As reflected in the early League of Legends patch 10.21 preview, it sounds like one of the best League of Legends Champions in a support role right now is in for some significant tweaks when the next update rolls around, and beyond. Lead gameplay designer Mark Yetter has posted a sneak peek at the incoming changelist for patch 10.21, and while details aren’t yet clear, it seems Riot Games is planning to nerf Pantheon, The Unbreakable Spear, out of his support role.
“This won’t change Worlds in any way, but we’re keeping things as balanced as we can for end of the ranked season,” Yetter explains in a post on Twitter. “Long-term we’re shifting Pantheon away from support and back into solo lanes.”
It’s not clear from the patch preview exactly which of Pantheon’s abilities will be getting tweaked to move him back towards solo lane-focussed play. However, his skill in stunning foes with his W, Shield Vault, and backing this up with his ability to block incoming damage using his E, Aegis Assault, means he’s a pretty strong pick for a support role in the game as it stands right now.
In addition to Pantheon’s support changes, the dev also reveals some of the other buffs and nerfs headed the MOBA game’s way in the coming patch. Alongside nerfs for Hecarim, Graves, Nidalee, and Camille, Riot’s got newcomer Samira in its sights.
10.21 Patch Preview –
This won't change worlds in any way but we're keeping things as balanced as we can for end of the ranked season.
Long term we're shifting Pantheon away from support and back into solo lanes. pic.twitter.com/r0GfDj3g22
— Mark Yetter (@MarkYetter) October 5, 2020
The marksman Champ’s been pretty powerful since her recent debut in League with LoL patch 10.19. She was slapped with some hotfix nerfs pretty much out of the gate, knocking her base HP and ultimate down, with Riot explaining “she looked clearly too strong on day one”. It’s not clear what the dev has in store for her this patch, but it’s likely we’ll see the changes hit the PBE over the next few days, so we should know very soon. Keep checking back on the LoL patch 10.21 notes to find out, as we’ll update them with any changes are they arrive for testing.