With the long-awaited Season 11 update almost at our doorstep, one question at the back of many players’ minds is if Riot Games can be able to balance the game before Season 11 is launched. This ongoing dilemma about the differing levels of strength and weakness among items and 150 champions and strategies in the League of Legends has long been at the topic of keen debate and discussion within the community of players.
To understand better whether Riot Games can balance the game before Season 11, let’s have a look at some of the preseason balance changes made to League of Legends' latest Patch, Patch 10.25.
League of Legends Balances Changes to Patch 10.25
Balance changes have been achieved by nerfing or buffing. Nerfing means making selected champions, items, or skills weaker. The buffs are the opposite, i.e., when the developers increase the power of various features for selected champions, items, or skills.
· Nerfed Items
Numerous changes to the system have been made through item balance changes. Nerfs and balance changes have been implemented for tank Mythic items Sunflower Aegis, Frostfire Gauntlet, and Turbo Chemtank, Eclipse while the damage is maintained in season 11.
· Buffed Items
Quite a few buffs h have been especially to for Legendary (e.g., Phantom Dancer), Epic (e.g., Bandleglass Mirror), and Mythic (Imperial Mandate) items.
· Champion Balance Changes
Champions have received minor to major changes (buffs or nerfs), causing them to move up or down their previous tier or remaining in the same tier. These changes have been for Champions in the Top Lane, Jungle, Mid Lane, Bot Lane, and Support.
Some of the Champions that have been nerfed include Kayle and Morgana, while several champions received buffing or received compensation for previous balance changes.
There are so many factors that go into achieving a balanced game. Therefore, we can say there is no simple yes or no answer to whether Riot will balance the game out before Season 11. Balancing the game is a dynamic process given so many items, and champions received minor to major adjustments and compensations. Players have to play the game and test out how these changes all affect the overall game. Riot considers all this feedback when readjusting the power balances.
One plus this year is that Riot's major changes in the build-up to the new season 11 unveiling have been done in advance, allowing for more testing and further tweaking of balance changes.
We can safely conclude that achieving balance in the League of Legends is not an event but a collaborative process between Riot Games and the players as they test out the new adjustments. It involves testing out balance changes, reviewing them, and readjusting the previous balance changes.
