At this point in time, the proposed mid-lane changes set for 10.13 were already pulled from the Public Beta Environment for further improvements. Regardless, this is still a talk that needs to happen because changes in a single lane—especially the arguably most influential lane—will have lingering effects on the rest.

If you are out of the loop on the proposed mid lane changes, this is also a great time to catch up on what was proposed, and why we think that the changes are unhealthy especially in the professional scene.

What were the proposed changes?

Mark Yetter, also known as Riot Scruffy who acts as the game’s Lead Gameplay Designer, tweeted the potential changes addressing the mid lane’s overly dominating roamers:

“Testing Mid lane 10.13:
-Mid lane spawns a cannon every 3 >>> 4 waves for the first 15 min (after it’s normal)
-Mid minions move slightly slower to the lane (reducing clear and roam potential)

Still evaluating these. The goal is to bring mid economy back to s9 level not below.”

Eight hours later after receiving feedback, Mark followed up with another tweet pulling the changes from the PBE to be tested and implemented before Worlds 2020:

“Feedback on the Mid lane changes has been extremely useful. Thank you all.

Our updated plan is to move these to after worlds patch. More info in the thread. (1/4)”

Here’s a summary of the thread:

• The balance team will try to strike the right balance between mid lane roaming and influence, as well as to create a system that allows them to buff one lane without buffing other lanes
• The change was shifted from 10.13 to a future patch to avoid disrupting the pro players in their Summer seasons
• In addition, a single change to reduce mid lane resources without making players choose to roam more is a tall order, and requires more time to properly execute

Now, let’s assume that this proposed change does go through 10.13. The idea of aligning the minion wave tempo with other side lanes, while reducing the gold and experience mid laners can get will definitely shake the game, but not to the joy of many players.

How will mid laners play, should the changes happen?

One positive thing among the changes, however, is that mid laners gain some free time in the first two minutes of the game. What they can do in this free time is to mainly leash the jungler and invade with their team while leaving a little later than usual.

However, that’s still only a small part among the resulting differences that these lane changes will undergo.

Ironically, these changes will likely make most mid laners (especially professionals) roam more frequently to get leads. The reason is that the champion roster in the mid lane consists of champions that need to snowball to make an impact. Only a few defy this snowballing norm, such as Galio, Orianna, and Twisted Fate to a degree.

For example, let’s take LPL’s favorite mid champion: Syndra. A lane-dominant champion with average roaming like her will have to settle for roaming and reaping gold from other lanes because her cannon waves would come less often. Lesser cannon waves means less resources and experience, which means she will inherently fall behind if she stays at mid lane, even with optimal CS farming.

LeBlanc is another champion who may get indirectly buffed with this shift in playstyle. Because of her terrible waveclear and CSing, she is naturally inclined to roam to other lanes if she isn’t coordinating a gank with her jungler. With lesser resources from minions, roaming becomes the better option by comparison. That does not address the roaming issue at all; rather, it amplifies it.

The three champions who do not necessarily need to roam (Galio, Orianna, and Twisted Fate) already have roaming ingrained in their kit and gameplan. While the reduction in resources will stifle the Level 6 roams, it is still bound to happen with players who play these champions. Side laners who will call for their mid laner to roam will just have to wait a little bit more.

In that case, how will pro players play?

Professional mid laners might opt to pick champions who benefit from roaming instead of farming their lane and killing their opposing enemies.

This makes the mid lane a pseudo-jungler, where they now have to strike a balance between farming and roaming to the side lanes. No longer limited to a group of players who prefer roaming, the new mid lane will have an influx of roaming champions (Qiyana, Aurelion Sol, Pantheon, and others) to capitalize on roaming.

In contrast, laners who have terrible roaming (Cassiopeia, Rumble, Yasuo) will be weaker by comparison because they have to delay their item and level powerspikes. They can roam, but the stars have to align to make their roaming efforts fruitful.

Concluding Thoughts

While reducing the excessive roaming is good for the game, the current iteration is indeed a bad option to settle for this huge goal. It’s great that Riot Scruffy chose to withhold these changes for further refining.

For the veterans out there, the Juggernaut Patch was the most remarkable failure in the game’s history on balance, with an entire class of champions ruining the competitive integrity of Worlds 2015. No one wants to have another round of that disaster, so here’s to hoping that the balance team can find a way to satisfy their goals.

How would you balance the mid lane? Do you agree or disagree with nerfing the mid lane roam playstyle?