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The Hows Of Balance: Patch 8.5

RocketRelm·3/7/2018, 10:03:26 AM·48 votes·7,757 views

About two weeks ago I did some math and made up a chart of the way Riot's been balancing over Season 8. I decided I'd continue to update along with each new patch, to follow the trends. It's a nice way to zoom out and see the forest instead of the trees.

Therefore, here's Patch 8.5 https://imgur.com/CRPdy78.jpg?noredirect

TL;DR: This patch has largely been damage increases and utility increases. Some cool downs have shuffled around, and some damage has been nerfed, but two of the three instances of damage nerfs are Berfs that result in almost 100% buffs on average.

Edit: But not all nerfs and buffs are the same size!: Yeah, the variance of Buffs to Nerfs is an issue, but my viewpoint is that while certain nerfs might = 2 of a different buff, on average each Nerf will = each Buff, or at 'worst' 1.3(Nerf) = 1(Buff). Once we get enough data points, we can wash out the effects of outliers, and I think we're starting to hit that point already.

62 Comments

Doozku3/7/2018, 2:51:52 PM18 votes

Berfs? I really don't like that term. Can we call them neutral changes?

Also I'd say this post can be pretty manipulative. I know that this isn't your intention but this feels like a statement on power creep which makes it really manipulative when you don't look at what kind of changes are actually being made, and what champions are being looked at. Just off the top of my head, Rengar was one of the champions receiving a damage buff but only because his ratios were thrashed on pbe prior to release to make sure that he wasn't op but he ended up being really bad.

Late For Tea3/7/2018, 2:57:12 PM8 votes

Powercreep at its finest

Mast3rMahan3/7/2018, 6:35:23 PM6 votes

The problem is this doesn't provide context for anything. There are things like Swain who needed buffed because he was released weak, twitch got hit too hard last nerf, etc. So according to this system, 2 buffs could = 1 nerf. Context matters.

Velzard of Koz3/7/2018, 5:33:43 PM4 votes

While I appreciate you taking the time, there is quite little actual knowledge we can derivate from this. Buffs and nerfs must be judged by how massive they are.

Example: We nerf literally all champions in one patch. That's nearly 200 nerfs. But If the nerf is -0.01 Max Health from everyone, that's not really going to have that strong impact. Then you simply add +40 MS to Boots. It's one buff. But how massively will it change the game? This way you could say there were 200 nerfs versus 1 buff, yet you get the picture of how the buff is the only relevant change that adds to the powercreep.

More realistic example: You nerf Twitch by decreasing his E's per stack damage by 10, nerf Vayne by decreasing her Initial Base Attack Damage by 5, nerf Vi by decreasing her Q's base damage by 50, buff Galio by decreasing his ult's CD by 40 seconds. What can we judge from this? Were these the masive nerfs people ask for? Or will the buff to Galio overshadow them and put oil into the powercreep? Who got hurt more, Twitch by losing burst that requires stacking, or Vayne losing total net damage she can accumulate over average period of time with her basic attacks? Is simple 3 nerfs versus 1 buff useful information?

I'm writing this as expansion to what others said and as food for thought to be considered, but not to discourage you from proceeding to post these, they may still hold some value from certain point of view.