Teleport has long been a staple summoner spell for top lane champions in League of Legends.
The one-vs-one “island” nature of the lane matches perfectly with the spell, allowing players to join a teamfight with just second of notice. In recent years, though, teleport has become a common pick in both the mid and bot lane on some occasions. It gives players the opportunity to splitpush without being punished, no matter their role. Heal, barrier, and ignite offer very little in comparison—at least for some champions.
In League’s Patch 10.6, Riot is looking to rework teleport for the top lane again. Its cooldown is being changed from 360 seconds (six minutes) to scale from 480 seconds (eight minutes) at level one to 240 seconds (four minutes) at level 18.
How this change will cater to top lane champions is unknown at the moment, but some fans have speculated its cooldown will be reduced on the top outer turret. Top laners also tend to be the highest level in the game, giving them the most significant benefits from the change.
This should balance teleport’s flat nerf in the early game, while still giving top lane champions the spell’s late-game scaling. For mid and bot laners, the spell will no longer be an option in the laning phase.
To go alongside the cooldown changes to teleport, it’s also receiving an entirely new effect. When the spell is used, the player will be granted with three seconds of bonus movement speed on arrival, scaling from 30 percent to 45 percent. This is another change that will benefit top laners. A tanky Maokai will get much more out of the added movement speed than a ranged champion, like Ashe, for example.
League’s Patch 10.6 is expected to release to the live servers on Wednesday, March 18.
