Riot’s New Homeguard Buff: What You Need to Know

Homeguard

Riot Games is introducing a series of adjustments that are set to impact gameplay significantly, specifically focusing on the death timer and homeguard movement speed buff. These changes aim to enhance the early game experience by allowing players to return to their lanes more quickly after dying.

Enhanced Homeguard Buff: What’s Changing?

Previously, the homeguard movement speed buff activated instantly upon respawn, lasting only 5 seconds. This short duration often left players struggling to regain their position on the map quickly, particularly in the early stages of the game. With the new changes, Riot has extended the duration of this buff to 8 seconds. More importantly, the timer for this buff now starts only after a player leaves the fountain, providing a more substantial speed boost to return to your lane.

This means that players can now travel further down the lane or into the jungle before the buff wears off, giving them a crucial advantage in the early game. This extension of the buff’s duration and delay in activation can significantly impact the pace of early game skirmishes and map control.

The Impact After Minute 14

However, it’s important to note that after minute 14, the homeguard buff changes to the spawn homeguard—the one you receive in your fountain regardless of whether you’ve died. This version of the buff also provides faster healing, but remains unchanged in duration or effect. This shift means the enhanced homeguard movement speed buff is primarily an early game tool, designed to offset the longer death timers introduced at earlier levels.

Why These Changes Matter

These adjustments are part of a broader effort by Riot to balance the game more effectively by tweaking early game dynamics. The extended death timers for early levels, combined with a more potent homeguard movement speed buff, create a more strategic approach to early deaths. Players will now have to navigate longer respawn times, but with the trade-off of returning to action faster once they do respawn.

For those who play aggressively in the early stages of the game, this change could be a game-changer, allowing for quicker re-engagements and less downtime, which can be crucial for maintaining lane dominance and map control.

See our tier list of League of Legends Champions in the new patch here.

Summary of the Changes

  • Homeguard Buff Duration: Increased from 5 seconds to 8 seconds.
  • Activation Timing: The buff now starts after leaving the fountain, not immediately upon respawn.
  • Early Game Focus: The enhanced buff only applies until minute 14, after which the regular spawn homeguard takes over.
  • Strategic Implications: Faster returns to lane after early deaths, helping to mitigate the impact of increased death timers.

Riot’s update to the homeguard buff is a small but significant change that could alter early game strategies and pacing. Whether you’re playing aggressively or defensively, understanding and leveraging this new mechanic could provide a vital edge in your next match.

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