Iconic neutral League of Legends objective Baron Nashor is slated to become stronger, with Riot Games looking to build its power up again with plotted Patch 14.8 changes after the gameplay team deemed it “too unthreatening” in its current state.
This would be a big change at any time of year, but Patch 14.8 is a particularly significant League update as it’s also set to shape the upcoming 2024 Mid-Season Invitational metagame. MSI, one of the most highly anticipated events in the League calendar, is just around the corner, and teams are going to be faced with another hurdle to overcome; with Baron Nashor receiving attack buffs, dynamics may change, similar to how we saw gameplay changes after the Baron overhaul in Patch 14.1 as teams chose between killing the Baron for global buffs and gold or leaving the objective behind to focus on teamfights.
While the extent of the Nash’s new attack buffs has yet to be revealed—we’ll get more on that front on April 9—the devs do know they’re walking a fine line with any extensive Baron changes that may push it over the top. But, as Matt “Riot Phroxzon” Leung-Harrison said on X (formerly Twitter) today, the buffs will be designed to “make the Baron more formidable without disrupting the mid to lategame mechanics.”
Upcoming MSI 2024 impact aside, the impending Baron changes will still be going live on the client for every League player too. That means everyone who plays normal or ranked matches will also experience these big Baron Nashor buffs. So what does this mean for the everyday League player? Well, teams will have to communicate better about taking objectives. We’ll also likely see fewer champs able to solo the Baron, which powerful junglers like Warwick, Master Yi, and Udyr have been able to do in the past.
Elsewhere in Patch 14.8’s plans, jungle champs like Graves, Jarvan IV, Olaf, and Viego will also be buffed in the upcoming update (which isn’t too surprising considering these Baron changes), along with many mid and top lane champions who are essential for taking objectives like Galio, Gwen, Hwei, LeBlanc, Ryze, Yone, and Sylas.
