Riot admits Yuumi is ‘unhealthy’ for League despite Patch 10.13 nerfs

Yuumi has been one of League’s most controversial additions. The champion has been through the ringer since her Season 9 release, despite numerous nerfs. Riot has recently admitted Yuumi hasn’t been healthy for the game, but they believe she can fit in.

Yuumi’s short-lived life in League of Legends so far has been filled with mixed emotions. The concept of attaching to allies to augment their gameplay is unique, but hasn’t been received too well.

The champion has been wildly unbalanced ⁠— from her sub-30% win rate on release, to spiking at over 60% once players got the hang of her. She’s been a nuisance as a carry threat, as well as a supportive beast.

Riot has admitted that Yuumi hasn’t “been in a state that’s balanced or that she’s been in a good place in regards to game health,” but they are taking steps to ensure that Yuumi fits in with the remaining 147 champions.

Yuumi’s unique interactions with champions has made her a “difficult champion to master,” League devs said in a July 2 dev post. However, her playstyle hasn’t made her just tough to learn, but also frustrating to play against. She isn’t going anywhere, but Riot are keeping their eyes on her.

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“We agree that Yuumi hasn’t been fair to play against,” the devs admitted. “This doesn’t mean Yuumi shouldn’t exist — it just means we have to get more creative to ensure she does have adequate avenues for counterplay.”

This has culminated in a nerf on Patch 10.13, which has proven to be one of her harshest yet. The increased mana costs on her E heal have made it so Yuumi has to play with more risk to keep her mana topped up. This was Riot’s intention, and they believe it’s a step forward.

“These changes are intended to force Yuumi to utilize her passive in order to be effective, which means she has to regularly detach from her ally and interact with opponents.

“In order for Yuumi to be a healthy champion in League, she has to give opponents opportunities to interact with her. We hope that by forcing Yuumi to open that counterplay window throughout the game in order to be effective, it’ll make her more fair to play against.”

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The changes have had a noticeable impact on Yuumi’s performance in solo queue too. Her win rate has plummeted from 50.37% to 46.07%, making the second-worst performing support according to op.gg. Her play rate has also been halved, from 17.55% to 8.64%.

Despite these wildly fluctuating performances, Riot have assured players that in the long run, Yuumi will be in a healthy, balanced state. It’ll be a work of trial and error until then though, as more changes are shipped.

“We believe Yuumi is a successful champion because she offers a unique and resonant playstyle, but we need to ensure she has sufficient counterplay moments in order to say she’s a healthy addition to League.”

Yuumi currently has no pending changes on League Patch 10.14, which is due to be released on July 8. However, with her win rate free-falling after her recent nerfs, she might be in the patch notes again soon enough.