The 5 things to know about Patch 6.19, the one after Worlds

It’s that time of month. Two weeks have passed since the previous League of Legends patch, which means it’s time for a brand new batch of patch notes. This time around we’ve got a partial revert to Kog’Maw’s previous rework, buffs to some underappreciated champions and nerfs to some currently strong champions like Soraka, Cassiopeia and Kled.

I know what you’re thinking -- Worlds start next week, how can there be a new patch? Fret not — while the live server will continue to move on with new patches, the entirety of Worlds will be played on Patch 6.18.

For all of the changes this patch, head over here. For the official patch notes, including reasoning for each change, head to the League of Legends website. For now, though, here are the five things you have to know.

Kog’Maw’s rework partially reverted

Along with most of the other members of the marksman class in the game, Kog’Maw was reworked at the start of the season. As noted in the patch notes, this is the first time Riot has ever reverted a champion update (other champions, like Ryze, have taken multiple reworks, however).

Part of Kog’Maw’s rework was allowing him to be the only champion in the game who ignored the attack speed cap. This proved ... problematic, both in terms of his power curve (which skewed earlier than intended) and item synergies.

As explained in the notes:

Kog can’t move between attacks in the late game, so either he mows down everyone in range, or enemies walk to safety since Kog can't keep pace. Compared to the consistent payoffs of old-school ‘Jugger-Maw’ comps, playing with today’s Kog’Maw feels too hit-or-miss.

All said, we’re left with two choices - continue to make concessions toward Kog’Maw’s ‘glass turret’ ideal, or hit the reset switch to a stabler (though still imperfect) Kog. The updated kit's moved too far from what made Kog’Maw special, so we opted for the latter. This transition may be choppy, as many of League’s underlying systems have changed since Kog'Maw's update, but we’ll be monitoring how he readjusts and make any changes necessary to support him.

So what’s changing? A lot. His base attack speed is getting increased, while his attack speed growth is getting decreased. His Q grants bonus attack speed, his W no longer doubles his attack speed or the attack speed cap, but it does deal more per hit, has a higher range early, and lasts longer.

Kled’s first balance change!

Riot Games

Awwww.

When Kled first came out, his win rate was, as expected, low. That’s changed. After a 44.48 percent win rate on 6.16 and 48.32 on 6.17, Kled has surged to 50.32 percent on 6.18. That’s right in the middle of the top-laner pack, but there are some gameplay health adjustments coming.

First, the good news: Kled will now do full damage to monsters and minions while dismounted. That will help a lot — his previous reduced damage made him pretty much useless in-lane without Skaarl. While that’s the intended design in champion trades, Kled should be able to at least farm by himself.

Onto the nerf: CHAAAAAAAARGE!!!, Kled’s incredibly strong ultimate, has a decreased range early and the time in which allies can follow his trail has been decreased by two seconds.

Soraka nerfs

Soraka’s become a must-ban recently, especially at lower elos, in part because of how frustrating it is to lose a fight because of a well-timed Soraka ultimate across the map. That isn’t changing, but her laning power is being reduced — the cooldown on her W (her healing ability) has been doubled early in the game, meaning her ability to consistently heal back her AD Carry from early game trades has been reduced.

For more on the Soraka and Kled nerfs, read here!

The shop is easier to use

Many of the recent changes in the game have focused on usability -- the addition of many pings recently is probably the foremost example. Now the focus has turned to the shop, which is getting a usability facelift.

Among the changes: you can now ping an item to tell your teammates how much gold you need to buy it, you can fast-sell items by right-clicking on them and more!

For more on the changes, read here!

Chromas and skins!

There are technically no new skins announced this patch, although Championship Zed is finally slated for release. But that doesn’t mean new stuff isn’t dropping with 6.19.

Fiora’s Nightraven and Royal Guard skins are getting splash art updates, and so is Cottontail Teemo!

Riot Games

There are also new chromas available for four different skins: Lunar Goddess Diana, Debonair Ezreal, Mecha Malphite and Battle Bunny Riven.

The Mecha Malphite ones look particularly awesome:

SurrenderAt20

Patch 6.19 should go live either late Tuesday or Wednesday.