Phreak plans to make melee supports meta in LoL patch 13.3

The support meta in pro play has been focused on ranged damage dealers and Enchanters. Phreak is making some big changes in LoL patch 13.3 to shake up the pro meta before it gets stale.

The current support meta in pro play is one of the most unique we’ve ever seen in League of Legends’ competitive history. It’s been hard to track every strange pick players have tried out on stage.

What started with Ashe and Heimer support at the end of Season 12 has gradually evolved into things like BeryL picking Jhin and culminated in Keria picking Caitlyn and Kalista.

As a follow-up to the already substantial ADC changes cooked up and delivered by Phreak in patch 13.1B, he’s got a plan to bring tank support champions back into the meta for patch 13.3.

Phreak brings support meta shakeup in LoL patch 13.3

Support is a role that often attracts playmakers and people with an eye for when to start a fight. Players like CoreJJ, Kaiser, and Hylissang have had many career-defining moments while piloting champions designed from the ground up to start fights.

According to Phreak’s video outlining his goals with the support changes coming on LoL patch 13.3, he’s targeting a “healthy pro play meta.” But what defines a healthy pro play meta?

Phreak aims to get at least a 50/50 split between ranged and melee supports but would be fine with it going to 70/30 in favor of melee supports. He’s setting out to end a bot lane meta where pros are worried about either drafting a lane that can push and dominate early on or a lane where the ADC is set up to be a hypercarry with an Enchanter.

Phreak has also released a full set of provisional notes for many support champions. Many of these proposed changes were altered or removed entirely ahead of patch 13.3, so the below notes aren’t current. However, seeing the difference between what Phreak proposed and what actually made it to live servers makes this set of notes worth preserving. Be sure to check out the full 13.3 notes to see what made it to the live servers.

Alistar

Passive: Triumphant Roar

• Self-heal: 23-142 (scaling with level) >>> 5% max health
• Ally healing: 46-284 >>> 6% of Alistar’s max health

Q: Pulverize

• Mana cost: 55-75 >>> 50-70
• AP ratio: 50% >>> 70%

W: Headbutt

• Mana cost: 65-85 >>> 50-70
• AP ratio: 70% >>> 90%

E: Trample

• 50-90 >>> 50-70
• AP ratio: 4% per tick >>> 7% per tick

Braum

Base Stats

• Base health regen: 8.5 >>> 10
• Base health: 610 >>> 640

Passive: Concussive Blows

• Consecutive blows target immunity: 8/6/4 seconds at lvl 1/7/13 >>> 8/6/4 seconds at lvl 1/6/11

Q: Winter’s Bite

• Cooldown: 10-6 >>> 8-6

Nautilus

Passive: Staggering Blow

• Bonus damage: 8-110 >>> 14-116

W: Titan’s Wrath

• Mana cost: 80 >>> 60
• Shield base health: 40-80 >>> 50-90

E: Riptide

• Magic damage: 55-175 + 30% AP >>> 55-195 + 50% AP

Pantheon

Base Stats

• Attack speed at lvl 1: .644 >>> .658

Q: Comet Spear

• Mana cost: 30 >>> 25
• Cooldown: 13-8 >>> 11-7

Pyke

Q: Bone Skewer

• Attack damage scaling: 60% >>> 100%

E: Phantom Undertow

• Damage: 105-225 >>> 105-265

Rakan

Q: Gleaming Quill

• Damage: 70-250 + 70% AP >>> 70-290 + 90% AP
• Heal: 30-115 >>> 40-210

W: Battle Dance

• AP ratio: 70% >>> 80%

Thresh

Passive: Damnation

• AP and Armor per stack: 1 >>> 1.25

Q: Death Sentence

• Damage: 100-260 +50% AP >>> 100-280 +75% AP

W: Dark Passage

• Cooldown: 22-16 >>> 21-17

E: Flay

• Cooldown: 13-10 >>> 12-10
• AP ratio: 40% >>> 60%

While there’s a distinct possibility that some of these changes may need to be rescinded if added AP ratios on some of these champions make them viable in other lanes or the jungle (a possibility Phreak acknowledged in his patch breakdown), these changes are sure to breathe some new life into the role on LoL patch 13.3.