League of Legends' Azir Looks "Pretty Strong" After Update

The update for Azir that shipped with the most recent League of Legends patch looked to put the [...]

By Tanner Dedmon

The update for Azir that shipped with the most recent League of Legends patch looked to put the mage in a better mid-lane spot, but it appears that he might even be too strong now.

Azir struggled quite a bit pre-update to find a spot as a soldier-controlling mage as he fluctuated between too weak and too strong. A victim of something similar to the Ryze syndrome, those with coordinated teams who were experienced with Azir excelled while new players and disorganized teams struggled.

But while Azir might've found himself being a bit overpowered, Caitlyn and Xin Zhao seem to be doing alright after their sizeable changes, at least according to an analysis from Riot Meddler.

Azir

Azir
(Photo: Riot Games)

The result of Azir's update seemed to result in both positive and negative news for the champion. On the one hand, both new and veteran players now have a shot at performing well on the champ, but that might also mean that he's too strong in general.

"[Azir] is looking pretty strong, though for the first time his performance isn't extremely skewed between average and high skill players which is a good sign, since that suggests mastery as him and mastery playing against him may be scaling appropriately together," Meddler said. "Suspicious we've made him too strong, still watching to see if that's actually the case or not though."

That could indicate that Azir might have some nerfs coming his way, but with the way that upcoming patches are being balanced around the new runes, Azir might simply remain as is for now.

Caitlyn

Caitlyn
(Photo: Riot Games)

While Azir stole the show for his huge update in Patch 7.19, Caitlyn also received her own fair share of changes as well that seem to have put the champion in comfortable spots.

"Caitlyn looks to be about the right spot power wise, too early to say much more," Meddler said about the ADC.

Caitlyn had several changes pushed to her attack speed, damage, and her frustrating traps, but for now, she seems to be doing alright. Her traps have been the bane of many enemy supports and ADCs' existence while restricting their movement even while under turret, but previous nerfs to Caitlyn largely pushed the ADC out of the bot lane in favor of champions like Tristana, Twitch, and Kalista.

Xin Zhao

Xin Zhao
(Photo: Riot Games)

Similar to Azir, Xin Zhao received his own small-scale update that reworked his abilities in an attempt to modernize the champion who skirmishes in the jungle and occasionally the top lane.

"Xin Zhao [is] also around the right ballpark power wise," Meddler said. "Seems to be performing quite well for an updated champ, normally there's a relearning period for a while and we're not seeing as much of that here Might suggest he's on the strong side, could just mean he's still a fairly accessible champ as intended so that relearning period's not as rough as some."

The rework for Xin has reignited some interest in the champion who's also an easy way to make the jungle more beginner-friendly for new players. There aren't any detailed nerfs planned for him at this time, but as Meddler said, they're keeping an eye on him.

What Do You Think About the Champion Changes?

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