The League of Legends patch 8.12 was released on June 12. It seems that Riot Games decided to cut down on grand changes because the promised bruiser item rework isn’t there. Still, some of these buffs and nerfs will definitely affect the state of competitive LoL!
Champions
Elise Gets Some Love
Your friendly neighborhood spider queen was already returning to the meta, but it looks like Riot wants to accelerate this process. For starters, Elise received 5 more movement speed on her human and spider forms. This might not sound like much, but jungling is all about traveling around the map in the most efficient way possible, so the extra movement speed will come in handy.
Moreover, the Volatile Spiderling [W] damage was increased by 25 at max rank. Granted, this isn’t Elise’s primary damage ability, and the buff isn’t as noticeable in the early game. But it will bump up her clear speed, which might be significant in combination with the movement speed change.
Kindred Might Be Viable
Kindred keeps getting buffs. Her base attack speed growth was increased from 2.5% to 3.5%, and the bonus attack speed effect on Dance of Arrows [Q] was bumped up from 10% to 25%. If that wasn’t enough, Mourning Dread [E] now deals 15 more damage at all ranks. Of course, none of these buffs sound massive on their own, but these numbers can really add up.
Lee Sin Set to Return
In a similar fashion, Lee Sin is becoming more and more powerful. His Safeguard/Iron Will [W] cooldown was reduced to 12 seconds at all ranks, and Tempest [E] deals 30 more damage at max rank. With that, Lee Sin will be a much better pick in the current skirmish-heavy meta. And while this won’t make him S-tier, Lee Sin specialists like Rush will appreciate the changes.
Rumble Grows Stronger
Everyone’s favorite yordle is also looking to mount his comeback! The base value on Rumble’s Scrap Shield [W] was ramped up by 20 at all ranks, which is absolutely huge for trading. Moreover, the spell had its AP ratio upped from 0.4 to 0.5, so it will scale better too. That’s not all, though, because Equalizer [R] now deals a whopping 1400 damage (up from 1200) at max rank! Granted, Rumble players will have to be wary of counter matchups, but the tallest yordle will surely be seeing more play.
Sejuani Receives Compensatory Buffs
It’s no secret that recent balance changes put Sejuani into a tough spot. Riot is addressing this by making her passive deal 10-20% of target’s maximum health (capped at 300 vs epic monsters). Also, the passive is no longer limited to champions and large monsters, and you will be able to activate it on medium monsters, siege minions, and super minions.
Winter’s Wrath [W] had its mana cost reduced by 15, and gained AP ratio on both swings of the ability. Finally, Permafrost [E] will affect the same targets as Sejuani’s passive, and its AP scaling was doubled. Of course, Sejuani isn’t exactly known for stacking ability power items. But these are still welcome changes for all the boar rider mains out there.
Major Shield Changes
The big theme of this patch is shield changes. Enchanter champions in all roles had their shielding abilities nerfed or otherwise tweaked to be less effective. For instance, Janna’s Eye of the Storm [E] will now decay after 0.75 seconds. In a similar fashion, Karma’s Inspire [E] now lasts 2.5 seconds (instead of 4 seconds), and Lulu’s Help, Pix [E] duration is 2.5 seconds (instead of 6 seconds). The same thing happened to Orianna, and her Command: Protect [E] will stay effective for 2.5 seconds (instead of 4 seconds). These changes didn’t come out of the blue, as shields have been a major issue for the last year. And providing larger windows of opportunity is certainly one way of solving it.
Shield Item Nerfs
That’s not all, though. Items like Forbidden Idol, Ardent Censer, Mikael’s Crucible, and Redemption will all grant 20-40% less heal and shield power. Also, Forbidden Idol will offer 5% less CDR, so enchanters will be less effective in the later stages of the game.
Banner of Command is Gone
That’s right. One of the most problematic items in League of Legends was removed from the game! The absence of the Banner of Command will be most noticeable in the mid lane where champions like Sion or Karma based their entire playstyles around it. Moreover, Minion Dematerializer won’t be as crucial, so we might see more rune variety.
Sterak’s Gage grants bonus damage
In the past, Sterak’s Gage provided 50% of base AD as extra base damage. Now, however, that value is converted into bonus AD. This is a much bigger deal than it sounds, as the new Sterak’s Gage will have close to no synergy with Trinity Force. And champions like Jax, Irelia, and Gangplank will suffer as a result.
That’s it for top changes of the League of Legends patch 8.12! You can check the complete patch notes here, and we’ll see you on the Summoner’s Rift!