One of the game’s main developers, Riot Games’ August, believes LoL is in a less than ideal state for the current meta in League of Legends heavily favors Corki and Tristana in the mid lane for various reasons.

During a Twitch stream on June 6, August delved into the details of the current state of League, focusing particularly on the mid lane dominance of Tristana and Corki. He expressed concerns about the impact these two champions are having on the game. Although he believes they will likely be nerfed, he is not convinced that this will fully address the issue.

“Personally, I agree with you that Corki and Trist being in the meta is probably pretty rough and I don’t think the game looks like it’s in a great spot when those two AD Carries that are really safe are the ones you should be playing in mid lane,” 

While acknowledging that Corki and Tristana are not “optimal” for the current state of League, August also pointed out the difficulties in balancing the current meta due to other gameplay dynamics.

Like, AP junglers are currently very strong and popular, which August sees as positive for League. However, this popularity has increased the demand for AD-based mid laners to ensure teams have a diversified damage. Currently, Corki and Tristana are the best options.

August further explained that other mid laners, such as assassins, are not picked in the current meta because they are weaker and less suitable. He suggested that Corki and Tristana might simply be overpowered and in need of nerfs. However, he also proposed that making other AD champions viable could be a better solution.

“They might just need nerfs. But in a meta where you need to run a physical damage mid laner to account for your magic damage jungle, if there’s only two physical damage mid laners you can run, that’s going to look like these two characters are completely broken, “

Currently, both Tristana and Corki are extremely popular in high-ranked solo queue. In the 2024 LPL Summer Split so far, they have a 100% pick and ban rate, according to Oracle’s Elixir.

Fortunately for those tired of the current state of the mid lane, significant changes appear to be on the horizon. Riot Phroxzon has hinted at major adjustments for both Tristana and Corki, possibly coming as early as Patch 14.14.

The current meta of the summer professional arena can be sum in two ADC champions: Tristana and Corki, dominating the mid lane and leading to boredom for viewers.

This current season has seen an AD-centric mid-lane meta, with marksmen champions consistently appearing in this role and maintaining a very stable win rate. Specifically, Corki and Tristana stand out as the key marksmen in the mid lane, and teams are eager to secure one of these two champions.

Statistics from recent Summer tournaments highlight this trend, with Tristana and Corki boasting presence rates of 85% and 64% respectively. Their dominance is evident as they surpass other popular mid lane picks such as Taliyah or Leblanc, who have a presence rate of less than 45%. This clearly demonstrates that Corki and Tristana are exceptionally powerful picks, causing significant issues in the professional scene.

In summer regional tournaments, the LPL typically commences early, and as soon as LPL teams began heavily utilizing these champions, other regions quickly recognized their advantages.

Corki and Tristana offer reliable damage, strong laning phases, and flexibility, making them ideal choices in a meta that emphasizes mid lane and carry junglers. This understanding has led to their high presence rate in matches.

Riot Games has released 3 updates since the start of the summer tournament, but apart from a slight nerf to Corki (after his rework) to balance his damage, there have been minimal changes affecting these champions. Consequently, teams continue to use Corki and Tristana extensively in all matches during the Esports World Cup.

The community is growing tired of the lack of creativity in champion selection for carries, and there is hope that Riot Games will implement significant adjustments soon. It’s noteworthy that Tristana not only dominates the professional arena but also enjoys high popularity among regular players, yet Riot has maintained her status across several patches.

In contrast, during the Spring season, the meta focused on control mages, with Orianna and Azir being the top picks. This resulted in a more balanced champion presence, with various viable counterpicks, rather than the current scenario where teams feel forced to choose between just two champions.

The mid-lane meta revolving around only 2 champions is causing a sense of monotony in new tournaments like the Esports World Cup. It also indicates that the remainder of the summer tournaments may follow a similar pattern unless Riot Games introduces a significant update to shake up the meta.

In Patch 14.12, more adjustments are being made to keep the game balanced following the major changes in Patch 14.10. Though Patch 14.12 is still in its early stages, the developers are focusing on Corki, aiming to make him less dependent on critical strikes for dealing damage.

League of Legends is set to introduce Patch 14.12 soon, which will bring several changes to the popular game. This patch aims to address the balance issues that emerged after the significant update in Patch 14.10. The developers are working on making adjustments to Corki, specifically targeting his reliance on critical strikes to inflict damage. This is part of their ongoing efforts to keep the game fair and balanced for all players.

League of Legends patch 14.12 early notes

Champions

Aatrox

Base Stats

• Health regen growth reduced: 1.0 >>> 0.5
• Armor growth increased: 4.45 >>> 4.8

E: Umbral Dash

• Healing changed: 18-24% >>> 16%
• Healing now scales with 0.9% bonus HP
• Healing is no longer increased to 20-36% during R

R: World Ender

• Bonus healing increased: 25-45% >>> 50-100%

Akali

E: Shuriken Flip

• Base damage reduced: 100-450 >>> 70-350
• AD ratio increased: 85% total AD >>> 100% total AD
• AP ratio decreased: 120% >>> 110%

Akshan

Passive: Dirty Fighting

• Base damage changed:

• Level 1-5: 10-30 >>> 15
• Level 6-10: 35-65 >>> 40
• Level 11-15: 75-120 >>> 80
• Level 16-18: 135-165 >>> 150

E: Heroic Swing

• Base damage reduced: 25-85 >>> 15-75
• AD ratio changed: 17.5% bonus AD >>> 15% total AD

Ashe

Passive: Frost Shot

• Damage decreased: 120% + Crit Change x Crit Damage >>> 115% + Crit Chance x Crit Damage

Blitzcrank

Base Stats

• Health reduced: 650 >>> 600

Passive: Mana Barrier

• Duration increased: 4 seconds >>> 10 seconds

Corki

Base Stats

• Base AD reduced: 55 >>> 52
• Attack speed growth increased: 2.3% >>> 2.8%

Q: Phosphorous Bomb

• Base damage increased: 50-250 >>> 70-270
• Cooldown decreased : 9-7 >>> 8-6 seconds
• AP ratio increased: 70% >>> 100%

E: Gatling Gun

• Base damage reduced: 100-300 >>> 100-280
• Resist reduction reduced: 12-24 >>> 12-20
• Mana increased: 50-70 >>> 50-90

Master Yi

Q: Alpha Strike

• Bonus monster damage decreased: 75-175 >>> 65-165

W: Meditate

• Initial damage reduction reduced: 90% >>> 70%
• Cooldown increased: 9 >>> 10

Naafiri

Passive: We Are More

• Packmate’s base AD increased: 6-30 >>> 12-32
• Pacckmate’s bonus AD ratio increased: 4.5% >>> 5%

Q: Darkin Daggers

• Cooldown reduced: 11-7 seconds >>> 9-7 seconds
• Bleed now affects small monsters
• Q2 heal now works on large/ epic monsters

Nilah

Base Stats

• Health regen increased: 4 >>> 6
• Armor growth increased: 4.2 >>> 4.5

Skarner

Base Stats

• Base health reduced: 650 >>> 610
• Health growth increased: 102 >>> 105

Passive: Threads of Vibration

• Health damage changed: 7-10% max HP >>> 5-11% max HP

Talon

Q: Noxian Diplomacy

• Cast time now scales with Attack Speed

W: Rake

• Jungle damage modifier reduced: 105% >>> 100%
• Outgoing damage increased: 40-80 >>> 50-90

Tryndamere

Q: Bloodlust

• Bonus AD decreased: 10-30 >>> 5-25

E: Spinning Slash

• Damage reduced: 80-200 >>> 75-195

Twisted Fate

Base Stats

• AD growth decreased: 3.3 >>> 2.5

Q: Wild Cards

• AP ratio reduced: 90% >>> 85%

W: Pick A Card

• Mana cost increased: 30-70 >>> 50-70
• Blue Card Mana restore increased: 50-150 >>> 70-150

Vladimir

W: Sanguine Pool

• Health cost reduced: 20% current health >>> 15% current health
• Healing increased: 15% of pre-mitigation damage >>> 30% of pre-mitigation damage
• Bonus health ratio increased: 10% >>> 15%

Yone

Base Stats

• Armor increased: 30 >>> 33

Yuumi

E: Zoomies

• Cooldown flattened: 12-10 >>> 10 seconds

R: Final Chapter

Items

Lord Dominik’s Regards

• Cloak of Agility replaced by Noonquiver in recipe

Noonquiver

• Additional Long Sword added to recipe, cost unchanged
• AD reduced: 25 >>> 20

Scout’s Slingshot

• Second Dagger added to recipe
• Cost reduced: 900 >>> 800

Serylda’s Grudge

• Armor Pen increased: 20% (+0.11% per 1 Lethality) >>> 25% (+0.11% per 1 Lethality)

Statikk Shiv

• Pickaxe added to recipe, cost unchanged

Void Staff

• Ability Power increased: 80 >>> 90

Runes

First Strike

• Base gold reduced: 15 >>> 10
• Damage amp reduced: 8% >>> 7%

According to the official patch schedule, players can expect Patch 14.12 to go live on June 12, 2024.

Corki has held a prominent position among the League of Legends champions for quite some time. However, the gameplay of extensive farming followed by groupings for team fights has failed to captivate the audience. In the upcoming Patch 14.10, this might all undergo a significant transformation.

On April 30, Riot Games’ developer David “Phreak” Turley unveiled a comprehensive set of Corki adjustments slated for Patch 14.10. These changes mark a substantial overhaul for the champion, with the removal of his iconic ability, The Package, standing out as the most notable change.

Previously akin to Rumble’s ultimate, The Package allowed Corki to make a fiery entrance into the battlefield, leaving behind a trail of destruction. Additionally, Corki is set to receive a substantial boost of 15% bonus true damage, extending even to his Sheen-enhanced attacks.

Furthermore, Corki’s kit is due for an extensive makeover. His Q ability, Phosphorus Bomb, will now deploy faster, boast improved attack damage ratios, and undergo changes in cooldown and mana cost.

Meanwhile, Valkyrie is scheduled for visual enhancements along with a damage increase. The Gatling Gun ability, while seeing adjustments in cooldown and shred cap and rate increases, will experience reductions in overall damage and AD ratio. Moreover, Corki’s ultimate, Missile Barrage, will undergo a transformation in functionality, granting Corki increased ammunition as he levels up, alongside refunds on champion auto-attacks.

To balance the potential overwhelming strength of these changes, Riot has introduced several adjustments. The ammunition rate of his ultimate will be nerfed, and bonus AD scaling with ranks will be eliminated. Additionally, the ultimate’s mana cost will be reduced, and it will deal physical damage, albeit with augmented base statistics.

In addition to his ability adjustments, Corki’s fundamental statistics are also in for an overhaul. His base AD will see a reduction, while his attack speed will receive a boost, alongside some durability enhancements.

Riot’s objective behind these changes is to reintroduce Corki as a non-traditional marksman in the bot lane. Phreak’s assertion that Corki’s gameplay has grown “boring” underscores Riot’s commitment to enhancing both the player experience and spectator engagement.

Given his extensive career and numerous achievements, Faker consistently finds opportunities to break records. Between 2022 and 2023, it seemed as though every game played by Faker added another remarkable record to his already illustrious list of accomplishments.

In a recent match against Kwangdong Freecs during the 2024 Spring LCK, T1 secured a decisive 2-0 victory. While the professional significance of this match may not have been particularly noteworthy, as T1 demonstrated their dominance over Kwangdong Freecs, it was another occasion for Faker to etch his name in the record books.

Despite the lack of intense competition, T1’s strategic triumph served as a psychological boost for the team following their loss to Gen.G on the tournament’s opening day.

Individually, Faker once again broke a record, adding to his legacy. In this instance, he became the first player to play Corki in a professional match and maintain an undefeated streak spanning 19 consecutive matches, a feat dating back to the 2020 Spring LCK.

Remarkably, he has sustained this milestone for almost four years, emphasizing the enduring nature of his exceptional gameplay. Additionally, his win rate with Corki stands at an impressive 75%, further highlighting his mastery of the champion.

It’s worth noting that Corki hasn’t always been a prominent pick in the meta, and it has been one of Faker’s less frequently used champions throughout his career. Since 2016, Faker has used Corki in only 50 matches, excluding those in which the champion was banned.

This becomes even more noteworthy considering that, in the game against Kwangdong Freecs, the T1 mid laner chose Corki over Ahri, a highly popular champion, marking a departure from his typical selections.

Corki, known for its complexity and requiring specific conditions to be effective in a game, adds an additional layer of significance to Faker’s milestone. Given that Corki is not currently a meta favorite, his achievement becomes even more exceptional.

As the game continues to introduce new champions, the original roster occasionally grapples with obsolescence. In response, Riot Games has been proactive in updating and reworking champions, ensuring they remain up-to-date and competitive.

While major reworks have been made, Riot’s approach extends beyond, with ongoing balance changes aimed at breathing new life into older champions. The community’s latest proposition focuses on ADC Corki, advocating for a transformative rework that would pivot him towards the jungle, potentially unlocking a new chapter in his viability.

LoL community suggested Riot rework Corki into a jungler

The present consensus on Corki revolves around his status as an overlooked ADC, sporting a very low win rate and an even lower pick rate that consigns the champion to relative obscurity.

Players argue that his existing skill set aligns more favorably with the demands of the jungle, particularly considering his current lack of CC abilities, rendering him a less frustrating choice for that role.

“While his ganks would be a bit underwhelming, the package aspect of Corki will make him very fun in objective fights and skirmishes.”

“A Corki coming in from out of vision with a package can be frustrating but that’s literally Zac’s gameplay pattern except you can actually kill the Corki and you hear sirens when he picks up the package!”

A distinctive aspect of his abilities lies in his unique passive, allowing him to drop a special package on enemies, creating a trail of fire in its wake.

Drawing inspiration from Riot’s successful buffs to champions like Brand and Zyra, bolstering their jungle viability, players envision a parallel scenario for Corki. They contend that strategic adjustments and buffs could potentially bring him back into the spotlight, reshaping his identity and impact on the game.

This call for change echoes the ongoing narrative within the League of Legends community – a pursuit of diversity, adaptability, and a commitment to ensuring that each champion, old or new, retains its place in the evolving tapestry of the Summoner’s Rift.

As the debate gains momentum, players eagerly await the prospect of Corki’s resurgence, contemplating the potential shifts in the meta and the dynamic strategies that could arise from this proposed reimagining.

As we all know, Riot Games introduced a huge adjustment directed against Teleport in patch 12.1, when it could only be used on turrets before the 14 minutes mark. This modification has led the meta, particularly in leagues, to entirely alter from the previous season 11. Instead of picking lineups that can fight early in the bottom lane, most professional teams now opt for a road-focused game.

It wouldn’t matter if Riot’s modification worked perfectly as planned. However, this inclusion was severely criticized lately at the LPL Spring 2022 tournament. Specifically, in the LPL match between OMG and AL, Zdz surprise everyone when there was a TP to his base despite him being right there in the fountain. It wasn’t until the replay was watched that it was discovered that the teleport could be used on Corki’s Package in some way.

This function is so unexpected that the LPL caster is completely unaware of it. It is worth noting that the ridiculousness of this bug is that no other champion (besides Corki himself) can click on the Package to perform any other action. Keep in mind that Teleport is still a form of a point-and-click ability; it’s absurd that you can use it on an object that you can’t click on.

In terms of the impact of this bug, it may radically affect a match when a player wastes a summoner spell with an excessively long cooldown.  Remember that in the current meta, Teleport is still incredibly essential in professional matchups. 

It is anticipated that Riot Games will quickly discover a solution to correct this issue, which has the potential to have a significant influence on the world’s best competitions.

Many players refer to Marksmen as ADC, which stands for Attack Damage Carry. We can see from the name that they are the team’s primary source of damage, and they frequently seek items that offer high DPS such as AD and crit items. This was somewhat changed in the preseason 2022 when several Marksmen migrated to the AP build. 

It is obvious that the ADC design game is entirely against other roles. Riot has always League to be played at a faster pace, especially when adjusting in favor of positions with a lot of power at the start of the game, such as jungle or mid lane.

However, ADC items make this class particularly vulnerable at the start of the game (even when they have a Mythic item). It is only until they have at least 3 items by Infinity Edge, which provides an additional 35% crit damage, do they start becoming a threat. As a consequence, ADC has relatively little influence on the match.

Preseason 2022 turns Marksmen into Mages

As a result, players are compelled to seek out more efficient, effective solutions to the game. Then, after preseason 2022, the gameplay for Mage items arrived, making some ADCs exceedingly uncomfortable and stronger. The rationale is also quite straightforward since all AP items deal a massive amount of damage.

Ezreal is one Marksman that grows significantly stronger with Crown of the Shattered Queen. This build has been giving Ezreal an exceedingly high win rate with nearly 56%. The item’s passive has helped ADC such as Ezreal survive in the team fight longer, making him harder to be one-shot.

Others like Kai’sa or Corki also change to a hyper-damage playstyle. According to op.gg, these builds are particularly successful when possessing such high win rates.

The 3 champions mentioned above are typical of the ADC movement on AP items that is taking place in the game. This demonstrates that Riot’s method of altering Marksmen and providing things is a major issue. Without future adjustments, it would not be shocking if traditional ADC eventually lost their positions and move on to become champions who could take advantage of AP items.

Major changes are at the horizon for Worlds 2021.

League of Legends fans is well aware that the game always releases modifications before each Worlds. Riot, on the other hand, has undergone a completely different development than in prior years.

Riot Games intends to adjust the strength of champions in League of Legends this year, rather than concentrating on fan requests or expectations. The publisher and organizers do not want the event to become a showcase for the strength of hot champions in the current meta, sacrificing fairness and diversity in professional players’ playstyles.

Riot Games’ creative director, Jeevun “Jag” Sidhu, stated that two patches, 11.18 and 11.19, will undoubtedly impact the meta of League of Legends in order to prepare for Worlds 2021.

The design team has thoroughly analysed previous professional matches. They intend to provide further tactical and synergistic diversity, as well as strategic thinking stimulation and appeal to audiences worldwide at Worlds 2021.

The developer also believes that the “unexpected” and “unique” strategies will be able to return to the biggest professional event of the year – Worlds 2021 – as Miss Fortune Support did at Worlds 2016, or as the bot lane Sona-Taric combination did for a while.

Sidhu also stated that he will not allow champions like Viego, Gnar, and Leona to dominate the meta of Worlds 2021 and therefore reduce the event’s variety. Furthermore, champions with a low pick rate will receive a significant buff – as Corki was mentioned in a Twitter post with a list of buffs up to 3 pages.

Lillia and Draven will also benefit from League of Legends’ creator. Only a short time after the release has the number of Lillia players dropped dramatically, and Draven has been absent from the professional arena for an extended period of time.

Riot expressed a desire to bring the two champions back to the professional League of Legends arena by increasing Lillia’s attack speed and healing ability. Ultimate – Whirling Death and Passive – League of Draven still has a lot of untapped potential – according to the development team.

Update 11.18 known as “Worlds-A” is scheduled to be released on September 9 – about half a month before Worlds.

Mid Lane Eclipse Tristana

What exactly is Tristana Mid’s “new” in League Patch 11.16? From the runes – Hail of Blades, Taste of Blood, Eyeball Collection, Relentless Hunter, Legends: Bloodline, Presence of Mind – to the major items – Infinity Edge, Phantom Dancer, The Collector, Lord Dominik’s Regards – it’s all familiar. The only difference is in the first item, Eclipse. What is the significance of Eclipse? What makes Eclipse stronger than Kraken Slayer in her standard builds?

If you can purchase the item before the opponent, Eclipse and The Collector make an excellent combination. You will have a substantial quantity of lethality and armor penetration in your grip at this point. Tristana has the confidence to jump in to inflict damage and then jump out safely because of Eclipse’s movement speed, additional shield from its passive, and finishing ability from The Collector that made her a monster in League Patch 11.16.

Tristana’s core gameplay in League Patch 11.16 with this build will be similar to that of an assassin approaching from afar, dealing with opponents, and then retreating incredibly quickly. This will assist you to snowball extremely well, especially at the mid-game stages where you can invade the enemy jungle and spread pressure throughout the entire map. If you’ve come this far, you’ll go even further with your pressure and advantage that will lead your team to victory.

Hail of Blades – Lethality Varus

Lethality Varus is not unusual, if not very popular at the time. But that’s Varus with the Arcane Comet rune, and today’s champion is Lethality Varus, but with Hail of Blades. This playstyle was also seen briefly in LCK, demonstrating Varus’ one-shot ability in League Patch 11.16.

Hail of Blades, Taste of Blood, Eyeball Collection, Ultimate Hunter, Presence of Mind, and Coup de Grace are the complete runes that will be on your build  in League Patch 11.16. Because of his W (Blighted Quiver) passive, each of Varus’ basic attacks will apply a stack of poison arrows on the enemy (maximum of 3 stacks on a unit), then the following ability triggers “poison arrow” and delivers damage depending on a percentage of that enemy’s maximum health. Varus will effortlessly accumulate and then face a devastating Q thanks to the Hail of Blades (Piercing Arrow).

Varus must be close enough to the opponent to shoot first, therefore Eclipse is a more effective lethality item than Duskblade of Draktharr or Prowler’s Claw with the extra shield and movement speed from its passive. The Muramana, Serylda’s Grudge, Edge of Night, and Guardian Angel (or Zhonya’s Hourglass) will be the items required for this playstyle in League Patch 11.16.

Hail of Blades Trundle Support

Hail of Blades Trundle, another familiar face in the Support role, has recently made a solid debut in LCK. However, in League Patch 11.16 patch’s rating, Koreans actually utilize him a lot more than ever before.

Hail of Blades assists him in dealing maximum damage on his initial three attacks, ideally complemented with the combo of Basic Attack + Chomp + Basic Attack. The Domination branch’s rest choices are Zombie Ward and Ultimate Hunter, since Chomp gives an immediate slow to the bitten target, Cheap Shot will help Trundle deal a bit of bonus damage, and Zombie Ward and Ultimate Hunter will be the better options of all for the support role.

Biscuit Delivery and Time Warp Tonic will be very interesting choices in League Patch 11.16; their aim is that when used while standing on Frozen Domain, Trundle’s healing ability will be incredibly “magical,” earning you amazing outplays potential with the extra bonus movement speed and damage from its effect.

Equipped like other tank supports, Trundle will still build Locket of the Iron Solari, Anathema’s Chains, Watchful Wardstone, Spirit Visage as his core items…

Skarner + Corki Mid Jung Combo

Korea is one of the most popular servers for using Corki, and many professional matches have demonstrated how strong Corki is late game. But what is it about Corki + Skarner that has gamers clamoring for it in League Patch 11.16?

Skarner will focus on “camping” to take care of Corki for an obvious cause. Although they appear to be ordinary and unremarkable, these two champions complement each other quite well. Skarker is particularly strong in single capture moments, with the ultimate oppressive that will hit pointing right at the target; with Turbo Chemtank, the ganks get even easier. When combined with the Phase Rush rune, the opponent will still get hauled out by Skarner’s incredible speed even if they hide in their turret.

Corki is a very weak champion in his early phases, thus boosting him will be a “guaranteed investment.” Corki, in addition to Skarner’s ability to capture single targets, works extremely well with Packages. When the other lanes call for assistance since Skarner is “taking care” of Mid, Corki can personally assist the other lanes using Teleport and Package. If there is no mistake in the early stages, Corki will become uncontrollable in the late game and become an absolute monster to be dealt with.