When we think about the strength of a League of Legends champion, we usually pay attention to their abilities and stats. A detailed vision and a little mathematical knowledge can help us draw very quick conclusions to predict the relative strength on the Rift.
However, when doing so, we rarely consider the value of movement speed.
League of Legends' most underrated stat
One of the problems with movement speed is that, generally, it doesn't directly affect the feeling of playing a champion. It's one of the most subtle nerfs Riot have implemented, but also one of the most powerful -- as has been shown in several particular cases.
In fact, along with range changes, move speed is one of the areas where the developer is more cautious when making adjustments.
The problem with this is that many players have a hard time seeing the significance of the stat. However, one member of the League community has now drawn attention with a mathematical example.
They assure other players that the problem is not the time it takes to travel a certain distance.
The importance of movement speed
Movement speed is important for tasks such as spacing, abilty casting, fleeing, or chasing down opponents. Higher movement speed will make it easier to escape ambushes, and can make a difference in many more phases of the game than you might think.
Using a change coming to Illaoi in the next patch -- which will see her become one of the fastest champions -- we can draw several general conclusions.
Take the example of Illaoi chasing down Irelia, who has 45 units of advantage. Normally, this would take Illaoi nine seconds, with 3015 units traveled by both champions. After the change, this becomes three seconds and 1005 units traveled.
A frequent situation in the toplane sees Illaoi's capabilities improved by 66%, And there's more -- Illaoi will now be able to hit marksmen more effectively, while taking fewer auto-attacks in trades.
This situation can be generalized:
How much would Twisted Fate improve if he had to walk two seconds instead of four in order to land a successful Gold Card? In higher ranks of League of Legends, the champion is even built with Rapidfire Cannon, having to spend gold to achieve the same effect. Freeing up that gold would be massive.
In similar examples, Rek'Sai could gain quicker takedowns, and Alistar would have more facilities to connect with his Pulverize.
On paper, this is a solid conclusion with an important theoretical foundation. Should Riot confirm these move speed changes in the coming days, we could see the changes in the very next patch.
SOURCE
We've got all the details for the next League of Legends patch — and this is the first patch of the Sentinels of Light event, meaning there are a lot of new skins.
