The toplane role in League of Legends has been a subject of continuous change, leading to confusion among players about its position within the game's broader state. To address concerns raised by the community, Riot Games' game designer David 'Phreak' Turley, a former League of Legends caster, has emphasized that the team does not intend to nerf champions solely because they are popular.
Phreak responded to questions about champions like Aatrox, a dominant force in the top lane, and Camille, who is receiving upcoming buffs. He refuted claims that Riot is biased towards carry toplaners for esports purposes, asserting that the development team is actively working on reworking the entire top lane to bring about improvements.
Regarding Aatrox's stats presented on the analysis site Lolalytics, Phreak questioned the credibility of win rates, pointing out that the data needs to be considered in context with the baseline win rate for champions in the same tier. He suggested that relying solely on statistics might not give an accurate representation of the champion's balance.
When asked about the approach to dealing with champions becoming overly popular and potentially disruptive to the game, Phreak explained that punishing a champion merely for their popularity is not a sound strategy. Despite Aatrox's high pick rate and win rate, Phreak hinted that Riot is not likely to introduce major changes that could disrupt the metagame.
As the toplane role continues to evolve and players eagerly await changes, it is clear that Riot is taking a measured and neutral approach to addressing balance concerns. The community remains hopeful for substantial updates in the future to make the toplane experience more engaging and impactful.
