Riot reveals balance changes for Akali in patch 10.3

League of Legends 10.3 patch details are out, and there’s some important news for Akali mains. Remember that game-changing rework she received in 2018? Well, get ready to face some challenges with nerfs coming to PBE.

Lead Gameplay Designer Mark Yetter shared some patch news on Twitter explaining the upcoming balancing changes. “Rather than straight damage nerfs, we want to reduce the amount and reliability of her escapes.”

The team has some Akali changes coming to the PBE for 10.3 – rather than straight damage nerfs, we want to reduce the amount and reliability of her escapes.

These will have a bit longer than normal on PBE so we can get feels feedback and extra testing. pic.twitter.com/x4xnjZNMjh

— Mark Yetter (@MarkYetter) January 16, 2020

Social media feedback

Many Twitter users were unhappy with the news; most of the feedback mentioned that Akali has received too many nerfs as it is. One reply mentioned that the majority of players aren’t able to successfully play this champion. Unfortunately in Diamond, the Akali win rate is 46.5% with a worse rate in lower elo. Moreover, in Masters and higher, her win rate jumps to 55%. Without a doubt, nerfing her further would make her extremely difficult to play.

These changes are as follows:

W: Twilight Shroud

• (New) If Akali is immobilized while in her shroud, she is revealed for the duration of the immobilizing effect.
• Akali gains 20/25/30/35/40% movement speed while in her shroud >>> Akali gains 30/35/40/45/50% decaying movement speed for two seconds on the cast.

R: Perfect Execution

• R 1 Targeting: Free targeted >>> Enemy champion targeted
• R 1 Target Range: 625
• R 1 Dash Distance: 625-675 based on distance from them
• R 2 Dash Speed: 3000 > 1900

YouTube user Eldimarix, who is part of the official Riot Games League Partner Program, recently uploaded a preview video with these Akali nerfs in PBE.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgW8eMXWU3M

Coming soon after 10.2

As a matter of fact, Yetter had teased the upcoming Akali changes on January 14, showing a list of patch 10.2 updates. Players were given the heads up since these changes are pretty important. Riot Games already nerfed Akali once in the past year.

10.2 Patch Preview with a few additions. We have some work in flight for akali in 10.3 as well, but she's not in this list. pic.twitter.com/w5PzatNXPv

— Mark Yetter (@MarkYetter) January 15, 2020

Finally, patch 10.3 notes are to be released two weeks after 10.2 notes are dropped on Wednesday. Patch 10.2 is also going to have some pretty big changes, such as Draven, Lulu, Sona, and Rift Herald buffs.

What do you think of these updates? Let us know in the comment section. Follow us on Daily Esports for more info on the upcoming patches!