League of Legends Patch "Probably Overbuffed" Swain, Nerfs Likely Coming

Swain received several buffs in the latest League of Legends patch that Riot Games said may have [...]

By Tanner Dedmon

League of Legends Swain
(Photo: Riot Games)

Swain received several buffs in the latest League of Legends patch that Riot Games said may have gone a bit too far.

The recently reworked champion was struggling a bit right out of the gates from his rework with some problems that Patch 8.5 looked to correct. Swain's core problems that players identified dealt with both his Vision of Empire (W) and Demonic Ascension (R), abilities which were powerful in their use but felt unreliable at times due to some restrictions. Swain's kit just didn't feel like it always worked together in the best way possible, but the newest patch looked to bring his abilities together to be used together more easily.

However, with the clunkiness now gone from Swain's kit, his damage and survivability are showing more than ever and have prompted Riot Games' Andrei "Meddler" van Roon to discuss the champ and evaluate Swain's post-buff position in League.

"Looks like we probably overbuffed Swain in 8.5," Riot Meddler said. "Still assessing him, but suspect we may need to pull some power back (leave him stronger than in 8.4, but not as strong as 8.5). Best guess at present from what we've seen so far is that we'd be more likely to reduce his damage/payoff for landing spells than his ability to land them in the first place (which is where a lot of the newly gained power came from). Pre buff Swain was likely too unreliable, so based off current thinking it's unlikely we'd revert those reliability increases. Need to see some more play before making a call though."

Swain's stats within the current patch do reflect a jump in winrate that's directly connected to the champion's buffs in 8.5. While his pre-buff winrate hovered between the 48 and 49 percent mark, according to LoLalytics, the buffs caused his success rate to jump in both the top and middle lane. Counting only the games that have been played on Patch 8.5, he's currently sitting at just over a 54.5 percent winrate in the mid lane with a 52 percent winrate in the top lane where he can bully melee champions.

For those who missed the champions' changes in Patch 8.5, the cooldown on Swain's Death's Hand (Q) was decreased in the early game to allow for more wave clear and poke with the Vision of Empire's radius being increased to allow for an easier way to land the ability. His Nevermove (E) got a few bugfixes, but his ultimate's changes that allow Demonflare to pass through enemies and damage everyone in his radius helped him excel even more in teamfights.

No word on exact nerfs for Swain or a release patch for the changes was discussed.

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