The MOBA League of Legends, short LoL, has taken a crazy turn with patch 8.11. The relatively stable meta-game that has lasted for years has been turned upside down. Professionals say: “The bot lane is hell.” Every day for the LoL stars is now an “Anything is possible” Thursday.
8.11 hits AD carries hard: In early June, patch 8.11 went live in League of Legends (here are the patch notes). The update sounded harmless from Riot: “We are continuing with changes to the roles.” However, hidden behind this was one of the most drastic balance changes in the history of LoL.
AD carries start weaker, early game in LoL becomes more important
AD carries are in for it: Normally, the idea in the LoL meta was to feed your own “AD carry.” They start weak, become stronger throughout a match, until they become the most important figure in a team at the end. With the patch, AD carries are supposed to start weaker and get stronger even more slowly than before. At the same time, LoL has become faster due to further changes in recent months. This has led to a change in the meta: AD carries simply are not worth it as they once were.
Now everything is possible on the bot lane
This is how the bot lane used to be: For years, the bot lane consisted of a supporter who held back and an AD carry who collected all the kills on the minions to earn gold quickly. The 5 roles were firmly divided. Each professional specialized in one of these fixed roles and used a specific repertoire of champions to fill their role. A pro trains with their champions for years. They know by heart how to behave with their “favorite hero” in every situation. This is no longer the case on the bot lane.
Commotion on the bot lane: As the site Kotaku knows, changes in 8.11 have led to typical AD carries like Caitlyn, Tristana, or Kog’Maw being pretty much out of the repertoire of pro players. Picks like Ezreal, Lucian, Draven, or Kai’Sa can still be seen, however. Above all, pro teams are now starting to experiment wildly with unusual bot lane duos. Because when the AD carry falls away, the supporter must also change. Suddenly, on the bot lane, Heimerdinger and Fiddlesticks fight against Brand-Nautilus or Vlad-Morgana. It’s suddenly all possible on the bot lane.
“It’s hell out there” – “I think it’s great”
Pros complain and are happy: The reactions of professional players are mixed.
- The AD carry from SKT Bang (via Inven) believes that Riot has gone too far with the nerfs here. The change forces AD carries to completely relearn. That’s as if you suddenly made a forward a midfielder in football. Now, all counter-picks and banning strategies must be completely rethought.
- The AD carry “PraY” (via Inven) simply says, “the bot lane is hell.”
- Star player Faker (via Inven) says, however, that the changes are good for LoL. Although it is hard for the AD carries, LoL is now more of a strategy game than a laning game.
We highlighted the commotion of Bang and Faker last year here :
