platinum ranks and higher and has dropped to a horrible 47.78% win rate in the top lane.
For now, it looks like Riot has succeeded in its mission to balance out Nocturne. If more changes are coming to Nocturne, it’s likely targeted towards the jungle.
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