It will probably not have escaped any summoner, Pantheon, once highly regarded champion on the top lane, has migrated for a while to the position of support. Riot Games seems to want to correct this and are planning a number of adjustments to send the Eternal Lance back to other lanes.
In August 2019, Riot Games launched its all-new Hall of Fame in Summoner’s Rift. The League of Legends champion was starting to get old since it was released a year after the game’s debut (in 2010) – so the studio decided to put it through the overhaul. The goal was clear, to keep the essence of the champion clean – a warrior flirting with the limit of the divine – without altering his style of play.
Pantheon in Bot Lane Patch 10.25
If now the champion is confined to the bot lane, he had already made inroads into the support post some time before its overhaul. Bot lane lovers will fondly remember the Pantheon/Talliyah combo. This duo – originating from CK (Challengers Korea) – was unveiled for the first time by bbq Olivers. The combination of the two spell kits had enormous potential if used well. It was also released in the LCK, notably during the 2019 Spring Split final, in the hands of Griffin, but with much less success since the rookies of the time were dried 0 to 3 by SK Telecom T1. In short, this association had its limits of course, but at low and medium ELO, it could confuse the so-called more classic ADCs and allow certain players to grind the ladder by abusing it.
By redesigning the Eternal Lance, the studio hoped to give the champion a boost but also to delight these aficionados, mainly the top laners. And good news, the brand new pantheon has integrated very well into the meta … but on the bot-lane. His new spell kit based on stun, immobilize but also invulnerability made him a perfect aggressive support – a position that seemed more suited to him. Indeed, its scaling fishes terribly which is a terrible handicap when you play a solo-lane.
We could easily say that Riot Games crashed nicely with this rework since Pantheon hardly occupies more than the support position at the moment (87.6% of the players who pick him play on the bot lane). His win-rate is not great either (49.7%) and is even catastrophic in the games where he is played top laner (only 4.2%) since it is 46.7%.
Pantheon’s Changes 10.25
Pantheon list for 10.25 – getting a better trading pattern for fighting other melee in top and draining some power from support. https://t.co/7iC0n00V3b
— Mark Yetter (@MarkYetter) November 24, 2020
Riot Games therefore seems inclined to change this state of affairs with the arrival of season 11 and many changes are planned for the champion with patch 10.25. Beyond its base movement speed which will be reduced from 355 to 345, the studio plans to adjust its entire spell kit.
Q – Comet Spear
- Cooldown decreased: 10 / 9.5 / 8.8 / 8 → 8 / 7.5 / 7 / 6.5 / 6 seconds
- Mana cost decreased from 40 → 30
- Empowered Comet Spear
- Removed → No longer slowing down
W- Shield Vault
- Damage increased: 60/80/100/120/140 → 60/110/160/210/260
E – Impenetrable Aegis
- Removed: No longer blocks shots from towers
- Pantheon is slowed by 50% → 25% when moving sideways or when backing up.
- Reinforced Impenetrable Aegis
- Removed: No longer extends duration when strengthening
- New: When Pantheon knocks down his shield, he gains 60% movement speed for 1 second
R – Grand Starfall
- New: The spear that lands before Pantheon now slows by 50% and applies the damage value of a spear without reinforcement in a small area around it
The changes are clear, removing CC in the lane phase – valuable for support – and removing its ability to tank turn hits. To compensate, the studio offers more damage to the champion – including more harass on his Q – Comet Spear – and mobility in combat so that he can become a true duelist again. His ultimate seems more interesting now in terms of teamfight, a choice that can be explained by the very long CDR of the spell. On paper, these changes do seem to move the Eternal Lance away from the bot lane in favor of solo-lanes. A champion with an aggressive kit with tools to join his allies in a jump: the Spartan will perhaps regain its status of yesteryear …
The legitimate question that many must be asking now is: will Riot Games FINALLY succeed in achieving its goal?
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