There is a little-known fact that Ornn has not received any major buffs for nearly a year, mostly just bug fixes, a slight increase in health, and starting armor. Yet, this ram god still sits comfortably at the top of the strongest top laners in this season because of the numerous indirect buffs. The issue here is that Ornn is not broken; his skill set remains the same and does not require any adjustments.
The problem lies in the fact that mobile Fighters like Irelia and Akali have been heavily nerfed, and the Conqueror rune lost its bonus damage, making Ornn too comfortable in the top lane. Recently, Doran’s Shield was buffed for melee champions, and the Fire Armor item line was significantly increased in damage, making Ornn strong to the point of being unpreventable. Then Riot had to directly nerf this champion in the recent patch 10.5, even Sett as well, but external factors still keep this champion dominant.
Just when Ornn’s issue was not yet resolved, another headache arose as the duo of Garen and Darius are on their way to dominate the top lane once again. The evidence is that these two champions currently have a win rate of 54% with an astonishing pick rate of about 12%. Typically, when a champion has such a high pick rate, the win rate should be much lower, but Garen and Darius are simply too strong.
“Oh please, who cares, those two are weak in high ranks,” some might say, but my friend, this statistic is for ranks Platinum and above. Want to know the win rates of the top players? Let me tell you that Darius has a whopping 58% win rate in Challenger, he is not just strong anymore but is becoming a ‘monster’ in the top lane.
So why are these two champions suddenly so strong? The answer continues to lie in Riot Games’ flawed balancing, suddenly these two champions received additional jungle clearing capabilities in the recent “jungle champion” update. No jungle presence was noticed, only that these champions can now push lanes exceptionally well, then go steal a jungle camp and return to lane with a wealth of gold and experience compared to their opponent. This leads to an ever-growing snowball that becomes unstoppable.
Combined with the updates for melee champions like Doran’s Shield being buffed for melee champions, and reduced damage dealt to towers by ranged champions… Darius and Garen have become incredibly powerful due to continuous indirect buffs. Coupled with the fact that these two champions are very easy to play, even a first-time top lane player can still perform effectively, it is only natural they dominate the top lane.
And the situation returns to being similar to Ornn and Sett; Riot Games will continue to directly nerf these two champions if they remain strong. Meanwhile, a plethora of issues regarding tower shields, Doran’s Shield, and Fire Cloak… remain unadjusted. Once Ornn is no longer hot, Garen and Darius will continue to dominate. If these two champions are nerfed, it will lead to others taking their place; ‘monsters’ do not arise out of nowhere but merely transform from one form to another.
