Riot nerfs pro-level Champion due to high win-rate
In a response to the persistent dominance of the widely criticized League of Legends support champion, Yuumi in pro play, Riot Games has made a determined move.
Despite a lack of popularity among ranked players, Yuumi has been an undeniable force in professional play, achieving alarmingly high win- and pick-ban-rates even after a rework and several nerfs.
The Lead Designer for the League Balance Team, Matt Leung-Harrison, has addressed these concerns directly, stating even drastic changes are not out of the question.
The Nerfs
In the most recent patch 13.12 dropped this week, Yuumi's abilities have been adjusted in a bid to lower her early-game power. These changes, though seemingly slight, are expected to affect her performance considerably:
W – You And Me!: The 'Best Friend Bonus' has been scaled down to 5/7.5/10/12.5/15% (based on spell rank), from the original 10-20% (based on ally level).
E – Zoomies: The Shield Value is now 80/105/130/155/180 (+ 30% AP), a drop from the previous 90/120/150/180/210 (+30% AP). In addition, the Attack Speed Buff is now 25/27.5/30/32.5/35% (+ 8% per 100 AP), down from 35% (+8% per 100 AP).
R – Final Chapter: The 'Heal per Hit' is now at 25/40/55 (+ 15% AP), down from the earlier 35/50/65 (+15% AP).
These nerfs aim to weaken Yuumi's out-of-the-box strength, particularly her defensive capabilities, thus reducing her effectiveness in early-game scenarios while keeping her scaling consistent for now.
The Reason
Leung-Harrison elaborated on the reasons for the nerfs on Twitter, highlighting the overpowering duo of Zeri and Yuumi. In a thread, he explained, "Zeri, Yuumi are receiving significant nerfs in 13.12. We're not happy with their state in Pro and intend a meta shift away from enchanters (+Milio nerfs)."
He elaborated on how the pair benefited from the 13.10 and 13.11 patches, making Zeri too strong with the Tri-Force spike, while Yuumi showed high synergy with Helias. "Item changes have made both champs overtuned individually, which makes them especially overwhelming together," he explained.
Leung-Harrison, also known as Riot Phroxzon, pointed out that while Riot is optimistic about the champions' future and mechanics, his team believes a sub-50% win rate is a healthier spot for these characters.
His final tweet suggested an open-ended approach to future balancing, "We are open to more drastic changes if that doesn't work." This indicates Riot's commitment to maintaining balance in the game, even if it requires additional, more drastic steps.
It's clear that these measures are a reaction to Yuumi's unparalleled presence in professional play, where she has been either picked or banned in every LCK match and maintains a whopping 75% win rate in the LPL.
Fans should be happy to hear of these changes, given that voices from within the community had pointed out the oppressive nature of Yuumi in pro-play just earlier this week.
