It seems that Riot Games are still struggling with Yuumi, as the developer has recently issued a micropatch after she was found to be "overperforming."
Riot Games nerfs Yuumi
The nerf was announced by Matt "Riot Phroxzon" Leung-Harrison, the lead designer on League of Legends' Summoner's Rift team. According to Leung-Harrison, Yuumi's Q max build has been "overperforming," with Riot Games issuing a micropatch to address the situation.
Yuumi's empowered Q damage, which she triggers by becoming best friends with an ally, has been reduced from 380 damage at max rank to 355. Additionally, the slow from this has been reduced from 55-80% to 50-65%.
"We'll continue to followup to hit devblog goals," said Leung-Harrison. "She's released too strong. We're looking at Q hittability, R outputs (anti-burst too strong).
"We're also looking at clarity and satisfaction for Best Friend. We don't want Yuumi to feel like she needs to hop on/off to optimize Best Friend. Post micropatch and adjustments, we'll be closely assessing her performance in optimal play brackets and adjust as needed."
The nerf came just days after Yuumi was radically reworked in Patch 13.5, which saw her passive seeing some huge changes, and being given the ability to have a "best friend" in the game. Essentially, whenever the ally Yuumi is attached to does something good, their friendship score will increase - thereby boosting Yuumi's abilities.
It seems that Yuumi was still too strong, however, boasting a nearly 50% win rate and 30% ban rate in high elo during the two days between Patch 13.5 and her eventual nerf.
On the professional scene meanwhile, Yuumi boasted a 86.7% presence at LEC Winter 2023 and a win rate of 40% - MAD Lions Zdravets "Hylissang" Galabov and SK Gaming's Mads "Doss" Schwartz having particular success with the champion.
It remains to be seen if this nerf will make Yuumi any less controversial, with the champion having attracted criticisms from fans and professional players alike ever since she was introduced to the game in 2019. She has been criticised for her ability to provide allies with huge heals and damage buffs, while also being able to be completely unforgettable by enemies while doing so. Notably, this situation has not been addressed by either Patch 13.5 or her recent nerf.
Yuumi is sure to continue to be a contentious champion in the Leauge of Legends scene - which you can follow along with via our upcoming League of Legends esports match schedule. And don't forget to sign up to claim your free 100% bonus!
