Jungle position nerfs are still coming in Patch 11.4, but they won’t be as bad.
League of Legends gameplay design director Mark “Scruffy” Yetter outlined the “nearly final” patch changes slated to hit the Rift next week. Jungle tweaks will appear in Patch 11.4 because the position holds “too much influence,” according to Riot. But Scruffy says the devs “pulled back on a few of the nerfs.”
Gromp, Large Krug, Small Krug, and Razorbeak are each being tweaked, offering less gold and XP as a whole. Some of the camps will also have more base health, making them harder to clear. This should greatly impact jungle champions’ level gain and itemization, putting them further behind and reducing their impact.
In pulling back on last week’s intended nerfs, Small Krugs will continue to give 12 gold each and Razorbeak’s base health will remain 800. But the gold Gromp offers was further reduced, going down from 105 to 85. Last week’s changes had Gromp give 95 gold.
Jungle is a complex role that requires players to farm camps, help laners, secure objectives, maintain vision, and counter-gank the opposing jungler. Scruffy previously said in a dev blog that there are future plans to make jungle more popular and accessible for less experienced players. These heavy jungle nerfs seemingly contradict those plans, however, since this will further deter players from queuing for the role.
Patch 11.4 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, Feb. 18.
Make sure to follow us on YouTube for more esports news and analysis.