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Patch Chat with the Playtest Team - 6.21, wrapping up Season 6

RiotAesah·10/19/2016, 7:45:07 PM·1 votes·79,720 views

NOTE: this is to discuss the current patch, not our crazy pre-season stuff! For that, head over to our PBE boards:http://boards.pbe.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/champions-gameplay-feedback

Hey guys! Welcome to Patch Chat, a Dev Corner thread we make to talk about our new patches every two weeks: http://na.leagueoflegends.com/en/news/game-updates/patch/patch-621-notes

I'm Aesah on Riot's Playtest Team, a group of Diamond+ players who play with the new champions, reworks, balance tweaks, items, and map updates before they are released. It's our job to the test the changes that our designers come up with and ensure that we're introducing positive changes to LoL in terms of both balance and fun. We'll be watching this thread to answer as many questions as we can.

This will be our last patch in Season 6, before we hit some MASSIVE changes in 6.22. So for now in 6.21, we're cleaning up some major bugs, and also adjusting some abilities on Nidalee, Graves, Nunu, Kog'Maw, and Nasus. Nidalee is getting a pretty hefty nerf due to her high winrate amongst experienced players as well as her dominance in competitive play. On the other hand, we've given Nasus defensive stat buffs in exchange for damage which we expect to be a fairly significant buff to him. Another thing worth mentioning is that Ivern players were struggling so we hotfixed a buff for him. Additionally, Zac's E has a more clear indicator which is actually pretty significant to his gameplay.

All of us on the Playtest Team are avid gamers so feel free to talk to us as fellow LoL players!

Adam "Afic" Cohen Ben “Cezium” Burkhardt Don “Aesah” Ding Nicolas “Gleeb” Haddad Dan “penguin” Hardison Miles “Daydreamin” Hoard Bao “Bao” Lam Robert “ROBERTxLEE” Lee Nicholas “Nickwu” Smith Blake “S0be” Soberanis Trevor “ThEntropist” Thernes

97 Comments

RiotAD Yuumi10/20/2016, 1:31:00 AM6 votes

Who is your favorite Blitzcrank player?

carlmoby10/19/2016, 8:44:07 PM6 votes

I thought that the Harrowing update would be in the 6.21 patch (today). Was I wrong?

LaughingStapler10/19/2016, 10:22:55 PM5 votes

Are you guys planning on doing anything for Ziggs Ziggs ? He's really bad the higher ELO you go (very unreliable when players can dodge) and also just doesn't scale well. I lose more games late on Ziggs than I do on even LB or Corki. He has low snowball potential since he offers no kill pressure in lane and doesn't even have a great late game to make up for it.

Applicative10/20/2016, 12:27:12 AM4 votes

So what are you going to do about Ashe?

I understand the change in the last patch - you wanted to amplify her utility while decreasing her damage. But that's not what happened. Her utility was also heavily decreased until she either gets level 9 and a bunch of CDR, or at least 50% crit. The problem is that her critical slow is too uncommon (or the duration is too short) to be useful utility in the early game when it only comes from the previously-nerfed Volley or critical hits. Neither crits nor volley are up often enough for her to have useful utility early game. Level 1-5, she just doesn't have the items or cooldown on Volley to anything except try to farm safely. At level 6, Enchanted Crystal Arrow gives her some useful utility, but not much to do while it's on cooldown. It's only when she can either crit regularly or cast Volley every few seconds that she can meaningfully contribute more than ECA to her team.

The nerfs added up to too much. Are you going to restore some of her power, or just leave her as an afterthought for a while?

Joshsuo10/20/2016, 3:51:09 AM4 votes

Are Yasuo mains like me people too? :-3 [slayer-pantheon-thumbs]

ThatGingerAgain10/19/2016, 9:15:44 PM4 votes

What is yall's favorite part about this current patch? Also, what was the hardest part of creating this patch? Just curious since I know pretty much nothing about the whole process. <3 you all![slayer-jinx-catface]

MonkeyTheGiant10/19/2016, 9:04:08 PM4 votes

As a Nunu main I was so sad to see him getting buffed last patch because I knew he would be too strong. What was the reason for buffing him when u knew you'd just have to nerf him instantly after?

Mega MilkJugs10/19/2016, 10:09:58 PM3 votes

When can i play Devil Teemo? I am aching to reveal my true form.

Marvels Stan Lee10/19/2016, 9:56:50 PM3 votes

Hey guys!

I'm a big fan of Patch chat and read the thread every day one pops up. Got some questions for you guys.

where do you think Ivern ACTUALLY stands (aside from in the brush like always) in terms of power as a champ rn? his win rate is three trashy from what I've observed, but im having a hard time knowing how much of that to account to peoples unfamiliarity with him in my various speculations.

Do you think the hot fix will be enough to get him into a decent spot? it focused alot on his base stats, which were for sure a little weak, but it seemed to me like a few changes to his skills (risky as they may be) would be what it takes to get him in a good place.

This might be a bit of a weird question but, how "ready" do you think league is for a champ like Ivern, as a game? i personally love instances of design which shake things up, but the game is to a certain extent rigid in what is determined as viable for an overall composition, given how defined specific roles are. whenever i looked at a composition i had with "The Vern" Ivern (that's what i call him) as a participating member, it for sure switched up the balance of tank to C.C. damage to utility and etc. in this process i couldn't help but get the feeling that the current architecture of team roles (as well as the role of jungler at large) wasn't really quite as prepared to accommodate him, i realize that anything missing in a team can be compensated for by other roles as with literally any other pick in the game, but it really felt like it was more substantial with him than many other champions at the moment. His clearing style, gank method, and the rather quirky style of input into team fights just seemed to shake up the lava lamp that is this games structure what are your thoughts on this? Am i just nuts? provided this is the case, what can we do to make his pick more "ecosystem friendly"? for lack of a better term

Thanks a ton!

Tempist10/20/2016, 1:00:54 AM2 votes

If you guys are going to buff Nasus, would it be feasible to see some Tryndamere buffs in the near future? Nasus was already a hard enough counter, before getting stronger. :D

I'm not looking for something ridiculous, but just a buff to deal with Tryndamere's worst weakness - his susceptibility to getting kited. Something as simple as +5 base movement speed, and maybe a 30% slow resistance (maybe even including attack speed slows) for the duration of his ultimate will go a long way towards making the champion feel better in the lategame.

With so many unfavorable matchups nowadays, anything from Nasus to Kennen to Jayce, Trynd players are forced to teamfight far more than any previous season. And while the champion will never be a strong 5v5 champion, the proposed changes would go a long way towards making teamfights a little less painful.

Spideraxe10/19/2016, 10:37:08 PM2 votes

Do you think these toned down Nunu consume changes will hold him till he gets a rework

Serpents Queen10/20/2016, 12:58:01 AM2 votes

are the legacy skins coming back this year? ( halloween skins )?

A Dragons Heart10/19/2016, 9:03:31 PM2 votes

I don't get the Nasus changes... He is already tanky enough.

legendarytiger10/20/2016, 7:10:26 PM1 votes

That spinning wheel in the loading screen may seem small and insignificant, but its very comforting to know when your client is actually frozen, or just loading normally.

one feedy boi10/19/2016, 9:02:45 PM1 votes

Just wondering:

Why is TP still in the game

Daetnas10/19/2016, 9:12:45 PM1 votes

Hello Playtest team!

I'd like to ask you some questions about the Kog'Maw revert and what it could mean for him in the future:

First: Now that you decided to revert the W changes and buff his R back as well, what kind of a marksman do you see him as strategically? Is he an artillery champion like Xerath, caster/ADC like Corki or Ezreal or a hypercarry like Jinx? A bit of a hybrid perhaps?

Do you think protect the Kog teamcomps could make a comeback in the competitive scene in the foreseeable future?

How reliant on his teammates should an ideal version of Kog'Maw be? Can he be balanced for solo players and for competitive teams building a team around him at the same time?

Is AP Kog'Maw especially hard to balance compared to other artillery champions like Xerath or Varus? Is it a build you're okay with or will you shoot it down If it gets popular again?

Oh and thanks for your hard work, I think you guys are doing an amazing job and getting better and better at balancing this game in general, this year's worlds patch was the most enjoyable and balanced in a while!

gyyyr10/19/2016, 11:39:51 PM1 votes

how did you decide which factors make doombots harder or easier? Or asked differently, what changes between doombots lvl 100 and doombots lvl 1?

Did anyone of you manage to beat doombots lvl 100? If yes, did you think about making it even harder?

LuxRainbows10010/20/2016, 12:01:37 AM1 votes

Hey riot is it Ok if i ask some questions..if u don't want to look a t questions that is fine don't look at this

Are you guys reworking all assassins??? Like secondary assassins
HOW ARE YOU ABLE TO MAKE DOOM BOTS DO YOU JUST ADD MODS OR SOMETHING

Emojay10/20/2016, 4:19:55 AM1 votes

When will Evelynn get a visual rework? And maybe an ult change as well. While the shield does help her tank up damage, it seems kinda.. out of place? I guess? But seriously, a visual upgrade, and then a 1350 skin that is high quality. Maybe blood moon, program, or a solid snake is one, where when she goes invis, she is wearing a box. Just saying.

The Laetus XI10/20/2016, 1:37:04 PM1 votes

Hey playtest team! I wanted to know if you guy's were planning on talking about Ivern getting buffed anymore? As someone that play's Ivern a bit and would like to continue I feel that he is at times at a disadvantage. The only time you can really properly defend yourself as Ivern is when you have daisy. Otherwise someone playing Ivern is very easy to kill and feed off of. I also know because in every game I've played against an Ivern I always target him because he feeds so easily.