Almost a week into Season 14, League of Legends is now live, and with the patch, many new item changes came, and this time the map has significantly changed as well. Especially this change means that the strong top laner Illaoi is not performing as well as before.
The new items are currently bringing a fresh, new meta to LoL. Many AP champions are becoming stronger, and the lethality items are creating powerful builds. A champion that was incredibly strong last season is not performing as expected now, and that is due to the new map.
Illaoi is a feared top lane champion. As a bruiser, she is not only quite tanky but can also deal a lot of damage. With her tentacle mechanic, she is a nuisance on the lane for many champions. She can also deal good damage from a distance, even though she is a melee champion.
If you look at the statistics on U.GG, you can see that she was quite strong last season. When considering all ranks, she had a win rate of 51.33% on the top lane in patch 13.24. That made her one of the strongest champions in the patch. However, in the latest version, she only has a win rate of 47.75% and is currently one of the worst top laners.
The new map makes Illaoi worse
Why is she so much worse? Illaoi was not actively nerfed, but rather passively by the new map. Her tentacles spawn on nearby walls and help her attack when she pulls the soul of an enemy with her E and when she attacks enemies and units with her W.
The problem with the new map, however, is that the top lane has become significantly wider and more open, and the walls are farther away than before. This means that the range of her tentacles no longer covers as much as it did before and thus is not as effective in combat as it was previously.
As an Illaoi player, you now have to pay much closer attention to where you stand and fight in order to utilize the tentacles effectively. In the middle of the lane, it is virtually impossible to hit the walls with the tentacles.
While you can still win with her, if the opponent pays a little attention to how they position themselves, it becomes difficult for Illaoi.
Riot knows about the problem
Riot is aware of the issue and explained on x.com (formerly Twitter) that they will address the problem. For 14.2, they want to see what can be changed to improve the gameplay experience for Illaoi. If they don’t find anything, regular buffs to her stats will follow.
Also, the items have changed significantly in Season 14. While some items have disappeared or changed, some new items have also been added. A new AP item is currently particularly strong and beneficial for many champions.
