Riot pushes Yuumi hotfix buff after enchanter cat’s win rate plummets

Andrew Amos
Bewitching Yuumi in League of Legends

Riot has pushed hotfix buffs for Yuumi after League of Legends patch 12.16 completely decimated the Magical Cat. With her win rate plummeting below 45%, the developers are giving her some offensive power back to stem the bleeding.

Yuumi has floated (literally) in and out of the League of Legends meta since her release. Out of all the enchanters though, she’s experienced the most success over the last three years due to her powerful utility, granted by simply attaching to an ally.

However, she’s been a tricky one to balance across League of Legends Season 12. Riot has been constantly buffing, then nerfing, then buffing Yuumi repeatedly, trying to find the right balance between her healing and damage.

A nerf to Yuumi’s Zoomies heal in LoL patch 12.16 completely decimated her though. With a higher cooldown late, as well as a drastically cut movement speed buff, the Magical Cat’s win rate plummeted from around 48% at all ranks to under 45% on day one of the update.

So Riot has come to the rescue with a hotfix buff just hours after the patch launch to try and stem the bleeding.

They’re not giving back any power in Yuumi’s heal, but they are buffing her damage on both her Q, Prowling Projectile, and ultimate Final Chapter.

“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,” lead designer Matt ‘Phroxzon’ Leung-Harrison told players

“We recognize there’s a risk to the return of Artillery Yuumi, but there aren’t a lot of great areas to buff.”

Battle Academia Yuumi in League of Legends
Yuumi’s win rate in LoL patch 12.16 is being salvaged by a hotfix buff.

Riot does have long-term goals for the Magical Cat in terms of honing in on her identity. They want her to be less of a stat-buffer for fighters, attaching to carry junglers and just decimating the Rift. They want her to actually stay in the bot lane and play around her lane carry.

“We’re interested in reducing her level of force multiplication with fighters and have her be happier about sitting at marksmen,” he added. “Forcing marksmen to lane 1v2, then abandoning them later to reduce counterplay of Fighters isn’t a great experience for everyone involved.”

You can find the list of Yuumi hotfix buffs in LoL patch 12.16 below. They are live as of August 24, 2022.

Yuumi hotfix buff in LoL patch 12.16

Q: Prowling Projectile

  • Base damage (unempowered): 50/80/110/140/170/200 ⇒ 50/90/130/170/210/250
  • 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

  • Cooldown: 130/110/90 seconds ⇒ 110/100/90 seconds

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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.