The annual World Championship patch for League of Legends has finally arrived, aiming to balance a handful of champions that have either dominated the meta for some time, or struggled to remain relevant.
Riot Phroxzon, lead designer on League’s balance team, fully detailed the changes expected in the upcoming Patch 12.18 that were teased yesterday.
He noted that, while there hasn’t been any professional play on Patches 12.16 or 12.17, the team is “relatively confident we’ll be in a good spot to post these changes [in Patch 12.18].” This patch is set to release to live servers on Sept. 21.
Among the few champions being buffed in this patch is Ashe, a champion that has been relegated to the support role in recent months as she continues to be outshined by other AD carry options. To bring her back into this intended position, while not removing her support viability, her Q attack speed is being considerably increased at all ranks.
Accompanying her in the bot lane buff list is Thresh. The Chain Warden has fallen out of the meta in favor of enchanters and hard-engage supports, so he’s getting a bit of help from Riot just in time for the biggest event of the year. Thresh will his HP growth per level increased slightly, and his E damage is being buffed at all ranks, though more so at later ranks.
Another popular champion being buffed is Lee Sin. While he still exists in pro play, the Blind Monk has become a niche pick. To bring him back into the spotlight, he will get a similar HP growth increase per level to Thresh, as well as greater spell vamp on his W at later ranks.
The final champion in the Patch 12.18 buff list is Nasus who, unlike his brother Renekton, has not appeared on the Rift in professional play in some time. He will enjoy a greater attack speed slow on his W and the removal of a static cooldown on his ultimate at all ranks, now 110 to 90 seconds.
League players can test these changes internally on the game’s PBE server now. As they are still in testing, it is likely these changes may differ from what they look like on live servers.
Patch 12.18, which will be the patch used at Worlds, will be pushed live on Sept. 21.
