Views: 2460 State of the Bot Lane: 8.6
|
Report
What changed?
This patch, while not necessarily big, did make changes to quite a few champions and items. The focus of this patch seemed to aimed at primarily lethality users. More specifically it seemed to be aimed to the junglers. Almost all the changes to these lethality users were buffs or side buffs, so expect a lot more aggressive AD mid lane and jungle picks to be seen.
While this will undoubtedly effect the meta, bot lane had a few changes as well. For supports,
Shurelya's Battlesong was added into the game as a alternative to Turbo Chemtank for non-tank supports. For ADCs Guinsoo's Rageblade was changed to not be a great rush item which made Kog'Maw and Varus so damn strong. Instead, it will now be better as a 5th or 6th item, as it is now a scaling item. Statikk Shiv has been nerfed to no longer deal bonus damage to minions as well as nerfing its proc damage. This means it will be a much less effective pushing item and will make wave pushing harder in general. Rapid Firecannon has also been buff, making it a more desired attack speed/crit item for sniper champions such as Caitlyn. Finally Ignite has been buffed to deal more damage, while Heal has been nerfed. This means that we can expect more Ignite supports to pop up and possibly expect Barrier to become a slightly more popular pick for ADCS.
How does bot lane look?
Bot lane is still a early game favored meta, but has slightly shifted more in favor to mid game since last patch. While ADCs will still want to pick early game focused champions, the buffs to lethality and lethality champions makes it not only easier to gank bot lane, but to also kill bot lane.
Popular and Strong ADCS
50% Winrate
17.3% Ban Rate
Direct Changes: None
Caitlyn is strong at the moments thanks to her great early game pressure and relative safety. Piltover Peacemaker is great at pushing the enemy bot lane in and Headshot acts as a great poking tool. Follow this up by 90 Caliber Net giving Caitlyn a free escape and Yordle Snap Trap allowing her to control the pace of the lane; and you have everything you want in a ADC in this meta.
51.9% Winrate
4.9% Ban Rate
Direct Changes: Attack damage growth increase.
Miss fortune is strong when lethality is strong, so naturally she fits right in this meta. Make it Rain is great for pushing and poking the enemy bot lane at the same time. Double Up adds to Miss Fortune's lane presence and Love Tap is both a great poking tool and farming tool. Bullet Time is also insanely good for team fights and is not rivaled by many ADCs in terms of immediate impact. On top of all of this, she is also one of the easier ADCs to play, making her a very easy to pick up champ.
50.1% Winrate
18.6% Ban Rate
Direct Changes: None
League of Draven. That is all I really need to say. It is a early game meta and those who can snowball the best and the quickest will enjoy this meta the most. It also helps that Blood Rush and Stand Aside can helped me negate enemy ganks to bot lane.
Popular and Strong Supports
53.2% Winrate
1.7% Ban Rate
Direct Changes: None
Nami has only one rival to the queen of support and in my opinion she slightly edges out that other support.
In any case Nami is at her best when the meta has a setting in which games are won in the early to mid game. This is that meta. Ebb and Flow is a very effective poke AND healing tool that keeps your bot lane healthy and the enemy bot lane weak. Tidecaller's Blessing is a great assist in helping your ADC both last hit better and farm and could be used by Nami herself should she catch someone with her Aqua Prison. Her Tidal wave also brings a solid engage and acceptable disengage to the team.
52.1% Winrate
8.8% Ban Rate
Direct Changes: None
Janna has been a great pick in many metas due to her Howling Gale and Eye of the Storm. These allow her to be a very hard lane to gank and a hard lane to trade against. Her Monsoon is nothing to forget about either, as it is a very valuable tool to disengage and deny the enemy team with. With her Zephyr getting changed a while back to act more as a poking tool rather than a additional disengage tool, it also makes her a not half bad poker on top of everything else she has to offer!
52.5% Winrate
16.7% Ban Rate
Direct Changes: None
Should a low=non shield/heal bot lane be picked, I suggest going Brand. His Blaze helps make his already high damage kit even more volatile. Pillar of Flame and Sear are hard hitting abilities, guaranteed to keep the enemy bot lane low. His Pyroclasm becomes a solo que god tier ult, since it thrives on lack of communication. High chance it will also make someone flame their team for getting them killed!
Hidden gems
48.8% Winrate
0.9% Ban Rate
Direct Changes: None
People are sleeping on Shen! He does best when he can use Stand United to save his team from snowball junglers. This will help deny the snowball early on and is a decent shield tool in teamfights. He also is a great Aftershock user, since his Shadow Dash allows his to trigger it with ease. Twilight Assault and Spirit's Refuge also help Shen trade with effective in the early game and can be spammed since he is a energy based champion.
Conclusion
Bot lane is in a better state than it was before. High action, high speed bot lanes are being favored over the slow AFK farm ones we saw a few patches ago. While last patch was similar to this patch, high risk-high reward plays are more rewarding than before. It is harder to act safe during this meta without giving too much up. It is sacrifice the now for the later or the later for the now. In my opinion that is how league should be.
FINAL GRADE
ADC Health: A
Support Health: B+
Overall enjoyment: A
Final Grade: A
This patch, while not necessarily big, did make changes to quite a few champions and items. The focus of this patch seemed to aimed at primarily lethality users. More specifically it seemed to be aimed to the junglers. Almost all the changes to these lethality users were buffs or side buffs, so expect a lot more aggressive AD mid lane and jungle picks to be seen.
While this will undoubtedly effect the meta, bot lane had a few changes as well. For supports,
Shurelya's Battlesong was added into the game as a alternative to Turbo Chemtank for non-tank supports. For ADCs Guinsoo's Rageblade was changed to not be a great rush item which made Kog'Maw and Varus so damn strong. Instead, it will now be better as a 5th or 6th item, as it is now a scaling item. Statikk Shiv has been nerfed to no longer deal bonus damage to minions as well as nerfing its proc damage. This means it will be a much less effective pushing item and will make wave pushing harder in general. Rapid Firecannon has also been buff, making it a more desired attack speed/crit item for sniper champions such as Caitlyn. Finally Ignite has been buffed to deal more damage, while Heal has been nerfed. This means that we can expect more Ignite supports to pop up and possibly expect Barrier to become a slightly more popular pick for ADCS.How does bot lane look?
Bot lane is still a early game favored meta, but has slightly shifted more in favor to mid game since last patch. While ADCs will still want to pick early game focused champions, the buffs to lethality and lethality champions makes it not only easier to gank bot lane, but to also kill bot lane.
Popular and Strong ADCS
50% Winrate
17.3% Ban Rate
Direct Changes: None
Caitlyn is strong at the moments thanks to her great early game pressure and relative safety.
Piltover Peacemaker is great at pushing the enemy bot lane in and Headshot acts as a great poking tool. Follow this up by 90 Caliber Net giving Caitlyn a free escape and Yordle Snap Trap allowing her to control the pace of the lane; and you have everything you want in a ADC in this meta.
51.9% Winrate
4.9% Ban Rate
Direct Changes: Attack damage growth increase.
Miss fortune is strong when lethality is strong, so naturally she fits right in this meta.
Make it Rain is great for pushing and poking the enemy bot lane at the same time. Double Up adds to Miss Fortune's lane presence and Love Tap is both a great poking tool and farming tool. Bullet Time is also insanely good for team fights and is not rivaled by many ADCs in terms of immediate impact. On top of all of this, she is also one of the easier ADCs to play, making her a very easy to pick up champ.
50.1% Winrate
18.6% Ban Rate
Direct Changes: None
League of Draven. That is all I really need to say. It is a early game meta and those who can snowball the best and the quickest will enjoy this meta the most. It also helps that Blood Rush and Stand Aside can helped me negate enemy ganks to bot lane.Popular and Strong Supports
53.2% Winrate
1.7% Ban Rate
Direct Changes: None
Nami has only one rival to the queen of support and in my opinion she slightly edges out that other support.
In any case Nami is at her best when the meta has a setting in which games are won in the early to mid game. This is that meta.
Ebb and Flow is a very effective poke AND healing tool that keeps your bot lane healthy and the enemy bot lane weak. Tidecaller's Blessing is a great assist in helping your ADC both last hit better and farm and could be used by Nami herself should she catch someone with her Aqua Prison. Her Tidal wave also brings a solid engage and acceptable disengage to the team.
52.1% Winrate
8.8% Ban Rate
Direct Changes: None
Janna has been a great pick in many metas due to her
Howling Gale and Eye of the Storm. These allow her to be a very hard lane to gank and a hard lane to trade against. Her Monsoon is nothing to forget about either, as it is a very valuable tool to disengage and deny the enemy team with. With her Zephyr getting changed a while back to act more as a poking tool rather than a additional disengage tool, it also makes her a not half bad poker on top of everything else she has to offer!
52.5% Winrate
16.7% Ban Rate
Direct Changes: None
Should a low=non shield/heal bot lane be picked, I suggest going Brand. His
Blaze helps make his already high damage kit even more volatile. Pillar of Flame and Sear are hard hitting abilities, guaranteed to keep the enemy bot lane low. His Pyroclasm becomes a solo que god tier ult, since it thrives on lack of communication. High chance it will also make someone flame their team for getting them killed!Hidden gems
48.8% Winrate
0.9% Ban Rate
Direct Changes: None
People are sleeping on Shen! He does best when he can use
Stand United to save his team from snowball junglers. This will help deny the snowball early on and is a decent shield tool in teamfights. He also is a great Aftershock user, since his Shadow Dash allows his to trigger it with ease. Twilight Assault and Spirit's Refuge also help Shen trade with effective in the early game and can be spammed since he is a energy based champion.Conclusion
Bot lane is in a better state than it was before. High action, high speed bot lanes are being favored over the slow AFK farm ones we saw a few patches ago. While last patch was similar to this patch, high risk-high reward plays are more rewarding than before. It is harder to act safe during this meta without giving too much up. It is sacrifice the now for the later or the later for the now. In my opinion that is how league should be.
FINAL GRADE
ADC Health: A
Support Health: B+
Overall enjoyment: A
Final Grade: A
For example she only has one hard CC in the form of
TLDR; She is actually a good champion, but only at lower elos. Anything above high gold and most people will be able to play around her too well to be a great pick.