If you’re a Sona or Soraka League of Legends player, you might be interested to see what Riot’s got in store for the two Champs in top lane in LoL patch 10.4. It seems the two Enchanters have been a bit too powerful lately, so Riot’s rolled out some hefty balance changes on the MOBA game’s PBE servers – they’re both getting slapped with nerfs.
Recently senior Champion designer August Browning indicated top lane Soraka would be in for a “pretty hard” nerf at some point, following her recent success across both casual and pro League of Legends matches (she’s currently got the sixth highest win rate in a top lane role according to Champion.gg, as of this story). Now, as confirmed in a tweet by lead gameplay designer Mark Yetter, “Soraka changes here for 10.4. Targets are major nerfs to top” – though there’s “no change for support”.
First up, her base stats see some big adjustments, with Riot targeting her HP per level, Mana per level, and base AD with decreases, as well as Rejuvenation on her Q ability, Starcall. In theory, these could mean she’s more susceptible to attacks in top lane and has less of a chance in the late game if she makes it there, with diminished ability to self-heal.
While Soraka does see some buffs across her other base stats and her W, Astral Infusion, meaning she should still be a strong support choice, the various tweaks combined should mean players concerned about her top lane prowess can rest easy.
Soraka changes here for 10.4. Targets are major nerfs to top with no change for support. pic.twitter.com/YbD3kPXJQx
— Mark Yetter (@MarkYetter) February 12, 2020
Sona, Maven of the Strings, also sees some nerfs to her top lane role, as also confirmed by Yetter on Twitter. While hers are fewer and less major than Soraka’s, the Mana cost of her Q, W, and E abilities has gone up, and by quite some way. For example, Song of Celerity now costs 90 rather than 65, Aria of Perseverance has increased to 105/110/115/120/125 from 80/85/90/95/100, and Hymn of Valor is now 75/80/85/90/95 from the previous 50/55/60/65/70.
Early 10.4 Patch Preview:
Runes adjustments, sunfire buffs, expanded jungle pool, and buffs and nerfs to outliers.
We're already starting some work for 10.5 on top lane influence. pic.twitter.com/YEHfioogMh
— Mark Yetter (@MarkYetter) February 11, 2020
The changes as of this story might not be final, as Riot’s still got another week of testing the balance changes on the PBE (according to the 2020 LoL patch schedule), but it’s pretty clear the studio’s got top lane Soraka and Sona in its crosshairs. If you’ve been enjoying playing the Enchanter Champs in top lane, you might need to get ready to have another browse of the roster soon.
If you’re keen to see the current best League of Legends Champions as of LoL patch 10.3, check out our LoL tier list to see who’s worth trying out in the live game.