Some League of Legends fans are wondering how LoL Patch 14.8 will impact the solo queue meta and whether Riot is taking their champions buffs a little bit too far.
League of Legends is getting a huge update with Patch 14.8. Multiple champions are getting buffed, while only a few are being nerfed. This has some players worried for the state of the game, with them believing that Riot is forcing some champions into the professional meta.
What is played in pro and in solo queue vastly differs, but some champions do overlap and some players think that what Riot is doing in Patch 14.8 might not be healthy for the game.
LoL Patch 14.8: Fans Believe Riot Is Forcing Champions Into Meta
A post on Reddit has gone viral in which a player expresses their worry over the huge change list in the LoL Patch 14.8 patch notes. They explained that some champions that are currently in a good state or at least playable in specific situations are getting undeserving buffs.
They noted that champions like Akali, Jarvan IV and Sylas are champions that have a place in the current meta, so it's a bit odd that the balance team has decided to buff them ahead of the 2024 Mid-Season Invitational. It's important to note that this post was made before Riot decided to remove the Yone and Gwen buffs, which had also been planned for the patch.
One person commented on the post, stating that some of these champion buffs Riot is making, are directly meant to counter specific champions that are currently OP. For example, Draven buffs could add more variety in the bot lane, since pro players quite often pick Varus and Kalista, two champions that Draven counters.
MSI buff section is worrying. by u/BlakenedHeart in leagueoflegends
By buffing the competition of these champions, rather than nerf them, they have counters, but also won't be completely useless in solo queue which is a good way to go about balance in League of Legends — without thinking too much about the potential of power creep though.
It'll be interesting to see whether these changes will impact the solo queue meta in any way as well, or if these picks stay solely in the pro-play bubble. Hopefully we get a lot of champion variance at MSI 2024.