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author: hotpot
editor: kaori, paolo

league of legendsthe s14 world championship is coming soon, and the final version of the game is 14.18. in the 14.18 version update announcement, riot games emphasized that "the team will make some system adjustments and direct hero adjustments, weaken some of the strongest mid-lane shooters, increase the punishment for lane-swapping teams, and take the explosiveness of burst-type magic power equipment to the next level.”          

riot games intentionally reduced the probability of adc appearing in the middle lane, hoping that the traditional mage will return to the stage of the middle lane in the world championship, and continued to weaken the benefits of the line-swapping strategy. this version update affected the performance of a large number of heroes and reshuffled the existing play strategies, which had a huge impact.            

one,about line change

in the msi and lpl summer season, the lane-swapping tactic has been developed for a long time and has achieved certain results. this tactic is usually used to avoid the opponent's strong laning combination - such as the suppression brought by the strong laning system such as double shooters, and to ensure the development of the bottom lane. at the team level, it is also more beneficial to those teams that are good at operations rather than emphasizing individual ability advantages in laning.          

but the problem with the lane-swapping tactic is that it does not conform to the normal game flow that the designers expected. the lane-swapping tactic directly omits the important early game phase of the game of the strength of the laning ability of the two players, which also makes it unnecessary to compete for strong laning heroes in the bp phase, and makes the top unit an optional sacrifice option. therefore, the lane-swapping tactic in certain versions or for some specific lineups may be eye-catching, but it is basically impossible to become a regular tactical option.              

from a viewing perspective, the line-switching tactic also looks very chaotic. according to external network surveys, the line-switching tactic has apparently become a thing that everyone is condemning, so it is natural to try to weaken the benefits of line switching.        

so in version 14.8, riot once again updated the defensive towers to curb lane-swapping tactics.         

the damage reduction of the upper and middle towers in the early stage has been strengthened, which will continue to increase the cost of the active lane change. but this does not mean that the lane change strategy will completely disappear in the world championship. when some specific lineups appear, there will still be the possibility of playing, but there is no doubt that it will cost a greater price.

two,hero and equipment changes          

1.lillia has been significantly weakened

due to the appearance of the item fated ashes, ap junglers have exploded in the arena, and they are very strong, squeezing out the playing space for ad junglers. in this patch, lillia's passive burning damage and ultimate have been greatly weakened, causing her jungle efficiency and online ganking ability to be greatly affected. after this weakening, lillia has firmly sat on the bench.    

2.the rise of the warrior jungle

due to the increase in jungle benefits in the past versions, the buff of black cleaver, and the minor buffs of jarvan iv, xin zhao, and the ruined king in version 14.18, warrior jungle will become the mainstream of the version. according to statistics from external websites, in the public games, jarvan iv, xin zhao, and the ruined king have performed very well after the minor buffs, with a comprehensive win rate of over 50%. with the ap mid laner being able to play again, i believe that the appearance rate of warrior jungle will be significantly increased in the world championship.

3.the marksman mid laner was driven out of the middle lane, and the ap mid laner was strengthened

after several versions of weakening, the performance of the marksman mid laner in the middle lane is not as good as before. the changes to absorb vitality and swiftness in version 14.17 will significantly weaken the marksman's ability to exchange blood in the middle lane, making it more difficult to gain line advantage. in the world championship version, yongen, as a melee ad, has a strengthening effect on him with shieldbow and swiftness. as an ad mid laner who can be paired with sejuani and maokai, it can be foreseen that he will have a good appearance rate.    

in contrast, the enhancement of the mid-lane mage's equipment is very beneficial to ap heroes. the combination of ap heroes such as sylas, ahri, leblanc, etc. with warrior junglers will be more powerful.

4. rambo's fall from grace

in the 2024 lpl summer season, rambo is firmly at the top of the ban list with a terrifying ban rate of 78.6%. in the past few versions, rambo has been weakened in turn, causing him to fall from the altar as the dominant top laner. however, as a hero who can compete for the initiative of the top lane nester, rambo is unique in importance. his laning suppression ability and strength in small-scale team battles may still allow him to have room for appearances, but the situation in which rambo was banned in the past will be difficult to reproduce in this version.

to sum up, the ecology of the mid and jungle has changed greatly in this world championship. it can be foreseen that rhythm-type ap heroes such as ahri and leblanc, who are paired with warrior junglers, will have better room to play and will be more advantageous in the competition for broodlings. ap burst-type heroes who rely on personal abilities, such as sylas and akali, will also have more room for operation. at the same time, mid-lane heroes such as twisted fate, lissandra, and galio who can fatten up warrior junglers will also get the chance to play. as for ad mid laners, yongen will be one of the few ad mid laners who can pair with functional junglers, and his importance will be more obvious.