Welcome back to another riveting round of patch note analysis! This time around we'll be checking out the Patch 4.11 notes, which feature a TON of jungle/jungler changes along with nerfs on a handful of popular champions. Let's take a look at the goods~
Nerfs: Braum, Jax, Kayle, Skarner, Yasuo, Ziggs
Buffs:Nautilus, Nidalee, Vladimir, Zac
Tweaks: Maokai
Buffs
NautilusThe reduced cooldown on his passive is going to make him very strong late game, and is an ideal counter to certain champions rising in poularity such as Galio.
Nidalee
I've seen some Nidalees already at an absurdly powerful level even at Patch 4.10 after the rework, and also seen some absurdly useless Nidalees in the same said patch. That being said, I think that the buffs will start working in more of the first. Currently, 27% of Nidalees are still building Deathcaps, which means many are still going down the AP route, possibly the straight AP route. While her overall performance based on solo queue win rate is looking pathetic at the moment, I think that in time it should even out simply through the uniqueness of her kit.
Meow
Vladimir
Awesome change on Vlad to give him some more utility during pool, but most players won't see an immediate change. However, with AD champions growing in strength, he may see more power top lane to combat armor itemization.
Zac
Too little too late, but at least the jungle item changes will benefit him as well. I'm hesitant to say that he's going to make any meaningful comeback in the next patch, but maybe in another patch or two we could see a rise in strength.
Nerfs
Braum
Still a great champion despite his nerfs, the only people who say he's not strong anymore are the same people trying to get him off the permaban list.
Jax
A nerf that was a long time coming, and hits him all around. He's probably still going to be very strong, but I don't see a clear competitor to take over his spot as the strongest top laner just yet. We'll likely see a comeback on certain other popular snowball champions like Darius, Irelia, and Jarvan IV.
Kayle
It'll be interesting to see how her nerfs affect her as they're all numbers based. However, again it's tough to say who will take her spot. My money's on Katarina though.
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My blades are getting itchy...
Tweaks
Maokai
Q: Nerfed, not a big deal
W: Cast time removal reduces chance to flash during jump, which can be good/bad depending on the situation. The percentage based damage is pretty cool, especially at high levels and gives him a lot more presence in teamfights.
E: Nice change on the saplings; the slow gives him some needed extra utility, especially with the nerf on his ultimate.
R: Large nerf on R to be self cast, and takes away from a lot of his utility, especially when simultaneously coupled with the radius decrease.
Overall, I think it's a buff on him, but he might need a bit more before being "strong" again.
Skarner
Minor nerf, I think he's still very strong.
Yasuo
Fairly large nerf to Yasuo, I'm not sure if this was warranted, and definitely gimps his early game a good amount.
Ziggs
Minor nerfs as nobody really complains about him, but he just appears to win a lot.
Jungle Changes
The new Quill Coat item seems very interesting, and will definitely accelerate a lot of jungle cleartimes for slow, tanky champions like Nautilus. I could definitely also perhaps see jungle Shen making a comeback as well. The fact that it builds into Spirit of the Ancient Golem is also amazing as it allows for a quick transition from the jungle to tanky teamfighting, and takes away a lot of the advantage that high damage junglers had prior to this patch.
Beware Amumu this patch, he might be at his strongest yet.
What do you think? Agree/disagree with the analysis? Think I missed something? Post your thoughts below!
What do you think? Agree/disagree with the analysis? Think I missed something? Post your thoughts below!