Nunu: From Worst Jungler to Best Overnight
Nunu, the League of Legends champion, underwent a significant transformation in Patch 8.2, going from the worst jungler to the best in the game practically overnight. Although a hotfix was implemented to address some of the issues, Nunu’s dominance remains unchanged.
The Patch 8.2 buff gave Nunu two significant enhancements. Firstly, the Blood Boil ability was enhanced to provide a 40 percent increase in AP and attack speed to the target ally, similar to Rabadon’s Deathcap. This made champions like Azir, Diana, and Kog’Maw incredibly powerful when paired with Nunu, essentially turning him into a Blood Boil bot.
In addition, Nunu’s basic attacks were given on-hit magic damage through the Well Fed passive ability. This meant that while Well Fed, Nunu’s basic attacks dealt a small amount of magic damage, based on the rank of his Q ability, with an additional five damage per 100 AP. However, a recent hotfix nerfed this mechanic, reducing the damage per attack to 1-5 and maintaining the five damage increase per 100 AP.
Interestingly, Nunu’s newfound strength primarily stems from the Blood Boil ability rather than the Well Fed mechanic. As a result, the reduction in on-hit damage has had minimal impact on his overall performance.
Despite the hotfix, Nunu’s winrate remains at 54.27 percent, which is only slightly lower than before the patch. His playrate also remains high, solidifying his position as the best jungler in the game, regardless of the hotfix.
Riot Games is rarely known to issue double-hotfixes for a single champion, indicating that Nunu may not be reassessed until Patch 8.3, which could be at least two weeks away.
Key phrases: Nunu, League of Legends, Patch 8.2, hotfix, Blood Boil, Well Fed, on-hit damage, winrate, playrate, jungler, Riot Games, Patch 8.3