Riot Games is shaking things up in League of Legends with the upcoming Patch 13.22 update. They are making significant changes to the champion Brand, aiming to make him a viable option in the mid lane or jungle roles. The development team is satisfied with Brand’s current state as a support in Season 13 and now wants to expand his versatility by allowing him to deal more damage in addition to his traditional role in the dual-lane.
League lead gameplay designer, Matt “Phroxzon” Leung-Harrison, shared this intention in the Patch 13.22 preview on Twitter. The specific details of these changes will be revealed soon.
It is worth noting that Brand has not been performing exceptionally well as a support in the current meta. According to U.GG, he has a win rate of 48.71 percent at high ranks in this patch. Although this win rate surpasses the average at all ranks, Brand has struggled to reach the top-tier of support champions. Despite receiving adjustments throughout Season 13, such as increased ability power ratio and mana restoration, his win rate as a support remained relatively unchanged. In Patch 13.21, he underwent a series of stat adjustments in an attempt to improve his performance.
This is not the first time Riot has experimented with Brand in the jungle role. In a recent rundown by Riot’s Phreak, he discussed the desire to expand the champion pool for mages, including Brand, beyond just the support role. Phreak believes that many mages can successfully function in multiple positions, and introducing them to the jungle role would enhance team composition possibilities.
Phreak stated, “Mages are viable in support, viable in bot lane, viable in mid-lane, but very few can work in the jungle—why not open the class up to more things?” This approach aims to provide players with more options and potentially create enjoyable gameplay experiences.
As someone who has attempted, but failed, to make “Brungle” (Brand jungle) work in previous League updates and metas, I am excited about Riot’s endorsement of Brand in the jungle role. I feel validated and cannot wait to give it a try.
We can expect more detailed information about the changes to Brand’s kit in League Patch 13.22 soon. The official patch notes will be released in the coming days.
Source: DOTESPORTS
