Riot promises more Chemtech Dragon nerfs in upcoming League patch

Andrew Amos
Blade Storm Lissandra in League of Legends

League of Legends’ divisive Chemtech Dragon is once again getting nerfed in LoL patch 12.2 as Riot tries to pull the new addition in line. The changes will center around its powerful death-defying buff rather than the smog-covered Rift.

The Chemtech Dragon has been the pain point of League of Legends players in Season 12. From the moment it launched in preseason, the chorus of complaints have been raining out.

Riot has already shipped numerous nerfs to the zombie-making dragon, but it’s not been enough. Now, the developers are promising more changes in League of Legends patch 12.2 to balance it once and for all.

Developer Matt ‘Phroxzon’ Leung-Harrison noted in a January 14 blog post players have been “frustrated” with the Chemtech Soul buff, and that’s impacting the dragon’s power as a whole.

Hextech and Chemtech Dragon fighting in League of Legends
Chemtech Dragon (right) and its inclusion in League of Legends Season 12 has been the source of much controversy.

“We’re with you that trying to facecheck a team that has Chemtech Soul in the Chemtech Fog is difficult as you’re usually at both a combat strength and vision deficit,” he said.

“We also agree that the Chemtech Soul itself, regardless of the mechanics, is overpowered right now, so we’re tapping down on its numbers in 12.2.”

Exactly how they’ll nerf the Chemtech Soul remains to be seen. Previously, Riot reduced the length of the “zombie” respawns to four seconds. However, alterations to damage numbers or further adjusting the length of the buff could be on the cards.

If the changes to Chemtech Soul prove to not be enough though, Riot will consider taking more drastic action ⁠— including a full rework of the dragon or downright removing it.

Riot are not opposed to entirely reworking the Chemtech Dragon if further changes don’t work.

“If we find that the high moments still don’t manifest after both of these changes, yet they continue to frustrate players, we’re very open to higher scope changes, including reworks,” Phroxzon concluded.

The latest set of Chemtech Dragon nerfs will be shipped on January 20, 2022, alongside League of Legends patch 12.2. We will update you with full details of the nerfs once they are released.

About The Author

Hailing from Perth, Andrew was formerly Dexerto's Australian Managing Editor. They love telling stories across all games and esports, but they have a soft spot for League of Legends and Rainbow Six. Oh, and they're also fascinated by the rise of VTubers.