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Take a deep breath because season 9 is officially here. The ranked queues are going to go up for the new season and it’s time to start anew.
With the new season comes a lot of balance changes and tweaks to level the playing field. Kayn is getting some serious changes to how his form changing works. Evelynn is getting a lot of quality of life changes for her skills. There’s the usual tweaks to runes and a handful of changes for the jungle, as well. Sylas is releasing. This patch is big.
Alongside that, we’re getting new skins for both Valentine’s Day and the Lunar New Year. There will definitely be events and missions for at least one of these skin lines. We know Prestige Vayne will be available through a pass system, similar to KDA Kai’Sa and Akali. (Yes, yes, that means you have to get grinding.)
You can check out Riot Games’ full notes here or our tl;dr here.
Season Start
Your 2019 Ranked climb begins this patch. Here’s a quick TL;DR of the changes this season:
PLACEMENTS :: You’ll get a provisional rank after your first Ranked game, which is the lowest rank you can end placements in. Placement wins grant bonus LP; losses don’t cost LP. Your rank becomes visible to others after finishing placements.
TIERS & DIVISIONS :: We’ve added Iron tier below Bronze and Grandmaster tier between Master and Challenger. Division V has been removed from all tiers.
RANKED ARMOR :: This new reward reflects your current rank across your profile, Ranked dashboard, and hovercard as well as game lobbies
SPLITS :: Season 2019 is broken into three splits, with your performance in each split upgrading your ranked armor. There’s no soft reset or time off between splits. End of season rewards are still based on your overall performance across the season.
POSITION RANKS :: We’re previewing position ranks in Korea and North America for split 1 and plan to roll them out globally in split 2. Each position has its own matchmaking rating and rank, with matches rewarding LP and rating for the position you played, plus a little for your other positions to recognize overall improvement as you climb.
Game Modes
After a rowdy month and a half of Bardle Royales, Battle Sledding, and Nexuses running it down mid, the Nexus Blitz queues shut down earlier this week. Thanks for playing—we’ll be back with updates on our future plans a little further down the road!
If you’re looking for something new to scratch your fast-paced-game-mode itch, we’ve got something new coming down the pipe later this patch! Stay tuned.
Champions
Sylas
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Sylas, the Unshackled, will break out during patch 9.2.
Sylas Skins & Chromas
- Lunar Wraith Sylas
- Lunar Wraith Sylas chromas
Aatrox
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Q damage ratio decreased. E recharge time increased.
Q - The Darkin Blade
BASE DAMAGE :: 10/25/40/55/70 (unchanged)
RATIO :: 0.64/0.68/0.72/0.76/0.80 total attack damage >>> 0.55/0.60/0.65/0.70/0.75 total attack damage
FULL COMBO BASE DAMAGE :: 56.25/140.63/225/309.38/393.75 (unchanged)
FULL COMBO RATIO :: 3.6/3.825/4.05/4.275/4.5 total attack damage >>> 3.09/3.38/3.66/3.94/4.22 total attack damage (numbers rounded because they’re gross)
E - Umbral Dash
RECHARGE TIME :: 24/20/16/12/8 seconds >>> 26/22/18/14/10 seconds
Aurelion Sol
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Q recast time reduced; stun duration shorter if recast quickly, longer for big stars.
Q - Starsurge
MINIMUM RECAST TIME :: 0.65 seconds >>> 0.25 seconds (can be buffered by double-tapping Q on cast)
STUN DURATION :: 1.1/1.2/1.3/1.4/1.5 seconds >>> 0.55/0.6/0.65/0.7/0.75 seconds, scaling to 1.65/1.8/1.95/2.1/2.25 seconds after traveling for 5 seconds
STUN SCALING :: Previous stun duration reached after 0.75 seconds (when Q reaches Aurelion Sol’s outer limit if he stands still)
Brand
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Passive damage over time decreased.
General
RECOMMENDED ITEMS :: Updated!
Passive - Blaze
DAMAGE PER STACK :: 4% target’s max health over 4 seconds >>> 3% target’s max health over 4 seconds
Cassiopeia
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W cooldown increased late; damage decreased late.
W - Miasma
COOLDOWN :: 18/17/16/15/14 seconds >>> 18/17.5/17/16.5/16 seconds
DAMAGE PER SECOND :: 20/35/50/65/80 >>> 20/30/40/50/60
MAX DAMAGE :: 100/175/250/325/400 >>> 100/150/200/250/300
Galio
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Q damage decreased, cost increased. E damage decreased early.
Q - Winds of War
COST :: 70/75/80/85/90 mana >>> 80/90/100/110/120 mana
WINDBLAST DAMAGE :: 70/110/150/190/230 >>> 70/105/140/175/210
WINDBLAST RATIO :: 0.9 ability power >>> 0.75 ability power
TORNADO RATIO :: 4% target’s max health per 100 ability power >>> 2% target’s max health per 100 ability power (base 6% max health damage unchanged)
E - Justice Punch
DAMAGE :: 100/130/160/190/220 >>> 80/115/150/185/220
Irelia
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Passive bonus damage vs shields removed. Q deals bonus damage to minions instead of double damage. R duration decreased late; damage increased; slow increased; no longer disarms.
Passive - Ionian Fervor
[REM] SHIELD BREAKER :: Irelia no longer deals bonus damage to shields at max stacks
Q - Bladesurge
BONUS DAMAGE VS MINIONS :: Double damage >>> Flat bonus
NUMBERS :: 5/25/45/65/85 (+0.6 total attack damage) >>> 45/60/75/90/105
R - Vanguard’s Edge
DURATION :: 2.5/3/3.5 seconds >>> 2.5 seconds at all ranks
[REM] DISARM :: Enemies who pass through the wall are no longer disarmed
WALL SLOW :: 60% >>> 90%
WALL DAMAGE :: 75/125/175 >>> 125/200/275
Jarvan IV
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E attack speed increased.
E - Demacian Standard
BONUS ATTACK SPEED :: 15/17.5/20/22.5/25% >>> 20/22.5/25/27.5/30% (reminder: Jarvan has this bonus at all times and gains it a second time while near his flag)
Jax
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Attack damage decreased. Q damage decreased early.
Base Stats
ATTACK DAMAGE :: 69.97 >>> 68
Q - Leap Strike
DAMAGE :: 80/120/160/200/240 (+1.0 bonus attack damage) (+0.6 ability power) >>> 65/105/145/185/225 (+1.0 bonus attack damage) (+0.6 ability power)
Kassadin
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Armor decreased.
Base Stats
BASE ARMOR :: 23.376 >>> 19
ARMOR GROWTH :: 3.2 >>> 2.8
Kayn
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Transformation rules are smoother and more intuitive.
Passive - The Darkin Scythe
TRANSFORMATION PROGRESS :: Darkin and Shadow Assassin unlock progress are separate >>> Darkin and Shadow Assassin share unlock progress. When transformation becomes available, the form that unlocks is chosen based on which champion type Kayn dealt more damage to.
TRANSFORMATION THRESHOLD :: 400 points per champion type >>> 500 points from any champion type (offsetting the rate increase from combining transformation progress)
CLOSE CALL :: If Kayn unlocks his transformation when the two forms are near-even, Kayn unlocks the form of the champion type he damaged last
TIME WEIGHTING :: Damage dealt later in the game is still worth more transformation progress but doesn’t count for more in terms of which form Kayn unlocks
[NEW] FASTER OTHER FORM :: Once Kayn’s first form is unlocked, he can continue collecting orbs of the other form’s type to reduce the timer until his second form unlocks
Transformation Clarity
[NEW] COLORING :: Kayn’s transformation bar now changes color based on which champion type Kayn has dealt more damage to
PINGING :: Kayn can now ping various aspects of his passive to his team:
- Pinging the transformation bar tells allies roughly how close Kayn is to transformation (early in the transformation process, midway to transformation, or very near transformation)
- Pinging the “Form available” button tells allies Kayn can transform into that form
- Pinging the “Form unavailable” button tells allies the time remaining before that form unlocks
E - Shadow Step
LET ME GO HOME :: Kayn can now recall before Shadow Step expires as long as he isn’t still in terrain
R - Umbral Trespass
Giving Shadow Assassin Kayn a better shot at escaping sticky situations.
SHADOW ASSASSIN EXIT DASH :: 300 range >>> 300-500 range based on Shadow Assassin Kayn’s cursor position
Bugfixes
MISSTEP :: Fixed a Shadow Step into basic attack into Q - Reaping Slash bug where, if Shadow Step’s buff expired during Q’s cast time (due to the basic attack putting Kayn in combat), Q dealt no damage
NO SHORTCUTS :: Kayn no longer immediately harvests orbs when damaging ranged champions who hadn’t yet damaged him. He’ll now properly wait until exiting combat.
....HIGHLANDER? :: Fixed a bug where Soulhunter Kayn would hear the audio for Master Yi’s R - Highlander forever if he transformed into Rhaast with Master Yi in the game
Neeko
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W clone, haste duration increased; clone travels in target direction rather than pathing to target location. R no longer slows but Neeko lands faster after jumping.
W - Shapesplitter
CLONE AND HASTE DURATION :: 2 seconds >>> 3 seconds (stealth duration still 0.5 seconds)
PATHING :: Neeko’s clone now travels in the target direction until it runs into terrain, rather than pathing to the target location
BUGFIX :: Shapesplitter’s passive once again works on turrets
R - Pop Blossom
[REM] SLOW :: Enemies in Pop Blossom’s radius are no longer slowed by 40%
JUMP TIME :: 0.75 seconds >>> 0.6 seconds
TOOLTIP FIX :: Tooltip now indicates the ability power ratio on Pop Blossom’s shield (actual scaling unchanged)
Ornn
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Health and armor increased.
Base Stats
HEALTH :: 565.64 >>> 590
ARMOR :: 33.04 >>> 36
Rakan
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Armor decreased. W dash speed decreased but activates faster upon reaching the destination.
General
RECOMMENDED ITEMS :: Updated!
Base Stats
ARMOR :: 33 >>> 29
W - Grand Entrance
DASH SPEED :: 2050 (+30% Rakan’s movement speed) >>> 1400 (+45/+80 with un-upgraded/upgraded boots)
EFFECT DELAY :: 0.5 seconds after reaching the destination >>> 0.35 seconds after reaching the destination
OVERALL :: Max-range casts hit slightly later than before; short-range casts hit faster
R - The Quickness
BUGFIX :: Fixed a bug that caused The Quickness to sometimes not affect Rakan’s basic attack target
Shyvana
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Passive bonus damage to dragons increased. E mark damage increased.
Passive - Fury of the Dragonborn
BONUS DAMAGE VS DRAGONS :: 10% >>> 20% (also applies to Vilemaw on Twisted Treeline)
E - Flame Breath
MARK DAMAGE :: 2.5% target’s max health >>> 3.25% target’s max health
Tahm Kench
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Allies in combat with champions can no longer jump into R.
R - Abyssal Voyage
FINISH WHAT YOU STARTED :: Allies in combat with enemy champions can no longer jump into Abyssal Voyage
Urgot
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Armor decreased. Q cost increased. W cooldown increased early.
Base Stats
ARMOR :: 39 >>> 36
Q - Corrosive Charge
COST :: 50 mana >>> 60 mana
W - Purge
COOLDOWN :: 13/12/11/10/9 seconds >>> 17/15/13/11/9 seconds
Volibear
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E bonus damage vs dashing/airborne targets changed to max health. R ratio increased; on-cast lightning happens faster; lightning now bounces instantly.
E - Majestic Roar
BONUS DAMAGE VS DASHING/AIRBORNE TARGETS :: 40/60/80/100/120 (+0.3 ability power) >>> 8% target’s max health
R - Thunder Claws
RATIO :: 0.3 ability power >>> 0.4 ability power
LIGHTNING BOLT ON CAST :: Fires after ||| 0.25 seconds >>> 0.1 second
[REM] BOUNCE DELAY :: Chain lightning no longer takes 0.075 seconds to bounce from one target to the next (it’s now instant)
Yorick
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The Maiden now follows Yorick when he leaves lane. Maiden health scales better with game time. Graves spawn faster late. Mist Walkers and the Maiden no longer deal less damage when far from Yorick.
General
[REM] DECAYED INTENT :: Mist Walkers and the Maiden no longer deal decreased damage when far from Yorick
Passive - Shepherd of Souls
NEARBY ENEMY DEATHS PER GRAVE :: 12/8/4 (at levels 1/7/13), 4 on ARAM >>> 12/6/2 (at levels 1/7/13), 2 on ARAM
MIST WALKER GOLD :: 5 >>> 2
E - Mourning Mist
BUGFIX :: Mist Walkers and the Maiden no longer sometimes fail to target an enemy hit by Mourning Mist
R - Eulogy of the Isles
MAIDEN HEALTH :: 700/1500/4000 (+30% Yorick’s health) >>> 300/1000/3000 (+70% Yorick’s health)
[REM] BROKEN BOND :: The Maiden no longer begins autonomously pushing a lane when far from Yorick. Instead, she’ll leash back to him.
[NEW] GO YOUR OWN WAY :: Yorick can now reactivate Eulogy of the Isles to set the Maiden free, but can’t get her back once he does. She’ll push the nearest lane until she dies.
Zyra
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Mana regen decreased.
Base Stats
MANA REGEN :: 15.335 per 5 seconds >>> 13 per 5 seconds
Evelynn
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Quality of life changes and fixes.
Q - Hate Spike
PRIORITY :: Hate Spike still prioritizes the last champion then the last non-champion Evelynn hit, but now prioritizes the lowest-health champion next (ahead of the lowest-health non-champion)
BUFFERING :: Hate Spike’s recasts can now be buffered up to 0.5 seconds before becoming castable
W - Allure
FIZZLE FIX :: Allure’s cast no longer fizzles if Evelynn loses sight of her target mid-cast
E - Whiplash
EMPOWERED DASH :: No longer occasionally drops Evelynn directly on top of her target
R - Last Caress
[NEW] BUFFERING :: Can now be buffered during Empowered E - Whiplash’s cast
Kled
This one actually went live last patch, but we figured it’s still worth a mention!
E - Jousting
VACUUM :: Jousting through minions is no longer likely to stack them directly on top of each other
Minimap Targeting
Given you’re typically trying to hit something on-screen or just off-screen with these abilities, we’re disabling minimap targeting to avoid miscasts.
MINIMAP TARGETING DISABLED :: Lux’s R - Final Spark, Nami’s R - Tidal Wave, and ARAM’s Mark spell (yeah yeah it’s not a champion ability) no longer use Minimap Targeting. If your cursor is over the minimap when casting one of these, it’ll fire in the target direction instead.
Items
Oblivion Orb
Cost increased, ability power decreased.
COST :: 1500 gold >>> 1600 gold
ABILITY POWER :: 25 >>> 20
Morellonomicon
Ability power decreased.
COMBINE COST :: 650 gold >>> 550 gold (total cost unchanged due to Oblivion Orb cost increase)
ABILITY POWER :: 80 >>> 70
Sunfire Cape
Cost decreased.
COST :: 2900 gold >>> 2750 gold
Runes
Overheal
Ally healing grants less shielding; self-healing grants more shielding late. Shield decays gradually instead of immediately.
ALLY HEAL CONVERSION :: 300% >>> 40-100% (at levels 1-18)
SELF-HEAL CONVERSION :: 40% >>> 40-100% (at levels 1-18)
SHIELD DECAY :: Falls off immediately after 6 seconds >>> After 6 seconds, decays by 2.5% of the max shield value each second
BUGFIX :: Overheal’s tooltips and post-game stats now properly track total damage blocked rather than just the last instance of damage blocked
Legend: Bloodline
Lifesteal per stack decreased; max stacks doubled.
LIFESTEAL PER STACK :: 0.8% >>> 0.6%
MAX STACKS :: 10 >>> 20
MAX LIFESTEAL :: 8% >>> 12%
Cut Down
Bonus damage scales based on percent max health difference rather than flat max health difference. Maximum bonus decreased.
BONUS DAMAGE :: 4%-12% vs targets with 150-2000 more max health than you >>> 4%-10% vs targets with 10%-100% more max health than you
Absolute Focus
Adaptive stats decreased.
ADAPTIVE STATS :: 3-24 attack damage or 5-40 ability power (at levels 1-18) >>> 1.8-18 attack damage or 3-30 ability power (at levels 1-18)
Rune Stats
Adaptive damage decreased. Armor and magic resist increased.
ADAPTIVE DAMAGE :: 10 >>> 9
ARMOR :: 5 >>> 6
MAGIC RESIST :: 6 >>> 8
Summoner Spells
Ignite
Damage and cooldown decreased.
DAMAGE :: 80-505 (at levels 1-18) >>> 70-410 (at levels 1-18)
COOLDOWN :: 210 seconds >>> 180 seconds
Game Pacing
Hand of Baron
Baron buff is weaker in the early game.
SCALING :: Scaling is linear and increments every minute >>> Scaling accelerates over time and increments every second
ATTACK DAMAGE :: 24-48 at 20-40 minutes (36 at 30 minutes) >>> 12-48 at 20-40 minutes (26 at 30 minutes)
ABILITY POWER :: 40-80 at 20-40 minutes (60 at 30 minutes) >>> 20-80 at 20-40 minutes (43 at 30 minutes)
MINION DAMAGE REDUCTION VS CHAMPIONS :: 70% at all times >>> 50%-70% at 20-40 minutes (58% at 30 minutes)
Inhibitor & Nexus Turrets
Inhibitor and Nexus turrets have late-game resistances at all times.
INHIBITOR AND NEXUS TURRET RESISTANCES :: 55-70 armor and magic resist at 31-45 minutes >>> 70 armor and magic resist at all times
Jungle
Jungle Camp Experience
Camp experience scaling decreased. Rift Scuttler gold scaling also decreased.
Small Camps
Experience scales every second level instead of every level; scaling reduced from +50% to +25%.
XP SCALING :: Every level from 1-7 >>> Levels 1/3/5/7
GROMP XP :: 115-172.5 >>> 115-143.75
GREATER MURK WOLF XP :: 65-97.5 >>> 65-81.25
MURK WOLF XP :: 25-37.5 >>> 25-31.25
CRIMSON RAPTOR XP :: 20-30 >>> 20-25
RAPTOR XP :: 20-30 >>> 20-25
ANCIENT KRUG XP :: 100-150 >>> 100-125 <em>(reminder: first clear still grants 30% reduced XP)
KRUG XP :: 35-52.5 >>> 35-43.75
LESSER KRUG XP :: 7-10.5 >>> 7-8.75
Buff Camps
Experience scales every second level instead of every level; scaling reduced from +57% to +25%.
XP SCALING :: Every level from 1-7 >>> Levels 1/3/5/7
RED BRAMBLEBACK :: 115-180 >>> 115-143.75
BLUE SENTINEL :: 115-180 >>> 115-143.75
Rift Scuttler
Gold and experience scaling reduced from +100% to +80%.
GOLD :: 70-140 >>> 70-126
EXPERIENCE :: 115-230 >>> 115-207
Challenging Smite
Damage decreased. No longer grants vision of the target.
DAMAGE VS CHAMPIONS :: 60-162 over 3 seconds (at levels 1-18) >>> 48-125 over 2.5 seconds (at levels 1-18)
[REM] VISION :: Challenging Smite no longer grants vision of the target while the effect is active
Bugfixes
- Jayce’s ranged basic attack animation has been fixed to synchronize with the attack’s actual wind-up and launch
- Kai’Sa can now properly dash to an untargetable enemy with R - Killer Instinct
- Fiora’s W - Riposte now properly blocks Pyke’s R - Death From Below when Fiora is below the execute threshold
- When cast during Q - Lunge, Fiora’s W - Riposte now properly activates in the area designated by the indicator rather than toward the original target position
- When moused over, Lissandra’s Passive - Iceborn Subjugation now properly shows the range within which slain enemies will become Frozen Thralls
- Mordekaiser’s W - Harvester of Sorrow reactivation no longer grants double the intended amount of shielding from his Passive - Iron Man from enemies hit by both zones
- Hail of Blades now properly procs when the first basic attack causes a champion to exit Camouflage (ex. Twitch’s Q - Ambush, Rengar’s R - Thrill of the Hunt)
- Rek’Sai’s Q - Queen’s Wrath attacks now interact properly with Hail of Blades
- Fixed an edge case where Hail of Blades’ cooldown would become unable to reset after selling or refunding a fully charged Dead Man’s Plate
- Nidalee’s basic attack no longer cancels if a Hunt activates mid-attack animation
- Lux’s basic attack no longer cancels if issued the moment W - Prismatic Barrier reaches max range
- Saving multiple highlights from the same game without renaming them no longer causes them to overwrite each other due to all of them using the same default name
- Restored on-hit VFX for Base, High Noon, and PROJECT Yasuo’s Q - Steel Tempest tornado
- Restored missing VFX on Base, High Noon, and PROJECT Yasuo’s E - Sweeping Blade-Q - Steel Tempest combo cast
- Restored missing buff particles on Base and PROJECT Yasuo’s sword after casting R - Last Breath
- Restored missing swipe trails on High Noon and PROJECT Yasuo’s basic attacks
- Restored some missing audio on Kled’s basic attacks while W - Violent Tendencies is on cooldown
Upcoming Skins & Chromas
The following skins will be released this patch:
- Firecracker Vayne
- Firecracker Sejuani
- Coin Emperor Tahm Kench
- Firecracker Vayne Prestige Edition
- Heartpiercer Fiora
- Heartbreaker Vi
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The following chromas will be released this patch:
- Firecracker Sejuani
- Coin Emperor Tahm Kench
- Heartpiercer Fiora
- Heartbreaker Vi
- Lunar Guardian Warwick
- Warring Kingdoms Xin Zhao
- Warring Kingdoms Jarvan IV