Since 2017, Stopwatch has become an essential item for many roles across League of Legends. But Riot Games is looking to reduce its effectiveness in 2020 by making some changes in the game’s next patches.
Stopwatch has become the bane of many players’ existence, whether it’s thwarting a well-timed tower dive, avoiding the last tick of damage, or dodging a fatal skill shot. Its utility as free invulnerability is useful on any champion, and as a result, Riot thinks it needs to be nerfed or adjusted.
“Currently, we believe Stopwatch is being used too often by a wide range of champions in a typical game,” Riot’s lead gameplay designer Mark “Scruffy” Yetter said today. “This leads to both a feeling of homogeneous powers across every champ, but also it can be too good at stifling action and negating burst.”
Since its creation, players have complained about the wide array of situations that Stopwatch can be used in. It also helps immensely in certain unfavorable matchups, like a mage facing off against a burst-focused mid laner or jungler.
Any changes sent to Stopwatch will need to be enough to shift the usage of the item into more unique settings, rather than it staying as a get-out-of-jail-free card for any champion that takes it.
