Riot August says LoL isn’t in a great spot, slams current meta

The League of Legends meta currently favors Corki and Tristana in the mid lane for various reasons, but one of the main developers, Riot Games’ August, thinks the game isn’t in a great spot as a result.

The developer regularly streams on Twitch and did so on June 6, where he dove into the details about the current state of League. The main topic of discussion was the Tristana and Corki mid lane meta. August believes the two champions will likely be nerfed, but it might not solve the problem.

“Personally, I agree with you that Corki and Trist being in the meta is probably pretty rough and I don’t think the game looks like it’s in a great spot when those two AD Carries that are really safe are the ones you should be playing in mid lane,” August said.

While he agreed the two champions aren’t “optimal” for League, August also said it’s tough to balance the current meta due to other gameplay quirks. At the time of writing, AP junglers are immensely strong and are very popular as a result, which August considers good for the game. Their popularity, though, results in high demand for AD-based mid laners so the teams have diversified damage. And when it comes to AD mid lane champions, there are no better choices than Corki and Tristana right now.

With that in mind, August continued by saying other AD-based mid laners, like assassins, aren’t picked in the current meta because they’re weaker and unfit. The developer added that both Corki and Tristana could simply be overpowered and in need of nerfs. But, in his eyes, there’s also a scenario where making other AD champions viable options would make sense.

“They might just need nerfs. But in a meta where you need to run a physical damage mid laner to account for your magic damage jungle, if there’s only two physical damage mid laners you can run, that’s going to look like these two characters are completely broken, compared to if you could run like six of them,” August said.

Now, both Tristana and Corki are very popular in the high-ranked solo queue. At Diamond+ rankings, the former has a massive pick rate of 12 percent, alongside a 22 percent ban rate, according to U.GG. Corki also boasts impressive stats, with a 7.1 pick rate and 4.8 ban rate in the same ranks. In pro play, they’re picked or banned in almost every game. In the 2024 LPL Summer Split so far, they have a 100 percent pick and ban rate, according to Oracle’s Elixir.

Luckily for those sick of the current state of the mid lane, it seems major changes are on their way. Riot Phroxzon teased big adjustments for both Tristana and Corki, possibly in the near future, which could be as early as Patch 14.14.