Riot working on experimental Briar nerfs on LoL PBE servers

Briar has been one of the best champions in League of Legends since her release in September. But now, Riot Games is tinkering with some possible nerfs on the PBE server that could restrain her hunger just a bit more.

Lead designer August Browning detailed some upcoming changes today that the developers are working on, which should help curb her power in various builds. The overall goal of the adjustments is to “bring her lethality and bruiser builds closer together while still nerfing [her] overall.”

The changes kick off with a small two-point reduction to her base armor and a slight increase to her base attack speed ratio. Afterward, her Crimson Curse passive is getting an increase to its outside healing source amplification, going from zero-to-50 percent of her missing health to zero-to-100 percent. She will, however, only heal 20 percent from damage dealt.

Briar’s Blood Frenzy-Snack Attack ability, on the other hand, will be getting hit with nerfs across the board, from a five percent attack speed reduction to her bite heal dropping from 36-to-60 percent to 25-to-45 percent. Her Chilling Scream will be a bit less effective in terms of utility since her damage reduction is now scaling from 30-to-40 percent rather than a static 40 percent, while its healing effect is also dropping from 10-to-16 percent max health to nine-to-13 percent max health.

Lastly, Briar’s Certain Death ultimate will be changing from physical damage to magic damage but will deal increased damage as a result. Instead of 150-to-450 physical damage, she will be dishing out a whopping 200-to-550 magic damage plus 120 percent AP.

Over the last few patches, Briar has been one of the most successful junglers in the game. She currently boasts an impressive 52 percent win rate in Platinum ranks and higher, while still being the third-most played champion in the role, according to League stats aggregate U.GG.

She has also hovered around these same numbers over the past five patches—even though she’s been hit with multiple nerfs—making her a constant choice for any players who are ready to dive into the backline for a quick bite and some LP.