Just after the release of the new skin, Karthus Infernal, Riot Games has “conveniently” buffed 2 incredibly strong effects for Karthus’s Wall of Pain (W) on the PBE server.
Specifically, the 3 changes to W will be:
– The wall’s duration has been increased from 4 to 5 seconds.
– New: Enemies standing in the wall will be affected by the Slow effect.
– New: Enemies passing through the wall will be blocked and these enemies will be slowed by an additional 20%.
Thanks to this buff, Karthus’s W skill feels like a powerful combination of Cassiopeia’s W and Azir’s (old) R. Notably, Karthus’s W has an extremely long range and a very fast casting speed, making it incredibly easy to trap an enemy during a gank. Additionally, with the ability to block dashes with W, champions with strong mobility skills like Lee Sin, Zac, Jarvan IV,… will now have to be cautious of Karthus.
However, right after this change appeared on the PBE, Riot Phlox explained why Karthus was buffed so heavily, stating that this is just one of many changes being considered for Karthus, and its appearance on PBE was merely “accidental”. At the same time, this Riot employee mentioned that they are aware Karthus is still very strong in the jungle even without buffs, so the adjustments above may undergo further changes.
Although it is still unknown what other changes Karthus will undergo in the near future, the League of Legends community believes that as long as Karthus can bring these 2 new effects to the official server, he will definitely rise to the top of the meta.