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High-skill LoL picks on menu again as Riot preps Patch 13.11 buffs for Akali, Azir, and more

Some of League's toughest-to-play champs are getting boosts.

With MSI in the rear-view mirror, eyes turn to League of Legends Patch 13.11, which is set to give a little love to some of the game’s most unpopular champions.

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In Riot’s sights for the next round of buffs are high-skill champs including Akali, Kalista, and Twisted Fate, according to a May 22 patch preview from the League developer team. Renekton, Rek’Sai, and Azir are also set to receive slight boosts.

Ivern will also be receiving a buff ahead of his much-anticipated—but also heavily criticized—rework, which players have been able to test via the PBE server since early May.

The seven champions receiving buffs are among the least popular champions, with Akali sporting the highest pick rate at just 4.6 percent in all games above Platinum, according to League stats tracking website U.GG. All seven are also struggling with win rates, with Twisted Fate (49.7 percent) the closest to parity.

None of the champions being buffed made a dent at MSI either, with five going uncontested throughout the entire Play-In and Bracket stage. Renekton (two bans, four picks) and Twisted Fate (one pick) were the only two to see any action in London.

Items, including Duskblade of Draktharr, Kraken Slayer, Moonstone Renewer, and Navori Quickblades are also receiving a boost. Most of these items were heavily reworked in League Patch 13.10 just a few days ago, with the Riot devs obviously not too pleased with how these have been performing over the past fortnight.

Statikk Shiv hasn’t yet hit its mark either, with the Legendary item also set to receive a buff after its return to the live game in Patch 13.10 fell flat.

Related: Bot lane in Riot’s scopes as League devs ready 10 nerfs for next patch

The League devs mentioned they were happy with how classes have shifted following Patch 13.9 and Patch 13.10, noting that, with so many item changes in the previous two patches, it was still “tough to judge” the strength of certain ADC builds. The team will certainly continue to monitor these trends over the coming weeks.

League Patch 13.11 is expected to land on Thursday, June 1.


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Author
Nicholas Taifalos
Weekend editor for Dot Esports. Nick, better known as Taffy, began his esports career in commentary, switching to journalism with a focus on Oceanic esports, particularly Counter-Strike and Dota. Email: nicholas@dotesports.com