5 Things We Want in League of Legends Patch 11.7
With League of Legends patches, Riot Games focuses on introducing new game content, balance changes, and bug fixes. Patch 11.6, which released on March 17, brought in notable item changes, adjusted the jungle, and balanced certain champions.
According to the official League of Legends patch schedule, Patch 11.7 is set to release on March 31. Here are five things we want to see in the upcoming update.
Gameplay thoughts blog is out. Topic this week is split pushing, our goal to make it a more viable strategy, and what we think healthy vs unhealthy split pushing looks like. https://t.co/mBhYMie48v pic.twitter.com/zCnwZn6ymU
— Mark Yetter (@MarkYetter) March 19, 2021
5 Things We Want in League of Legends Patch 11.7
More Comeback Mechanics
Comeback mechanics are essential to keeping competitive multiplayer games healthy. Without the ability to grasp a seemingly hopeless match from the jaws of defeat, players will often encounter frustration when they realize that their team has lost within minutes. Opportunities for comebacks create engaging, exciting, and dynamic competitions. Keeping this in mind, Riot has focused on developing new comeback mechanisms that are sure to keep League of Legends players hooked to the last minute.
Enhancements to Split Pushing
Mark "Riot Scruffy" Yetter recently penned a Quick Gameplay Thoughts blog post which focused on Riot's commitment to enhancing split push strategic play. Riot Scruffy claims that although "historically split pushing has been both an exciting strategic option that added variety to the overall endgame...it’s also been sometimes a frustrating and uninteractive strategy that grinds down a losing team without opportunity for them to respond."
With this in mind, Yetter revealed what Riot expects to accomplish and avoid with potential adjustments to split pushing gameplay. Like the expansion of comeback mechanics, these enhancements have the potential to make League of Legends matches more dynamic than they have ever been.
New Non-Mythic Items
In a YouTube video titled "Client, Clarity, and State of the Game", Andrei "Riot Meddler" van Roon, the Game Director for League of Legends, revealed that Riot is considering adding new non-mythic items to the game. In particular, they have been considering an enchanter item "that's meant to be good against dive anti carry-heavy teams" and "a tank item aimed at countering split pushers." Filling in these item gaps could be a great step towards achieving more balanced gameplay and increasing item build flexibility.
Less Hardbinding
In the aforementioned video, Riot Meddler defines hardbinding items as those which "a champion buys in 75% or more of their games." An example is Sunfire Aegis, which many tanks bought in more than 80% of matches, prior to nerfs. Although fighters, assassins, tanks, and marksmen currently do not experience much hardbinding, it seems that enchanters and mages are in a tough spot. By addressing this issue, Riot can ensure that League of Legends gameplay remains fresh for every player.
Nerfs to Burst Damage
Burst damage has been frequently discussed since the introduction of Season 11. Although it serves a purpose in League of Legends gameplay, it seems that it is currently over-tuned. Champions that put out excessive burst damage can snowball rapidly, and as a result, counter play suffers. To achieve greater stability, Riot should consider additional nerfs to burst damage.