Riot Games previewed the next patch for League of Legends – LoL Patch 12.16 – which is the first Worlds-Dedicated patch.

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LoL Patch 12.16: Zeri Gets Nerfed in First Worlds Dedicated Patch

Sadakshi Kalyan Ramun
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Highlights
Riot Games previewed the next patch for League of Legends – LoL Patch 12.16 – which is the first Worlds-dedicated patch.
It is nerfing overpowered champions like Zeri and Yuumi and buffing neglected ADCs like Caitlyn and Kai’Sa.

Riot Games shared the patch preview for the first Worlds-dedicated patch of the year, on 16th August, and it has some major changes planned. League of Legends (LoL) Patch 12.16 is seemingly targeting most champions that performed really well in the Summer Splits across regions including Zeri, Poppy, and Draven, and is also amping up the powers of underperformers like Caitlyn and Kai’Sa. Regions across the globe are winding up their respective League of Legends Esports Summer Splits and are close to determining their Worlds representatives.

Lead designer on game balance Matt “Phroxzon” Leung-Harrison wrote on Twitter, “12.16! The first of our World's focused patches. Since some Leagues are still qualifying for Worlds on this patch, we're holding the more speculative changes for 12.17. Looking to tap down a few outliers and bump up others, with Diana nerfs to tank and buffs to AP builds.

The company is holding off speculative changes since some regions could play their Summer split or playoffs on LoL Patch 12.16.


Nerfs in LoL Patch 12.16

Four champions are getting nerfed on LoL Patch 12.16 and they are as follows:

  • Zeri

  • Draven

  • Poppy

  • Yuumi

Notably, all four champions were pivotal in the Summer Split where teams found great value in these picks. Let’s take a quick look at the stats for the champions in Summer in pro play.

The data is sourced from Games of Legends and includes Summer split games from the top regions of LCK, LPL, LEC, and LCS.

Zeri

  • Pick/Ban rate: 81.5%

  • Win rate: 59.5%

  • KDA ratio: 5.9

Draven

  • Pick/Ban rate: 25.8%

  • Win rate: 50.8%

  • KDA ratio: 3.8

Poppy

  • Pick/Ban rate: 53.1%

  • Win rate: 59.7%

  • KDA ratio: 3.8

Yuumi

  • Pick/Ban rate: 42.6%

  • Win rate: 57.4%

  • KDA ratio: 7.1

Additionally, Riot is also addressing the tank Diana and is nerfing that build path and buffing her ability power (AP) ratios. So, after LoL Patch 12.16, players will have to prioritize going AP items on the champions.


LoL Patch 12.16: Buffs

The following champions are getting buffed in LoL Patch 12.16, in an attempt to nudge and shake up the Worlds meta:

  • Tristana

  • Zoe

  • Irelia

  • Caitlyn

  • Kai’Sa

  • Jayce

  • Vladimir

  • Malphite

We have not seen many Caitlyn or Kai’Sa picks in the bottom lane since the meta shifted towards Zeri, Sivir, and Aphelios now and then. It makes sense for Riot to nerf Zeri and buff attack damage carry (ADC) champions like Caitlyn so that players lean towards them heading into Worlds 2022. In addition to these champions, Evenshroud is also getting some love, and this could lead to more tanky support picks in the bottom lane.

LoL Patch 12.16 is scheduled to go live on the servers on 24th August, according to Riot Games. Worlds 2022 is scheduled to kick off on 29th September with the Play-ins tournament stage. These changes on paper look promising and present the possibility of a meta change in the bottom lane and with subsequent patches, the general outlook of Worlds and drafting will become evident.



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Sadakshi has been a gamer throughout her life and has followed League of Legends since Season 3, immediately falling in love with the esports scene. Bringing in her print journalism experience, she focuses on content that is both informative and innovative. While her heart still remains with League, her love for competition has pushed her to explore other titles such as Valorant and Apex Legends.

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