Jungle Changes: Nerf to Tank Junglers
There were some changes to the jungle in the latest patch, but I’ll focus on the ones that directly impact the jungle and junglers. If you want to see the full list of changes, you can check out Riot’s official patch notes for patch 5.7 here.
The first change is a nerf to damage scaling, which has been lowered to 5% from 10%. This change is aimed at tank junglers and will make the gromp buff deal less damage to camps and champions. It’s a minor adjustment and won’t have a massive impact on tank junglers.
Item Changes: Cinderhulk Nerf
Next, we have some changes to items. Cinderhulk, the jungle enchantment item, now has 50 less health and costs 50 more gold. This is another nerf targeted at tank junglers. While it will take a bit more gold to obtain Cinderhulk and it won’t reward as much health, it’s not a game-changing nerf. The core features of Cinderhulk are still intact.
Champion Changes: Buffs and Nerfs
There are several changes to champions, but I won’t go into detail on all of them. There are buffs to Darius, Morgana, and others. One notable buff is to Darius’ ultimate, which now refunds mana on kill and has a completely reset cooldown at rank 3. This is a welcome buff to Darius players, especially those in the top lane. Jungle Darius players will also benefit from this change.
Rengar also received a buff to his Q ability, increasing its damage. This will improve his clear speed and overall damage output. Expect to see him more often in solo queue.
Shen’s ultimate ability has also been buffed, with a reduction in cooldown. This will allow Shen players to use their ultimate more often, especially at rank 3. This is a nice buff for both top and jungle Shen players.
Finally, Fizz and Hecarim received some changes. Fizz’s W ability has been nerfed, while Hecarim’s base health regen and base mana regen have been lowered. These changes will affect both their laning ability and their performance in the jungle.
Predictions and Closing Statement
Riot is trying to reduce the power of the tank-jungle meta with these changes, but it doesn’t look like they’re planning to completely change it right away. They’re taking a gradual approach to balancing champions, which is a good thing. Expect to see less jungle Fizz picks, but more Eve picks and possibly more Shen as well. The buff to Eve’s damage will make her stronger in solo queue, especially in the early-mid game. Keep an eye out for more smites in the game, as top laners are starting to use challenging smite + cinderhulk top combo. Riot might address this issue in the future since they don’t like jungle items being used in lane.
TL;DR
In summary, Cinderhulk received a nerf, but it’s still a viable item. Various champions got nerfed, while some ultimates received buffs. Prepare to see more Eve picks in games.
jungle changes, tank junglers, item changes, Cinderhulk nerf, champion changes, Darius buff, Rengar buff, Shen buff, Fizz nerf, Hecarim nerf, predictions