Blitzcrank’s win rate has soared after patch 12.19 in League of Legends.
League of Legends is one of the most popular games in the world right now. It is also one of the most frequently updated games as well. The game deals with many meta shifts that the balance team must fix regularly.
This year alone, we have seen a lot of meta-shifts. The ebb and flow of strong picks make League of Legends unique. The patches the game gets revolve around trying to level the playing field. However, a lot of the time, the balance team tends to overshoot on the buffs or nerfs.
Primary examples are champions like Maokai and Aatrox, who got buffs and just stayed at the top. This year has seen much of that for many champions such as Ahri, Zeri, Corki, Viktor, etc., including the two mentioned earlier.
Blitzcrank is one of those champions that have been significantly stronger since patch 12.19. The changes to Blitzcrank’s overall power in that patch have made him oppressive on the Rift. Let’s talk about the changes he got and why that made him so powerful.
Read More: When Does League of Legends Patch 12.20 Release?
What Changed with Blitzcrank?
Patch 12.19 introduced several changes for Blitzcrank. Here are those changes.
- Base attack speed increased from 0.625 to 0.65.
- Attack speed ratio increased from 0.625 to 0.7.
- Overdrive (W)
- Mana cost increased from 75 to 85.
- Attack speed increased from 30/38/46/54/62% to 40/53/66/79/92% (from level 1 to level 16).
- Magical Punch: Deals 1% max HP magic damage on-hit when overdrive is active and does 60 – 180 (based on level) more damage against non-champions.
- Power Fist (E)
- Mana cost increased from 25 to 40
- Knockup Duration increased from 0.9 seconds to 1 second
- Now Deals 25% AP damage along with 200% AD on Empowered Auto Attacks
- No One is Safe: Deals a bonus of 150% AD + 125% AP Damage to non-champions.
- Static Field (R)
- No longer capped at 3 stacks
- Passive AP ratio increased from 30% flat to a scaling of 30/40/50% (based on level)
Barring Blitzcrank’s Q, every other ability and some of his base stats were buffed. The changes tell me that he is much more effective in catching someone and dealing some damage now. Also, his changes to non-champion damage make him an interesting choice in the jungle.
Blitzcrank was already annoying to play against, considering that a well-landed hook is pretty much a confirmed kill. There are too few ways to outplay the hook unless you can buffer the hook with a movement ability like Tristana or Ezreal.
The changes make Blitzcrank a threat all around the game, with more damage dealt to both champions and non-champions.
Blitzcrank Win Rate & Pick Rate in Patch 12.19
I eluded to this a bit in the section above. Blitzcrank was already an annoying enough champion to pick someone off from the opponent team. Now with his increased damage with his W, E, and Ult, he is more of a threat in a teamfight.
Furthermore, with the non-champion damage buffs, he is now a dual-role threat. His pick rate has jumped up in support and jungle. His jungle win rate is only 44.68%, and his pick rate is 2.61%. That shows that Blitzcrank in the jungle is still being played somewhat.
However, his support win rate is 54.38%, and his pick rate is 11.11%. Those are some eye-popping numbers. In fact, that is the highest win rate in the current patch. That goes to show how oppressive he is. Much of it has to do with his pick potential staying the same while he deals a lot of damage now. Blitzcrank can itemize tank items while dealing quite a bit of damage.
More Changes Incoming
With Blitzcrank’s resurgence into the meta, Riot has released their plans to make further changes to the champion. Here are the changes in PBE thus far.
- Passive Shields changed to now scale with 15-45% Max Mana in terms of level instead of the previous flat 30% Max Mana Shield.
- Rocket Grab (Q) Damage decreased from 105/155/205/255/305 to 105/150/195/240/285 based on level.
- Overdrive (W) non-champion bonus damage increased from 60-180 to 60-220 based on level.
- Power Fist (E)
- Damage Decreased from 200% AD + 25% AP to 175% + 25% AP
- Non-champion bonus damage changed from 150% AD + 125% AP to 175% + 125% AP
- (New) Monsters and Minions are occasionally sent to the moon when overkilled.
These changes tell me that Riot is trying to push Blitzcrank to the jungle. Increasing his scaling and monster damage signals more about the jungle for Blitzcrank. On the flip side, the changes will hurt Blitzcrank Support with the damage decreases overall.
Riot will hope that Blitzcrank increases pick-and-win rates in the jungle while his support numbers go down. This will be a work in progress, as we can expect more changes if the champion buffs go too far.
