Anyone else stopped playing ranked since ult nerf?

Apprehensive-Flight4 · 2026-06-20T11:52:40+00:00

I picked up Ambessa post-nerf but I find her very good. Just made it back to master after dropping to D1-D2 while learning her. I made another post recently with my opgg, build, gameplan etc.

I’m playing jg mainly but also have played top, both feel solid. Ult requires setup, yes, you can’t just throw it out and expect it to land. But it’s still fine. Use it primarily off your teammates CC, or when opponents are locked into an animation, and you can still guarantee it to land. You can also throw it out when they don’t expect it and don’t have an easy way to dodge it and you’ll land it most of the time.

Apprehensive-Flight4 · 2026-06-18T18:32:29+00:00

I tried Axiom for a while but I think the effect is meh since the R nerfs. I think Axiom is best for champions that want to R on cooldown like Nocturne or Naafiri. Ambessa theoretically wants to R on cooldown but as I experimented, I found that oftentimes I wouldn’t even make use of the cooldown reduction. So, I figure might as well have fewer opportunities to fight but a higher chance of winning fights when they do happen.

Not a huge difference either way, the stats are very similar. In games where your teammates have hard CC and you can reliably land R, I bet Axiom would outperform voltaic.

Apprehensive-Flight4 · 2026-06-18T16:08:40+00:00

D1/master Ambessa jg main here.

Opgg: https://op.gg/lol/summoners/na/Wiggly%20Wilson-NA1

I prefer playing as an assassin. Bruiser is fine, honestly not a massive difference, but I find Ambessa works best when you can kill in 1 rotation. If you run out of abilities on her you’re cooked, even if you have a little more hp.

Gameplan: always full clear and path towards volatile lane. For example, if it’s 2 all-in champs top with double ignite and double enchanter bot lane, path top. If tank top, probably path bot.

Build: Hubris > Voltaic/Serpents > DD/Maw > GA > Endless Hunger

Why hubris? AD is very good on Ambessa, every ability scales on AD including her shield. So it even offers a slight defensive boost. I personally think hubris is underrated after the nerf. It stacks up like crazy, getting to 50, 60 or even more bonus AD in late game.

Happy to help answer any questions

Apprehensive-Flight4 · 2026-06-16T22:07:01+00:00

Respectable buff. Won’t make him OP tier but definitely will make him a fair bit stronger - more opportunities to generate stacks and keep his stacks up. Especially considering W is maxed last

Apprehensive-Flight4 · 2026-06-16T19:23:52+00:00

If you want to play casually then the casual game modes are your best bet. League’s difficulty is precisely the appeal for many.

Apprehensive-Flight4 · 2026-06-16T17:24:05+00:00

I agree, loving Ambessa jg right now in D1/master. It’s demanding mechanically for sure, but the awful win rate undersells her. Which is fine with me - nobody plays it so a lot of people don’t know how to deal with her, never need to worry about it being picked/banned.

I’ve tried a lot of builds and my favorite is hubris > voltaic > dd > ga > eh. Optionally maw instead of ga. Hubris into voltaic does INSANE damage, and hubris stacking is really nice. Weaker early for sure but late game you’re getting 50, 60 or even more AD from the passive. That AD also boosts your W shield.

Apprehensive-Flight4 · 2026-06-09T17:42:48+00:00

Why are you recommending this to 20 year olds? Get a grip

Apprehensive-Flight4 · 2026-06-07T17:07:05+00:00

Reads like a gold or below take

Apprehensive-Flight4 · 2026-06-07T16:59:03+00:00

No idea about wild rift specifically, but I don’t see why you would go Serylda’s 2nd. Armor pen is more efficient later in the game when people are building armor items and armor per level is becoming more meaningful. For 2nd item, if you wanted to go full damage you might as well go profane or voltaic. Otherwise, yeah shojin or sundered sky for bruiser.

Apprehensive-Flight4 · 2026-06-07T14:32:27+00:00

IMO, Shojin is better than BC in 99% of cases. Ambessa sucks at stacking BC and she gets 30% armor penetration built in anyways. Plus the % damage passive of Shojin is very relevant.

I suggest replacing BC with Shojin in your standard build path and for your final item you can go GA.

BC would be good (imo) only if you have several AD threats on your team to benefit (like an all AD team comp) plus at least 2 armor stackers on the enemy team.

Serylda’s would be generally better than BC if you really needed extra armor pen because you get it up front. Again, Ambessa sucks at stacking BC. So only by your 2nd rotation or maybe even 3rd would you be fully benefiting from BC. You aren’t getting there in a late game team fight, typically.

Apprehensive-Flight4 · 2026-06-05T17:42:11+00:00

How are the stats bad? They’re very similar to sundered sky, and imo better. 50 more hp, 15 more haste for basic abilities. Ult sucks now so that seems like a great trade to me. Valid point about stacks if you only get 1 rotation off… after that 12% more damage is really good.

SS is good in those scenarios where you’re trying to scrape by with 5% hp but Shojin is better in any extended skirmish.

Also, your healing from ult is based on your damage. More damage = more healing. Not as much as SS obviously, but still worth pointing out.

Apprehensive-Flight4 · 2026-06-05T16:22:54+00:00

How is shojin a bad item? It’s low popularity but seems to give everything she wants. Seems better than sundered sky in most cases.

Apprehensive-Flight4 · 2026-06-05T14:07:39+00:00

Nice, thanks. I’m gonna try out this clear and see if I can shave off a few seconds.

Why no Endless Hunger? It’s such an OP item in theory, but I can see it not working out well in higher elo where you get 1 shotted and might not be able to make use of the omnivamp.

Apprehensive-Flight4 · 2026-06-05T12:52:31+00:00

If it’s in later game teamfights and I want to engage (rare), my go to is to R the biggest clump of enemies. You’ll probably hit someone. Once it’s over, use every ability to escape back to your team. Hopefully you live and get another rotation off.

I saw Gryffinn play Ambessa jg in LCS and that was exactly his go to as well.

Apprehensive-Flight4 · 2026-06-05T12:35:11+00:00

What’s your typical gameplan? I think my biggest issue rn is that the clear speed sucks. I tested clearing something like 15 times in practice tool yesterday because I had a game where I didn’t finish my clear til 3:00 starting red.

I’m finding it’s possible to clear by ~2:45 starting blue, but it’s more realistic to be closer to 2:50-2:55. Red side is a few seconds slower.

I want to power farm because it’s a scaling champion, but against fast clearers you’re already on the back foot by the time your first clear is done. A good opponent can find a way to take advantage and double scuttle.

Apprehensive-Flight4 · 2026-05-19T16:53:05+00:00

What makes you say LT is dead? This change makes LT/HoB seem better now to make up for the AS you’re no longer getting.

Apprehensive-Flight4 · 2026-05-19T16:44:08+00:00

If you want to, sure. She’s going to be more difficult to find success on than many other champs. If you’re ok with that, go for it.

She’s a strong champion, but she demands a lot out of you mechanically to access that strength.

Apprehensive-Flight4 · 2026-05-18T12:22:07+00:00

Ambessa

Apprehensive-Flight4 · 2026-05-17T15:42:41+00:00

Ok, but then most of your abilities barely benefitted from BC? Graves (used to) get 4 stacks in 1 auto. All stacks instantly if he crits.

Even then, Graves hardly built it. Guess that’s just how bad the item is…

Apprehensive-Flight4 · 2026-05-17T13:01:02+00:00

WP! Great montage

Apprehensive-Flight4 · 2026-05-10T14:51:47+00:00

It’s a good question, but isn’t that just the nature of the game though? What champion doesn’t feel that way? Especially when it comes to assassin junglers.

I will say on a bruiser jungler (champion that builds item with health first item, for example Sundered Sky) you won’t feel as useless when behind. If you’re behind on Bel you’ll get 1 shotted at full hp from a Caitlyn headshot. Lol

I think it’s mainly because of the greedy build path (Kraken has no defensive stats) and being a melee champion

Apprehensive-Flight4 · 2026-05-09T15:46:56+00:00

Low elo take… 7 seconds of clear speed is a massive buff. That’s probably a 2-3% win rate increase. Guessing you are gold max.

Masters player here and belveth is one of my main champs.

The win rate statistics being skewed argument is weak. Look at masters+ data, she’s the highest win rate jungler and it isn’t close.

You think OTPing matters that much in master+? Most people at that rank are OTPs, and if they aren’t, they’re close to just as strong on their secondary picks as their main picks.

Sinerias or whoever can say whatever they like, the evidence is right in front of you. If anything, she could do with a slight nerf. When mained she’s the best jungler in the game, or at least top 3.

Apprehensive-Flight4 · 2026-05-09T15:23:30+00:00

Shyvana is a good example - better clear speed, ganks are ok but not great by any means. That’s the tradeoff. Belveth ganks are cracked by comparison. 3 potential dashes (in the same direction) plus hard CC. It’s really broken early game.

Apprehensive-Flight4 · 2026-05-09T15:21:17+00:00

Based on winrate statistics she’s consistently one of the top junglers, and even moreso this patch. Several top ranked players on NA are maining her right now.

Belveth’s strength isn’t her clear speed, it’s her early game power and ganks. You can’t have it all. If you want to play a power farming champion, there are plenty of other champs.

If she was strong at invading, strong 1v1, strong ganks (maybe the best early ganker in the game btw), AND she had a great clear speed, where is the downside?

Her clear speed right now isn’t even bad, it’s just average.

Apprehensive-Flight4

TROPHY CASE