League of Legends design director Andrei ‘Meddler’ van Roon has revealed what changes Riot are looking to implement in Patch 9.11.
The current live patch is 9.9, but before 9.10 has even arrived Riot are already working on adjustments for the following update.
While the adjustments are still subject to change, and the patch will also likely feature several more minor updates, Meddler has given an outline of the bigger changes that players can expect to see in Patch 9.11.
Hero changes
Meddler highlights potential changes to champions for the 9.11 patch, although he also states that the developers feel “there aren’t any large widespread balance issues at present”, and so any adjustments made will likely be fairly minor, rather than sweeping overhauls.
In particular, it seems likely that new champion Yuumi will receive a balance update in the wake of her release, as it’s typically the case with new characters that they aren’t immediately perfectly balanced for the whole playerbase.
Likewise, it’s possible that Aatrox will once again be considered for adjustments. Aatrox has had a lot of attention since the end of Season 8, with Riot trying to find a balance that makes him viable in normal play without being overpowered at the pro level. Though Meddler says he’s now “looking ok” following Patch 9.9, it’s possible some more minor tweaks could be in store once they see how he performs in pro play.
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Riot are also apparently working on an update for Wukong, with changes likely to hit the Public Beta Environment (PBE) in the week beginning May 13.
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Finally, Patch 9.11 will likely also feature follow-up adjustments in the wake of Patch 9.10’s update to Guinsoo’s Rageblade, which will have Phantom Hit reduced to every three attacks instead of every two, and the armor penetration changed to a flat 15% regardless of level. Once Riot have had a chance to see how these changes affect particular champions, there may well be specific champion changes to compensate where necessary.
Progress on Clash
Meddler also says Patch 9.11 should come with an update for Clash, League of Legends’ long-awaited built-in tournament system. The trailer for Clash, seen above, was released in May 2018, but nearly a year later the feature is still yet to be fully implemented, although there have been several tests.
Fans looking for an even more competitive experience than ranked play should soon have more information on “the plan going forward”, and Riot have apparently been “heads down working through some technical stuff” to get the feature ready.