5 things to know in League of Legends patch 8.16

Another week, another League of Legends patch. But this isn’t any ordinary eight-point-whatever patch. No, 8.16 brings a new game mode onto the live servers for testing. Nexus Blitz will be available for everyone to check out this patch, which should be very exciting for folks who don’t have PBE access.

Of course, there are also plenty of other League changes here. Zoe is getting hit with the nerf bat again. Tanks are getting some much-needed buffs, and runes are getting even more changes. Believe it or not, the season is winding down, which means we only have a few more of these before it’s time for the Worlds patch.

But not everything is all serious balance changes and new game modes in League of Legends-land. We also have new skins to look forward to in this patch. 8.16 marks a historic day in League of Legends: Aurelion Sol’s first skin since he was released well over two years ago.

Here are the five things you need to know about League of Legends patch 8.16. For a complete list of patch changes, check out our post.

1. Nexus Blitz Alpha test is here

Nexus Blitz is coming to the live client with patch 8.16 and while we’ve already done some testing, you can now check it out for yourself ... and you probably should. This is the first of many planned tests for the Nexus Blitz mode because Riot wants to make sure that if it adds a new permanent mode to the game, people really like it. So when this goes live, jump in and check out League’s newest mode, then tell Riot what you think.

2. Zoe got a lot of nerfs

Zoe is one of the most fun champions in all of League of Legends (don’t @ me), but playing against her can be a bit of a drag. In Meddler’s most recent Quick Gameplay Thoughts post, he shared that Riot is actively looking at ways to make Zoe a little more fun to play against, but for now it looks like balance changes are going to have to suffice. So in patch 8.16, Zoe is getting a baseline nerf to every part of her passive, More Sparkles!, that will cause it to do less damage at every stage of the game.

3. Tanks are back

As Riot described in the patch notes, Tanks have been ... to put it nicely, very bad, for the past several patches. Riot has gone in and made some changes to a few of League’s notable, beefy champs. Amumu, Leona, Nautilus, Rammus, Sion and Tahm Kench are all getting some tank love, usually in the form of active mitigation. For example, one of the simplest changes is that the cooldown on Leona’s shield now goes down as the ability is leveled. On a more complex note, Nautilus’ shield cooldown, duration, scaling and base have all changed, moving to let him shield more frequently for less power. In both cases, tanks should be a bit more active, and more powerful in this patch.

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4. Burst Rune changes are probably for the best

There are a ton of changes here, but you can pretty safely just think of this as a nerf to the overall amount of damage present in League of Legends. Six different runes are getting changes — Summon Aery, Electrocute, Celerity, Cheap Shot, Sudden Impact and Scorch — and each one is getting a little damage shaved off the top. While this may sound like bad news, the damage creep in the game has gotten pretty absurd and this is likely just the first of many steps toward getting damage back to a more manageable place. And hey, don’t think of it as killing enemies slower, think of it as you and your team getting to live longer.

5. New skins for Aurelion Sol, Ashe, Lulu, Xin Zhao and Braum

League of Legends is a fun game all about good gameplay ... but then there are skins. Beautiful, handsome, robo-dragon skins. Another League patch means even more of these delightful things will be hitting the shop. This time around, we have Mafia Braum, Mecha Aurelion Sol, Cosmic Enchantress Lulu, Cosmic Defender Xin Zhao, and Cosmic Queen Ashe. Each skin will also have a chroma available immediately as well!

As if that wasn’t enough, the Your Shop feature will be making a return in this patch. Maybe you’ll get lucky with one of these new friends being offered up on the cheap!

Riot Games