We’ve been counting down the patches to the 2023 World Championship for some time now, and with League of Legends Patch 13.18 arriving, the big dance is here.
This League update, which brings 11 champion changes (five buffs, five nerfs, one adjustment) as well as several item tweaks, is totally focused on what the metagame will look like for pro play’s big event. While the Riot Games development team is fairly happy with how things are shaping up, according to balance boss Matt Leung-Harrison, there are still “small adjustments” that need to be made.
In particular, stretching power picks like Kayn, Jarvan IV, and Tryndamere need to be controlled a little better, meaning there are nerfs coming for some of the strongest fighters on Summoner’s Rift right now.
Riot also wants to get the AD carry metagame just right, leaving Stormrazor and wave-clearing machine Statikk Shiv quite firmly in the team’s sights.
Not everything is pro-play-focused, though. A totally new character is also expected to charge onto the roster this update cycle, with Briar the Restrained Hunter all locked in for a grand entrance.
Finally, we know no League patch is complete without cosmetics and the new Street Demon skins don’t disappoint.
When will League Patch 13.18 go live?
The second-to-last patch before the Worlds update will go live on Wednesday, Sept. 13.
The first update in September will start staging in Australia—lucky me—around 10am AEST before rolling out on major League servers throughout the day.
Here are all the key patching times:
- 3am PT (NA)
- 5am GMT (EU West)
- 3am CET (EU North East)
- 8am KR (Korea)
Here’s a countdown we can watch while we wait:
Expect several hours of server downtime once the patch begins staging. Matchmaking will be disabled across all League queues three hours before the update is officially set live.
What’s in League Patch 13.18?
Briar arrives on the Rift
Briar, the “hangry” jungler Riot has been teasing for some time now, is finally here. Dot Esports has already broken down her abilities, but the League devs are tweaking her slightly before her debut just to get her exactly right.
On the PBE, she now has better W priority for monsters, heals more via her passive, and dispels most crowd control when she activates her ultimate ability, Certain Death.
While Briar may not go live at the bell, she won’t be far behind.
Tryndamere, Jarvan spike too sharply
Riot is looking to bring several spiking power picks back into the metagame properly, especially Tryndamere and Jarvan IV. Both enjoyed extra boosts through some Patch 13.17 changes that gave them more of a kick than the League developers were expecting and that now needs fixing.
In total, a dozen champions will be tweaked. This includes buffs for Irelia, Gwen (jungle-focused), Kennen, Senna (focused on her critical hit builds), and Thresh.
In the nerfs column, Jarvan IV, Kayn (red), Rell, Tryndamere, Zeri, and Xayah are all being bumped down.
Four League items see smaller adjustments
Item picks mostly used by AD carries, especially Stormrazor and Statikk Shiv, are being bumped in this update. Other legendaries like Spear of Shojin and Crown of the Shattered Queen are also in line for Patch 13.18 changes.
Dot Esports doesn’t expect these changes to be huge.
Still, Riot wants to cut the wave clear off a little before Worlds; right now, it’s “lowering gameplay quality.”
Splashy ‘street’ skins hit the store
The next set of League skins brings bright, bold, and splashy neon colors to the game again, adding an urban art style alongside several different aesthetics. Brand, Rengar, Neeko, Zyra, and especially Dr. Mundo are all included in this release.
For the Madman of Zaun, this is his first new skin in over 1,700 days. That breaks the title’s longest-running streak, stretching back to the 2018 season.
Also included in this update is a new essence skin, Crystalis Motus Taliyah, which gives the Stoneweaver an emerald style.
Here are all the skins coming in this patch:
- Street Demons Brand (1,350 RP)
- Street Demons Briar (1,350 RP)
- Street Demons Dr. Mundo (1,350 RP)
- Street Demons Neeko (1,350 RP)
- Street Demons Rengar (1,350 RP)
- Crystalis Motus Taliyah (100 Mythic Essence)
- Street Demons Zyra (1,350 RP)
These skins will go live during the Patch 13.18 cycle.
Here are the official notes for League Patch 13.18.
League Patch 13.18 patch notes
Champions
Briar
- Released.
- Read her full abilities here.
Bard
- Passive max chime stacks increased from five to 10.
- Chime stack duration increased from seven seconds to 20.
- W can stack up to two charges.
- W cooldown and stack charge time increased from 14 to 18 seconds.
- Shrine charge time to full heal decreased from 10 seconds to five.
- Shrine movement speed bonus adjusted from 30 percent decaying over 1.5 seconds to 20-30 percent plus 0.05 percent AP decaying over 1.5 seconds.
Gwen
- Health growth increased from 109 to 115.
- Passive monster damage cap increased from six (plus 10 percent ability power) to 15 (plus 20 percent ability power).
Irelia
- R cooldown reduced from 140-100 to 125-85 seconds.
Jarvan IV
- Passive damage reduced from eight to six percent current health.
Kassadin
- R AP ratio increased from 40 percent to 60 percent.
Kayn
- Rhaast passive healing reduced from 20-30 to 25 percent flat.
- Rhaast R attack damage reduced from 13 percent per 100 bonus attack damage to 10 percent per 100 bonus attack damage.
Kennen
- E energy cost reduced from 100-80 to 80 flat.
- R cooldown reduced from 120 seconds flat to 120-80 seconds.
Rell
- E movement speed away from enemies reduced from 15-25 to 12-20 percent.
- E movement speed towards enemies reduced from 30-50 to 24-40 percent.
Senna
- Critical hit damage increased from 160.125 to 175 percent.
- W AoE hits now count towards passive proc.
Thresh
- W shield per soul increased from 1.5 to two.
Tryndamere
- Health growth reduced from 115 to 108.
- Base attack damage reduced from 68 to 66.
Xayah
- Base health reduced from 660 to 630.
- Health growth increased from 102 to 107.
- E cooldown increased from 11-9 to 13-9 seconds.
Items
Crown of the Shattered Queen
- Poise removed during Safeguard.
- Ability power increased from 70 to 85.
- Safeguard increased from 75 percent for 1.5 seconds to 40 percent for 2.5 seconds.
Spear of Shojin
- Attack damage reduced from 60 to 55.
Statikk Shiv
- Minion damage reduced from 250-350 to 200 flat.
- Attack damage increased from 45 to 50.
Stormrazor
- Attack damage increased to 55 from 50.
General
Mythic Shop Rotation
These skins are now available from the Mythic Shop during this cycle:
- Prestige Star Guardian Ekko
- Prestige Pulsefire Lucian
- Prestige Spirit Blossom Teemo
- Prestige Battle Queen Diana
- Hextech Kog’Maw
- Hextech Swain
- Crystalis Motus Taliyah
- Reclaimed Chroma (Crystalis Motus Taliyah) + Icon
- Mythic Chroma Star Guardian Jinx
Skins
Street Demons Brand
Street Demons Briar
Street Demons Dr. Mundo
Street Demons Neeko
Street Demons Rengar
Crystalis Motus Taliyah
Street Demons Zyra
Update Sept. 7 6:27pm: Added all Briar details, new skin details.
Update Sept. 7 4:56am: Added further changes.
Update Sept. 6 11:01pm: Added early League PBE leaks.
