Patch 12.8 Notes

updated

Swain

Mid-scope update, all abilities adjusted.

The Grand General is back and grander than ever. Swain has certainly made a name for himself in bot lane since his last mini rework, but as the commander of the Noxian front lines, he should also be one to strike fear in his solo lane enemies' hearts. The goal for this midscope update was thus to revive his fantasy as a master strategist and dark, demonic diplomat, rather than someone who must rely on others to execute his plans.

In addition to mana buffs across all his abilities, of note are some changes to his crowd control capabilities. Swain can no longer pull enemies CC'd by allies, but his E now lets him pull everyone he snares, making him all the more terrifying in bottlenecks and narrow corridors. Together, these changes should help Swain players in all roles feel like the ruthless yet tactical ruler he is—especially when he unleashes Demonic Ascension, which now lasts for as long as Swain can sustain himself with his enemies' souls. Sacrifices must be made.

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Passive - Ravenous Flock

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Q - Death's Hand

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W - Vision of Empire

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E - Nevermove

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R - Demonic Ascension

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R - Demonflare

Bard

Passive damage Meep scaling increased. W base maximum heal increased.

The Wandering Caretaker has to do too much caretaking before he gets to do any wandering these days. This should make it easier for him to help his partner out while also incentivizing him to abandon lane roam around the map.

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Passive - Traveler's Call

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W - Caretaker's Shrine

Ezreal

R cooldown now decreases with rank.

Ezreal's been on the fringe of power in both solo queue and competitive play. We're giving him more access to his ult as the game goes on for those big high moments. Be careful where you recall...

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R - Trueshot Barrage

Fiddlesticks

W healing against champions increased.

Fiddlesticks is often grasping at straws by midgame lately. We're increasing the scarecrow's survivability by boosting its(?) W, which becomes less impactful as a defensive tool as the game goes on.

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W - Bountiful Harvest

Jhin

W root duration increased; damage reduction against monsters removed. E traps now recharge faster; damage reduction against monsters removed for first trap.

For someone who loves to put on a show, Jhin hasn't been performing all that well. We're giving him more power to set the stage, especially when he catches someone stepping out of place. We're also helping him clear camps faster with his W and E so we can get Jhingle to a 44.44% winrate. ;)

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W - Deadly Flourish

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E - Captive Audience

Jinx

Base health decreased.

Jinx has reigned supreme in bot lane all season long. Instead of putting a damper on her late game havoc, we're reopening her vulnerability to getting all-inned early.

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Base Stats

Kai'Sa

Passive proc AP ratio increased. W AP ratio decreased. R shield AP ratio increased.

AP Kai'Sa today likes to burst her enemies down by spamming W from afar. (Sorry, ARAM players.) We're looking to move her away from that pattern and instead play more around single pops of her passive, which should still feel distinct from her AD builds that usually rely on attack speed and repeated passive procs. This should help all of her stats feel rewarding as well as better align her playstyle with her identity, regardless of how she chooses to adapt.

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Passive - Second Skin

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W - Void Seeker

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R - Killer Instinct

Kassadin

Q shield AP ratio increased. E AP ratio increased.

Since the nerf on his passive in 11.24b, Kassadin has been noticeably weak. We're re-emphasizing his strength as the counter-mage mage by buffing his active abilities rather than his always-on passive.

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Q - Null Sphere

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E - Force Pulse

Mordekaiser

Passive move speed increased; now increases at levels 6 and 11.

Mordekaiser has also been struggling to find his footing in top lane, so we're returning some of the Iron Revenant's move speed. This should help him stick to his enemies better. Get it? Like a magnet. Okay, we'll stop.

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Passive - Darkness Rise

Poppy

W cooldown reduced. R uncharged knock up duration increased; charged missile speed and knock back distance increased; cooldown refund on cancel decreased.

We're fortifying both forms of Poppy's R so they feel more like ultimate-level abilities befitting a hero. More W uptime also means she can better control fights against those darned dashy champions—her number one specialty!

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W - Steadfast Presence

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R - Keeper's Verdict

Sejuani

Passive Frost Armor timer now decreases with level.

Sejuani's strength is supposed to be in her ruthless engage capabilities, but her fearsome entrances are too often thwarted by individual poke or shorter fights later in the game. This should help her and Bristle recover faster and show up in all their Iceborn glory.

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Passive - Fury of the North

Soraka

W heal AP ratio decreased.

We're doing a straightforward tap down on Soraka's mid to late game healing which is very high right now—especially in longer engagements where she can spam her W.

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W - Astral Infusion

Sylas

R cooldown reduced.

Sylas has been a bit weak at all levels of play, so it's time to loosen his chains. Rather than buffing his lane, we're giving him more access to the most exciting and creative part of his kit, which should also make him better as a counterpick.

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R - Hijack

Tristana

AD growth increased.

Tristana's lost her scaling identity over time. We're returning some power to her late game, which should also make her less reliant on blasting all-in with Hail of Blades for an early snowball start.

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Base Stats

Vel'Koz

Q and W AP ratios increased.

Vel'Koz has been pretty weak, so we're giving him a bigger reward for hitting those calculated skillshots. This should help him "research" his opponents more effectively in mid lane (or steal more kills as a support, hehe).

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Q - Plasma Fission

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W - Void Rift

Vladimir

Base armor increased.

Vladimir has been missing from both Pro play and top lane for some time, yet has remained fairly powerful for most players in mid. Boosting his durability early should let him brawl and sustain more effectively against melee fighters.

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Base Stats

Xayah

Q base damage decreased late; cooldown increased late.

Xayah's lethality build has risen to dominance in both Pro and solo queue, and its poke patterns unfortunately don't offer much counterplay in lane. Since those builds tend to max Q first, we're hitting its rankup incentives to make lethality Xayah a little less appealing.

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Q - Double Daggers

Xerath

E stun duration increased.

The Magus Ascendant has been descending throughout all of Season 2022. Even though he's supposed to be at his weakest when his enemies manage to get close, his current stun window is a little too short for him to get a chance at escaping. We're upping the duration at all distances so that he has an opportunity to get to an optimal range, as well as to make it more satisfying when he snipes from afar.

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E - Shocking Orb

Zoe

Q and R mana costs decreased.

Zoe may actually be very very old, but she often doesn't outgrow mana issues like other mages do. Since she tends to build full damage and doesn't synergize well with Tear, we're helping her out by reducing her mana costs. This should especially help her waveclear after lane phase, which requires lots and lots of Qs as the game progresses.

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Q - Paddle Star

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R - Portal Jump

Stopwatch

Being able to use Stopwatch in addition to having its terminal items can lead to some pretty jarring game states and all around awkward moments, so we're removing that optimization.