Riot Games has always had a problem balancing new champions coming to League of Legends. Since the early seasons, the developer has been accused of knowingly creating characters that are too powerful in an effort to make them popular and attract players' attention . A habit that changed after the releases of Aphelios, Senna and Sett. After seeing the gigantic problems these characters caused in the game, the studio decided to change their working philosophy and promised to think long term. Since then, new champions, much more balanced, have arrived. However, in Season 12, something changed again.
League of Legends suffers with each new character
A new champion who arrives in Summoner's Rift with too much power can sometimes cause problems but also be a simple mistake that will be quickly corrected by the studio. However, the recent problems caused by Bel'Veth and the form that Nilah is taking are beginning to confirm a trend. A new power reduction was recently announced as a hotfix for Void Empress, and Nilah is currently receiving the same treatment on the PBE. Looking at the changes to champions releasing in 2022, it's easy to see that Riot Games has a big problem.
In the chart below, you'll see the nerfs each champion released in Season 12 received over their first five patches. This figure will be compared to the sum total of power reductions that characters released in 2021 received during the same period.
|
Champion |
Exit |
Nerfs |
|---|---|---|
 Bel'Veth |
12.11 |
2 |
 Renata Glasc |
12.9 |
3 |
 Zeri |
12.2 |
5 |
 Vex + Akshan + Gwen + Viego |
2021 |
2 |
The table is actually quite telling. If the 2021 champions have been nerfed, power cuts have become the norm in the new season . Renata Glasc was the most balanced champion in Season 12, yet she racked up more nerfs in her first five patches than Vex, Akshan, Gwen, and Viego combined. Granted, these champions weren't perfect and featured some very frustrating mechanics. However, statistically speaking, they have always maintained more modest win rates which in some cases do not even reach 50%.
Nilah could be Riot Games' next problem
This trend should continue with the next release. All the tests we have been able to do show that Nilah is an overpowered heroine. A situation on which Riot Games seems to agree with the community. Although she's still on the PBE, the studio has announced several nerfs that will attempt to avert disaster when she officially joins League of Legends. Interestingly, Zeri has also undergone such tweaks without the developers failing to achieve the expected results.
A
AD ratio decreased: 80/100/120/140/160% → 0/100/110/120/130%
Area damage against monsters reduced to 10%
R
Damage per tick reduced: 50% → 35%
Last hit damage decreased: 200% → 120% bonus damage
Healing against monsters and minions reduced to 10%
The truth is that the change Nilah suffered on the PBE is quite significant . The developer reduced his ability to clear the jungle, which was quite terrifying, but also reduced some of his best damage or healing. An omen which is not necessarily a good omen and which indicates how powerful she was. In fact, the developers don't change the balance based on the PBE data, unless the first feedback on the test server is alarming.
It's easy for some champions to shine in competitive play and cause Riot Games big problems in the long run. We can also understand cases like that of Zeri, who arrived in League of Legends by making the most of a combination of objects that the developers had not considered. However, the studio seems to have abandoned the plan that allowed us to take advantage of spectacular but balanced champions in terms of victory rate to create real monsters that can put the game in great difficulty.
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