In the MOBA League of Legends: Wild Rift, the new patch 2.1b introduced 3 new champions. They all have unique features and strengths that make them highly useful. We at MeinMMO reveal how good they are.
What happened? With the latest patch, 3 champions have been brought into the game:
- Diana, the Scorn of the Moon
- Leona, the Radiant Dawn
- Pantheon, the Unyielding Spear
On reddit and also on YouTube, there are already initial assessments of these three champions. They are all considered strong and will likely be ranked in A or even S-Tier for their respective roles in the Tier List.
How strong are Diana, Pantheon, and Leona in Wild Rift
How does Diana perform? On reddit, there are initial videos showcasing Diana’s potential. The user Vorikx posted a video in which he easily achieves a triple kill with her.
The video currently has 225 upvotes and sits at number 1 in the subreddit. Numerous comments are gathering under the video praising this champion, as well as the other two:
- ZmentAdverti says: ‘Her combo is so easy to execute, and her well-timed abilities make it practically impossible to win a fight/teamfight against her.’
- Slicc12 writes: ‘All 3 new champions feel good and so strong.’
- reasonable_pan is already expecting a nerf: ‘Nerf for Diana is definitely coming!’
Diana is played as an assassin in the mid lane and has a high damage output combined with a shield. She is currently rated as an S-Tier mid laner.
How strong is Pantheon? Pantheon seems to be the weakest of the 3 champions right now, but he enters the game with an incredible amount of flexibility. In a reddit post, user Raijino explains that Pantheon can be played both in the middle and top lane, as well as in the jungle and as support.
He sees huge potential in Pantheon simply because there is still no role selection in ranked play. So, if you log in Pantheon right from the start, you can essentially adapt him flexibly, allowing you to go to any lane in the end.
As a combo, he generally recommends the following playstyle: Use “W” (ability 2) to attack the enemy, immediately strike with “Q” (ability 1) without holding down the ability, and finish with the third ability. This ensures high damage. Additionally, Pantheon can block turret attacks with his “E” (ability 3).
Based on initial assessments, Pantheon could end up in A-Tier in the mid lane and as a supporter, and slightly weaker in the top lane and jungle. In the latter, he particularly falls off due to damage in the late game.
How strong is Leona? Leona is the newest supporter and brings a lot of CC with her. This is particularly effective against the new champions Katarina and Diana.
Leona has been a popular supporter on PC for many years, and in Wild Rift she is making a good impression based on initial assessments. She is being considered an A or S-Tier supporter.
How strong her CC is can be seen in the video by reddit user Vlantimir.
Important Nerfs and Katarina remains weak
What has changed for the champions? In addition to the new champions, there were also numerous balance adjustments to existing characters:
- Aurelion Sol received a nerf for his passive and ultimate ability
- Yasuo gets less base health and less damage from his ability “Thousand Blades”
- Ziggs has been adjusted so that his ultimate ability hits a larger area, but the damage to towers has been reduced overall
Additionally, there was a buff for the supporter Soraka, who now provides more healing with Astral Infusion and has a reduced cooldown for Equinox.
Katarina, however, also a relatively new champion, did not receive a buff, even though Riot admits that the win rate is currently very low. The development in the coming weeks will determine whether there will be further adjustments.
What else has changed with the patch? With Update 2.1b, the towers have been revamped. Before minute 3 in the game, the outer towers receive additional armor and magic resistance, and even more resistances when 3 or more champions are nearby. This is intended to prevent the playstyle where players want to quickly destroy a tower in overwhelming situations.
Additionally, 10 new skins have been added, which will be released gradually. The rotation of free champions has been adjusted.
- March 18 to March 24: Corki, Darius, Graves, Katarina, Malphite, Nami, Shyvana, Soraka, Varus, Ziggs
- March 25 to March 31: Akali, Draven, Jarvan IV, Jax, Rakan, Sona, Wukong, Xayah, Xin Zhao, Zed
For 2021, several major updates for Wild Rift are planned. In addition to regular tournaments and the release in America, the popular game mode ARAM is also set to be implemented. More about the developments in 2021 here: LoL Wild Rift is getting a new game mode in 2021 that many have wished for.
