The League of Legends patch 9.12 was released on June 11. This balance update introduced a number of buffs, nerfs, and champion reworks that will be sure to affect the Solo Queue and competitive meta. So, without further ado, here’s our list of the top changes of League of Legends patch 9.12!
Mordekaiser Rework
It’s no secret that Mordekaiser is one of the most problematic champions in the game. His previous rework fell flat on its face, as the juggernaut struggled to get out of the niche cheese pick territory, so Riot decided to take another look at his kit. The new Mordekaiser can conjure up a deadly aura with his 3-hit passive, crush the skulls of his enemies with sweeping mace strikes, turn incoming damage into a restorative shield, and drag his opponents towards him with a ghostly claw.
Yet, the most exciting part of his kit is his ultimate. Mordekaiser can effectively remove any enemy champions off the map by transporting them into a separate Realm of Death [R]. There, he will challenge them in 1v1 combat, and if he’s victorious, Mordekaiser will steal a portion of their base stats. It’s worth noting that this ultimate lasts for 7 seconds, so it’s not a literal death sentence, but it will still be an uphill battle to challenge the Iron Revenant in his domain.
Another Ryze Rework
Riot Games just can’t seem to find the right way to deal with Ryze! This champion is utterly broken in pro play, but his Solo Queue performance is mediocre at best. The League of Legends patch 9.12 is looking to change that by altering several parts of his kit. First, Ryze had his base mana decreased from 400 to 300, but considering his mana regeneration was bumped up from 6 to 8, this nerf might not hit him as hard as it appears at first glance.
Second, Overload [Q] will no longer apply a shield after consuming 2 runes, but it will now receive spell damage bonus based on the rank of Realm Warp [R]. Another thing to note is that Ryze’s Q no longer has 6 ranks, which frees up an extra skill point for his ultimate—but more on that later! Third, Rune Prison [W] will now apply a 35% slow to the target for 1.5 seconds instead of rooting it, unless Ryze consumes his Spell Flux [E] proc. Fourth, Spell Flux will always bounce off the primary target, but the bounces will no longer damage enemies and spread Flux to nearby opponents on unit kills.
All of Ryze’s base abilities also received minor damage and mana cost tweaks, but these won’t be too noticeable in the grand scheme of things. What will be noticeable, though, is his ultimate. Real Warp [R] now has 3 ranks instead of 2, and every ult rank increases Overload damage bonus against targets affected by Flux by 40/70/100%. The cooldown was changed from a flat value of 180 seconds to 210/180/150 seconds, and the range was increased to 1000 (minimum) and 3000 (maximum) at all ranks. Of course, these changes don’t guarantee that Ryze will be in a good place, but they do make him much easier to balance for Solo Queue players, which is a win in our book.
Sylas Nerfs
Few champions are as oppressive as Sylas. Ever since his release, the mage hunter stood at the top of the League of Legends foodchain along with the likes of Akali, Aatrox, and Irelia. That’s subject to change, though. His passive—Petricite Burst—now stores up to 2 charges and deals 70% less damage to minions. And while the base damage was increased by 26% at max rank, it will still be a sizeable hit to his wave clear. In a similar fashion, Chain Lash [Q] will now deal 20% less damage at max rank, and the detonation AoE will be 10% smaller against minions.
Granted, Riot Games tried to sweeten the pill by increasing Kingslayer [W] healing by 10 at all ranks and throwing in an extra 0.1 AP ratio on top of that. However, the fact that Abscond/Abduct [E] now has a 40% longer cooldown at max rank and doesn’t apply a shield unless you hit an enemy champion or monster makes it very clear that Riot wants Sylas out of the 100% pick/ban zone.
Yuumi Nerfs
Yuumi is a weird champion to evaluate. On one hand, her release was underwhelming, as she had a whopping 29.71% win rate in Solo Queue. On the other hand, as soon as the hotfix buffs rolled out, it became clear that Yuumi has all the upsides of a scaling enchanter support without any of the downsides.
Riot Games is looking to change that by reducing her passive shield (down from 80-360 to 80-300) and mana refund (down from 40-160 to 30-160). Moreover, You and Me! [W] now shares 8% less adaptive force at max rank, and the initial W dash can be interrupted by hard crowd control. It’s worth noting that Riot increased Yuumi’s base health from 432.36 to 480, but this is still a huge hit to the feline librarian.
Karma Shield & Damage Buffs
When one enchanter falls, another one rises. Karma’s Inner Flame [Q] now applies a 35% slow (up from 25%), making it much easier for her allies to connect their skill shots. Inspire [E] also received some love, as the mana cost went down by 10 at all ranks, and the movement speed buff duration went from 1.5 seconds to 2.5 seconds. It’s been a while since we’ve seen Karma in pro play, but this might very well bring her back into the competitive meta.
Aatrox Healing Nerfs
If you’ve ever seen the new Aatrox in action, you know that his healing can get a bit out of control. Patch 9.12 addresses this by increasing the Deathbringer Stance [passive] cooldown from 15 seconds to 24-12 seconds (scales with levels). Moreover, World Ender [R] will now grant a healing bonus to self-healing effects only, which should make Aatrox less oppressive in combination with enchanters like Sona and Yuumi.
Irelia E Nerf
No matter how hard you hit her, Irelia always seems to find her way to the top of solo lane tier lists. This might change on patch 9.12, though, as her Flawless Duet [E] cooldown was increased by roughly 25% at all ranks. Combine that with a 9% range nerf, and Irelia players will have a much harder time connecting their stuns.
Corrupting Potion Damage Nerf
Ever since its inception, Corrupting Potion has been the go-to starting item for solo laners. Riot is looking to take it down a notch by decreasing the bonus magic damage from 15-30 (scales with level) to a flat value of 15 at all levels. Of course, Corrupting Potion is a laning item first and foremost, but the damage loss will definitely be noticeable towards the later stages of the game.
That’s it for the top changes of the League of Legends patch 9.12! You can check the complete patch notes here, and we’ll see you on the Summoner’s Rift!