Hecarim and Udyr to receive buffs, Jarvan IV and Irelia among champions to be nerfed in League Patch 11.20

Since League of Legends Patch 11.19 focused heavily on professional play and the upcoming 2021 World Championships, Riot is taking a step back and taking the Patch 11.20 to look at some glaring issues that have been plaguing solo queue for some time.

Riot Phlox, designer on the Summoner’s Rift team for League, revealed that Riot would finally be taking a look at some of the most powerful champions that have ravaged solo queue over the past few patches. In their place, some picks that have gone in and out of the meta throughout the year are planned to be given some relevance back.

In the top lane, Irelia, Shen, and Singed are all set to receive nerfs. While Shen and Singed nerfs may seem unprecedented, Irelia has been one of the strongest top lane/mid lane flex picks since her mini-rework earlier this year. Though Riot attempted to give players more counterplay against her, she has consistently been an issue when allowed to snowball and she has access to immense amounts of healing.

Jarvan IV and Taliyah are the targets of jungle nerfs, which should come as no surprise to solo queues players over the last two patches. The win rates of both champions have soared thanks to a growing gank-focused meta and their potential to roam freely around the jungle, escaping harm with ease. According to OP.GG, both Jarvan and Taliyah have maintained more than a 50 percent win rate in Patches 11.18 and 11.19, accompanied by massive jumps in their pick rates during that time.

Amumu is also listed as receiving nerfs next patch, though this probably isn’t for his performance in the jungle. Rather, these nerfs may target his power in the support role, where he has established himself as one of the best supports in the current meta thanks to the addition of another charge of his Q. While Riot probably won’t take away this additional Q due to Amumu’s struggle in the jungle, its cooldown or mana cost will likely be the target of nerfs.

Shaking up the jungle seems to be Riot’s game plan for Patch 11.20. Within the handful of champions planned to receive buffs, Elise, Hecarim, and Udyr are all listed. Although Hecarim and Udyr aren’t very powerful in the current meta, the last time they received buffs resulted in some of the least jungle diversity the game has seen in years, especially in pro play. The extent to which these two junglers will be buffed has yet to be confirmed, but previous experience shows that too much tuning on these champions, in particular, may be detrimental to a healthy jungle meta.

Meanwhile, Elise has been sitting in the shadows for a bit too long, and will hopefully be welcomed back into the overall jungle pool. She and the other jungle champions will be joined by an increase in the healing offered by Smite, which will allow more fragile junglers like her to better clear camps without having to base right afterward.

The last two champions on the buff radar are Darius and Senna, both powerful champions on their own that have not necessarily been bad picks in their respective roles. Riot has deemed these two champions worthy of solo queue help, and details of which should be revealed tomorrow.

The only item being changed in this patch is Lord Dominik’s Regards, an item occasionally built by marksmen to counter high-armor champions like Malphite. The power in this item comes from its armor penetration, though it is unlikely that stat will be touched with these buffs. Marksman items have been a big target of buffs and nerfs throughout the 2021 season, with many like Lord Dominik’s being niche buys for players.

The extent of the buffs and nerfs in this League Patch 11.20 preview are unknown but are likely to be revealed in the coming days. These changes listed are tentative and subject to change prior to Patch 11.20’s release on Oct. 6.

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