Patch 9.24 notes
Hello friends! It's the last patch of the year!
As with most patches following a huge shakedown like Preseason, we have a lot of changes and tweaks in this patch after assessing some of the initial data and your general feedback. We've also already adjusted the knobs on the some of the new drakes, monsters, and pacing components of the game in 9.23 that we're including again here in case you missed it. And while this is technically the last patch of the year, you may see an end-of-year "9.24b" balance patch (a patch with no skins or features) based off of how the game is in a couple of weeks. There'll be a separate set of patch notes for that, so keep an eye out!
Before we go, make sure to hold on to your poison because everyone's new favorite edgy boy (and his sister), Aphelios joins the Rift in 9.24! Following her Lunari brethren's release, Diana is also getting an overhaul to her kit, VFX, SFX, and ability icons to exude more of the moonly glow of her people.
Last, but not least, Poro King is back for a limited time! Get your snowballs ready for more fun with everyone's favorite royal fluffball.
Take this portal if you're looking for TFT's patch notes!
Mid-Patch Updates
17/12/2019 Aphelios Nerf, Diana and Elder Dragon Bugfixes
Aphelios
We're still giving Aphelios time to settle in before deciding on any bigger changes, but it's clear that some things landed a little too strong. In particular, his Infernum-empowered ultimate is too easily attainable (and a bit too strong when attained!) and Calibrum-empowered marks are a bit too punishing for how reliable they can be, so we're going to pull back on those for now.
Diana
Elder Dragon
12/13/2019 Yuumi Bugfixes
Yuumi
12/12/2019 Trinket Changes and Bugfixes
Trinkets
This change already went live with 9.24, but we didn't include them in the original patch notes (as some of you may have noticed). Explaining the mechanic and subsequent change below since it could be a little bit confusing!
Bugfixes
Patch Highlights
Champions
Aphelios
The Weapon of the Faithful
Aphelios and Alune will find victory in the whispers of the moon in 9.24.
High-res versions of Aphelios' splash arts are available on League Displays!
Akali
Removed the hitbox behind Akali so her Q only goes forward; Q minion and monster damage decreased.
This is a pro-facing specific change we're making since many pro players use this uniquely shaped hitbox to waveclear optimally, while most other players have a hard time accessing and utilizing it properly.
Q - Five Point Strike
Amumu
Q cooldown decreased early.
Sad mummy is due for a buff given his state post-Preseason.
Q - Bandage Toss
Braum
Base health per level and health regen increased. W cooldown decreased, cost flattened, resistance ratios to ally and self flattened. R base damage increased later, knockup now lasts longer.
Braum is a warden—a tanky champion that excels at protecting their allies. Most wardens are great at dealing with melee enemies that try to dive their backline, but bad at dealing with ranged opponents because of their limited range and mobility. However, Braum is an exception to this generalization due to his E, which makes him uniquely good at dealing with ranged threats as well.
We don't want to remove the very thing that makes Braum unique, so we're leaning harder into it while lowering his ability to deal with melee champions relative to other wardens. This should then allow us to also buff him in other ways without having him stay as a default, safe pick in pro play.
Base Stats
W - Stand Behind Me
R - Glacial Fissure
Diana
VFX and SFX updated. Lunar Rush and Moonfall now switched keys. Passive now grants attack speed.
Some of you may already know that we've been working on changing up Diana's kit for awhile now. As promised, we've made some changes aimed at helping Diana’s pre-level-6 lane, and making both the playing as and against Diana experiences less of a feast or famine. By giving her access to Lunar Rush as a basic ability, we're unlocking one of Diana's core mechanics earlier and in the laning phase, allowing her to fight against and interact with enemies before she hits level 6. The change also allows her to effectively gank early as a jungler too, which is a massive increase to her effectiveness in that role.
Additionally, Diana's new ultimate now significantly opens her up to more options as the game progresses, giving her both teamfight and skirmish capabilities that were previously inaccessible to her. This also adds a lot of variety to how she approaches fights, so her goal isn't always to nuke a single person with a full combo.
Overall, the goal of these changes was to preserve what people loved about Diana while giving her both the tools and the variety that champions should have. We want Diana players to be comfortable with what they already know, but with a kit that may be more fun and rewarding for new Diana players as well.
VFX Updates
Base Stats
Passive - Moonsilver Blade
Q - Crescent Strike
W - Pale Cascade
newE - Lunar Rush
Diana's old ultimate!
newR - Moonfall
Diana's old E!
Garen
Additional E spins and spin damage decreased.
Garen is one of the biggest winners from the Conqueror changes, climbing well above our acceptable limits. As a result, builds relying on attack speed are dominating his itemization choices. While we wanted attack speed builds to be viable, we don't want glass cannon Garen to be the only Garen people build, so we're targeting that specific approach to increase build diversity.
E - Judgment
Karma
E base shield increased.
We're buffing Karma in a way that those who build more supportive items on her will appreciate.
E - Inspire
Kassadin
Q cooldown now scales. W mana restore decreased later.
Kassadin is too strong at the moment, being good at both surviving lane and plowing through teamfights.
Q - Null Sphere
W - Nether Blade
Rammus
Base health growth increased. E cooldown now scales.
Raising Rammus' influence in mid-game teamfights and his late game durability.
Base Stats
E - Frenzying Taunt
Ryze
Q base damage decreased.
Ryze's early damage and waveclear are too high for a scaling mage. We're also nerfing his best-performing rune (Conqueror), so some might call this the Riot special, but he deserved this change based on his Phase Rush performance as well.
Q - Overload
Senna
Recommended items updated. Passive Mist Wraiths drop less often on minions Senna kills and no longer drop from champion clones. Q damage and W root duration decreased. R damage ratio increased.
Senna is too powerful as both a support and ADC, but Senna in the latter role is especially strong. We're nerfing her this patch in ways that will affect both roles, but should affect her ADC role more. Specifically, we're targeting her safety, her poke and waveclear, and the amount of souls she gets in a game. All these changes should amount to non-overwhelming Senna, regardless of what role she's in.
Base Stats
Passive - Absolution
Q - Piercing Darkness
W - Last Embrace
R - Dawning Shadow
Yuumi
Passive restores mana once again. Q cost increased, damage decreased. Yuumi no longer teleports with her Anchor. E now grants attack speed, no longer stocks charges, and costs much more mana.
We're encouraging Yuumi to be the enchanter she was meant to be by buffing her supportive capabilities at the cost of damage (and that means Summon: Aery is a lot more optimal on her, not Arcane Comet). However, to access all her power, she'll have to sit on squishier champions instead of being an untargetable damage source on top of an already unkillable champion, like Garen. We're also asking her to sometimes expose herself to real danger by allowing attentive opponents to have actual kill threat on an unattached Yuumi.
And seriously, we have the data. Yuumi is a really weird case where taking the wrong rune is negatively and drastically causing people to think she is worse than she actually is. Please take Aery instead of Comet!
Passive - Bop 'n' Block
Q - Prowling Projectile
W - You and Me!
E - Zoomies
VFX Updates
Lux
We improved gameplay readability on Lux's abilities while bringing them up to today's standards. Also, more rainbows!
Runes
Conqueror
Buff duration decreased. Heal for ranged champions decreased.
Conqueror is overperforming on a number of ranged champions, and is slightly too strong in general. We're making it last a shorter period of time, which hits ranged champions more since they're able to take full advantage of the long duration in lane, as well as directly nerfing the healing for ranged champions.
Prototype: Omnistone
We've adjusted Omnistone to be a little bit smarter at giving you the right Keystone at the right time. Below are some guidelines you can count on when taking Prototype: Omnistone.
ICYMI: Preseason Follow-up Changes
These were all documented as mid-patch updates for 9.23, but we wanted to include them in case you missed them!
Ezreal
Prototype: Omnistone
Death's Dance
Sanguine Blade
Drakes
Elder Dragon
Rift Herald
An early Rift Herald's charge damage currently feels underwhelming (usually less than 2 Turret Plates' worth of damage) and not all that worth fighting over. We're increasing Rift Herald's early damage so she's considered more of a high value get in the early game, but without boosting the second Herald's damage.
Turrets
Elemental Rift Appearance
The Return of the Poro King
Hold onto your biscuits! We're bringing back the regal and time-honored Poro King from his vacation on the shores of the fabled Ursine Lands and returning him to the Howling Abyss, where he'll help you earn glorious victory! Have fun with the giant furball until January 14, 2020 at 6:59 PM AEDT.
A quick TL;DR on one of our most dashing game modes: Summon the almighty Poro King with the help of your teammates by flinging poros, snowball-style, until you've hit ten targets. Once you do, the King will help push enemy towers, periodically heal you, and allow you to return to his side at any time. We’ve also got some QoL changes and updates from the last time the Poro King arose from his slumber.
ARAM Balance Changes
As mentioned above, every change that's applied to ARAM—be it a champion, item, or rune change—will also apply to Poro King!
9.24 Buffs
9.24 Nerfs
Runes
Bugfixes
Duplicate Username Changes
We're starting the transition from League of Legends accounts to Riot Accounts that'll cover League and future Riot games (more on the support page here). All usernames (NOT Summoner Names) have to be unique, regardless of server. This rule applies to new accounts, too. We know that these sorts of changes are never fun, but they are necessary to help update and improve Riot’s account system to support new games.
If your account shares a username with an account in another region (including PBE), you should've already received a heads-up email (there are still some being sent out, so keep an eye out). Starting soon, you'll also see a dismissable pop-up when you log in, letting you know you'll need to pick a new username. Early next year, that pop-up will no longer be dismissable. When that happens, you'll have to change your username before you can play League.
Here are a few tips:
Bugfixes
- Only True Damage Ekko and his allies can see his moonwalk animation
- Elder Dragon Soul empowered champions can no longer execute champions with passives that make them untargetable with abilities (ex. Zac's Passive - Cell Division, Anivia's Passive - Rebirth)
- Teemo's E - Toxic Shot now properly procs Dark Harvest
- Pets' attacks now properly apply The Aspect of the Dragon from Elder Dragon (ex. Zyra's plants, Shaco's boxes, Heimerdinger's turrets)
- Champions with Presence of Mind now properly get the amount of mana and energy as stated in its tooltip
- Killing Drakes with Shaco's R - Hallucinate will not affect how Souls are granted, impact the type of drakes that spawn, or block Elder Dragons from spawning
- When ordering champions in Champion Select by Favorites, favorited champions will now properly be at the top
- Darius now does not heal from Q - Decimate when hitting spell-shielded enemies with his axe's handle
Skins & Chromas
The following skins will be released this patch. Grab the League Displays app for full-res splash art!
The following chromas will be released this patch: