After just a few days post-launch, Fiddlesticks is proving to be a “big head, small tail” project for Riot, grand in its introduction but weak to the point of being pitiful in actual gameplay. Most statistical websites for League of Legends rank this champion at the bottom of the jungle and support tiers, with a win rate stuck at just 42%.
The reason for this poor performance stems from Fiddlesticks himself being quite lacking in damage, and there are too few items suitable for this scarecrow. Therefore, in the latest efforts to help this champion, Riot Games has released a hotfix to buff Fiddlesticks’ damage, which is his weakest point. The information was updated by Riot’s gameplay design lead, Mark Yetter, on his personal Twitter:
Riot Mark Yetter: “The hotfix buff for Fiddlesticks will be updated this afternoon”
W – Harvest
Base damage increased from 100-340 to 120-360.
Final damage increased from 12-16% to 12-18% of the target’s lost health.
These are small buffs, but we think they are still good for players to approach this champion before they explore the full power of Fiddlesticks.”
This buff seems to relatively increase Fiddlesticks’ jungle farming capabilities and help him clear the jungle faster, potentially sneaking in for dragons better. However, it does not address the issue of damage deficiency since this skill is too easy to counter; furthermore, Fiddlesticks must stand still to cast and becomes an easy target for opponents.
Perhaps Riot Games still needs to make long-term adjustments both to Fiddlesticks himself and the additional items for this scarecrow. Standing still and dealing continuous damage isn’t new, but Fiddlesticks lacks the necessary survivability to effectively deal damage with his W skill, even when buffed.