As a support main in League of Legends, I like Bard. He makes lovely panpipe-style noises, leaves cute little Meeps everywhere, and is generally just adorable. Well, not anymore, as the MOBA‘s often underrated support is slapping fools around in LoL Arena, prompting a quick response from Riot which was, in the words of League of Legends game designer Ezra ‘Phlox’ Lynn, “too chimed up” when buffing him.
It’s no secret that some League of Legends champions are just better in the Arena, just as some others perform at the top of the general LoL tier list, while others have, unfortunately, slipped to the bottom (RIP Morgana).
Innocent little Bard is not exactly who we saw dominating the mode, however, especially given the 2v2v2v2 focus of dealing damage fast and getting out alive. While Riot has designed the mode so that it encompasses a vast array of champion combinations, it certainly feels – on the outside – like pure muscle would be the best play.
Apparently not, as one Reddit comment reads “who thought it was a great idea to go through with those Bard changes in Arena? Everyone just locks Bard, goes full AP and kills everyone in one or two auto-attacks.” This comes in the wake of League of Legends patch 13.15, which doubled the character’s Meep AP damage from 30% to 60%. Ouch.
In response, lead modes designer Daniel ‘Maxw3ll’ Emmons confirms that Riot is “prepping a micropatch to sort him out. Turns out you can buff Bard too much.” Phlox then responds “I may have been too chimed up when buffing Bard,” to which Maxw3ll claims “chimes are a hell of a drug.” I’ll just leave that there.
A couple of adjustments have already come through for the champion, specifically targeting his Meep AP ratio and chimes per Meep upgrade on August 2, and a bugfix coming through for his W’s healing on August 3. Hopefully that settles things down a little but, as someone who loves him dearly, I’m all for Bard supremacy – for a little longer, anyway.
If you’re looking to take to the Arena, I suggest checking out our rundown of all of the new and upcoming League of Legends skins – there’s not one on the cards for Bard right now, but there’s some sweet new looks on the horizon. Alternatively, there’s always the League of Legends Mythic shop skins to add some glitz to your cosmetic library.