The meta of League of Legends (LoL) has been changed drastically. After the 8.11 update, many unusual picks have conquered ranked games, and LoL fans were eager to see what picks the pros will choose. And with the opening of the LCK, the champions that fans looked forward to seeing appeared on the pro scene. Although those picks mostly were anticipated, fans worldwide were wildly excited watching the pros playing those unusual champions.

Many people who were sick of the same champions and predictable picks welcomed the big change where positions and champions are all mixed up. One of the biggest parts of the change is the present vague state of the long-maintained EU meta positions; this sort of drastic shift would have been unimaginable in past seasons. ADCs, or more accurately now called bot laners, are picking Mordekaiser, Vladimir, and Irelia while Taric is fighting in mid lane. Seeing those kinds of picks may not be too unexpected in solo queue, but they absolutely unheard of in professional competitions. Until now that is. Interestingly enough, this meta resulted in amazing teamfights and aggressive gameplay that made the ADCs of the past seem docile. As soon as this new meta took off, any marksman champions that appeared in the picks & bans were called ‘good for nothing’, ‘part of the ancient meta’, or ‘no fun’.

Although the reactions are wild, discussions are still ongoing; people are debating whether this is normal or not, if Riot planned for this all along, etc. While many do welcome this change, it is still an abnormal state for the game to be in. The EU meta seemed to be set in stone, yet Riot shattered it with a single update. Riot now has to decide whether to run with this new meta or do a massive back pedal; they did want to reduce the influence that ADCs had on the late game, but it’s hard to say if this was exactly what they had in mind. While a fair amount of people are complaining that these big changes don’t take player opinion into account, it is difficult to deny that this time around the change has led to something fresh and exciting for many.

All in all, the marksmen of LoL seem to be ones who have suffered most from this update. It sure is fun seeing all the unique champions and comps in the pro scene, but the balance is certainly an issue. There are more than 140 champions, so in truth a perfect balance may be impossible to reach. What will be Riot’s answer to the current meta? The journey to find the perfectly balanced Utopian Rift is far from over.