Patch 14.1 went live for League of Legends on Jan. 9, and among the myriad of changes to the Rift, the updates to the physical map have completely decimated one champion’s kit in a way that players don’t think the developers planned for.
There’s a vast array of changes that were implemented in 14.1, including a totally revamped Rift Herald, new Void Grub jungle monsters, a yassified Baron Nashor, and the first major change to the map of Summoner’s Rift since 2014. Riot has been forthcoming with the thought process behind the map changes, so we know the top lane was widened to decrease how easily the lane can be ganked (so bruisers can beat each other up in peace). What the patch notes don’t mention is what the changes do to a certain someone’s tentacles.
Illaoi has been a dominant top laner for what feels like forever; if she was ever weak in the past, I must have been on a hiatus for that patch. That all changed three days ago when 14.1 went live, however, and Illaoi is currently sitting on a win rate of right around 45 percent—over five percent down from the previous four patches.
Illaoi wasn’t directly nerfed in this patch—so why is her win rate suffering so much? The reason is so simple that it becomes easy to miss; wider lanes mean, well, wider lanes. With the new 2024 map changes, you no longer have to dodge Illaoi’s tentacles—they can’t even reach you to begin with.
It’s always been easier said than done, but we’ve all heard the mantra “just dodge her tentacles” when we’re smack dab in the middle of being absolutely dominated by an Illaoi. Almost every early-game trade in the top lane is going to take place in the middle of the lane, and after the 2024 season update, that is officially a safe zone from Illaoi’s tentacles.
Of course, trading isn’t the only aspect of Illaoi’s gameplay that has been nullified. Since her tentacles can no longer reach minions that are in the middle of the lane either, she has pretty much no shoving capabilities. If the enemy laner decides to keep things frozen in the center of the lane where they’re safe from her tentacles, there isn’t really anything at all she can do about it.
It bears mentioning Riot has said terrain interaction champions like Illaoi would require close monitoring following the changes, so it isn’t likely that they’ll be completely shocked to see what’s happening to the Kraken Princess so far in 14.1. Even so, I don’t think there’s any way that they foresaw just how much Illaoi would suffer from this widened top lane. The changes have completely taken away the presence of her tentacles in lane, and an Illaoi without tentacle presence just straight up isn’t Illaoi.
