ADCs are an almost indispensable role in League of Legends, as champions in this position hold immense power towards the end of the game, to say the least, they have the ability to finish matches. However, over time, new champions and changes in the game have led to ADCs gradually losing their standing. Not to mention, in most major League of Legends tournaments around the world, pure ADC champions do not appear in every match.
We sometimes see Syndra in the bot lane, and while Senna can be considered an ADC, her role is to poke and collect souls while farming is entirely left to the Support. The necessity of having a champion farm from the start to the end of the game and then finish it off is no longer there, and many players who love this position demand Riot Games to buff ADCs to restore their status as before.
And during a stream by Riot August, a senior member of the League of Legends champion design team, he was asked when Riot Games would finally buff ADCs. August’s answer will likely not please those players who love this position.
A player asked: “When do you plan to buff ADCs to catch up with the power of Fighters and Mages?”
Riot August: “ADCs are one of the most important positions in the game; if you see an ADC in every match, then why buff them? I think ADCs are strong enough to survive in solo queue.”
A player asked: “All the ADC main streamers say that it’s an extremely poor position.”
Riot August: “Well, when ADCs are balanced, players will complain that they are weak, which is understandable. It’s similar to the jungle position; people will say it’s a bad role while the jungle has already been balanced.”
Although Riot August claims that ADCs are balanced, it may only be in terms of win rates or pick rates, purely numerical. In reality, this position no longer has the ability to determine the match outcome as before; instead, each solo queue match heavily depends on the jungle position, with the team that has the better jungler having a much higher win rate.
Meanwhile, ADCs currently mainly serve as support; if you want to take control of your fate, you must play champions that can solo lane like Lucian, Tristana, or Kalista. Otherwise, all you can do is farm as best as you can and hope that your teammates in other lanes are not feeding, as you are no longer the match decider.