Ah yes, the pre-Worlds patches. Everyone’s favorite time of year. We are coming closer to 7.18, which means that Riot is taking the time to cement an identity in the current meta.

7.16 is one of the rare patches that focuses almost entirely on nerfs. Lots of out-of-line champions and items are being wrestled to the ground in an attempt to make them more fair for competitive play. So say goodbye to some OP mages and everyone’s favorite jungle item. Support players will also be bummed to hear that Ancient Coin is already getting a nerf, so soon after they made it awesome.

On the plus side, we are getting Sion back (always a treat in competitive play) and of course, dope new skins. Finally, there is now a way to ping vision, although it may require some hunting.

For a full list of changes in patch 7.16 check out our patch breakdown here.

1. Your favorite mid laners are getting nerfed

Riot gave quite a bit of context on this one in their official patch notes, but here is the short version. Riot wants to make sure mid lane is on a pretty level playing field before their bigger pre-worlds changes in the next couple patches. As a result there were nerfs to a whole bunch of mages. Cassiopeia, Corki, Syndra, Orianna, Galio, Taliyah and Leblanc all got nerfed this patch in one way or another.

They also buffed Fizz, giving Playful/Trickster a shorter cooldown, which isn’t that different from another mage nerf really.

2. Sion gets tankier and will do more damage

When Riot changed tank items earlier this year, most champions came out the other side unscathed, but not Sion. The truth is, he relied a little too much on resistances, and never had a strong health only build path. Thankfully, Riot are helping everyone’s favorite Undead Juggernaut out a bit by buffing his Soul Furnace passive which will now give him a little more bonus health for every small unit he kills.

Not content with just a tankier Sion, Riot chose to give his ultimate, Unstoppable Onslaught, a little bit of an upgrade as well, increasing the ability’s maximum damage, and fixing a bug that let Sion get Polymorphed by Lulu while using it.

3. We finally have Vision Pings

People have been asking Riot for Vision Pings for the better part of six years now and it’s finally getting added to the game! The ping looks like a little red eye and should help you let your allies know exactly where the wards are placed, or maybe where you need a ward? Either way, there’s finally a way to say “Vision of some kind here.” It’s about time.

One important thing to know about this ping is that it comes with some assembly required. It won’t be on your Ping Wheel, instead you have to set a specific hotkey in the settings. The good news is, we have a helpful guide to help you get your Vision Pings set up just the way you like them.

4. Ancient Coin and Cinderhulk nerfs

It’s no secret that the jungle and support items last patch had two standouts. Ancient Coin was the choice for just about any support that could use it thanks to the huge amount of mana it awarded for picking up coins. Thankfully, Riot is toning that back quite a bit, taking it from 15% missing mana to just 10%.

On the jungle side, Cinderhulk has been the hot jungle item ever since it got a buff and a price decrease in the same patch. In Patch 7.16, the price is going up a bit, though it should still be pretty strong for all the junglers that rely on it.

5. Skins to break the bank

Do you like skins? Because I like skins. Mostly, I enjoy really cool skins for fun champions. If you feel the same way, 7.16 has you covered. Another round of Battle Boss Skins are entering the fray this week and they look extremely good. We have Battle Boss Brand, Battle Boss Ziggs and Battle Boss Malzahar. Metal heads will also be happy to hear that Pentakill Kayle will be stage diving onto the Rift after her recent debut on Pentakill’s second album.