Despite Riot’s ambitious design for Aphelios, the marksman is getting nerfed for the fourth patch in a row.
League of Legends lead gameplay designer Mark “Scruffy” Yetter discussed some balance changes for Patch 10.3 in today’s Dev Corner post. And while getting destroyed by Aphelios from miles away was amusing at first, Scruffy believes that cross-map sniping is “not interactive or interesting gameplay.”
“We’re adding a max range on crescendum marks,” Scruffy said. “We intend to keep it as a very long range poke effect, but bring it in line with other similar mechanics like Caitlyn or Xerath.”
The AD carry has clearly been giving Riot some balancing issues. The developer has nerfed him in Patches 9.24b, 10.1, and 10.2. The Weapon of the Faithful took a big hit in Patch 10.2, losing mark damage on his Calibrum and nerfing Severum and Mini-Crescendum as well.
Though Aphelios continues to frustrate players and developers alike, the ADC sits at a below-average win rate.
Changes to Akali, Yuumi, and Senna will also hit the Rift in Patch 10.3. Akali is undergoing heavy testing on the PBE. The developers hope increasing her Q energy cost and making her R1 a targeted ability will make her better for the competitive scene. Yuumi’s Prowling Projectile will be buffed to make a Q-max build viable, while changes to Senna’s soul drops should solidify her as a support rather than a markswoman.
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