Although League of Legends players have long remained vocal about the fluctuating strengths of mages and ability power items within the game over the last several years, nobody seemed to be prepared for the major meta shift that would welcome them in the 2024 season.
In just the first two days of the new season, champions that build AP items have completely outclassed their AD lane counterparts—particularly within the top lane, where champions that have struggled to coexist with others have begun to flourish. This massive meta overhaul stems not only from the removal of Mythic items from League as a whole but from a number of new and revamped AP items that have unlocked the potential of various champions.
Many of these AP top lane champions are enjoying the newfound power in Riftmaker, now the only item remaining in League that provides champions with omnivamp—on top of synergizing well with other fighter and bruiser items thanks to the bonus AP it gives for bonus health. Others have benefitted immensely from new items like Stormsurge, which has become a must-have for mages looking to not only take down tanky foes but assist in teamfights with extra area-of-effect damage.
While the likes of Jax, Aatrox, Fiora, Riven, and Darius continue to shine in the top lane, new and returning challengers like Gwen, Singed, Rumble, Kennen, and even Teemo have received considerable increases to their pick, win, and ban rates that may continue as players continue to dissect Patch 14.1. According to data from OP.GG and U.GG, Teemo alone has jumped from a 50-percent win rate to a 55-percent win rate thanks to the new items in his arsenal—though he’s also enjoyed the changes to the Summoner’s Rift terrain.
Members of the League community have voiced their sentiments on how “overtuned” these items are for top laners in particular, leading some to worry about the state these champions will be in after the items are inevitably nerfed—once more leading to an imbalance in power between AP and AD top laners. But due to the lane overlap that many of these items have (as Riftmaker is one of the sole items reserved for AP fighters in the top lane), balancing them will not likely be an easy feat as mages in the mid lane, bot lane, support role, and even AP jungle champions will be impacted negatively.
Riot Phroxzon, the lead gameplay designer on League, announced yesterday that a micropatch would be reaching the live servers within the coming days, though he did not indicate exactly what it would entail other than to address “balance outliers.” Should AP top laners be affected, there’s a chance we will see yet another top lane meta shift—for better or worse.
