Riot Games have unveiled that they would give some nerfs to the dragons in the upcoming patch 13.6.
Besides destroying the turrets and nexus, there are some other side objectives in League of Legends. And one of the main side objectives is the elemental dragons.
Elemental Dragons or Drakes are the side objective found in the dragon’s pit next to the bot lane. Killing the dragon grants the team who killed that dragon specific buffs. And once a team kills 4 drakes, that team receives the Dragon Soul, which gives that team very strong buffs.
Excluding the Elder Dragon, there are currently 7 drakes in the game. They are Infernal Drake, Cloud Drake, Ocean Drake, Mountain Drake, Hextech Drake, and Chemtech Drake. Each of the dragons, as mentioned earlier, provides different buffs. Like Infernal Drake grants bonus damage, Cloud Drake grants shield, Cloud Drake gives movement speed, etc.
Dragons are very influential and often dictate which team will win in a match. Every Dragon Soul has around a 90% win rate. Moreover, even a team having 3 drake buffs also has a 90% win rate. So if a team does not have a Dragon Soul, it is hard for them to make a comeback. Because of it, the game’s current meta is to play for the bot lane and try to get all drake as fast and efficiently as possible.
And to shake up the meta, Riot has announced that they would be nerfing most dragons in the upcoming patch 13.6.
Read more: League of Legends Patch 13.6 Notes.
Dragons Nerfs Patch 13.6
- Hextech Drake:
- Ability haste and attack speed reduced from 9% – 36% to 7.5% – 30%
- Infernal Drake:
- Bonus adaptive force reduced from 6% – 24% to 5% – 20%
- Mountain Drake:
- Armor and magic resist reduced from 9% – 36% to 8% – 32%
- Ocean Drake:
- Health regeneration reduced from 3% – 12% missing HP to 2.5% – 10%
- Chemtech and Cloud drake remain unchanged.
All the dragons besides Chemtech and Cloud Drake received a small nerf. Chemtech Drake was recently reintroduced in preseason 2023. And because of how new her buffs are, players are still learning the nuance of her abilities.
Meanwhile, Cloud Drake is the most unpopular dragon in the game. It only provides out-of-combat movement speed. Meanwhile, other dragons provide better utility. However, Cloud drake is more than a viable choice for champions who roam more.
Moreover, besides the Hextech Drake nerfs, non of the nerfs are significant enough to make the dragons irrelevant. The Hextech Drake change will make the overall buff weaker. However, the Hextech Dragon Soul still has its slowing passive, making it one of the strongest passives during a team fight.
