Written in partnership with Gamer Sensei.
Dot Esports has joined forces with the incredibly capable coaches at Gamer Sensei to break down League of Legends Patch 12.9. We’ll go through the full list of champion changes, including the multiple mid-scope updates, and analyze how they will affect the meta.
Gamer Sensei is a service that provides online coaching for 18 different games, including League. This week, we have two coaches giving us insight on these major champion changes: Nicholas “NicoThePico” Korsgård and Justin “JalYt Justin” Robbins.
Here are the notes for League Patch 12.9, launching on Wednesday, May 11.
Champions
Olaf
- AD Growth: 3.5 > 4.7
- AD at level 18: 127.5 > 148
- Health Growth: 100 > 105
- Mana Growth: 42 > 50
Passive – Berserker’s Rage
- Maximum Attack Speed Granted: 99 percent > 40-100 percent (levels 1-18)
- [NEW]: Berserker’s Rage now provides 10-30 percent life steal (levels 1-18), based on Olaf’s missing health
- [UPDATE]: Bonuses max out at 0 percent Health > 30 percent Health
Q – Undertow
- Cooldown: 7 seconds > 9 seconds
- Damage: 80/125/170/215/260 > 60/110/160/210/260
- Minimum Range: 300 > 425 units
- Mana Cost: 60 at all ranks > 40/45/50/55/60
- [UPDATE]: Picking up axes now fully refunds Q – Undertow’s cooldown, but axes can only be thrown a maximum of once every 3 seconds. (Note: The 3 second limit scales with Ability Haste.)
- [UPDATE]: Included a quality-of-life buff to Olaf’s Q – Undertow so that it now grants ghosting more consistently to jungle monsters who he hits or are near him when Q is cast
W – Tough It Out
- [UPDATE]: Vicious Strikes > Tough It Out
- Cooldown: 16 seconds at all ranks > 16/14.5/13/11.5/10 seconds
- Attack Speed: 50/60/70/80/90 percent > 40/50/60/70/80 percent
- Ability Duration: 6 seconds > 4 seconds
- [NEW]: W now resets Olaf’s basic attack timer
- [NEW]: On activation Olaf now gains a 10/45/80/115/150 (+25 percent missing health, capped at 30 percent of his current HP) shield for 2.5 seconds
- [REMOVED]: No longer grants Life Steal
- [REMOVED]: No longer amplifies Olaf’s healing based on missing health
R – Ragnarok
- Bonus Attack Damage: 15/20/25 (+30 percent AD) > 10/20/30 (+25 percent AD)
- Duration: 6 seconds > 3 seconds
- Passive Resists: 20/30/40 > 10/25/40
- [REMOVED]: R – Ragnarok’s passive bonus resistances are no longer lost for the duration of the ability
- [NEW]: Hitting a champion with a basic attack or E – Reckless Swing extends the duration of Ragnarok to 2.5 seconds. Olaf can refresh Ragnarok indefinitely.
Olaf has traded some of his signature early-game clear speed and health for some new toys in the rest of his kit. While this could hurt him at his previous points of power, Olaf should still be fine as an early-game skirmisher. “Olaf was already clearing camps faster than his opposition and the clear nerfs certainly make sense in regards to his whole kit, but I also don’t think that these clear nerfs are strong enough to push him away from his fast-farming style,” JalYt Justin said.
As for the new additions to Olaf’s kit, they’ll allow him to stay more relevant in the game as it goes on, as opposed to falling off a cliff after one item. “Olaf has for as long as I can remember always been an early game terror who come mid/late gets kited to death once his ultimate passes,” NicoThePico said. “Changing around his passive and spells to introduce a missing health-based shield, as well as being able to refresh his ultimate, further plays into his Berserker role of fighting close to death but not dying.”
Taliyah
- Base Health: 531 > 500
- Base Health Regen: 7 > 6.5
- Health Regen Growth: 0.7 > 0.65
- Base Mana: 425 > 470
- Base Mana Regen: 9.34 > 8
- Mana Regen Growth: 0.85 > 0.8
- Base Armor: 20 > 18
- Move Speed: 335 > 330
Passive – Rock Surfing
- Out of Combat Bonus Move Speed: 20-45 percent (levels 1-18) > 10/20/35/55 percent (levels 1/9/12/15)
- Passive Fall Off Time when not near Terrain: 1 second > 2.5 seconds
Q – Threaded Volley
- Mana Cost: 50/60/70/80/90 > 60/65/70/75/80
- Cooldown: 7/6/5/4/3 seconds > 6.5/5.5/4.5/3.5/2.5 seconds
- Rock Damage: 70/95/120/145/170 (+45 percent AP) > 38/61/84/107/130 (+50 percent AP)
- Damage Reduction from Subsequent Stone Shards: 50 percent > 60 percent
- 5-Rock Damage: 210/285/360/435/510 (+135 percent AP) > 98.8/158.6/218.4/278.2/338 (+130 percent AP)
- Damage Reduction from Subsequent Stone Shards Against Monsters: 25 percent > 60 percent
- [NEW]: Each Stone Shard now deals an additional 30 (+10 percent AP) damage against monsters
- [NEW]: Stone Shards now deal damage in a 175 radius area of effect (approximately 1.6 Teemos)
- [NEW]: Q – Threaded Volley will now continue to cast while Taliyah is in Stasis
- [NEW]: Casting Q – Threaded Volley on Worked Ground now consumes the Worked Ground to fire a single Boulder that deals double damage [76/122/168/214/260 (+100 percent AP)] and slows all targets hit in a 225 AoE radius by 30/35/40/45/50 percent for 2 seconds
- Mana Cost on Worked Ground: 1 > 20
- Minimum Cooldown on Worked Ground: 1 second > 0.75 seconds
- Worked Ground Duration: 25 seconds > 30 seconds
- Worked Ground Radius: 300 > 400
- [UPDATE]: The size of Worked Ground on Howling Abyss now matches Summoner’s Rift
- [NEW]: Q – Threaded Volley casts on Worked Ground now have new VFX, SFX, animation, and icon!
W – Seismic Shove
- Mana Cost: 70/80/90/100/110 > 40/30/20/10/0
- Cooldown: 16/15/14/13/12 seconds > 14/12.5/11/9.5/8 seconds
- Knock Up Radius: 200 > 225
- Time Delay before Knock Up: 0.8 seconds > 0.75 seconds
- [REMOVED]: W – Seismic Shove no longer deals damage
E – Unraveled Earth
- Cooldown: 16/14/12/10/8 seconds > 16/15/14/13/12 seconds
- Damage on Initial Cast: 50/75/100/125/150 (+40 percent AP) > 60/105/150/195/240 (+60 percent AP)
- Slow Strength: 20 percent (+4 percent AP) > 20/22/24/26/28 percent (AP ratio removed)
- Boulder Detonation Damage: 50/60/70/80/90 (+30 percent AP) > 25/45/65/85/105 (+30 percent AP)
- Damage Reduction per Subsequent Boulder Hit: 15 percent > 25 percent
- Maximum Boulder Detonation Damage: 155/186/217/248/279 (+93 percent AP) > 62.5/112.5/162.5/212.5/262.5 (+75 percent AP)
- Delay Between Casting and Spawning First Row of Boulders: 0.1 seconds > 0 seconds
- Delay Between Spawning Rows of Boulders after the First Row: 0.1 seconds > 0.17 seconds
- [UPDATE]: E – Unraveled Earth now spawns 6 rows of boulders extending outwards from Taliyah with 4 boulders per row (previously spawned 4 rows of boulders with 6 boulders per row)
- [NEW]: Boulders now stun enemies that dash through them for the duration of the dash + 0.6/0.7/0.8/0.9/1 seconds. (Note: the max stun duration is 2 seconds and monsters are always stunned for the max duration).
- [REMOVED]: E – Unraveled Earth no longer detonates to deal additional damage after 4 seconds
R – Weaver’s Wall
- Range: 3000/4500/6000 > 2500/4500/6500
- Dash Range when Jumping off Wall: 400 > 700
- Dash Speed when Jumping off Wall: 1000 > 1200
- [UPDATE]: Moving Taliyah while she is riding the Weaver’s Wall now causes Taliyah to dash to the location clicked, up to the maximum dash range instead of dropping her perpendicular to the wall.
- [UPDATE]: Dashing when jumping off of the wall is now more forgiving when trying to dash through terrain
- [NEW]: Damage from enemy champions or structures now prevents Taliyah from casting R – Weaver’s Wall for 3 seconds
- [REMOVED]: Taking damage no longer knocks Taliyah off her wall
Bugfixes
- Fixed a bug where Taliyah would sometimes lose her passive permanently if she had a spell shield active
- Fixed a bug where Taliyah would sometimes not get reduced cooldown on her Q – Threaded Volley when cast on Worked Ground
Taliyah’s mid-scope update has changed every aspect of her kit. While the base stat nerfs do hurt, the addition of new utility and combo potential should help her stick the landing. “Overall, these changes have added a bunch of CC and utility across the board with lower cooldowns, shorter cast times, and more spammable Qs,” NicoThePico said.
Taliyah has always been a difficult champion to learn, and that likely won’t change here. But there are a lot more ways that she is able to bring value to a team aside from DPS and Weaver’s Wall, like the added stun on dashing targets over her E or the new AoE slowing Boulder on Worked Ground. NicoThePico believes that “it’s safe to say we are going to be seeing a lot more Taliyah everywhere.”
Ahri
E – Charm
- Cooldown: 12 seconds > 14 seconds
R – Spirit Rush
- Cooldown: 130/105/80 seconds > 140/115/90 seconds
Ahri has been a powerful pick in the mid lane since her kit update. This nerf addresses the cooldowns of her core “catching” abilities in E and R. Her damage and wave clear are untouched, though, which means her laning and trading power will remain top of the line. “While these changes will hurt Ahri, especially because she doesn’t tend to build CDR, I don’t think this addresses her core problems and I think she’ll continue to be a powerful pick due to her catch power and high damage output,” JalYt Justin said.
Braum
Passive – Concussive Blows
- Per-Target Cooldown: 8/7/6 seconds > 8/6/4 seconds
E – Unbreakable
- Damage Reduction: 30/32.5/35/37/40 percent > 35/40/45/50/55 percent
Braum hasn’t been a frequently played champion in any form of play in quite a while. His overall value just couldn’t keep up with other meta picks in the role. NicoThePico thinks that these buffs will change that. “Mid-late game Braum will be even more annoying and tanky in team fights and be incredibly strong as a backline bodyguard,” he said.
Hecarim
Q – Rampage
- Physical Damage: 60/90/120/150/180 (+85 percent bonus AD) > 60/90/120/150/180 (+90 percent bonus AD)
W – Spirit of Dread
- Cooldown: 18 seconds > 14 seconds
The previous Hecarim nerfs have left him in somewhat of a sorry state. These buffs attempt to remedy the situation, giving him power in Q and W. JalYt Justin believes that this won’t help out that much. “Five percent scaling damage on an early game ganking champion is not going to change much, though the W CD decrease is nice for durability,” he said. “I don’t expect much to change here, and I think this is mostly a placebo buff.”
Master Yi
R – Highlander
- Bonus Attack Speed: 25/45/65 percent > 25/35/45 percent
Nidalee
- Base Health: 570 > 540
The earlier Nidalee QOL buffs from Patch 12.6 increased both her power level and play rate. None of those buffs are being reverted. Instead, Riot is cutting down on her base HP. “This is actually a much more meaningful nerf to Nidalee than most people would think,” JalYt Justin said. “Nidalee’s power comes from her early game strength, especially when it comes to ganking, and this does leave her vulnerable to being turned against or invaded.”
Pyke
Passive – Gift of the Drowned Ones
- Damage Converted to Grey Health when near Two or more Enemies: 40 percent (+0.5 percent per Lethality) > 45 percent (+0.5 percent per Lethality)
Q – Bone Skewer
- [NEW]: Bone Skewer now refunds mana upon hitting an enemy champion
- Mana Cost: 50/55/60/65/70 > 74/78/82/86/90
- Mana Refund: 50 percent > 75 percent
R – Death From Below
- Cooldown: 120/100/80 seconds > 100/85/70 seconds
- [REMOVED]: Pyke no longer receives “Your Cut” gold upon successfully executing enemy champions with his R (last assisting ally will still receive “Your Cut”)
- [REMOVED]: Pyke no longer receives additional “Your Cut” gold when allies kill enemies within Death From Below’s execution area
Pyke has been much more successful as a push and roam style mid laner than in his intended role of support. This has happened multiple times since the champ’s release, so something is being done about it. In addition to mana nerfs on Pyke’s Q, his ability to get more gold and items has been gimped. “Long overdue nerfs to Pyke’s extreme money-making abilities, which means that lane Pyke is likely a thing of the past and Support Pyke is the only choice now,” NicoThePico said.
Renata Glasc
- Base Armor: 29 > 27
Passive – Leverage
- Additional Magic Damage Against Marked Targets: 1-3.5 percent (levels 1-13) (+1 percent per 100 AP) > 1-2 percent (levels 1-9) (+2 percent per 100 AP) (damage against unmarked targets unchanged)
Renata’s play rate has risen quite a bit as more players have figured out how to play around her. These nerfs to her base armor and mid-game passive damage are a mixed bag that JalYt Justin doesn’t think will change anything. “While Renata is not strong in the early game, and will continue to be as such, she has strong utility later on in the game which makes her a strong peeler for any type of carry,” he said.
Renekton
- Health Growth: 92 > 97
- AD Growth: 3.75 > 4.15
- AD at Level 18: 132.75 > 139.55
W – Ruthless Predator
- Cooldown: 13/12/11/10/9 seconds > 16/14/12/10/8 seconds
- Total Physical Damage: 10/30/50/70/90 (+75 percent AD) > 10/40/70/100/130 (+75 percent AD)
- Total Physical Damage when Empowered: 15/45/75/105/135 (+75 percent AD) > 15/60/105/150/195 (+75 percent AD)
R – Dominus
- Magic Damage per Second: 40/80/120 (+10 percent AP) > 50/100/150 (+10 percent AP)
Renekton is infamous for being an early-game champion that drastically falls off as the game progresses. These buffs to his scaling stats and his W damage should help Renekton stay relevant for longer. “Huge buff to mid/late game prowess for the Croc, and even though the CD is increased on his W early game, I think the overall change is super good. Less lane power but better scaling,” NicoThePico said.
Rengar
W – Battle Roar
- Damage to Monsters: 85-150 (levels 1-18) > 65-130 (levels 1-18)
Bugfixes
- Fixed a bug where Rengar’s empowered abilities and W – Battle Roar’s heal would sometimes play through the Fog of War
Shyvana
W – Burnout
- Damage Tick Rate: 1 second > 0.5 seconds
E – Flame Breath
- [NEW] The area of effect zone from Shyvana’s E – Flame Breath now applies marks to enemies that enter the zone.
Bugfixes
- Fixed a bug where Shyvana’s Q – Twin Bite would not attack player-created targets (like Teemo’s Mushrooms or Illaoi’s Tentacles) twice
- Fixed a bug where Shyvana’s Q – Twin Bite’s second attack would not deal damage if the enemy was running away from her
- Fixed a bug where Shyvana’s W – Burnout VFX were not correctly displaying when inside of Mordekaiser’s R – Death Realm
Sion
Passive – Glory in Death
- [NEW]: Sion now does 40 percent reduced damage to structures while in his reanimated frenzy form (includes runes and items)
Splitpush Sion has drastically risen in popularity. Even while dying over and over, Sion could use his passive to continue taking tower plates and towers to stay ahead in gold. This nerf should kill that aspect of Sion’s game plan. “These changes, alongside the Hullbreaker changes, make Sion’s ‘braindead’ splitpush strategy quite a bit weaker, since he’s going to be a lot less likely to actually take towers in death,” JalYt Justin said.
Thresh
Passive – Damnation
- Ability Power and Bonus Armor per Soul: 0.75 > 1
W – Dark Passage
- Shield Strength: 60/90/120/150/180 (+1 per Soul) > 60/90/120/150/180 (+2 per Soul)
Thresh has been struggling for a while in the overall support meta. He’s far less tanky than picks like Nautilus or Leona, which makes Thresh much more unforgiving to play. “It’s simply more punishing to make mistakes on Thresh,” JalYt Justin said. “This should help him be a lot tankier in the mid-late game, since this is essentially 25 percent bonus armor and AP, plus some extra shielding.”
Varus
Passive – Living Vengeance
- Bonus Attack Speed on Non-Champion Kills: 10/15/20 percent (+15 percent bonus Attack Speed) > 10/15/20 percent (+20 percent bonus Attack Speed)
- Bonus Attack Speed on Champion Kills: 40 percent (+30 percent bonus Attack Speed) > 40 percent (+40 percent bonus Attack Speed)
W – Blighted Quiver
- Bonus Magic Damage On-Hit: 7/10.5/14/17.5/21 (+30 percent AP) > 7/12/17/22/27 (+30 percent AP)
Varus is one of the ADC picks that can dominate pro play when he’s good thanks to his powerful utility ultimate. Riot tends to be careful when buffing picks with that potential, as it has been here. JalYt Justin believes that “Varus had plenty of room for buffs and I think these do go in the right direction, however this isn’t enough to bring him to viability for most people.”
Items
Hullbreaker
- Champion Bonus Resists While Hunting Alone (Melee): 20-60 (levels 1-18) > 10 (levels 1-11), then 20/35/43/51/59/67/75 (levels 12-18)
- Champion Bonus Resists While Hunting Alone (Ranged): 10-30 (levels 1-18) > 5 (levels 1-11), then 10/17.5/21.5/25.5/29.5/33.5/37.5 (levels 12-18)
- [UPDATE]: Deal 20 percent bonus damage from all sources against structures > ONLY attacks deal 20 percent bonus damage against structures
Hullbreaker has shaped the top lane meta for the majority of season 12. It has been nerfed in the past for ranged champions, but this recent change targets anyone who rushes it. By heavily decreasing the resistances Hullbreaker gives before level 12, it is now not feasible to first build it.
“This is a great nerf for Hullbreaker all around, as pure splitpushing strategies are very frustrating to deal with on both sides,” JalYt Justin said. “While this does not inherently harm a committal splitpush strategy, it does affect certain champions who were abusing first item purchase Hullbreaker.” The splitpush-focused item can still be bought after it starts scaling, but this change should result in much fewer of them overall.
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