Nerfs, buffs, and new stuff in League’s Patch 8.9

League of Legends Patch 8.9 is arriving this week, and the official patch notes have been revealed.

This week’s patch is filled to the brim with major core gameplay changes, including sweeping boosts to mana regeneration and base mana pools. Those boosts are coupled with nerfs to mana pool growth, as well as major changes to two of the game’s neutral monsters—the Baron Nashor and Rift Herald.

Riot continues to push for more impactful and meaningful solo play in the wake of widespread criticism from the long-term playerbase. Patch 8.9 carries on that mission with item changes, turret changes, and rune changes on top of the usual balance work. There’s loads of new stuff arriving, too, including Beemo, a bee-themed Teemo skin that skipped the PBE to arrive immediately in the live client, as well as Blood Moon Evelynn.

Here’s our comprehensive list of this week’s changes.

Nerfs

Champions

Caitlyn

• Headshot (P): Can no longer crit, and has a percentage boost (modified by crit) when hitting champions.
• Headshot (P): Damage to non-champions will be double the value of a champion Headshot.

Kai’Sa

• Icathian Rain (Q): Evolved total missiles lowered by two; missile damage now flagged as AoE.
• Supercharge (E): Duration lowered by one second, and Runaan’s Hurricane bolts no longer grant cooldown reduction.

Poppy

• Base movement speed decreased by five.
• Iron Ambassador (P): Range bonus increased by 50 units.
• Steadfast Presence (W): Movement speed boost lowered from 32-40 percent depending on level to a flat 30 percent.
• Steadfast Presence (W): Base resistance bonus lowered by five percent; resistance bonus below 40 percent health lowered by 10 percent.
• Heroic Charge (E): Range increased by 50 units.
• Keeper’s Verdict (R): Snap-casting this ability no longer makes enemies untargetable during knock-up; snap-cast knock-up duration lowered by 0.25 seconds.
• Keeper’s Verdict (R): Base damage lowered by 10 at all ranks.
• Keeper’s Verdict (R): Full-charge missile speed increased by 400.

Warwick

• Base attack damage lowered by three.
• Jaws of the Beast (Q): Max-health damage lowered from 6-10 percent depending on rank to 6-8 percent.

Items

Guinsoo’s Rageblade

• Will now stack uniquely with Jhin’s passive to avoid recursive stacking (say goodbye to 1,300 AD at level 11). Riot plans to rebuild the item’s synergy with other champions in the future, but for now, it’s only for Jhin.
• This is technically counted as a bug fix, but it’ll result in a nerf to certain champions.

Tear of the Goddess

• Cost increased by 100 gold.
• Mana cost refund lowered by five percent.
• When gaining max mana from this item, it will now preserve your percentage of mana rather than grant you full max mana for how much you gained. For example, when gaining four mana, you won’t receive four mana in conjunction with four mana being added to your max mana bar. Instead, it will match your current percentage of mana, which means you’ll gain two mana if your bar is at 50 percent.

Doran’s Ring

• No longer provides base mana regeneration, and instead regenerates five mana per five seconds.
• No longer returns mana on minion kill, and instead adds five damage on-hit to minions.

Buffs

Mana

These champions are gaining large amounts of base mana and mana regeneration, at the cost of mana growth per level. This is still considered a buff, as they almost all build large mana pools with items later into the game as it is.

• Ahri, Anivia, Annie, Azir, Brand, Cassiopeia, Fiddlesticks, Heimerdinger, Karthus, Lissandra, Lux, Malzahar, Orianna, Swain, Syndra, Taliyah, Twisted Fate, Veigar, Val’Koz, Viktor, Xerath, Ziggs, Zilean, Zoe, and Zyra

These champions are receiving large boosts to mana regeneration, but nothing else.

• Diana, Galio, Kayle, Morgana, and Teemo

Champions

Amumu

• Bandage Toss (Q): Mana cost decreased significantly at all ranks.

Dr. Mundo

• Sadism (R): Maximum health recovered increased from 40-60 percent depending on rank to 50-100 percent.

Garen

• Decisive Strike (Q): Base damage increased significantly at later ranks.
• Courage (W): Max resistances increased by 10.

Irelia

• Ionian Fervor (P): Now refreshes duration on large monsters.

Ivern

• Friend of the Forest (P): Max health cost lowered by 2.5 percent.
• Friend of the Forest (P): Maturation time decreased at later levels.
• Rootcaller (Q): Missile width increased by 15 units.

Kassadin

• Null Sphere (Q): Magic damage shield increased by 20 points at rank one, but evens out at the same number by max rank.

Kennen

• Electrical Surge (W): Fifth attack base damage lowered at early ranks but raised at higher ranks and bonus AD scaling increased from a flat 60 percent to 60-100 percent depending on ability rank. AP scaling lowered by 10 percent.
• Electrical Surge (W): Active base damage lowered by 5-15 depending on rank, and AP scaling increased by 25 percent.
• Lightning Rush (E): Kennen now gains 30-70 percent attack speed depending on rank upon exiting lightning form, but defensive bonuses are lost upon exiting, too.

Leona

• Eclipse (W): Base damage increased by 20 at all ranks.

Lux

• Bonus attack speed at level 1 increased from zero to seven percent, but attack speed growth lowered by 0.36 percent.
• Health growth lowered by six.
• Light Binding (Q): Base damage increased at early ranks, cooldown lowered from 13-11 seconds depending on rank to a flat 10 seconds, and mana cost decreased by 10.
• Prismatic Barrier (W): Return shield is now always doubled, and Lux now shields herself and fires the missile at the same time rather than after the initial cast time.
• Lucent Singularity (E): Missile speed lowered by 100, radius lowered by 40.
• Lucent Singularity (E): Mana cost and cooldown both lowered at later ranks.

Rammus

• Defensive Ball Curl (W): Armor increased by 10.

Shyvana

• Burnout (W): Removed AP scaling.
• Flame Breath (E): Fireball AP scaling increased by 40 percent.
• Dragon’s Descent (R): AP scaling increased by 30 percent.

Sona

• Base AD raised by three.
• Power Chord (P): Base damage increased at all levels.

Syndra

• Transcendent (P): Dark Sphere upgrade changed from lasting two additional seconds to dealing 15 percent more damage to champions.

Talon

• Noxian Diplomacy (Q): Range increased by 75 units; marked as a bug-fix.

Ziggs

• Hexplosive Minefield (E): Base damage increased significantly at later levels.

Items

Lost Chapter

• Cost increased by 200.
• AP increased by 15.

Hextech GLP-800

• Combine cost lowered by 200 gold.
• Mana increased by 100.
• Slow duration increased by one second.
• Missile speed increased by 400.
• Missile spread time decreased by 0.1 seconds.

Fiendish Codex

• AP increased by five.

Twin Shadows

• AP increased by 10.

Seeker’s Armguard

• Cost decreased by 100 gold.

Spellbinder

• Total cost and combine cost increased 100 gold.
• AP increased by 20.
• Max AP on activation decreased by 20.
• Movement speed max activation increased by 20 percent.

Rylai’s Crystal Scepter

• AP increased by five.

Mejai’s Soulstealer

• Stacks needed for movement speed lowered by five.

Luden’s Echo

• Cost lowered by 100 gold.
• Mana increased by 100.

Other

Turrets

• Amount of AP converted to damage champions deal to turrets raised by 10 percent, and if a basic attack uses converted AP to damage a turret, the entire basic attack is shifted to magic damage.

New stuff

Monsters

Baron

• Reworked to be easier to kill without tanks.
• Base damage dramatically lowered, but Corruption damage increased.
• Base health increased by 2,600.

Rift Herald

• Reworked to be more rewarding for teams that are ahead while weaker for teams that can’t defend it.
• Now takes less self-inflicted damage from charge attack and deals more damage to towers with the charge attack.
• Takes more damage from attacks on the eye.

Runes

Unsealed Spellbook

• Redesigned.
• Can now be used to swap Summoner Spells from anywhere on the map, as long as you’re out of combat.
• New Summoner Spell only has a single use, and you revert back to your original Spell after casting it.
• Each swap permanently reduces the cooldown of swapping by 15 seconds (starts with a four minute cooldown).
• Your original Summoner Spells will retain their cooldowns even when not equipped, and they will continue to countdown in the background while not equipped. For example, if your Flash has 180 seconds longer on cooldown, you swap it for Heal and then use the Heal 20 seconds later, your Flash will be on a 160 second cooldown when it returns.

Skins

Beemo (with Chromas)

Bloodmoon Evelynn

Chromas

Mecha Zero Sion

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