Riot toning down the burst potential of Naafiri, Rek’Sai with nerfs in LoL Patch 13.16

Just a few months before the 2023 League of Legends World Championship, Riot Games is hoping to better stabilize the current state of the game with multiple upcoming changes—a few of which are nerfs to some champions that have ventured past the balanced state.

Riot has pushed all of the nerfs teased in yesterday’s Patch 13.16 patch preview to the game’s PBE server today, where they’ll remain for testing until they venture to live servers on Aug. 16. Like with the buffs expected to accompany this patch, some of these nerfs are rather odd, though most tone down champions that have been a tad too prevalent in the meta.

Though Riot previously pulled back on the nerfs scheduled to tackle its newest champion, Naafiri, just a few weeks ago, the company has reinstated nerfs for the Hound of a Hundred Bites specifically targeting her armor, damage, and attack speed in the mid and top lanes—both of which she currently dominates. Riot Raptorr, design manager on League champs, noted that the team is not looking at the state of jungle Naafiri yet, as they want to get her main role right first.

Another champion currently terrorizing the meta at most elos is Rek’Sai, whose combination of burst damage and mobility allows her to attack whatever opponent she pleases rather safely. Though her mobility will remain unchanged, the AD ratio on her unburrowed Q has been lowered significantly at early ranks. Meanwhile Tristana, a priority pick for mid laners in professional play, is having her base defenses slightly reduced to reduce her safety as an early-game champion.

Shyvana is present on the nerf list once more with extensive changes tackling her W specifically, reducing its immediate and over-time damage. She’s joined by Shaco, who Riot is looking to power down particularly in the support role with lowered mana regen and a flat 70 cost on his W at all ranks—which notably also hurts his jungle clear.

As these nerfs will be present on the PBE for a week, but they are tentative and may be changed based on how they are received by both Riot and the playerbase. Should no changes be made, all players can look forward to these nerfs—and a handful of other alterations—being implemented when Patch 13.16 goes live on Aug. 16.