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It’s almost Valentine’s Day, so it’s time to show your duo partner and team how much you appreciate them.
To help you do this, Riot is releasing some sweet Valentine’s Day skins for Vi and Fiora, as well as ... bringing critical strike items back to the game? Yes, marksman items are getting a huge facelift this patch to bring back critical strike and also provide some more defensive options for the squishy carries. We’ll see how long it takes before some of these items start shifting to ... other champions, like Yasuo and Tryndamere.
The loading screen for the game is also getting some cool updates, like flipping over the player’s card to see more stats. Neat. Now when your teammates load in on their hamster-fueled potato, you can do other stuff while you wait.
As usual, you can check out the full context of all the notes in Riot Games’ version here and you can read our simplified tl;dr here.
Champions
Aatrox
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Health regen increased. Aatrox no longer heals off damage to non-champions. E no longer stores charges but cools down faster than it previously charged.
Base Stats
HEALTH REGEN :: 5 >>> 8
HEALTH REGEN GROWTH :: 0.25 >>> 0.75
E - Umbral Dash
[REM] HEALING VS NON-CHAMPIONS :: Aatrox no longer heals for 3/3.34/3.75/4.13/4.5% of the damage he deals to non-champions
[REM] CHARGES :: Aatrox no longer stores a charge of Umbral Dash every 26/22/18/14/10 seconds
COOLDOWN :: 3/2.5/2/1.5/1 seconds >>> 9/8/7/6/5 seconds, now reduced by cooldown reduction (CDR previously affected charge rate rather than cooldown)
Akali
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Health regen increased. Q no longer heals. Turrets reveal Akali through Shroud. W cooldown increased late.
Base Stats
HEALTH REGEN :: 3.5 >>> 6
Q - Five Point Strike
[REM] HEAL :: Akali no longer heals for 5/10/15/20/25 (+0.2/0.25/0.3/0.35/0.4 total attack damage) (+0.2/0.25/0.3/0.35/0.4 ability power) if Five Point Strike hits at least one enemy when cast at 180 or more energy
W - Twilight Shroud
[REM] STEALTH FROM TURRETS :: Twilight Shroud no longer prevents turrets from revealing Akali
COOLDOWN :: 21/18.5/16/13.5/11 seconds >>> 21/19/17/15/13 seconds
Camille
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E no longer stuns minions or monsters.
E - Hookshot
[REM] NON-CHAMPION STUN :: Hookshot no longer stuns minions and monsters
Cassiopeia
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Q base damage decreased late; ratio increased. W damage reduced late, cost increased late.
Q - Noxious Blast
BASE DAMAGE :: 75/120/165/210/255 >>> 75/110/145/180/215
RATIO :: 0.8 ability power >>> 0.9 ability power
W - Miasma
COST :: 70 mana at all ranks >>> 70/80/90/100/110 mana
DAMAGE PER SECOND :: 20/30/40/50/60 >>> 20/25/30/35/40
MAX DAMAGE :: 100/150/200/250/300 >>> 100/125/150/175/200
Irelia
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Health growth and armor increased. Passive stack cap increased; stacks grant attack speed instead of damage; max stack bonus grants damage instead of attack speed. Q bonus minion damage increased. W reduces more physical damage but no longer reduces magic damage.
Base Stats
HEALTH GROWTH :: 85 >>> 95
ARMOR :: 34 >>> 36
Passive - Ionian Fervor
PER-STACK :: 4-17 (levels 1-18) (+0.04 bonus attack damage) on-hit damage >>> 8/10/12% (levels 1/7/13) attack speed
STACK CAP :: 4 >>> 5
MAX STACKS :: 16-68 (levels 1-18) (+0.16 bonus attack damage) on-hit damage >>> 40%/50/60% (levels 1/7/13) attack speed
MAX STACK BONUS :: 30/40/50% (levels 1/7/13) attack speed >>> 15-66 (levels 1-18) (+0.25 bonus attack damage) on-hit damage
Q - Bladesurge
BONUS DAMAGE TO MINIONS :: 45/60/75/90/105 >>> 55/75/95/115/135
W - Defiant Dance
DAMAGE REDUCTION :: 40% reduced physical and magic damage >>> 50% reduced physical damage, 0% reduced magic damage
E - Flawless Duet
VISUALS :: Hitbox visuals are easier to see
Champion First Encounter VO
CHECK THE NAMETAG :: Champions with faction- or champion-specific taunt VO now play those lines the first time they encounter a corresponding champion
Marksman Items
[NEW] Cloak of Agility
This is only first because it’d be weird to see it in Infinity Edge and Essence Reaver otherwise. Welcome back, crit cloak.
COST :: 800 gold
CRITICAL STRIKE CHANCE :: 20%
[UPD] Infinity Edge
Increases critical strike damage instead of partially converting crits to true damage. Grants critical strike chance instead of doubling crit chance from other sources.
TOTAL COST :: 3400 gold (unchanged)
BUILD PATH :: B.F. Sword + Pickaxe + 1225 gold >>> B.F. Sword + Pickaxe + Cloak of Agility + 425 gold
ATTACK DAMAGE :: 70 >>> 80
[NEW] CRITICAL STRIKE CHANCE :: 25%
[REM] CRIT CHANCE DOUBLER :: No longer doubles critical strike chance
[NEW] CRIT DAMAGE INCREASE :: Now increases critical strike damage by 25%
[REM] TRUE DAMAGE CONVERSION :: No longer converts 10% of critical strike damage to true damage
Molten Edge
(Ornn’s Masterwork upgrade)
ATTACK DAMAGE :: 100 >>> 110
EVERYTHING ELSE :: Molten Edge inherits the rest of Infinity Edge’s changes above with no differences
[UPD] Essence Reaver
Now grants critical strike chance. No longer grants mana or Essence Flare.
TOTAL COST :: 3000 gold >>> 3200 gold
BUILD PATH :: B.F. Sword + Caulfield’s Warhammer + Sapphire Crystal + 250 gold >>> Pickaxe + Caulfield’s Warhammer + Cloak of Agility + 425 gold
ATTACK DAMAGE :: 75 >>> 60
COOLDOWN REDUCTION :: 20% <em>(unchanged)</em>
CRITICAL STRIKE CHANCE :: 25%
MANA :: No longer grants 300 mana
MANA REFUND :: Basic attacks refund ||| 1% >>> 1.5% missing mana
ESSENCE FLARE :: Your next basic attack after casting your ultimate no longer grants Essence Flare for 6 seconds, granting 50% attack speed and 20% basic ability cooldown refund on basic attack
[NEW] Spear of Shojin
Grants attack damage, health, cooldown reduction, and Awakened Dragon (renamed Essence Flare).
TOTAL COST :: 3400 gold
BUILD PATH :: B.F. Sword + Kindlegem + Long Sword + 950 gold
ATTACK DAMAGE :: 60
HEALTH :: 250
COOLDOWN REDUCTION :: 20%
AWAKENED DRAGON :: Your next basic attack after casting your ultimate grants Awakened Dragon for 6 seconds, granting 50% attack speed and 20% basic ability cooldown refund on basic attack
[UPD] Stormrazor
Now amplifies your Energized effects and causes them to slow the target. No longer grants a guaranteed critical strike after not basic attacking for a few seconds.
TOTAL COST :: 2800 gold >>> 3100 gold
BUILD PATH :: B.F. Sword + Long Sword + Long Sword + Dagger + 550 gold >>> B.F. Sword + Long Sword + Kircheis Shard + 850 gold
ATTACK DAMAGE :: 60 >>> 55
ATTACK SPEED :: 35% >>> 25%
[NEW] ENERGIZED :: Movement and basic attacks generate Energized stacks. At 100 stacks, your next basic attack deals 65 bonus magic damage on-hit and slow the target by 40% decaying over 1 second
[NEW] STORM :: Your other Energized effects are 30% more effective and also slow their targets by 40% decaying over 1 second
[REM] STORM’S EDGE :: No longer causes your next basic attack to critically strike for 140-200% (at 0-30% critical strike chance) and grant 20% bonus movement speed for 0.75 seconds after not basic attacking for a few seconds.
[UPD] Phantom Dancer
Now grants a shield at low health but no longer decreases damage from the last champion you hit. Spectral Waltz now triggers on attack rather than proximity to an enemy champion.
TOTAL COST :: 2700 gold >>> 2600 gold
BUILD PATH :: Dagger + Zeal + Dagger + 800 gold >>> Dagger + Brawler’s Gloves + Zeal + 700 gold (Zeal’s cost has decreased by 100 gold)
ATTACK SPEED :: 45% >>> 30%
CRITICAL STRIKE CHANCE :: 30% >>> 25%
[NEW] LIFELINE :: If you would take damage that would reduce your health below 30%, gain a shield that absorbs up to 240-600 (scaling starts at level 9, ends at level 18) damage for 2 seconds (90 second cooldown)
[REM] LAMENT :: No longer decreases damage taken from the last champion you basic attacked by 12%
SPECTRAL WALTZ :: Grants unit passthrough and 7% movement speed ||| while within 550 range of a visible enemy champion >>> for 2 seconds after basic attacking a champion
Kircheis Shard
TOTAL COST :: 800 gold >>> 600 gold
Zeal
TOTAL COST :: 1300 gold >>> 1200 gold
Rapid Firecannon
TOTAL COST :: 2800 gold >>> 2600 gold
CRITICAL STRIKE CHANCE :: 30% >>> 25%
Runaan’s Hurricane
TOTAL COST :: 2800 gold >>> 2600 gold
CRITICAL STRIKE CHANCE :: 30% >>> 25%
Statikk Shiv
Shiv needed a little extra buff to bring it up to the level of the other Zeal upgrades.
TOTAL COST :: 2800 gold >>> 2600 gold
ATTACK SPEED :: 35% >>> 40%
CRITICAL STRIKE CHANCE :: 30% >>> 25%
Last Whisper
Cost increased. Attack damage and armor penetration increased.
COST :: 1300 gold >>> 1450 gold
ATTACK DAMAGE :: 10 >>> 20
ARMOR PENETRATION :: 10% total armor penetration >>> 20% total armor penetration
Lord Dominik’s Regards
ATTACK DAMAGE :: 40 >>> 45
Mortal Reminder
ATTACK DAMAGE :: 40 >>> 45
Build Suggestions
We’re changing a lot of marksman items this patch, which means marksman builds may look a bit different. We’re sharing a few build archetypes you can expect to see this patch, though actual builds will look different from one champion to the next (unique builds aren’t covered here—how’s it going, Ezreal?). The best thing to do is, as always, think critically about which items fit your champion’s playstyle and strengths. That said, here are a couple common builds you’ll see this patch:
INFINITY EDGE :: Infinity Edge -> Berserker’s Greaves -> Zeal Upgrade -> Zeal upgrade or Last Whisper upgrade
ESSENCE REAVER :: Essence Reaver -> Berserker’s Greaves -> Zeal upgrade -> Infinity Edge
BLADE OF THE RUINED KING (CRIT) :: Blade of the Ruined King -> Berserker’s Greaves -> Runaan’s Hurricane -> Infinity Edge
BLADE OF THE RUINED KING (ON-HIT) :: Blade of the Ruined King -> Berserker’s Greaves -> Guinsoo’s Rageblade -> Rapid Firecannon
STORMRAZOR :: Stormrazor’s no longer the must-rush marksman item. You’ll mostly see it as a third or fourth pickup in other builds.
RECOMMENDED ITEMS :: Marksman recommended items have been updated based on this patch’s changes to provide in-game advice on a champ-by-champ basis
Simple Buffs & Nerfs
This is a new section of the patch notes where we’re gonna stick simple, straightforward changes—generally small handfuls of number tunings rather than mechanical adjustments or comprehensive balance passes. They still impact matchups and place in the meta, so this isn’t a free pass to skip reading ‘em!
Lissandra
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Q cost increased late. E damage decreased late.
Q - Ice Shard
COST :: 60/63/66/69/72 mana >>> 60/65/70/75/80 mana
E - Glacial Path
DAMAGE :: 70/115/160/205/250 >>> 70/105/140/175/210
CLARITY :: Glacial Path’s endpoint now shows through terrain, fog of war, and brush to enemies within 600 range of it
Sion
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Q damage decreased. W cooldown increased early.
Q - Decimating Smash
MINIMUM DAMAGE :: 30/50/70/90/110 >>> 20/40/60/80/100
FULL-CHARGE DAMAGE :: 90/150/210/270/330 >>> 60/120/180/240/300
W - Soul Furnace
COOLDOWN :: 11 seconds at all ranks >>> 15/14/13/12/11 seconds
Zyra
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Plant damage decreased.
General
PLANT DAMAGE :: 24-109 (levels 1-18) >>> 20-100 (levels 1-18)
Minion and Monster Gold Bounties
Dying while behind in farm delays how quickly you accrue a minion and monster gold bounty after respawning.
FARMING SUBSIDIES :: If you die with less minion and monster gold than the enemy team’s average, you’ll respawn with a buffer equal to the difference. You won’t start accruing a minion and monster gold bounty until you’ve used up the buffer.
WHAT? :: Say you die with 200 less minion and monster gold than the enemy team’s average, then go back to lane and power farm 700 gold while the enemy team only averages 300 gold. Previously, you’d have a 100 gold bounty for having 400 more minion and monster gold than the enemy team’s average. Now you won’t have a bounty at all because your first 200 gold was erased by the buffer.
REMINDER :: The enemy team’s average is their total minion and monster gold divided by four, not five (top, mid, and bot lane, plus the jungle)
Loading Screen Update
The loading screen’s getting a visual refresh this patch to bring its look and feel in line with current League aesthetics and to lay the groundwork for new features down the road. Here are a few functional changes coming with the update:
- Ranked borders now dynamically update to reflect your current rank
- Load-in progress is now tracked via a single bar at the bottom of the screen
- Clicking a player’s card in the loading screen now flips it to show additional info:
- Teammates: Champion mastery, honor, and ranked armor or level border depending on which they’ve chosen to display
- Opponents: Champion mastery and honor
Bugfixes
- LeBlanc’s Q - Sigil of Malice and Mimic’d Q - Sigil of Malice mark is no longer consumed when E - Ethereal Chains, Mimic’d E - Ethereal Chains, or Mimic’d Q - Sigil of Malice would proc the mark but are blocked by a spell shield
- Relic Shield no longer reports twice the amount of gold generated from Spoils of War in the post-game screen
- Base Aatrox can once again toggle his banner wings
- Firecracker Vayne Prestige Edition’s E - Condemn projectile color has been slightly changed to disambiguate it from her R - Final Hour basic attacks
- Nightbringer Yasuo’s R - Last Breath voiceover has been restored
- Choosing a new background for your profile once again immediately updates it rather than requiring you to tab out and tab back into your profile
Upcoming Skins & Chromas
The following skins will be released this patch:
- Heartpiercer Fiora
- Heartbreaker Vi
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The following chromas will be released this patch:
- Heartpiercer Fiora
- Heartbreaker Vi