Riot releases micro patch to buff Yuumi after Patch 12.16 nerf

Riot Games released a micro patch to push hotfix buffs for Yuumi on Wednesday after League of Legends Patch 12.16 significantly nerfed the Magical Cat.

Yuumi was weakened by a nerf to her ZOOMIES. The developer quickly corrected the situation by buffing her PROWLING PROJECTILE and decreasing her FINAL CHAPTER’s cooldown time.

The micropatch was introduced in response to Yuumi’s drop to a 45.22% win rate in Platinum rank and higher following the release of Patch 12.16.

Below are Yuumi’s latest stats in the Platinum and higher tiers:

• Tier: D

• Win Rate: 46.76%

• Pick Rate: 10.8%

• Ban Rate: 41.2%

“Yuumi has had a very high pick rate in Professional play recently given that she synergizes well with a lot of the current meta picks and has strong scaling into the late game,” the patch reads.

“We’re taking a little bit of the zoom out of her Zoomies so that her friends are a little less unkillable.”

Below are the changes made to the champion:

Q—PROWLING PROJECTILE

• Q BASE DAMAGE (UNEMPOWERED): 50/80/110/140/170/200 ⇒ 50/90/130/170/210/250

• Q BASE DAMAGE (EMPOWERED): 60/100/140/180/220/260 (+2/3.2/4.4/5.6/6.8/8% of the target’s current health) ⇒ 60/110/160/210/260/310 (+3/4.2/5.4/6.6/7.8/9% of the target’s current health)

R—FINAL CHAPTER

• R COOLDOWN: 130/110/90 seconds ⇒ 110/100/90 seconds

Riot’s plan for Yuumi

LoL lead designer Matt “Phroxzon” Leung-Harrison opened up about Riot’s objectives for Yuumi after the micro patch, acknowledging that there were not many “great areas to buff.”

“We micropatched out a buff to Yuumi to add some power back in a way that is not super focused into E after putting it in a better long-term spot. We recognize there’s a risk to the return of Artillery Yuumi, but there aren’t a lot of great areas to buff,” he said.

Riot said the team had long-term plans for Yuumi. The company wants for the Magical Cat to be more of a stat-buffer for fighters, attaching to carry junglers and simply annihilating the Rift. They said she belonged in the bot lane and not carry.

“Long term, we’re interested in reducing her level of force multiplication with fighters and have her be happier about sitting at Marksman.” Matt continued.

“Forcing Marksman to lane 1v2, then abandoning them later to reduce counterplay of Fighters isn’t a great experience for everyone involved.”

Yuumi’s background

Yuumi is a magical cat from Bandle City, belonging to Yordle enchantress Norra. Yuumi guards Norra’s Book of Thresholds.

On her journey, Yuumi seeks out friendly companions and protects them with luminous shields and tenacity.

Below are Yuumi’s strongest skills;

• PASSIVE—BOP ‘N’ BLOCK

When Yuumi attacks a champion, she gains mana and a shield that she can use to protect herself and the friend to whom she is attached.

• Q—PROWLING PROJECTILE

Yuumi launches a missile, inflicting damage on the first target hit. If it needs at least 1 second to reach its target, it deals bonus damage and slows. The missile can be operated with the player’s cursor while attached.

• E—ZOOMIES

Heals Yuumi and increases her Move and Attack Speed. If she is attached, she passes it on to her ally.

• R—FINAL CHAPTER

Yuumi launches seven waves of damage, rooting any champion hit by three or more of them. Yuumi can shift, attach, and cast Zoomies while channeling.