Ryan Goodrich
It looks like top-laners are finally getting the attention they deserve. In a recent dev blog post by League of Legends game director Andrei “Meddler” van room, they’ve made some changes. The changes in question increased the top lane’s impact on the outcome of a match. And that’s working as intended, according to Riot.
Heavy hitting top-laners
As a direct result of the changes made, the game director stated: “We’ve seen top become the lane that most commonly has the first tower taken in it, more damage contributed from top laners in teamfights, more kills by top laners, etc.” Beyond the impact the top lane has in games, it now has an “Average to somewhat above average appeal” in the community.
Since the role has improved in both impact and appeal, Riot will now hold off on any further buffs to the top lane. They’ve been looking for different ways to improve the top lane’s impact for more than a month. After discovering that the top lane typically held little influence over the outcome of a game (especially at the professional level), they knew something needed to be done.
The improvements made
One major way they improved the top lane was by increasing the gold given by turret plates. Additionally, this meant decreasing the amount of damage ranged champions do to towers. This gives greater power to melee hitters, even if they’re countered by a ranged top-laner.
As a result of these changes, game trends show the impact top-laners now have in a match. The top lane commonly has the first tower taken. In team fights, more damage is contributed from the top lane champion. And over the course of a game, the top lane generates the most kills.
What position do you think next deserves a little love in League of Legends? AD carry?
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