League devs rework Smite, bring back catch-up XP to entice new junglers

Riot is once again completely shaking up the way League of Legends’ jungle should be played. The latest set of changes in patch 11.10 will revert the catch-up XP removal in Season 10, rework the Smite summoner spell, and more.

It’s a tough life being a League of Legends jungle main. The punching bag of Riot’s major gameplay changes are getting another belting in LoL patch 11.10, as the developers look to make the role even more accessible to new players.

After removing catch-up XP in Season 10, changing items in Season 11, and increasing the champion pool, Riot are reverting some of those changes. Catch-up experience will be re-introduced, while Smite is getting huge changes in line with the item update.

The goal of the new shuffle? To once again promote playing jungle to new players.

“We’re attacking the problem from a few angles that we think will in particular reduce some of the esoteric optimizations and help onboard newer players to the role,” Yetter said in an April 30 blog post.

Riot is implementing a four-pronged approach to the jungle changes: More forgiving clears, widening the viable champ pool, reducing snowballing, and increasing clarity.

Jungle monsters now do less damage, but they respawn less frequently, opening up windows for ganks. Gold has also been increased by around 5%.

• Read More: Why Morgana jungle is OP in League Season 11

On top of the camp changes, Smite now does flat damage that doesn’t scale on level ⁠— 500 at base, 1,000 once you complete your item quest to get Chilling or Challenging Smite. Using the summoner spell will also break Scuttle Crab’s shield in an attempt to widen the champ pool.

“At a high level we want these changes to be helpful and satisfying for Jungle players across all levels of play but we’re not aiming for a significant power increase or decrease for the position,” Yetter added.

“We’re giving and taking away power in equal measure while shifting mechanics so that the jungle is a bit more welcoming to newcomers.”

The changes have landed rather controversially, with many existing junglers claiming Riot are removing any skill expression from the jungle.

• Read More: Lee Sin top & mid is taking over LoL Season 11, here’s why

However, the changes will no doubt make the role less daunting for new players to pick up.

The new set of League of Legends jungle changes are expected to go live on LoL patch 11.10, penned in for May 12.