Riot Games is planning to buff Kayle’s early game “at the cost of late-game power”

Riot Games’ senior champion designer, August Browning, has revealed that the champion team is planning to make some pretty significant changes to Kayle and her power spikes throughout the game. These adjustments are being put into the League of Legends PBE, but there isn’t a planned release date and none of these changes are guaranteed to ship.

“[The] goal is to open up Kayle’s early game to personal success (and failure) at the cost of late-game power,” August said. “She should still be a weaker champion early who grows into a carry, but less extreme in both directions.”

With these changes, Kayle now becomes a ranged champion at level seven instead of level 11. Her Q ability, Radiant Blast, will now refund 50 percent of the mana spent if it hits an enemy champion as well. Lastly, her ultimate ability’s cooldown has been reduced, its AP ratios have been increased, and area-of-effect radius has been widened from 475 units to 500.

On the other hand, Kayle is also undergoing some pretty big nerfs to offset her newfound early game power. Her range has been reduced from 550 to 525, while her attack speed has also been reduced per passive stack from 10 percent to six percent. Kayle also doesn’t deal any true damage when she hits level 16 anymore, while her Q ability’s Shred has been reduced from 20 percent to 15 percent.

Many players have complained about how Kayle’s new kit has made her too dependent on hitting level 11 and 16 in order to make a more significant impact on the game. These changes should help her early game become a bit more reliable for people playing with her, while also making her a bit more manageable later in the game if you are playing against her.