Olaf overhaul in League of Legends beefs up iconic juggernaut

Olaf’s teased League of Legends “mid-scope update” ⁠is finally shipping on League of Legends patch 12.8. The Berserker will be living up to his Juggernaut title with a bevy of changes beefing up his tank capabilities ⁠— at the cost of some damage.

Olaf has been in a funny spot in the League of Legends meta for years. When he’s good, he’s oppressive ⁠— the Berserker just tears a path through the frontline to just obliterate squishy carries with no counterplay. When he’s bad, he falls down without even a whimper.

He’s a feast or famine champion, sure. However, Riot wants him to be even bulkier ⁠— an unstoppable juggernaut that takes a coordinated team to tame.

So, they’re doing so in a massive set of changes to come in League of Legends Season 12 as part of Riot’s uptick of “mid-scope updates”, which have benefitted a number of champions already.

Here’s what we know about Olaf’s upcoming League of Legends rework, including when it’ll hit live servers.

Olaf rework beefs up League’s Berserker: changes

Olaf’s rework in League of Legends isn’t just looking at how the champion performs on Summoner’s Rift. Instead, Riot wants to take a holistic approach to how players see Olaf’s place in the meta.

“He is the least deeply played champion in League — on average, that is,” developer Bryan ‘Axes’ Salvatore explained on Reddit. “If Olaf is a champion you play, he probably makes up the lowest percent of your games played, and has consistently been among the lowest for many years now.”

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The developers are aiming to reduce some of his pro play power ⁠— stored in his ultimate and jungle clear speed ⁠— to open him up to more players and “add significant excitement to his kit”.

In doing so, he will be opened up to the top lane as a juggernaut akin to Darius or Garen.

Three abilities in particular will be getting a close look. Olaf’s Undertow will now be easier to kite with a longer minimum range, but will now shred armor on hit.

Vicious Strikes, his W, has been completely reworked, granting a shield instead of life steal while also buffing his attack speed.

Finally, his ultimate Ragnarok can now be active indefinitely ⁠— as long as Olaf is swinging away on an enemy. Hitting an enemy will extend its duration to 2.5 seconds, and he will also maintain his passive resistances while in ultimate. This makes him much beefier on the front lines.

Olaf rework in League of Legends: release date

Olaf’s rework will be hitting live servers as part of League of Legends patch 12.8, which goes live on April 27, 2022.

Swain changes are also expected in the same update, while an update to Taliyah is coming in the following patch.

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After a successful run of “mid-scope updates”, including the recent Ahri and Rengar changes, there’s plenty to look forward to if you’re one of those few Olaf mains Riot mentioned ⁠— and the rework will likely pique the interest of many more aspiring ones.