League of Legends’ latest patch that’ll soon be released has a change that reverts an old Annie nerf many players might’ve not even been around for when it was first implemented.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Years ago, Annie was a dominant pick in the bottom lane as a support while also still finding success in the middle lane. Her stun acted as a powerful zoning tool and offered even more engage potential when combined with another laner, but one of her more powerful attributes that allowed her to contend with marksmen and supports was her long attack range. It was previously set at a value of 625 which meant that the only champion that could outrange her without any extra effects like Jinx’s Fishbones weapon was Caitlyn who had and still has an attack range of 650. Combine that with her kit’s stun and it meant that champions had little room to fight back while Annie procced her Spellthief’s Edge and earned gold while zoning the enemies.
That attack range advantage came to an end in Patch 5.9 though with a nerf included in the update that nerfed her attack range down to 575, a value that gave many more champions room to trade wit her. The notes didn’t directly refer to it as a support Annie nerf, but it was a noticeable impact on that off-role that was more preferable at the time.
“For a bear-toting powder keg of midlane murder, Annie’s ranges have always made it difficult to interact,” the Patch 5.9 notes from 2015 said. “Though her attack range is still above average, keeping it in-line with her spells helps opponents skirt the dangerous line between ‘On-Fire’ and ‘about to be’.”
Fast-forward three years and League of Legends’ latest patch has reverted that nerf. Annie’s nowhere near as dominant a champion as she was years ago regardless of whether you’re looking at the middle or bottom lane, so the buff that reverts her attack range back to 625 should help the champion find herself in a better spot.
“Right now, Annie doesn’t really have gameplay outside of dumping all of her spells at once,” Riot Games’ latest notes for Patch 8.17 said. “Returning to her longer attack range lets her trade and harass with autos as an alternate pattern of aggression.”
Much has changed in the past few years though, so it’s unlikely that Annie will be surging back to the bottom lane as a master of poking and zoning, but if you see more Annie supports in your games soon, it’s likely old Annie players looking to try the champion out once more thanks to this buff.
