This champion is a mess
LoL: Riot Doesn't Know How to Balance Yuumi
Yuumi is one of the most hated LoL champions in the game. Players consistently beg Riot to delete her and even the former President of League of Legends got in on the action, almost pressing the delete button on the champion.
She's become a must-ban champion in pro play and some players even demand her to be completely removed from high-elo altogether. In LoL Patch 12.23 she is getting some nerfs, but does Riot even know how to properly balance this champion? These nerfs do not seem to hit the mark and therefore has us wondering whether Riot even knows what they're doing when it comes to Yuumi.
LoL: Yuumi Nerfs Targeting the Wrong Part of Yuumi's Kit
Yuumi has been one hell of a controversial pick since her release since most players believe that she gets way too much power by simply doing... nothing. It is true that Yuumi can be played with one hand, but this play style is only enabled further by Riot nerfing the parts of her kit that incentivize players to be proactive on the little cat.
Reddit user Meowpatine explained their point of view on the matter in a long post the other day where they went over what Riot could do to improve Yuumi and what shouldn't be done because well... it wouldn't make a difference in pro play and would only harm the lower elo player base of the champion.
Yuumi was one of the most banned champions at Worlds 2022... here is why:
In LoL Patch 12.23 Riot is looking to nerf Yuumi's passive once more, but since she's such a hated champion you might not even know what it does so let me quickly go over her passive. Basically, when Yuumi jumps off her ally and attacks an enemy champion she will restore some of her mana, as well as gain a shield which follows her and also an ally when she jumps back onto them.
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This passive's cooldown will be decreased in Patch 12.23, but will this actually make players not want to play her anymore? Not really, since this won't change anything on her Q AP, nor on her E heal. This passive will only make players want to continue to play 'AFK Yuumi' and simply sit on their ADCs shoulder and rake in the rewards for pressing E every once in a while.
Incentivize Players To Get Off Allies Backs
One of the changes that could help Yuumi and make her better, as well as less of a nuisance in games is to make players want to jump off their ally's back and play on the edge. Yuumi is a squishy enchanter and doesn't have many tools to protect herself, hence why enabling a more 'dangerous' play style for her could make her less annoying.
This could be done through mana cost increases for her abilities and a buff to her passive. This would make players want to get off and actually try to float into an opponent's face. Pro players are good enough that no amount of nerfs will dissuade them from playing and picking Yuumi, even if you nerf her passive again.
So, is another nerf to her passive really the way to go Riot? It seems like the balance team might need to have a chat with the Yuumi-Subreddit to better understand what the community wants for this champion, eh?