Gangplank rework plummets win rate after League patch 11.17 changes
Riot GamesLeague of Legends’ resident pirate has been reworked, and the numbers show he’s been hurt massively by the changes that shifted his power from early game to late game.
Gangplank received a mini-rework in League of Legends patch 11.17. In the rework, Riot shifted the power of his kit away from being a lane bully into a full damage dealer who they want building crit items for late game scaling.
Gangplank was known for having one of the strongest early laning phases out of all of the staple top laners. This was due to his ability to abuse the keystone Grasp of the Undying on his (Q) Parrrley, dealing extra damage while keeping his HP up. With his Q ability now counting as a ranged attack, Grasp as a keystone isn’t as effective and Gangplank players are finding it hard to survive long enough in matches to be effective late game.
It’s possible Gangplank players are finding it harder to build full damage items, as GP was best when built with HP items like Divine Sunderer and Sterak’s Gage. New builds that involve items like Immortal Shieldbow and Prowler’s Claw significantly reduce Gangplank’s survivability, while upping the damage.
According to the solo queue numbers available for the latest patch, these changes have completely tanked GP’s win rate.
Riot GamesGangplank gutted in LoL
According to the statistics site lolalytics, Gangplank’s win rate in Platinum+ rank is currently 42.98%. This ranks the pirate dead last for top laners with at least 20,000 recorded games on the newest patch. So, out of 26 eligible ones on the list, he sits at the bottom of the barrel. 42.98% is over 4% lower than the next top laner, Gwen, who sits at 47.33%.
With any rework, it’s likely a good portion of players are still trying to figure out how to make the new Gangplank useful. It may take time for long-time mains to accept the rework and start playing him more optimally. He must now rely on his barrels to deal most of the damage to enemies, as they were buffed to benefit from critical strikes at 125% effectiveness.
It’s also possible that Riot will have to give GP some buffs to counteract the complete nose-dive he’s had. Hopefully, players can being to figure out what works best for him, but for now, the new GP is not looking good and Riot might have to respond.
