Looks like you don't even know there is a champion called Ziggs if you are buffing Xerath when he is already a better Ziggs. They have the same win rate but Xerath has four times more pick rate than Ziggs. Why don't you take Ziggs out of trash can before buffing Xerath?
Only like 70 champions exist in Riot's mind.
Perhaps he is getting a skin soon.
That makes no sense to me either. They're considering buffing high skill cap champions with high play rates and respectable win rates even in high ELO, such as Kha (52% Diamond+), Vayne (51% Diamond+), and Lee (49% Diamond+ but a whopping 23% play rate).
Ziggs is not played competitively at all and is one of the lowest play rate champions in the game at 1.3%. Despite such a tiny play rate (indicating more mains/situational picks), his win rate is barely 50%. How does he not trigger their balance framework? Lee is 51% win rate and over 21% play rate even in Masters+ and is popular at all levels. He even gets competitive play.
A lot of the champions lined up for buffs aren't actually weak but simply take a lot of investment to utilize well. Ziggs has a decent skill cap too but his skill floor is low and yet he's still not performing well. Champions without a high skill floor should naturally have higher win rates and he should be ticking every checkbox in their balance framework.
I don't understand the point of that framework if they fail to utilize it and then do whatever they want anyway. It seems more like it's just creating the illusion of objectivity. Maybe blindly applying that framework isn't the right way to do things but it definitely feels like Riot's playing favorites to try to intentionally mold the Worlds meta to what they want. Ziggs is basically a unicorn in Masters+ (0.65% play rate including Bot) and yet we have Kha, Vayne and Lee buffs lined up first? Even Xerath is ~50% in Masters and 2%+ play rate.
I also completely disagree with the idea of playing favorites with balance. That hurts a game's competitive integrity and there should never be an excuse for it. Riot's job is to properly balance the game so that we have freedom to do whatever we want. It is is not to decide what we should do and curate a segment of the roster.
Anyway, I think your complaints would get more attention on Twitter.
BTW: While I like Ziggs and used to play him, I've never mained him. I rarely play Mid/Bot. Still, I think this thread offers fair criticism. Ziggs is treated like a forgotten champion while those that have been meta breaking for years are still getting more attention. Another slap in the face is Graves being prioritized above Ziggs. Graves is 52% in Masters+ and almost 50% win rate with a 3% play rate in Diamond+. He's getting his second buff in a not so long time.
Sounds like to me that they are finally going to give Xerath a new skin.
