Riot Games has its sights on the bot lane in the next League of Legends patch with a few underused ADCs set to receive some buffs.
League lead gameplay designer Mark “Scruffy” Yetter previewed the tentative changes for the Worlds patch, 10.19, today. This time, the bot lane carries of Aphelios, Vayne, and Sivir are in for some buffs, alongside other champs.
After being nerfed patch after patch, Aphelios is set to receive some form of a buff heading into Worlds. Seen as a difficult and diverse champion to play, the 200 years marksman has had a tough time in competitive play and solo queue recently. Aphelios’ play rate in pro play has plummeted while meta champs like Caitlyn and Ashe have seen meteoric rises in presence.
But Riot will likely go easy on the buffs for Aphelios since his kit is incredibly delicate. Aphelios is a champion that can easily swing games and completely take over matches considering his situational weaponry and synergy with items. But in Aphelios’ current state, he relies on items to get him to those breakpoints. Riot could be targeting some of Aphelios’ early-game presence to match his counterparts in the bot lane, but this is just speculation.
One champion that has a history of showing up in the bot lane at Worlds is Vayne—and she could be picked once more. In professional play, she can be flexed in the draft as a counter pick to specific top lane champs, but could see play in the bot lane depending on these buffs.
Related: Riot to nerf Caitlyn, Azir, Twisted Fate, and Senna ADC in League Patch 10.19
Another champion that Riot has targeted is Sivir. She’s in line for some kind of buffs in the build-up to Worlds. But these changes might not be drastic enough to force Sivir into most team compositions. Earlier this year, Fnatic player Rekkles played his first Sivir game of the split during a match against Rogue. But it didn’t go well for the Swedish bot laner, who finished with one kill and a game loss.
These aren’t the only champions on Riot’s radar, however. Irelia is set to receive some more buffs alongside Ahri, Sylas, Ivern, and Udyr Phoenix. More information about these upcoming changes will become available on Tuesday, Sept. 8.
Make sure to follow us on YouTube for more esports news and analysis.
