Patch 3.10 Changes / Trends
Good day Summoners! Patch 3.10 has been out for about a week, so let's take a look at some of the changes and trends that have been happening with this patch. I looked at general data, threads, and opinions ranging from Gold to Diamond players.
Very Strong ATM:
Zyra (Support): She definitely isn't the most popular among supports, but her win rates have been climbing. I think we can thank the Koreans for starting this trend, and Cloud 9 for picking it up in conjunction with Ashe for amazing amount of zone control. With smart positioning, you can control the lane from a distance on Zyra and also help zone out the opposing laners if needed.
Janna: Still sitting high in popularity AND win rates. This is really just attributed to more of her kit able to help disengage in a very engage-heavy meta.
Vayne: Currently very popular and strong due to BoRK. The ultimate and BoRK nerf was just a band-aid fix really. She scales very well into late game, and the majority of her weak match-ups have been nerfed. Once you snowball on her, its very hard to come back. She can duel nearly anyone with her optimal setup. Watch out for Vayne.
Kassadin: Despite still not being popular, he's ridiculous. Scales into late game incredibly well. He snowballs very hard, and he can lose lane and still make a come back.
Viable Again / On the Rise:
Ashe: She's very good when paired up with Zyra, but people are starting to also play more utility Marksmen. She's definitely rising up and being used.
Udyr: It's not really that his kit has been reworked or anything. I really just attribute it to Spirit Guard Udyr, but I think people have realized that he can duel and split push very well in certain comps, and very hard to pin down at times. Not OP by any means, but he's roaming around again.
Varus: He was already popular but I think with people trying more utility Marksmen, they are using him again. He brings utility just like Ashe and also a mixed bag of Magic and Physical damage.
Nerfed / Losing Power:
Thresh: While still being popular and banned, he lost some of his early game durability. He's definitely easier to take down in the laning phase, and strong engage supports like Leona can work even more against him now. He still brings the CC and utility like before, so still watch out for hooks.
Elise: Her Rappel range nerf hurt her ability to chase or engage from a distance. Her spiders are also much easier to kill. She's losing more power on her kit, and while she still has strengths, expect her to lose a few notches in win rate.
Karthus: Can't spam-click Defile for increased DPS anymore. He's still strong enough.
Ryze: He really hasn't moved around much. His spell range was nerfed, but honestly he was always good against most melee match-ups. He still scales incredibly well into late-game, so you still can't discount his scaling.
Twisted Fate: The new Loaded Dice allows him to snowball himself faster. The Pick a Card nerf hurts him tho. You can't zone with a Gold Card, and it becomes harder to Destiny with a card locked. He can still do global pressure, but he needs to be played with even more precision than before.
Reworked:
Master Yi: So his popularity increased due to his rework. He still retains the ability to snowball. In fact, he can snowball harder than before given the right conditions. He scales well with most carry items. I'd say he's stronger when played right at the moment. He's not OP by any means, but Riot did a great job in reworking him. He might get some small adjustments down the line, as he is reminiscent of the Katarina rework at the moment.
Jungle Changes:
The spawn time change on the smaller camps made sure that laners can't come into lane with an advantage. The experience spread on the buff camp was to make sure Nunu shenanigans can't happen without clearing the full camp. Indirect nerf to Nunu.
Item Changes:
Bulwark: GONE. We shall miss you. And while it was a lovely item, it was probably too powerful in the end. It gave too many personal stats with the incredibly powerful team aura. I can understand the removal.
New Aegis / Locket: These items don't give much in personal stats unlike their previous versions. Supports will probably end up building Aegis → Locket now, as the team aura still is worth the gold. Just not a must-have for Junglers like Bulwark was.
Specter's Cowl: Magic Resist is now looked at as more of a personal stat, and this new item builds into Spirit Visage and Banshee's Veil. This item itself isn't bad.
Spirit Visage: This item is now very gold efficient. It provides 400 HP, 55 MR, 20 HP/5, and still retains the 20% CDR and Healing / Regen increase. A very good buy for many champions now.
Banshee's Veil: Also another MR item that is gold efficient. 450 HP, 55 MR, no mana, but grants 45 HP/5 for 10 seconds after the Spell Shield breaks or when you take damage. Its also easier to justify on mana-less champions with the exclusion of mana on the item.
Guardian Angel: Increased to 40 MR, and the item cost went up, but we're really still paying for the Revive passive on the item. Overall a buff to this item.
BoRK: Band-aid fix. Still a very good item.
Warden's Mail / Randuin's Omen / Frozen Heart: Overall small buffs to the items. Costs a bit less, duration of slow is less, but only losing 0.5 seconds is nothing when the effect is generally better when being pelted consistently.
