In League of Legends there are over 160 different champions, but only one has achieved a win rate of 100% in the Worlds. However, the champion was actually intended to simplify the entry for players into League of Legends.
What is changing about the champion? The character is Yuumi, a cat champion, who was supposed to be removed from the game. The champion is played as a supporter and has the ability to sit on a teammate.
Yuumi does not sit properly but hangs onto a champion to enhance them. This slightly changes her abilities but takes away the need to worry about her positioning on the map. As an attachment, she does not take damage.
This is why she was primarily played by professionals who exploited Yuumi’s simple mechanics to steer the game in their favor. In the upcoming patch 12.23, the cooldown on the passive ability is set to be adjusted. The ultimate ability, however, is supposed to hold enemies for a shorter duration, allowing for more counter-strategies.
League of Legends releases new contents from champions. Here are some epic cinematics:
Yuumi as a pure entry champion – The “AFK” mechanic
The original plan for Yuumi: On reddit, developer Riot Phroxon (Matt Leung-Harrison) writes that Yuumi was originally intended for long-time players to easily introduce their friends and acquaintances to League of Legends.
This is what Yuumi’s playstyle offers in a different way than all other champions. By attaching to another champion, the player does not have to pay attention to what is happening around them and position themselves correctly. Instead, they can look at what their friend, whom they are attached to, is doing.
Occasionally, they can then use abilities and still have an impact on the game. Phroxon describes this as the “AFK tactic”: This is supposed to allow a Yuumi player to focus their mental energies on learning the game and understanding what is currently happening in the game.
What was the problem? The champion had 3 main issues that Leung-Harrison notes:
- Yuumi has mainly been played at the professional level and had such a high priority at the Worlds that she was banned in 95% of games. The 8 games she was played in, she won.
- Yuumi is very frustrating for some player segments, which varied by region (which he does not elaborate on).
- The character tends to leave their lane partner in the later game and seeks a new host to move around the map with.
These 3 points have posed great difficulties for Riot in balancing the character.
What happens next? Riot is taking a new direction with this change for the champion. In the future, there will be more focus on ensuring that the character is not only relevant in the professional scene but also remains fun for newcomers and offers an easy entry. However, it is still unclear how the exiled cat will look in the future.
If you want to read more news about the preseason, we have summarized everything important here: LoL: Season 13 – What we know about the start, preseason, and changes
