Phreak announced that Riot plans to remove the long-standing penalties on Lee Sin’s Safeguard ability when used on non-champion targets. The change would eliminate both the doubled cooldown and the loss of shield that currently punish ward hops.
This reverses a nerf implemented in 2014 that specifically targeted Lee Sin’s mobility. For the past decade, using Safeguard to dash to a ward or other non-champion unit has triggered a cooldown twice as long as dashing to an ally. The ability also fails to grant its defensive shield in these cases.
The change means Lee Sin players can ward hop with the same efficiency as dashing to allied champions. They’ll get the shield and the normal cooldown regardless of target type.
Phreak cited mobility creep as the reason for the reversal. Lee Sin is no longer among the most mobile champions in the game, making the original restriction less necessary. Modern champions have wall-crossing dashes and repositioning tools that dwarf what Lee Sin brought to the table in 2011.
Ward hopping defines Lee Sin’s identity as a champion. Players place wards mid-fight to create dash targets for escapes, engage angles, and the iconic Insec kick setup. The technique requires keeping a ward trinket equipped, which competes with the Oracle Lens most junglers prefer for vision denial.
The removal of these penalties also affects dashes to allied minions, pets, and other non-champion units. Lee Sin will have more consistent access to his full defensive tools across all dash situations.
The change could ship as early as the next patch. No compensation nerfs have been mentioned yet, though Riot typically monitors champion strength after buffs of this magnitude.
