Blitzcrank could be viable top, jungle pick with new League of Legends changes

Blitzcrank has fallen behind in priority when it comes to hook supports in League of Legends. But what if he wasn’t a support? Those are the changes Riot are testing, bringing the robot new power in the top lane and jungle.

Blitzcrank is beloved by support players across League of Legends for his simple gameplay: hook the enemy, knock them up, and your teammates will kill them on the spot. He might not have an ability named Death Sentence like Thresh, but getting hit by Rocket Grab is certainly one.

What if Blitzcrank could be more than a hook support though? He currently has a playrate of 99% in the role, so it’ll take some learning for players to take the Great Steam Golem elsewhere across Summoner’s Rift. 

But that’s exactly what Riot is exploring with new changes for Blitzcrank in LoL patch 12.19 geared for a wild purpose.

The changes definitely angle towards making Blitzcrank viable in more roles than support, namely top and jungle. Once a meme strategy, there might actually be some merit to offroling the robot.

The buffs include significant attack speed buffs, both to his base value and its growth over the game. W, Overdrive, will now also give a bigger attack speed steroid and deal on-hit damage per auto. These buffs will help both top and jungle Blitzcrank.

Blitzcrank is also getting more jungle-specific changes with his E now dealing more damage against non-champions. This will do wonders for his clear speed.

The multitude of changes will have practically no effect on support, but could make the Great Steam Golem viable across the map. He does have great ganking power as a jungler thanks to his Overdrive speed-up, and now he can effectively fight back and clear camps quickly.

However it’s not quite confirmed for the live game yet. The changes are in testing on the PBE for the LoL patch 12.19 cycle in October. If they get locked in, we’ll keep you updated here.