Yuumi is getting a rework in 2023

I’ve been away from the competitive League of Legends scene for quite a while now. The extent of my knowledge at this point comes from the show Players, a 2022 mockumentary on

Paramount+ that follows a fictional professional League of Legends esports team. If you haven’t yet seen it, I highly recommend you watch it because it’s hilarious —

especially if you’ve ever played competitive League of Legends.The reason I bring this up is that one of the main characters plays support and, at one point, chooses Yuumi in a

high-stakes match. I’m trying to avoid spoilers here, but the way the writers tie the lore of Yuumi into the story of the show is incredible. Another thing, the character’s

choice to play Yuumi is called into question, and for good reason, if you watch the series.So all this to say, Riot Games released a blog post this month addressing a rework for

Yuumi. Describing the champion as “one of the most popular and one of the most contentious,” the developer shed some light on the magical cat friend’s design and how they are

going about her rework.For starters, Yuumi’s design in general poses a problem. She’s designed to help new players easily learn the basics of League of Legends. She has a

mechanic that allows her to attach to her allies and remain untargetable, while providing that champion buffs. While this mechanic has made her approachable for new players, it’s

also created some obstacles. As Riot explains:The combination of Yuumi’s Enchanter-level defenses, hyperscaling identity, access to powerful engage tools, and untargetability

create the perfect storm for frustrating gameplay with little to no means of counterplay. Enchanters as a class are often kept in check by their spell ranges and low durability,

which limit how effectively they can protect and support melee champions. For example, a Fighter or Assassin diving in the backline needs to do so without the help of a Lulu shield

or Soraka heal, and are often equipped with abilities and items to help them out. Yuumi circumvents a lot of this, as she’s free to jump to whichever champion is strongest,

regardless of what happened in the early game.Riot has made changes to Yuumi’s core fantasy over the years, but they aren’t satisfied with the champion’s current state.

She’s incredibly strong in Pro play, but she’s still not quite stable in solo queue. Riot is working to make her less frustrating to play against, while still maintaining her

core gameplay pattern. They want her to be better for players but less prevalent in organized play.In discussing her rework, Riot has identified four primary reasons for Yuumi’s