Completely absent from pro play major leagues since Season 7, Rammus isn’t popular in solo queue either.
With a low pick rate of 2.6% according to U.GG, and below 50% win rate, it’s no wonder that Riot is giving their classic roly-poly some love:
Q – Powerball
- Base damage decreased from 100/135/170/205/240 to 100/130/160/190/220
W – Defensive Ball Curl
- (New) Ballin’: Basic attacks now extend the duration of Defensive Ball Curl by 0.4 seconds, up to a maximum of 4 additional seconds
E – Frenzying Taunt
- Taunt duration decreased from 1.25/1.5/1.75/2.0/2.25 to 1.2/1.4/1.6/1.8/2.0 seconds
R – Soaring Slam
- (Updated) Come on and slam, and welcome to the… ram: Rammus leaps into the air and slams down, dealing 100/175/250 (+0.6 AP) magic damage and slowing enemies by 15/17.5/20% for 1.5 seconds.
- Rammus generates aftershocks at the target location for 4 seconds, dealing 20/30/40 (+0.1 AP) magic damage and stacking the initial slow up to four times.
- Damage near the center is increased up to 150% damage based on the distance traveled.
- If Soaring Slam is cast while Rammus is in Powerball, enemies near the center are also knocked up and dealt Powerball’s collision damage, ending Powerball’s effect.
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Most notably, Rammus’ ultimate has been reworked. Previously, he did AoE tremor damage with his ultimate, which affected structures and slowed enemy champions within its radius.
His combo was straightforward: Powerball in, activate Defensive Curve Ball and Tremors, then taunt the enemy champion. The only real thing players needed to do was steer him in the right direction and choose the right target.
Even then, opponents could avoid being rolled over by standing with their minion line or behind tanks since Powerball doesn’t go through units. This made it harder for Rammus to initiate, resulting in a lower pick rate.
Tremoring no more, his reworked ultimate propels him upwards into a slam dunk that slows enemies in the area, similar to Volibear’s. Now a skill shot, he can even knock-up enemies in the center if you chain it with Powerball.
Adding another dimension to his ultimate, the further Rammus travels, the more damage his ultimate will do, so pairing him with champions that can boost his movement speed like Karma and Sivir will be even more rewarding.
When playing against Rammus, it’s important to note that even if he moves out of the AoE, the aftershocks will continue for four seconds and stack the initial slow effect, so get out of there!
Click here to read the full League of Legends patch 11.8 notes.
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