League of Legends’ new Arena mode has been out for just about 24 hours, but a meta is already beginning to develop. One champion, however, is standing out of the field as a living, breathing outlier.
Shaco might be one of the most popular champions in Arena, but his win rate does not reflect his popularity at all. Shaco holds a pick rate of 11.2 percent, which is the third-highest on the roster, as well as a ban rate of 24.0 percent, which is the highest among all champions. Still, even with those astronomical numbers in mind, Shaco is monstrously underperforming; his win rate through the first day of Arena’s lifespan is 23 percent—the 72nd highest out of all champions, according to League stats site Blitz.gg.
While a 23 percent rate of finishing at the top of your lobbies isn’t the worst thing in the world—there are some champions whose win rates sit in the low teens—it’s pretty rough to sit with that kind of number when your popularity is so high. For Shaco, it makes it seem as though the high pick and ban rates are relatively unjustified.
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The most reasonable explanation as to why Shaco’s ban rate is so high but his win rate just doesn’t compliment it is because of the notion that the champion is good, but doesn’t have as much power as the community thinks he does. Alternatively, there could be some players in the Arena player base who might believe that Shaco is a “must-pick” champion, and whenever he does get through the ban phase, you must select him if you want to have a chance at winning. Evidently, that’s not true.
If players are picking Shaco whenever he slips through, the champion is likely being piloted by players who don’t have too much experience with him and are picking him solely on the basis of him being “OP.” When inexperienced players play a champion that’s the supposed “flavor of the month,” it shouldn’t come as a surprise when they inevitably drag that champion’s win rate down. We’ve seen that kind of phenomenon take place on Summoner’s Rift for the last 14 years, so why shouldn’t it happen in Arena as well?
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If there’s a champion with a ridiculously high pick/ban ratio that’s actually deserving of it, it’s Heimerdinger. The wrench-thrower has been banned in 21 percent of games, which is second just behind Shaco, and picked in 8.3 percent of them, which is seventh-most overall, according to Blitz.gg. Beyond his popularity, though, Heimerdinger has finished in first place in 38 percent of Arena games, which is the third-best overall mark in the game. He’s also finished at least in the top two in two-thirds of his games (66 percent), which is the best of that mark.
Riot will likely be hotfixing and making changes to Arena mode continuously throughout the near future, as well as throughout the game mode’s existence. Until some heavier buffs or nerfs are made, though, we’d recommend maybe straying away from Shaco until the meta has settled down a bit more.
