Popular Mid Champions Set for Comeback with Recent Buffs
Three popular mid champions may soon return to the spotlight due to buffs currently on the PBE. Corki, Cassiopeia, and Vel’Koz have all been overshadowed by stronger mid laners like Zoe and Talon.
Corki’s buffs focus on his early game damage with his E ability, Gatling Gun. The base damage of the spell will increase by 40 at rank one and scale up to the same damage as on live servers at max rank. The resistance shred on the ability is also receiving a significant tweak, doubling from four to eight at rank one and scaling up to its live version of 20 at max rank.
Corki, who was once a staple in mid lane, has experienced a decline in playrate in recent patches. His unique combination of physical and magic damage makes it difficult to itemize against him, so any damage buffs to his early game might push him back into the spotlight.
Unlike Corki, Cassiopeia and Vel’Koz will be dealing much more damage as they scale up. Cassiopeia’s Q ability, Noxious Blast, is receiving an AP ratio buff from 0.7 to 0.8. Additionally, its base damage will also increase. While the damage will remain the same at rank one, the spell will deal 20 more damage at max rank. Cassiopeia will become a massive damage threat if she has enough time to scale and purchase items.
Vel’Koz, Cassiopeia’s mid lane counterpart, is also receiving an AP ratio buff to his Q ability, Plasma Fission. The ratio will be increased from 0.6 to 0.8, meaning Vel’Koz will also deal significant damage as the game progresses. It’s worth noting that his favorite item is also receiving a buff.
Liandry’s Torment, a core item for champions looking for damage over time or spell penetration, is having its burn damage increased from one to 1.5 percent of an enemy’s maximum health. Movement-impaired enemies will still take two percent of their maximum health as damage while under the effects of Liandry’s.
While the damage buffs to Cassiopeia and Vel’Koz will be game-changing in the late game, reaching that point in the current meta may prove challenging. Out of these three champions, Corki is likely to see the biggest surge in play and winrate, at least until the meta slows down.
Barring any changes, these buffs are expected to go live with Patch 8.14 next week.