Lead Gameplay Designer Mark “Scruffy” Yetter announced the hotfix nerfs via Twitter. Samira’s base HP will be lowered along with the base damage and scaling on her ultimate. Yetter stated that while there was still a commitment for League of Legends to “releasing champions long term balanced,” Samira was clearly too strong on release which forced Riot Games’ hand.
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The nerf to Samira’s ultimate is welcomed considering the abundance of clips demonstrating its power, but the large size of the base HP nerf is surprising considering how Samira’s kit rewards her for riskily positioning in close range. Time will tell how this will affect Samira, but large base HP nerfs historically can tank a champion’s viability.
While these nerfs should reign Samira in for now, expect further changes to be made in the months between the upcoming 2020 World Championship for which she will not be available for and the new professional season. This large time frame gives players at all levels the space to practice her and develop their mastery, a prospect that is enticing for professional games.
If she becomes a problem in future pro games or at any level, harsher nerfs could come through in the form of removing mechanics as seen with previous releases. The upcoming itemization rework will also heavily affect Samira, though the direction it will push her in is yet to be seen. However, this cycle of balancing new champions is set to begin again with the incoming release of Seraphine.
League of Legends is available on PC.
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