The League of Legends patch 8.13 came out on June 26. Its list of changes isn’t as vast as most fans expected, so we can only conclude that the non-marksman meta is here to stay. With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the most impactful buffs and nerfs!
Champions
Aatrox Rework is Here!
The long-awaited Aatrox rework came through right when the champion was making a resurgence in competitive play! The timing is a bit unfortunate, but it’s important to remember that competitive success shouldn’t be the only thing that defines a successful rework. After all, the old Aatrox was a walking stat check, which is as bland of a design as it can possibly get.
Meanwhile, the updated version of the Darkin Blade is something in between Darius and Riven. The new Aatrox acquired a wide selection of outplay tools, such as dashes, slows, knockups, and combo attacks. If that wasn’t enough, he can turn things up to eleven by empowering his kit with his ultimate. It’s worth noting that the champion feels quite clunky at the moment, so it might take a while for him to become a staple League of Legends pick.
Irelia Nerfs
Ever since her rework, Irelia became such a dominant force in competitive play that it was only a matter of time before she received nerfs. She took a huge hit to her passive, which now deals around 20% less damage on auto attacks. The damage on Defiance Dance [W] was also reduced by a similar value. Moreover, the marks from Flawless Duet [E] and Vanguard’s Edge [R] last 5 seconds instead of 6 seconds, so the new Irelia will have less time to jump around with her Q.
Pyke Rewards Damage
There’s no denying that Pyke has a very creative kit. And yet, it didn’t exactly fulfill the assassin support fantasy. Indeed, most players preferred to build Pyke like a tank while using him as a roaming CC bot. Riot is trying to address this by increasing the AD scaling on Phantom Undertow [E] and Death From Below [R] by 0.2 points. Moreover, Pyke lost 10 points of health grown, 1 point of armor growth, and 0.75 points of magic resistance growth, so the champion will be less tanky overall.
Kassadin Stacks Tear Faster
Kassadin received a slight 0.1 bump to AP scaling on Nether Blade [W], Force Pulse [E], and Riftwalk [R]. A much bigger change, though, is the added 1 point of mana cost to his W. With that, Kassadin can spam his Nether Blade to stack Tear of the Goddess, which should make the item charged and ready around the 18-minute mark. This a massive buff to Kassadin, but the current meta might be a bit too fast (and AD-focused) to let him return to the Rift.
Master Yi Wave Clear Nerf
The new gold funneling tactics proved a little too effective. The main culprit—Master Yi—was hit with a wave clear nerf that removed the extra minion damage from his Alpha Strike [Q]. And while the ability does cost 20 less mana at all ranks, it will be harder to use it to soak mid lane waves.
Nunu Buff is Weaker
It’s no secret that Nunu became a glorified ward bot. And even though that seems to be his intended area of expertise, he’s far too good at it. Now, Blood Boil [W] grants 40% attack speed instead of 50% and 20% ability power instead of 40% at max rank. To make up for this, the champion got some ability power scaling on his buff, but considering most Nunu players don’t build full AP, it’s still a huge nerf to the Yeti rider.
Taric Loses Damage & Utility
Speaking of ward bots that are too good at their job, meet Taric. The champion was so powerful of a support that he became a key part of most gold funneling strategies. Riot is addressing this by reducing the base damage of Dazzle [E] by 35 at max rank and increasing the cooldown of Cosmic Radiance [R] by 20 seconds. Of course, Dazzle did get 0.2 extra armor scaling to soften the blow, but this doesn’t change the fact that Taric was hit with a sizeable nerf to his early game.
Items, Runes. and Game Mechanics
Guinsoo’s Rageblade Gutted
The marksman class receives another blow, as Riot guts the only item that kept it afloat. Now, Guinsoo’s Rageblade stacks boost your attack speed and ability power by 2.5% instead of 4%. And while the item will have its place in the meta, champions like Kai’Sa, Varus, and Kog’Maw will definitely try to explore other itemization options.
Death Timer Reduction
Riot deemed dying too punishing in the early game. Hence, death timers were reduced by roughly 40% for levels 1-7. This makes it much harder to capitalize on killing your lane opponent, and losing players will have more windows to defend their turrets and set up comebacks.
Kill Bounties Keep Growing
Speaking of comebacks, dying will be much more devastating when you’re ahead. Riot is once again implementing the 2-kill bounty of 150 gold, and 3-6 kill bounties were increased from 200-325 gold to 300-500 gold. Moreover, every additional kill will grant 50 (instead of 25) extra gold per kill, so you really want to stay on the safe side if you’re fed.
That’s it for top changes of the League of Legends patch 8.13! You can check the complete patch notes here, and we’ll see you on the Summoner’s Rift!