Cover-Credits:
It seems like Riot Games is preparing in advance before the month-long break in March. It had already announced that it was pausing normal operations to connect, reflect, and discuss its goals through company-wide meetings. Due to this, the next League of Legends patch – LoL Patch 12.6 – is scheduled to hit the live servers on 30th March. Earlier on 2nd March, LoL Patch 12.5 was released and it brought much-needed changes for Master Yi and Hullbreaker. Unfortunately, the Yi nerfs did not translate well and his win rates soared in ranked matches. To combat this, Riot mid-patch introduced hotfix nerfs for him.
Now, as players are getting ready to grind after these mid-patch update changes, Riot revealed that there will be yet another mid-patch update coming on 9th March. Dubbed LoL Patch 12.5b, this micropatch has some big-name champions on the chopping board for nerfs coupled with a handful of attack-damage carry (ADC) champions getting buffs. Game designer Ezra “Phlox” Lynn took to Twitter to share the preview of LoL Patch 12.5b earlier today on 8th March.
He wrote, “Hey hey, it's 12.5b preview time! 12.5b is the scheduled micropatch we're putting out Wednesday to do some balance adjustments before the longer break.”
He also added that moving forward the patch previews would be getting juggled around between him and a few other people starting from the next update.
Which champions are getting nerfed in LoL Patch 12.5b?
According to Lynn’s tweet, the champions that are getting nerfed in this LoL Patch 12.5b are:
Ryze
Zeri
Jinx
Aphelios
Interestingly, these champions have all been finding success on the rift in pro matches. If you have been following the esports scene of League of Legends across multiple regions, it is a no-brainer to pick Aphelios and Jinx in the bottom lane. Likewise, the Fimbulwinter Ryze build has also been very oppressive in this current meta. Also, Zeri being on this list does not come as a surprise at this point. On 3rd March, Lead Champion Designer August “August” Browning said Riot was looking to further nerf Zeri since her win rates are still very high.
Browning wrote on Twitter, “Zeri the carry's win rate is still scary. We're working on nerfs to make her more fair.”
The goals he listed were as follows:
Lower overall damage and mobility
Shift damage out of base Attack Damage (AD) to decrease power with Sheen
Shift armor scaling into health (makes her Passive shielding and HP purchases worse)
Champions getting buffed in LoL Patch 12.5b
According to the list put out by Lynn, these are the champions that are getting buffed in this micropatch:
Master Yi
Varus
Draven
Ashe
Lucian
ADCs like Varus, Ashe, Draven, and Lucian could be getting buffed because these champions do not have a place in the current meta with Jinx, Aphelios, and Zeri dominating the rift.
Interestingly, Riot is buffing Master Yi after it just hotfix nerfed him through the mid-patch update on 4th March. Currently, his win rate is 49.47% in Platinum and higher tiers, according to U.GG.
Lastly, Riot is also giving the item Locket of the Iron Solari a system adjustment. This item is usually a hot favorite for many supports since it gives a ton of resistance for the player and their team. The nitty-gritties of this micropatch shall be known once it goes live on 9th March.
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