Patch 11.9 notes
Flowers are blooming, birds are chirping, and it’s our favorite time of the year— Midseason!
This one's a bit of a doozy, so let's give you a rundown. First, we’ve got a shakeup to the tank system with the nerf of Turbo Chemtank and buffs to a few underpowered fighter items (Death’s Dance and Wit’s End). Then, in preparation for MSI, we’re shuffling up the meta for Pro play by bringing a diversified crew onto the stage. This means dominant names like Gragas take a step back to let old friends like Shen and Lulu try some time in the spotlight.
Past these, we overshot on a few champions last patch who quickly grew to be main offenders on the Rift. Folks like Diana and Morgana, whose newfound power helped them settle too comfortably in the jungle, are getting taken down a peg while preserving strength in the role. The same goes for a certain red reaper and a magenta meatball in their respective lanes.
What else? Taric’s interaction with certain champs gets updated so that he no longer applies benefits to allies that aren’t on the map. Viego gets a lot of bugs out of his system. The second leg of Ranked begins, and you make it to the tier of your dreams.
And that’s it! We’ll see ya in the next one.
TFT: Reckoning has arrived, and we reckon you'll want to check the TFT patch notes before the Black Mist corrupts us all!
Mid-Patch Updates
5/5/2021 Jayce Bugfix
Jayce
Patch Highlights
Champions
Diana
Base armor growth and health regen reduced. Passive bonus attack speed reduced early.
Our buffs to Diana's passive in 11.8 helped her rise up the ranks in mid and jungle. Players are enjoying the spice she brings to the jungle, so we're gently pulling back on her clear speeds and in lane durability.
Base Stats
Passive - Moonsilver Blade
Dr. Mundo
Base armor and AD growths decreased.
Our 11.8 buffs to top Mundo brought him back into the spotlight and then some. Once he hits late game, he reaches an oppressive state where it feels impossible to get through his purple hide. We’re following up by taking out some of his tankiness and threat potential to let his opponents take bigger chunks out of his meaty exterior.
Base Stats
Garen
W bonus resistances decreased; units kill cap increased.
With efficient stacking on his W without requiring much in return, Garen’s been able to have his beef and eat it too. We’re pushing down his spike in his tankiness so that his power curves more smoothly after picking up a Mythic item.
W - Courage
Gragas
E base damage decreased later.
Gragas is currently a triple threat in Pro levels of play, guzzling casks in jungle, support, and top lane. Nudging down one of his more vital spells in lane.
E - Body Slam
Hecarim
Base armor decreased; armor growth increased. Q damage amp per stack decreased and now scales with bonus AD. W now heals from damage dealt and scales with AD. E damage decreased.
Hecarim is still at a wild gallop in the meta, more often meeting the ban hammer than his foes. Then once he’s able to make it into a game, he’s typically confined to a full-tank build. In order to fix this two-part problem, we’re trotting down some of his upfront burst and early durability. We’re also giving more incentive for damage-oriented builds for a powerful pony rather than the same old beefy bronco.
Base Stats
Q - Rampage
W - Spirit of Dread
E - Devastating Charge
Heimerdinger
W initial rocket damage decreased later.
Heimerdinger is overperforming in top, mid, and bot lane at high levels of play. Giving him a ding down.
W - Hextech Micro-Rockets
Jinx
Q crit strike bugfix.
Jinx was doing way more splash damage than she was supposed to with Fishbones. It’s fixed now, but it’s a big enough drop in damage that we’re noting it here.
Q - Switcheroo!
Kayn
Q Darkin damage modifier increased.
Shadow Assassin Kayn has been overshadowing his Darkin counterpart, so we’re bringing that part of Kayn… out of the dark.
Q - Reaping Slash
Kindred
Q cooldown decreased; base damage increased later.
Kindred is continuing to struggle in the jungle, so we’re giving them a stronger mid-game power spike.
Q - Dance of Arrows
Kog'Maw
Q resistances reduction increased. E cost decreased.
Kog'Maw has been in a cocoon more than he’s been in the bot lane, so we’re giving him more ooze to get back in the groove. In addition, we're helping him burn through more enemies that dare stand in his way... or in his spit.
Q - Caustic Spittle
E - Void Ooze
Lulu
W cooldown decreased; ally cast bonus attack speed increased early.
We're buffing Whimsy to give Lulu a pinch more power earlier in the game.
W - Whimsy
Morgana
W damage against non-epic monsters decreased.
Although we still think she’s a great new addition to the jungle, our 11.8 buff to Morgana was stronger than intended, so we're partially walking it back.
W - Tormented Shadow
Rumble
Passive Overheated bonus on-hit damage decreased.
Rumble is heating up in the mid lane, specifically against squishier melee targets, so we’re hitting an all-too-reliable source of his damage so his enemies have a chance to cool down.
Passive - Junkyard Titan
Sett
W damage ratio increased. R damage ratio increased.
Our damage-binding adjustments to Sett in 10.18 reduced the effectiveness of his full-tank builds, which made him less of a menace in mid, jungle, and support. With a reduced threat of him flexing across different positions, we can now let him flex more damage.
W - Haymaker
R - The Show Stopper
Shen
R shield decreased; now scales with bonus health.
With only base values and a token AP ratio, Shen’s ult feels more like a bubble than a shield, making it too unreliable for protecting squishy allies when they get caught out late game. We’re adding another ratio to make his scaling considerably better and to help him feel more empowered to protect his friends late game.
R - Stand United
Taric
Q cost decreased later. Updated tether interaction with Master Yi.
Taking some of the mana burden off of our knight in shining crystal.
General
Q - Starlight's Touch
Trundle
E slow increased early.
The 8.18 nerf to Trundle’s pillar’s slow put the brakes on his ganking and ability to find picks, and our follow-up in 10.2 just didn’t cut it. With more slow from the get go, we’re making it easier for Trundle to be the zoning troll on a roll.
E - Pillar of Ice
Vladimir
Q cooldown increased later.
Our last buff brought Vlad back into the role of a scaling powerhouse—maybe a little too much so. We’re partially pulling back on his 11.8 adjustment to find a sweeter middle ground.
Q - Transfusion
Xerath
Q damage increased. W base and enhanced base damage increased later.
Our resident laser-sniper has been in a confusing state, having more of a blast as a support than as a mid laner. By re-tuning his scaling to favor level and gold scaling, this should help energize mid Xerath.
Q - Arcanopulse
W - Eye of Destruction
Items
Dead Man's Plate
Dead Man’s Plate is dominating as a second item choice for a wide range of champions, including tanks, fighters, and juggernauts. We're reducing its raw defensive stats to highlight its unique mobility passive.
Death's Dance
Death’s Dance has been a step behind its peers, so we’re bumping up its raw efficiency to bring it back in full swing.
Moonstone Renewer
Our adjustments to Moonstone in 11.8 left the item weaker than other options for supports, so we’re returning some power back to its base healing, which should feel even more satisfying when combined with its heal and shield power.
Starcaster (Ornn Upgrade)
Prowler's Claw
We’re adjusting the way Prowler’s Claw’s active targeting works to make it more user-friendly and forgiving, as it’s been more challenging to use in some kits than intended. We’re not increasing the item’s actual range, but now if you misclick slightly while trying to cast it in the middle of your combo, Prowler’s will hit the target you probably meant to click on instead of doing nothing.
Sunfire Aegis
In the olden times, there was a sunnier era, or dare we say, a Sunfirey era. That was until the Chemtanks crushed all who would dare oppose them. We’re bringing back the fire by helping Aegis melt down its enemies once more.
Forgefire Crest (Ornn Upgrade)
Turbo Chemtank
With Turbo in tow, junglers are able to consistently engage and gank as they gallop in from across the map, so we’re putting it on a tighter leash.
Turbocharged Hexperiment (Ornn Upgrade)
Wit's End
For such a niche item, Wit's End lacks oomph, even when picked up in the right scenario. Adjusting the build path and adding more damage should make it feel more powerful all around and appeal to more champions.
In-Game Shop Updates
- Improved the dropdown for item sets. Now they're *set* up for success.
- Elixirs now display a cooldown in the Quickbuy panels so you can tell when the most powerful potions will be available for you to purchase.
- After purchasing a Mythic Item, additional Mythics will stop pestering you in the builds menu. SHOO!
- Ornn items are displayed in the shop if you have the great horned one on your team.
Summoner's Rift Ranked Split 2 Start
Shurima & MSI Clash
Clash continues! We've got more dates for you and your team to keep an eye on:
- Shurima Clash: The second weekend of Shurima-themed Clash will be May 1 and 2. Team formation for the second weekend will open on April 26.
- MSI Clash: The first weekend of the MSI-themed Clash will be May 8 and 9. Team formation for the first weekend open on May 3. The second weekend will be during patch 11.11.
Bugfixes/QoL Changes
- Fixed bugs where Viego would not properly copy Kindred and Shyvana's stacking passives
- Fixed bug where, on possessing Kled, Viego would sometimes become mounted Kled with unmounted Kled's abilities
- Fixed a bug where, after possessing Kindred, Viego would occasionally keep the Wolf's VFX for the rest of the game
- Fixed various bugs regarding omnivamp and the champion's stat panel. Omnivamp in the stat panel will now properly match up to the actual values a champion has.
- Fixed bug where Jayce's W - Hyper Charge would not update his attack speed correctly
- KogMaw's Passive - Icathian Surprise VO has been restored and is playing once again on all skins
- Seraph's Embrace and Archangel's Staff are no longer blocked from being purchased if you own other items in the Lifeline group
- Riftmaker and Trinity Force now grant Kai'Sa the appropriate amount of stats for her Evolutions
- Fixed an issue where Rammus' Q - Powerball would grant more move speed than intended when Predator is equipped
- Shurelya's Battlesong and Shurelya's Requiem's Inspire passive no longer counts allied champions twice for its "Allies Motivated" counter in its tooltip
Upcoming Skins & Chromas
The following skins will be released in this patch:
The following chromas will be released this patch: