Top lane Soraka has come out of nowhere in the 2020 League of Legends season, dominating both solo queue and competitive play with her healing intensive skill set. To counter her newfound prevalence, Riot has nerfed her on League’s PBE.
Once Soraka hits her two-item spike, she becomes a menace and at times can be almost impossible to handle. In the current metagame, where melee champions thrive in the top lane, she’s the perfect champion. She may not have kill pressure in lane, but her range and low mana costs mean she can spam her Starcall (Q) endlessly.
If she survives the early game, her teamfighting presence in the mid game and the late game is unparalleled. Her ultimate alone is a dealbreaker.
Riot originally intended to nerf her Q, reducing its damage against minions by a hefty 60 percent. This would have negated her pushing power in the top side of the map. But with the latest PBE update, that’s no longer the case.
Instead, Riot has chosen to target her stats and the Rejuvenation on her Q. This should make her more of a vulnerable target in lane and reduce her healing potential in the late game. She should still be a viable support champion, but her days in the top lane are soon to be cut short.
Soraka’s base HP has been increased from 529.04 to 535, but her HP per level has been lowered from 78 to 74. Her mana has been increased from 350.8 to 365 and her mana per level has been lowered from 60 to 40. As for her base AD, it’s been lowered from 50.04 to 50.
The Rejuvenation heal on Starcall has been increased from 30/40/50/70/70 to 40/50/60/70/80, but its duration has been lowered from five seconds to 2.5 seconds. Her movement speed has also been lowered from 15/17.5/20/22.5/25 percent to 10/12.5/15/17.5/20 percent.
Astral Infusion’s mana cost has been reverted from 40/45/450/55/60 to 50/55/60/65/70 and its Rejuvenation heal has been increased from 30/40/50/60/70 to 40/50/60/70/80. But the max health cost while affected by Rejuvenation has been changed. If Soraka casts Astral Infusion while she’s affected with Rejuvenation, the max health cost will be reduced by 40/55/70/85/100 percent.
While many of the changes may not appear to be groundbreaking, these nerfs could have a real impact on her presence in the top lane. She’ll no longer be the reliable healing carry and could quite easily become a redundant champion.
These changes could be enough to affect her standing in a solo lane position while keeping her as a relevant support pick. Soraka has a 52.79 percent win rate in the top lane right now and nerfs are absolutely necessary to keep her from getting out of control.
Published: Feb 11, 2020 07:20 am