Riot Games is undoing the recent balance changes made to Janna in League of Legends Patch 13.22 in order to restore her enjoyment for players. The buffs she received early in Season 13 and the rework in Season 12 had thrown her off-course, but with Season 14 approaching, Riot developers are now focused on making the game and the next ranked season more enjoyable for players. Matt ‘RiotPhroxzon’ Leung-Harrison, the lead gameplay designer at LoL, mentioned in his early Patch 13.22 preview on Oct. 30 that they would be making changes to Janna to make her fun to play again.
One specific change being reverted is to Janna’s Zephyr ability (W), as her pick rate has declined to a mere 2.3 percent, according to stat tracking site U.GG. The developers have realized that playing Janna has become unsatisfying and they believe that players preferred her original gameplay style, which focused on speed and a higher attack range. To rectify what they now consider a mistake, they are shifting Janna’s Storm’s Fury back to its original gameplay loop.
This is not the first attempt to bring back Janna’s original playstyle. In Patch 13.8, her W damage was increased in an effort to shift her back, but it was not enough to make her more enjoyable to play.
It is important to note that these changes are primarily aimed at increasing Janna’s pick rate, as her win rate has actually remained relatively stable. Since the 13.8 changes, Janna has maintained a 51.75 percent win rate, especially when utilizing the Glacial Augment rune build. Combining this rune build with her Whirlwind ability and a powerful ADC has been the winning strategy for Janna throughout the season. However, she has simply not been as fun to play since her rework.
As with all League patch previews, these changes are subject to change until they are implemented on live servers with the full update. The tentative date for these tweaks to go live is Nov. 8.
Source: DOTESPORTS
