league of legends

Hi there! My name is Gunner, and I’m an intern here at AAOG. I love writing, and I love playing video games, I often play things like League of Legends, Escape from Tarkov, and Destiny 2 to name a few. I’m very excited to announce that I’ll be writing bi-weekly articles covering the new updates that come out for League of Legends. I’ll be giving my opinion on the changes, and well and fully detailing them, and giving my personal experience with testing these changes out. 

With the 11.9 patch dropping on the 28th of April, Riot has released full patch notes, so I’ll be reviewing them and talking about these changes!

Diana 

• Armor per level 3.6 ⇒ 3.1.
• Base health regeneration 7.5 ⇒ 6.5.
• Passive bonus attack speed 20-40% ⇒ 15-40%.

As someone who has Diana currently M6, this is a big early game nerf. The armor is a big hit, but so is the health regen. As Diana is a mana champ, she can’t stay in lane for too long without having to back to get more mana to get back into the lane. You rely on her health and mana regen heavily, and this should make her both weaker in a fight early on, especially against someone like Talon for example. AD mid laners playing against Diana will have an easier time poking her out in the beginning as well as doing more damage. Her early game fights will also be worse because of her attack speed nerf. She will still be strong in the later stages of the game in team fights, but this will make her easier to put behind. 

Dr Mundo

• Armor per level 3.5 ⇒ 3.
• Attack damage per level 3.5 ⇒ 3

 Mundo is someone who hits hard early game and has been popular in Jungle for some time now. However recently he is being picked less and less in high elo. Mundo benefits from being a tank jungle, and someone who can absorb a lot of damage. This nerf is going to make him absorb a little less, as his early game armor will be just a sliver lower than before, which could make a difference in a fight, however. He will also be dealing a little bit less damage in the early game, but Mundo isn’t always going to be someone you play for damage anyways. 

Garen

• W armor/magic resist per stack 0.25 ⇒ 0.2.
• Max resists unchanged (minions needed for max 120 ⇒ 150).

I’m not sure about all of you, but this Garen nerf has been needed for quite a while, as he dominates the top lane in a lot of low elo matches, and is still often played in high elo. This nerf is going to make him stay in lane some more, as well as stay in lane for longer as he will need those extra 30 minion kills to get max stacks. I think it’s a shame that they didn’t nerf his max stacks, but I do think it’s good that he will need to stay in lane longer and won’t be coming down to other lanes as quickly.

Gragas

• E damage 80-240 ⇒ 80-220

Not much to say about this one, this won’t affect him until the late game, but any damage reduction to a junglers abilities, especially ap hurts them in every way. He also won’t be able to finish off monsters as easily. 

Hecarim

• Base armor 36⇒32, armor per level 4 ⇒ 4.25.
• Q bonus damage per Rampage stack 5% ⇒ 2% (+1% per 33 base attack damage).
• W healing 30% ⇒ 30% (+1% per 40 base attack damage) of damage Hecarim deals.
  • This % is halved 15% (+1% per 80bAD) for damage dealt by allies.

So this is the big change in this patch. A minor rework for Hec that sees his stats benefits his abilities. I think this change is a good one, and he is so popular and really hard to play against with his speed and disengage. This will make building damage much more prevalent on him, but I don’t think it will really change his build-up. This change will make a big difference early game, where if built correctly he may be a bit stronger, but the base armor is a big hit too early ganks. 

Heimerdinger

• W damage 50-170 ⇒ 50-150 (max damage 90-306 ⇒ 90-270).

I’m personally really happy to see this one, as Heimer is one of the main reasons I stay away from the top lane, and cry when I see him picked support. His turrets make it hard for almost any champ to push up at all in lane, and can really drag someone down in cs pretty quickly. The max damage on his W will make him just that much weaker later game, as 36 damage off of an ability really is quite a bit. 

Jinx

• Rockets crit for 200% ⇒ 175% to splash targets.

This is gonna make Jinx execute a bit weaker, but to a certain point, it won’t change much, especially if the player is low enough for it to kill anyways. However that 25 percent is a huge nerf, and I think in a close fight it could cost Jinx a kill. 

Kayn (Rhaast)

• Rhaast Q damage 55% total attack damage +5% (+4%/100%) enemy max health ⇒ 65% total attack damage +5% (+4%/100%) enemy max health.

Kayn has fallen behind in the meta a little bit and isn’t being played as much, partly because he never gets skins which we all know is just a meme at this point. This extra 10% on his Q will make a big difference though, seriously. That’s around a minimum of an extra 30 damage every Q, to multiple enemies.

Kindred

• Q cooldown 9 ⇒ 8, damage 60-140 ⇒ 60-160.

I think this is a really good buff, Kindred is someone who isn’t played much low elo because she is so hard to learn, so maybe this will make it a bit easier for people to carry with her in low elo games. The cooldown on the Q will help her big time though, a whole second makes a big difference in a 1v1 or a teamfight, especially as a hard carry.

Kog’Maw

• Q resistance reduction 20-28% ⇒ 25-33%.
• E cost 80-120 ⇒ 60-100.

Not only did Kog receive a buff, but he also received a VFX update! I personally have been seeing a really weird spike in Kog recently, as he’s really not too meta. A 20 mana reduction is huge early game, and a big resistance buff, this buff will make his early game really strong. He will also be able to use his E much more freely. 

Lulu

• W cooldown 16-12 ⇒ 15-11, attack speed 20-35 ⇒ 25-35%.

I’m surprised at this buff, because Lulu has been growing in popularity in high elo, but still has some pretty bad pick rates in bronze-gold. A second off a cooldown does a lot, as I said earlier. The minimum 5% attack speed will also help, this isn’t a huge buff, but it might be a bit noticeable to a long-time Lulu player. 

Morgana

• W damage to monsters 200% ⇒ 185%.

I didn’t want to see a Morg buff, but I don’t really mind this. This will hurt the Morg jungle players, as well as her ability to take down dragons. This nerf won’t do a whole lot, but it will do a lot if she is picked by the jungle. 

Rumble

• Passive overheated magic damage on-hit 10-50 ⇒ 5-40.

Again, not a big change, and it’s to a champ you don’t really see too often, maybe getting some attention because of his new skin.

Sett

• W percent expended Grit dealt as damage 25 + 10 per 100 bonus attack damage ⇒ 25 + 20 per 100 bonus attack damage.
• R bonus ratio 100% ⇒ 120%.

I’m literally sitting here asking myself why this change was made. I expect to see a nerf coming soon because Sett is so insanely strong in my games. I guess it maybe could have been because he’s not played a ton? But he’s one of the best top laners in the game, and everyone knows it. This buff will be noticeable and pray that you won’t be able to find out why. 

Shen

• R shield value 175-525 (+135% ability power) ⇒ 120-500 (+17.5 base health, +135% ability power).

Another good top laner receiving a change, and it seems like a good one. Shen makes it so hard to engage in a lane after your enemy hits 6 because he’s always there. If he runs teleport it’s even worse. Shen’s shield can also be hard to break through, I think this change will be a good one because Shen really is just a pest to play against.

Taric

• Q mana cost 70-110 ⇒ 70-90.

I think this is a good change, Taric is really good support. I also think that he isn’t played enough, as a Kai’sa main when I see a Taric I get happy, and there are really not enough good Taric players in the game, maybe this change will make people more aware of him, hopefully. This will also help his level 3 engage, less mana cost means more abilities. 

Trundle

• E slow 20-60% ⇒ 32-60%.

Oh, why would this change even be thought of. Trundle is so incredibly brain-dead and just boring, but he’s so good. An extra 12% slow in his beginning engages and ganks is just ridiculous. He’s gonna keep running it down, and there’s nothing you can do to stop him because Riot will just give him a bit of help. This might make some boot choices change though, when I see a Trundle I like to play someone that can use Swifty’s or Merc Treads, and this might make you want them when you get ganked nonstop and can’t run away. 

Vladimir

• Q cooldown 9/7.75/6.5/5.25/4 ⇒ 9/7.9/6.8/5.7/4.6.

Vlad has a 60% wr in Platinum+ with a certain build. I was not aware of this, but wow that’s high. This nerf obviously was needed, but I think he is still more of a low-key pick, but be scared if you see him lock-in.

Xerath

• Q damage 80-240 (+75% ability power) ⇒ 70-230 (+90% ability power).
• W damage 60-180 (+60% ability power) ⇒ 60-200 (+65% ability power).

A buff that is going to be insane. This Xerath Q change will be ridiculous and be hopeful that you don’t have to experience it. He already chunks, but an extra 15 percent damage is absolutely insane, as AP stacks so hard. I can see this really making him strong, so keep your eye out for him. 

Deadman’s Plate

• Health 400 ⇒ 300

Deadman’s has needed a change, this is gonna hurt top laners and jungles pretty hard, as this item is so crucial to build. 100 health off is quite a big for someone who doesn’t build many tank items. I could see this really affecting a champ like Darius or even Mundo. 

Death’s Dance

• Attack damage 50 ⇒ 55.
• Armor 40 ⇒ 50.

I don’t know how I feel about this change to DD. On one hand, you have a really strong item now that can really help out an ADC if picked or even a top laner. On the other hand, you have a really strong item that maybe didn’t need a buff. I say that because there’s no other item like DD, and it’s so strong at what it does. This buff will be taken advantage of I’m sure, but hopefully, this will be a good spot for DD in the meta. 

Moonstone Renewer

• Starlit Grace base heal 60 ⇒ 70.

After mandate got chopped, I think this is the best support item, because you can really use it on someone like Seraphine who can benefit from a healing item, someone who scales really hard with AP as a support, and heal at the same time. Moonstone healing is ridiculous, and honestly, I don’t think this change was needed.

Sunfire Aegis

• Immolate damage against monsters 100% ⇒ 150%.

A lot of damage to monsters buffs these past couple of weeks for champs and items. I think this has to put the item higher up in the pecking order for some tank jungles, because that 50% is a lot early game, and it is also just a strong item in general, as it helps to damage multiple targets at once. 

Turbo Chemtank

• Supercharged active move speed 60% ⇒ 40%.

This is a massive nerf, because this item is used so often and it really affects games. The ability to run it down for free is huge because you don’t have to worry about how long it takes to engage. This nerf is going to directly affect Mundo players especially, it’s actually almost like a nerf to him. 

Wits End

• Build path: Dagger ⇒ Long Sword.
• Attack damage 30 ⇒ 40, attack speed still 40%.

Meh, that’s how I feel about this. Wits end is situational that doesn’t get used a ton, and I think this won’t change much, but the extra 10 AD does put it up there for items in contention. Actually, no, this is a good change, and it was really needed.

• Conqueror Jax (Legacy) ⁠— 1350 RP
• Nidalee, Damwon Gaming (Legacy) ⁠— 1350 RP
• Kennen, Damwon Gaming (Legacy) ⁠— 1350 RP
• Twisted Fate, Damwon Gaming (Legacy) ⁠— 1350 RP
• Jhin, Damwon Gaming (Legacy) ⁠— 1350 RP
• Leona, Damwon Gaming (Legacy) ⁠— 1350 RP

To close it off for the week, here is the full list of champs getting new skins, and these look really great I must say! I will definitely be buying the Leona skin, and maybe the Nidalee one. This will also see the release of prestige conqueror Jax I believe, for 100 prestige points, so Jax players keep your eye out for that. 

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Gunner is a writting Intern at All Ages of Geek.