Season 14 in League of Legends has been live for almost a week now and with the patch came many new item changes and this time even the map has changed significantly. This change in particular means that the strong toplaner Illaoi no longer performs as well as before.
The new items are currently providing a fresh, new meta in LoL. Many AP champions are becoming stronger and the Lethality items also form strong builds. A champion who was incredibly strong last season is currently no longer performing as usual and that is due to the new map.
Illaoi is a feared toplane champion. As a bruiser, she is not only quite tanky, but can also deal a lot of damage. Her tentacle mechanics make her a pain in the ass for many champs in lane. She can also deal good damage from a distance, despite being a melee champ.
If you look at the stats on U.GG, you can see that she was quite strong last season. If you include all ranks, then she had a win rate of 51.33% on the top plane on patch 13.24. This made her one of the strongest champs in the patch. In the latest version, however, it only has a win rate of 47.75%, making it one of the worst top planners currently.
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The new map makes Illaoi worse
Why is she so much worse? Illaoi was not actively nerfed, but rather passively through the new map. Her tentacles spawn on nearby walls to assist her in attacking, when she extracts an enemy’s soul with her E, and when she attacks enemies and units with her W.
The problem with the new map is that the top plane has become significantly wider and more open and the walls are further away than before. This means that the range of their tentacles no longer cover as much as before and are therefore no longer as effective in combat as before.
As an Illaoi player, you now have to pay much more attention to where you stand and fight so that you can use the tentacles efficiently. In the middle of the lane, however, it is virtually impossible to hit the wall with the tentacles.
You can still win with it, but if your opponent pays a little attention to how they position themselves, it will be difficult for Illaoi.
Riot knows about the problem
Riot itself is aware of the problem and stated on x.com (formerly Twitter) that they will take care of the problem. For 14.2 they want to see what can be changed to improve the feel of Illaoi. If they don’t find anything, then regular buffs should follow their values.
The items have also changed significantly in Season 14. While some items have disappeared or changed, some new items have also been added. A new AP item is currently particularly strong and is worthwhile for many champions.