League of Legends Patch 8.4: Huge changes to AP items, Rengar and Volibear reworks, and new runes

Patch 8.4 is almost here, and it’s jam-packed with more big changes than we’ve seen in a League of Legends patch so far this year. There are new runes, new items, loads of balance changes, and even a small rework. Oh, and a couple of really badass skins.

Highlights of the patch include Rengar’s half-revert/half-rework, the Lost Chapter item being removed from Morellonimicon and added to several other major AP items, and a couple of new runes. There aren’t any new champions or large scale updates, but this patch is definitely going to shake the meta to its core.

Take a look at everything you can expect from League’s Patch 8.4 on Feb. 22 with our master list of changes pulled from the PBE and official patch notes.

Items

Spellbinder (New item)

• Costs 2,800 gold.
• Builds from Aether Wisp and Needlessly Large Rod.
• Provides 100 AP.
• Provides 10 percent movement speed boost.
• Passive: “Nearby allied and enemy spellcasts charge Spellbound Orb up to a cap (100 maximum).”
• Active: Gain a maximum of 30 percent decaying movement speed and 100 AP for four seconds. Each spellcast stored contributes 0.3 percent movement speed and one AP to the effect, which has a 60 second cooldown.

Twin Shadows (Returning item)

• Costs 2,400 gold.
• Builds from Fiendish Codes and Aether Wisp.
• Provides 60 AP.
• Provides seven percent movement speed boost.
• Provides 10 percent CDR.
• Active: Summons 2 Spooky Ghosts that hunt down nearby champions, revealing and Haunting them on contact. Haunted Enemies are slowed by 40 percent for up to 5 seconds based on the distance the ghosts travel. (90 second cooldown).

Lost Chapter

• Price increased by 200 gold.
• Now provides 10 percent CDR from passive Haste.

Morellonomicon

• No longer builds from the Lost Chapter.
• Now builds from Oblivion Orb and Blasting Wand.
• No longer provides mana.
• No longer provides CDR.
• AP lowered from 100 to 80.
• Grievous Wounds now apply with all magic damage and lasts for three seconds; changed from applying at 30 percent max health and lasting eight seconds, and passive no longer restores mana on takedowns.
• Now provides 15 magic penetration.

Oblivion Orb (New item, see above)

• Builds into Morello.
• Provides 25 AP.
• Provides 200 health.
• Provides 15 magic penetration.

Archangel’s Staff

• Lost Chapter added to build path.
• AP lowered from 80 to 50.
• Now provides 650 mana, up from 250.
• Now provides 10 percent CDR, as well as 10 percent from new Lost Chapter passive Haste.

Hextech GLP-800

• Lost Chapter added to build path.
• No longer provides health.
• Passive Eternity removed.
• Now provides 10 percent CDR, as well as 10 percent from new Lost Chapter passive Haste.
• Now provides 500 mana, up from 400.
• Active ability slow lowered, frost bolt now only deals damage to first enemy struck per missile, and frost bolt range and speed tweaked.

Luden’s Echo

• Lost Chapter added to build path.
• AP lowered from 100 to 90.
• No longer provides movement speed.
• Now provides 10 percent CDR, as well as 10 percent from new Lost Chapter passive Haste.
• Now provides 500 mana.

Haunting Guise

• Now provides 35 AP, up from 25.
• No longer provides magic penetration.
• Now increases your damage by two percent each second you’re in combat, capping at 10 percent.

Liandry’s Torment

• No longer provides magic penetration.
• Now increases your damage by two percent each second you’re in combat, capping at 10 percent.
• Passive Torment damage lowered from two percent current health per second to one percent max health.

Rabadon’s Deathcap

• Now builds out of two Needlessly Large Rods.
• Now boosts AP by 40 percent, up from 35.

Rylai’s Crystal Scepter

• Now provides 85 AP, up from 75.

Void Staff

• Now provides 70 AP, down from 80.

Ancient Coin

• Now provides five movement speed; upgraded versions provide 10.

Wit’s End

• Passive on-hit magic damage now 42, up from 40.
• Ranged attacks now steal three MR, and melee attacks steal six; this caps at 30 MR.

Frozen Mallet

• Ranged attack slow lowered.

Relic Shield

• Health lowered from 75 to 50.
• Upgrade Targon’s Brace health lowered from 175 to 125.
• Final upgrade Remnant of the Aspect health lowered from 500 to 350.

Tracker’s Knife

• Removed from game.

Champions

Reworks

Rengar – More reliability, less damage

• AD lowered from 68 to 65.
• AD per level raised from 1.5 to three.

Unseen Predator (Passive)

• No longer provides boost to both flat AD and bonus AD; now only bonus AD.
• Lead distance shortened from 100 to 50 units.
• Leap speed lowered.
• Rengar now has vocal reactions to gaining Bonetooth stacks and generating Ferocity.

Savagery (Q)

• Now an enhanced basic attack rather than a skillshot.
• Boosts attack speed for two basic attacks.
• While empowered, grants more damage and attack speed.

Battle Roar (W)

• Cooldown lowered from 20-12 seconds to 16-10.

Thrill of the Hunt (R)

• Enemies can now sense Rengar at 1,600 units, down from 2,000-4,000.
• Enemies revealed now stay revealed until the end of the spell.
• Movement speed increased from 40 percent to 40-60.
• Opening attack now deals portion of AD and armor shred; changed from dealing a critical strike.

As a note on Rengar’s rework, Riot said that it’s aware that he’ll deal decently less damage after his update than he does now, but the balance team is being cautious in making him too powerful with his new Q. Follow-up buffs will come in 8.5 if he’s deemed too weak upon 8.4’s launch.

Volibear – Buff

Rolling Thunder (Q)

• Base movement speed boost raised from 15 percent to 15-25.
• Movement speed towards enemies raised from 30-50 percent to 30-60.
• Rather than falling off instantly, the boost now decays over a one-second window when he looks away from an enemy.

Frenzy (W)

• Cooldown reduction now applies to minions.

Majestic Roar (E)

• Now knocks enemies back.
• Deals bonus damage if target is airborne or mid-dash.

Buffs

Darius

• Crippling Strike cooldown lowered and AD scaling raised.
• Apprehend armor penetration raised.

Evelynn

• Whiplash damage raised.

Fiddlesticks

• Dark Wind cooldown lowered and damage boosted toward monsters.
• Dark Wind no longer deals bonus damage to minions.
• Crowstorm cooldown lowered.

Gnar

• Hop damage increased.
• Q refund lowered from 45-60 percent to a flat 40.

Kog’Maw

• Bio-Arcane Barrage on-hit damage increased (still lower than pre-8.3).

Poppy

• Heroic Charge damage slightly raised.
• Passive damage increased at early levels.

Renekton

• Cull the Meek damage raised.

Swain

• Vision of Empire mana cost lowered.
• Demonic Ascension heal increased.
• Cooldown and Soul Fragments of Demonic Ascension fully refunded if Swain dies while channeling.

Talon

• MR raised significantly.
• Armor lowered slightly.

Zed

• Death Mark cooldown lowered.

Nerfs

Gangplank

• Parrrley mana cost increased.
• Powder Keg duration lowered.

Kalista

• Attack speed per level increased.
• Attack speed slightly increased.
• Attack range lowered.
• Base attack damage lowered.
• Sentinel no longer boosts attack speed, instead boosts AD.
• Rend mana refund lowered.

Ornn

• Bellows Breath damage tweaked, cooldown raised, shield duration increased, and Brittle duration lowered.
• Searing Charge damage, armor ratio, MR ratio, and shockwave damage increased.
• Searing Charge shockwave now only applies damage to those not damaged by the initial charge.
• Call of the Forge God Brittle duration lowered.

Shyvana

• AD per level lowered.
• Twin Bite second hit damage lowered.

Tristana

• Buster Shot cooldown increased at all levels.

Twitch

• Contaminate damage lowered.

Xin Zhao

• Cast time of W lowered slightly, hitbox now more accurate.
• Bonus passive damage lowered at all levels.

Zoe

• Passive AP scaling raised.
• Q AP scaling lowered.
• Paddle Star only applies More Sparkles damage to first enemy hit.
• Minions no longer drop Teleport.
• W AP scaling raised.
• Sleepy Trouble Bubble no longer refunds cooldown on hit.
• Removing the Drowsy debuff now prevents sleep.

Runes

New runes

Bone Plating

Resolve: After taking damage from an enemy champion, the next three incoming spells or basic attacks deal 20-50 less damage to you.

Time Warp Tonic

Inspiration: Duration of potions, elixirs, and biscuits extended by 20 percent, and consuming one boosts your movement speed by five percent.

Rune changes

• Perfect Timing prevents you from using your free Stopwatch until 10 minutes into the game, up from six.
• All Inspiration rune path boosts that extend potion and elixir duration have been removed to make way for new Time Warp Tonic rune.
• Celestial Body rune removed.
• Second Wind moved to third row of Resolve.
• Unflinching moved to fourth row of Resolve.
• Press the Attack base damage buffed, bonus damage nerfed.
• Precision + Sorcery and Precision + Domination path boosts changed from 18 percent attack speed to nine percent attack speed and adaptive damage.
• Domination + Precision and Sorcery + Precision path boosts changed from adaptive damage to a mix of adaptive damage and nine percent attack speed.

Miscellaneous

• You can now gain more powerful Elder Dragon buffs by killing multiple Elder Dragons.
• Baron buff now makes caster minions take 50 percent less damage from champions.
• Baron buff now provides 24 AD and 40 AP, up from 25 AD and 25 AP.
• Baron buff now scales much harder the longer the game goes.
• All scoreboard changes introduced in 8.3 have been reverted.
• Xin Zhao has a new base splash art.
• All champions no longer deal five bonus damage to minions.
• Outer four blast cone plants now spawn later.
• Ancient Krugs now take full damage from ranged attacks.

Skins

Dragon Master Swain – 1350 RP

Dark Star Jarvan – 1350 RP

Like LoL? Check out our year in review video below.

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