Brand Buffs Pulled From LoL Patch 26.14 as Mages Ruin Bot Lane

Riot Games’ lead gameplay designer for League of Legends, Matt ‘Phroxzon’ Leung-Harrison, has released a full preview of LoL Patch 26.14.

The next update will feature plenty of buffs and nerfs to champions and in-game systems, including the first nerfs for new champion Locke.

However, planned buffs to Brand in the jungle have been pulled from the patch following the LoL community’s frustration with mage botlaners.

Mages are seeing increasing levels of play at the ongoing LoL MSI esports tournament, and Riot claims it’s healthy for the game despite community backlash.

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Phroxzon Address Bot Lane Mages

Phroxzon admitted that mages in the bot lane is a “contentious topic” but says Riot are not looking to stop it in the upcoming patch.

“We see mages bot as creating healthy diversity for the bot lane experience overall (roughly 4:1 ratio of traditional marksmen to mages), even though for some traditional marksmen, they can be quite frustrating,” Phroxzon explained.

He added that he believes LoL players need to see variety:

“It’s important that players experience a mix of games at high intensity (eg. Playing adc against Rengar/Talon + mages bot) and also games that are more comfortable and low threat (maybe Ivern jungle) as it creates the variety and flow state that keeps the game fun.”

And while Mages currently sport high win rates bot, Phroxzon claims this doesn’t tell the full story:

“Mages, especially simple ones like Brand, Veigar, or Swain, for example, have quite shallow mastery curves… ADCs, by contrast, are typically harder to play but also reward that mastery depth more, meaning their winrates are relatively suppressed compared to mages bot.”

League of Legends Patch 26.14 Preview

• CHAMPION BUFFS
• Azir
• Corki
  • AD Growth: 2 ⇒ 2.5
  • R Passive CD reduction on auto: 2-4 seconds ⇒ 2-6 seconds
• Mordekaiser
  • R Stat Steal: 10% ⇒ 13%
  • E Damage: 60-120 (+40% AP) ⇒ 60-140 (+45% AP)
• Nami
  • E damage: 20-60 per hit (60-180 total) ⇒ 20/35/50/65/80 (60-240 total)
• Yunara
• CHAMPION NERFS
• Garen
  • R True Damage: 150/250/350 (+25/30/35% of target’s missing health) ⇒ 125/200/275 (missing health same)
• Jayce
  • P Movespeed on form swap: 40 MS for 0.75 seconds ⇒ 30 MS
• R Hammer Resists: 5/15/25/35 (+7.5% bonus AD) ⇒ 5/12/19/26 (+7.5% AD)
• Locke
  • Q Nail Damage: 50-90 ⇒ 50-82
  • Q Stack Base Bonus Damage: 20-60 ⇒ 18-50
  • Q Nail Recast Hold Time: 5 Seconds ⇒ 4 Seconds
• Senna
  • W Base Grey Health Cap per Rank: 40-200 ⇒ 40-160
  • Crit Damage Modifier: -15% ⇒ -20%
  • Q AP Slow: 10% per 100 AP ⇒ 7% per 100 AP
  • Q AP Healing: +50% AP ⇒ +35% AP
• Seraphine
  • Q Damage AP Ratio: 50% ⇒ 40%
• SYSTEM BUFFS
• Blue Buff
  • 10AH ⇒ Level scaling AH (lvl 1/6/11 AH 10/15/20)
• SYSTEM NERFS
• Hextech Rocketbelt
  • Build Path: Alternator + Codex + Tome + 300 + Alternator + Kindlegem + Ruby + 350
  • Active CD: 40s ⇒ 50s
  • Stats: 70 AP ⇒ 60 AP
  • 300 HP ⇒ 350 HP
• Immortal Path (Gluttonous Greaves Mid Quest Upgrade)
  • Now and Forever: 5% Damage Increase, 15% Increased Healing/Shielding/Regen ⇒ 4% Damage Increased, 12% Increased Healing
• Jack of All Trades
• Adaptive at 5 and 10 Jack Stacks: 10, 25 ⇒ 6, 20
• Protoplasam Harness
  • Cost: 2500 ⇒ 2600 Bonus
  • Health: 200-300 ⇒ 100-300
  • Healing: 200-400 ⇒ 00-400

Do you think Mages are good for bot lane variety or too frustrating to face? Let us know on the Insider Gaming Discord.

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