League of Legends patch 8.22 was released on November 6. This is the last patch of the season, so most of its changes are fairly minor to allow players to make the final push for a higher Solo Queue rank. Still, this balance update will definitely shake some things up, so here are out top changes of patch 8.22!
Akali Nerfs
Akali is a menace. The ninja assassin combines high burst with a frustrating true stealth mechanic that makes it very hard to counter her all-ins. Things are about to get a bit easier for Akali’s opponents, though, because the Twilight Shroud [W] cooldown was increased from 17/15.5/14/12.5/11 seconds to 21/18/16/13.5/11 seconds. This might not seem like much, but the ability to hide in a shroud of smoke is the champion’s safety net, so all Akali players will have to be more mindful of when to use their W.
On top of that, the damage on Perfect Execution [R] was changed from 100/150/200 to 85/150/215. So while Akali will get a bit more burst in the late game, she will also have a harder time taking down a healthy target at level 6.
LeBlanc Distortion Nerf
LeBlanc finally got hit by a nerf hammer! Unfortunately, it wasn’t a big one. The elusive mage will still be a terror in the mid lane, and the only thing that changed about her kit is the loss of 10 points of damage on Distortion [W]. Combine that with LeBlanc’s tendency to overkill her enemies, and the nerf will be hardly noticeable on the Rift.
Maokai Can Jungle?
It seems Maokai always finds a way to break into the meta. This time, Riot is looking to improve his jungle clear by reducing the cooldown on Sapling Toss [E] from 11 seconds to 10 seconds, and bumping up its damage by 1% of target’s max health in the early game. Still, Maokai pales in comparison to most meta junglers, and his inability to fight 1v1 means it’s a bit too early for this tree to make its way into the jungle.
Nunu & Willump Buffs
After the initial hype surrounding the Nunu rework died down, the champion quickly fell into irrelevancy. However, Riot seems intent on bringing him back. Nunu’s base attack damage was increased from 57 to 61, and the base heal on his Consume [Q] was bumped up from 37.5/60/82.5/127.5 to 60/96/132/168/204. This makes the yeti much more threatening in jungle duels, although he won’t get much extra health from creeps since Consume still heals for the same value against minions and monsters.
Pyke Scales With Lethality
Ever since Pyke’s release, players started stacking tank items on him. This turned the entire assassin support concept on its head, and Pyke became one of the most disruptive CC bots in the game. Well, looks like that’s about to change! For one, Pyke’s passive now scales with bonus attack damage, so you will need to build AD items to make use of it.
If that wasn’t enough, Ghostwater Dive [W] costs 25 less mana and grants 40% extra movement speed at all rank as opposed to 60/65/70/75/80% movement speed. Keep in mind, though, that every extra point of lethality will boost this value by 1.5%. Phantom Undertow [E] experienced a similar fate, as its mana cost was reduced by 10, and its stun was bumped down from 1.1/1.2/1.3/1.4/1.5 seconds to 1.1 seconds at all ranks (+0.10 seconds per 10 lethality). Last but not least, Death from Below’s [R] threshold was increased by 1.5 per every point of lethality, so Pyke players will have an easier time going in for kills. That adds some spice to the lol bets.
Trundle Chomp Buff
The previous nerf was hard on Trundle, so Riot is bringing back some firepower to his Chomp [Q]. Now, Trundle’s bites will deal 20/35/50/65/80 extra base damage (up from 20/30/40/50/60) while scaling with 0.1/0.2/0.3/0.4/0.5 total attack damage (up from 0/0.1/0.2/0.3/0.4). Still, it’s unlikely that League’s troll will make a triumphant return. The current meta discourages playing tanks, so Trundle won’t have any great targets for his ultimate. And once you take that away, the troll flat-out loses to most meta junglers.
Viktor Loses Damage
After seeing success at Worlds 2018, the top lane Viktor became a smash hit. Riot addressed that by reducing the base damage on Siphon Power [Q] from 20/50/80/110/140 to 20/45/70/95/120 and throwing in an extra 0.05 AP scaling to make up for the nerf. Additionally, Chaos Storm [R] deals 130/210/290 damage per tick instead of 150/250/350 damage per tick while having 0.15 more points of AP scaling. This is a sizeable blow to top lane Viktor that usually avoids building AP in favor of items like Iceborn Gauntlet and Banshee’s Veil, but mid lane Viktors should be unaffected.
Time Warp Tonic Changes
When the rune damage was nerfed, Time Warp Tonic quickly became the go-to choice for most pro players. This rune simply provided too much sustainability, and the extra 5% movement speed from Elixirs ensured you could outrun your opponents in the late game. Well, you can say goodbye to that part because Time Warp Tonic no longer affects Elixir.
The 5% movement speed bonus will still show itself when you use potions or biscuits, though. Moreover, Time Warp Tonic now restores 50% of a potion’s health/mana instantly, which is a great change for anyone looking to set up an all-in. Still, the fact that potions, biscuits, and elixirs no longer last 20% longer with Time Warp Tonic means that the rune lost too much utility to justify taking it over other options.
That’s it for the top changes of the League of Legends patch 8.22! You can check the complete patch notes here, and we’ll see you on the Summoner’s Rift!