Fiora, Jax, Yasuo are about to get big buffs in patch 10.16

Lead gameplay designer Mark “Scuffy” Yetter has unveiled the preliminary changes for League of Legends patch 10.16, featuring targeted adjustments to multiple champions. The update focuses on fine-tuning the competitive landscape as teams prepare for the upcoming World Championship tournament.

10.16 Patch Preview with changes:

Not 100% final, but getting close. We have a good meta, so a lot of small changes is our approach to diversify without destroying it.
pic.twitter.com/lVHTXdTu10

— Mark Yetter (@MarkYetter)
July 28, 2020

This upcoming patch emphasizes incremental modifications rather than sweeping changes, reflecting Riot’s commitment to maintaining competitive integrity during the esports season. The development team’s measured approach aims to introduce strategic variety while preserving the core gameplay balance that has defined recent competitive matches.

Several dominant champions face targeted nerfs in patch 10.16, with Ashe and Bard receiving the most significant adjustments to their core strengths.

Ashe: Utility-Focused Marksman

The Frost Archer has emerged as a premier pick across both ranked and professional play, boasting a 52.42% win rate that ranks second among all marksmen. Her exceptional utility through global engagement tools and consistent crowd control has made her a priority target for balance adjustments.

Riot’s adjustment targets Ashe’s Q ability – Ranger’s Focus – reducing the maximum attack speed bonus from 60% to 40%. This change primarily impacts her late-game performance when the ability reaches maximum rank, affecting both her damage output and the frequency of her frost shot applications.

• Q – Rager’s Focus, Attack speed 20-60% >> 20-40%

Strategic players should note that this nerf doesn’t eliminate Ashe’s utility but requires more careful ability timing and positioning to maximize effectiveness.

Bard: The Wandering Caretaker

Currently dominating professional matches with a 53.11% win rate and 9.5% pick rate in solo queue, Bard’s versatile kit enables powerful roaming and team fight setup capabilities.

• Base HP 575 >> 560
• W, Caretaker’s Shrine, Full power heal 70-230 >> 55-215

These adjustments reduce Bard’s early game trading durability and healing output, making him more vulnerable to aggressive lane opponents while maintaining his core identity as a mobile playmaker.

The buff preview signals a potential resurgence for several high-skill ceiling champions who thrive in solo queue environments. Akali, Yasuo, Fiora, and Jax all receive improvements designed to enhance their distinctive playstyles.

Top lane specialists Jax and Fiora gain much-needed enhancements to compete against the current tank-dominated meta that favors team fight effectiveness.

Yasuo: The Unforgiven Returns

Following his half-brother Yone’s introduction to the game, Yasuo receives compensatory buffs to strengthen his mid lane presence against magic damage dealers.

• Base magic resist 30 >> 32
• R – Last Breath, Bonus attack damage ratio 150% >> 175%

These enhancements provide Yasuo with improved early game survivability against mages while significantly boosting his late-game scaling through enhanced ultimate damage multipliers.

Players should anticipate these changes to encourage more split push focused strategies and smaller skirmish-oriented gameplay, creating opportunities for duelist champions to showcase their strengths in isolated engagements.

The collective impact of these champion adjustments suggests a strategic shift toward more diverse team compositions and gameplay approaches. Teams that previously relied on utility-focused marksmen may need to explore alternative strategies or develop new champion synergies.

For players adapting to these changes, consider focusing on champions with strong dueling capabilities and split push potential. The buffs to Jax and Fiora create new opportunities to pressure side lanes and create map control advantages.

Common mistakes to avoid include overestimating Ashe’s late-game damage output and underestimating the early game aggression potential against the nerfed Bard.

Advanced optimization strategies involve timing your engagements around key ability cooldowns and recognizing when to transition between team fighting and split pushing based on champion strengths and item timings.

Patch 10.16 is scheduled for deployment to live servers on Wednesday, August 5, giving players limited time to prepare for the evolving competitive landscape.

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