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Power Creep in League of Legends: A Lux Case Study

Targon·5/3/2019, 7:08:27 AM·2 votes·2,597 views

Lux Lux is a champion that has been blessed over the last 3 years with buff after buff after buff. I was curious to see how her power has changed over the years, and I was actually shocked to see just how many buffs she has received compared to nerfs. Patch 6.14 seems to be the start of when the buffs started rolling in. Here is a list of the cumulative changes to Lux, comparing her from Patch 6.14 to now:

Stats: Base Health: 471 >> 490 Health Growth: 79 per level >> 85 per level Mana Regen: 6 per 5 seconds >> 8 per 5 seconds (Patch 8.9 Mage Update) Base Mana: 384 >> 480 (Patch 8.9 Mage Update) Bonus Attack Speed at Level 1: 0% >> 7%

Passive: Damage: 18-154 (based on level) >> 18-190 (based on level)

Q: Cooldown: 15/14/13/12/11 >> 10 at all ranks Base Damage: 50/100/150/200/250 >> 70/115/160/205/250 Mana Cost: 50/55/60/65/70 >> 40/45/50/55/60

W: Return Shield Strength: 50/65/80/95/110 (+ 20% AP) >> 100/130/160/190/220 + (40% AP) Self Shield Delay: 0.25s >> 0s.

E: Cooldown: 10 at all ranks >> 10/9.5/9/8.5/8 Mana Cost: 70/85/100/115/130 >> 70/80/90/100/110 Slow: 20/24/28/32/36% >> 25/30/35/40/45%

R: 0 Cooldown Reduction on Kill/Assist > 30/40/50% Cooldown Reduction on Kill/Assist within 1.75 seconds of casting ult.

And here are the nerfs: Attack Speed Growth: 1.36% >> 1% Mana Growth: 47 per level >> 23.5 per level (Patch 8.9 Mage Update) E Missile Speed: 1300 >> 1200 E Radius: 350 units >> 310 units

Now I'm not saying that Lux is broken (although she definitely seems to be on the strong side right now), but if this isn't a testament to power creep in the game, then I don't know what is.

6 Comments

FireDrizzle5/3/2019, 7:27:05 AM2 votes

Nasus is a better example isnt he?

DeathBurst5/3/2019, 7:16:55 AM1 votes

if this isn't a testament to power creep in the game, then I don't know what is

Half the buffs (to mana in particular) are due to simultaneous changes in items and everything together is mostly neutral. Same for the AS@level1 vs AS growth, it's mostly neutral, just make CS'ing a bit easier in early levels, but I don't think "easier CS" is what people have in mind when they complain about power creep.

And on the other hand, the two nerfs to E, even if they take only two lines, are huge, and were compensated with the changes to Q/W.

I'd argue that the only buff she got with no string attached is the R refund.

So yeah, there's a bit of powercreep. But nowhere near as much as you paint it out to be.

Dynikus5/3/2019, 8:35:31 AM1 votes

Buffs to one champion over a long period of time isn't an indication of power creep. If you want a testament to power creep, look at every champion, as well as items and runes, and compare current day with how they were before. Overall gain in strength across the board would be an indication of power creep.

Moonscourge5/3/2019, 8:44:51 AM1 votes

Meanwhile her E mana cost is still way too high to use every wave AND to harass, damage too low to one shot casters as most other mages can, or at least have combos that cost less mana than her singular spell.

If you want to make an example on power creep then don't use the mage that is probably the weakest of them all, with the most opportunities of counterplay.

TekkenPlayer5/3/2019, 6:15:12 PM1 votes

Lux's WR did not even rise with the changes. When she received those buffs, she was at a 48% WR. Lux is the type of champion that WR is affected by indirect buffs/nerfs to other champions. She will never be consistently viable due to the general weaknesses of her kit.