Soraka’s ultimate rework makes her League’s top support champion, but nerfs are imminent before Worlds 2021
The Grievous Wounds Breakthrough
Soraka’s transformation into League of Legends’ most dominant support champion stems from a single revolutionary change in patch 11.18 that fundamentally altered healing dynamics.
The statistical evidence confirms Soraka has ascended to the pinnacle of support champions following her ultimate ability overhaul. This dominance proves temporary though, with significant adjustments scheduled for the upcoming Worlds-focused update.
For seasons, Soraka’s identity as the premier healer in League of Legends consistently faced one formidable obstacle: Grievous Wounds. Items specifically designed to counter healing, such as Morellonomicon and Thornmail, traditionally kept the Starchild’s influence in check.
Patch 11.18 introduced a paradigm shift by granting her ultimate ability, Wish, the capacity to completely remove Grievous Wounds debuffs from affected allies. This represents her first substantial balance modification since the earlier patch 11.4 adjustments.
While appearing as a minor mechanical tweak initially, this cleansing effect has propelled the enchanter support from average performance to unequivocally topping the champion hierarchy.
Soraka currently maintains a remarkable 53.46% victory rate across ranked games, positioning her as the second-highest winning support champion behind Amumu’s 53.56%. Her success rate surged by approximately 2.5 percentage points during the latest patch cycle, representing the most significant improvement of any champion and enabling her to surpass Sona in the support tier rankings.
Soraka’s Current Dominance
The combination of her elevated selection frequency—now ranking among the top 10 most picked supports at 7.80%, up dramatically from 4.73%—coupled with her exceptional win rate has established Soraka as a reliable LP-generating asset for players across all competitive tiers.
The strategic implications of Grievous Wounds removal extend far beyond Soraka herself, creating unprecedented opportunities for her entire team composition.
By eliminating healing reduction effects, Soraka’s ultimate amplifies all subsequent healing until opponents reapply Grievous Wounds. This transformation particularly benefits drain-tank champions including Aatrox, Olaf, and Sylas; sustain-focused mages like Vladimir and Swain; and marksmen with inherent healing mechanics such as Samira and Draven.
Advanced players have discovered that timing Soraka’s ultimate during critical teamfight moments—when multiple allies are affected by healing reduction—can single-handedly reverse engagement outcomes. The cleansing effect creates windows where your team’s healing operates at full efficiency while the enemy must commit additional resources to reapply their counter-measures.
Positioning becomes increasingly vital when playing the current iteration of Soraka. Since her ultimate now carries such tremendous fight-swinging potential, surviving to use it at the optimal moment separates adequate Soraka players from exceptional ones. Maintaining maximum distance while still being able to assist key allies requires sophisticated map awareness and anticipation of enemy engage patterns.
Upcoming Nerfs and Strategic Implications
Without intervention, Soraka would undoubtedly become a priority pick during the Worlds 2021 competitive landscape. However, Riot Games has confirmed adjustments for the forthcoming “Worlds update” in League patch 11.19 to moderate her overwhelming presence.
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The planned modifications target the base healing values of her ultimate ability, reducing its overall effectiveness following the Grievous Wounds cleansing process.
Despite these incoming adjustments, the core cleansing mechanic remains intact for now, suggesting Soraka will maintain relevance as a high-tier selection in upcoming patches. This creates an ideal window for players to master her enhanced kit before the competitive landscape evolves.
The numerical reduction translates to approximately 13-14% decreased healing at each rank, meaning players must adapt their playstyle to account for the diminished sustain. This adjustment particularly impacts late-game teamfights where the difference between a 350 and 300 base heal could determine whether a crucial carry survives burst damage.
Proactive Soraka players should begin practicing with the anticipated numbers to develop intuition for the new healing thresholds. Understanding exactly how much health you can restore in critical moments becomes essential for making informed decisions during high-pressure situations.
Advanced Soraka Play Strategies
Mastering Soraka’s current iteration requires understanding several advanced techniques that maximize her strengths while mitigating her vulnerabilities.
Optimal Ultimate Timing: The most common mistake players make is using Wish too early in engagements. Instead, wait until multiple allies are both low health AND affected by Grievous Wounds. This ensures you get maximum value from both the cleansing effect and the subsequent healing.
Itemization Adjustments: With the incoming base heal reductions, item choices become more critical. Consider prioritizing ability power and healing amplification items earlier in your build to counteract the nerfed base values. Items like Staff of Flowing Water and Chemtech Putrifier gain additional value since they enhance both your healing output and your team’s damage.
Positioning Fundamentals: Soraka’s effectiveness diminishes dramatically if she’s caught out of position. Practice maintaining maximum Q range while keeping vision control of flank routes. Use the range indicator to ensure you’re at the edge of your effectiveness zone—close enough to impact fights but distant enough to avoid engagement.
Communication with Teammates: Inform your team when your ultimate is available and establish expectations for its usage. Some engagements should be avoided until Wish is off cooldown, while others become favorable specifically because you can negate the enemy’s healing reduction effects.
These strategies will remain relevant even after the patch 11.19 nerfs, though the margin for error will decrease slightly with the reduced healing numbers. Players who master these techniques now will maintain competitive advantage regardless of future balance changes.
No reproduction without permission：SeeYouSoon Game Club » Soraka is League’s most broken champion after recent ult rework, but not for long Soraka's ultimate rework makes her League's top support champion, but nerfs are imminent before Worlds 2021