When will top lane be fixed?
Preseason 2023: Top Lane Changes
The top lane is an island. That's what most people say, with players choosing to play 1-vs-1 with the occasional jungle gank, instead of really playing together as a team. Well, it seems that Riot is finally listening to some disgruntled top lane mains, because there will be changes coming to the role for the upcoming Preseason 2023.
In a recent Twitter post by Lead Designer Riot PhRoXzOn one fan stated that they were quite unhappy with the current state of the top lane and Riot PhRoXzOn answered him stating that there are plans to make some changes to help top lane satisfaction.
[Update October 4, 2022]
On October 3, we learned that Riot PhRoXzOn was serious with his statement as we gained more information about Riot Games' plans for the top lane, and it looks like we will have some new changes buffing the top laners.
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When to Expect the Top Lane Changes
In the same Tweet where Riot PhRoXzOn stated that top lane satisfaction was high on the balance team's priority list, they currently didn't have enough resources right now to implement any changes at the moment. He did state that come pre-season, the balance team would look into the issue.
[Update October 4, 2022]
With the recent release of the Preseason 2023 Preview, we have further information about the release of the new top lane changes. We can expect the new changes to already be implemented on PBE today, September 4, 2022.
What Changes Can We Expect in the Top Lane?
Along with the Preseason 2023 update, we have gained more information about the upcoming changes for the top lane. The new changes will help top laners scale faster and hit essential items and level breakpoints quicker relative to mid and bot lane. Here is a breakdown of the new changes:
- Solo Lane Experience: Solo lanes' experience multiplier gained from minions will change from 93% to 95%.
- Duo Lane Experience: Duo lanes' experience multiplier gained from minions will change from 24,73% to 22%.
- Mid Lane Gold Changes: When last hit, all minions spawned in the mid lane will be worth 1 gold less before minute 14.
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Why Will Riot Only Tackle the Top Lane in Pre-Season?
One of the main reasons why Riot is only going to be looking into the top lane and upping the satisfaction in this one role is due to resources, as already mentioned. Riot PhRoXzOn explained that even though there are 'easy' ways to fix this issue, those would only lead to more problems in the long run.
So, to avoid the large collateral damage the team will be looking into the top lane during the pre-seasons to think of ways to make the role more attractive to players. The top lane is even considered to be one of the toughest roles in League of Legends, even streamer legend Tyler1 has said so before.
Which Additional Changes Could Riot Make for the Top Lane?
There is a heavy debate between top lane mains. Tank players feel that their champions are completely useless while bruiser players complain that tanks deal too much damage. The recent changes to teleport have also left a bad taste in top lane mains mouths since this is a key summoner spell for them.
Honestly, it seems like the TP changes from the Season 12 pre-season seem to have some of the biggest effect on the game. It made playing top lane much less impactful in the game and therefore ruined some of the fun play-making options top laners had before.
Therefore, many players have suggested making some changes to the teleport summoner spell once more to give the top lane more agency. Some fans on Twitter even suggested randomizing the Rift Herald and first Dragon spawn point.