5 things to know about League of Legends patch 9.14

League of Legends patch 9.14 is here, and has plenty of changes all around. There’s a massive Teamfight Tactics update that came along with this patch, but here we’re focusing on the changes coming to Summoner’s Rift.

Riot’s biggest change with this patch is the introduction of counters. These are champions who are given specific bonuses to help them counter certain elements of the game. For example, Rekenton’s W, and Blitzcrank’s ultimate will now take away enemy shields, helping them counter champions like Janna. There are quite a few of these introduced this patch, including counters to healing, mobility, and damage in general.

This patch also includes some pretty massive balance adjustments for champions. Aatrox and Akali are both getting some big changes, like the removal of Aatrox’s revive, and the removal of Akali’s true sight-proof stealth. But they aren’t the only one’s getting updates. Champions like Sylas, Pyke, Ryze, Nidalee, and a whole host of others are also getting balance changes.

To see everything that’s changing in patch 9.14 you can check out the patch notes. You can also see a summary of the biggest changes coming to Teamfight Tactics, as well as the full TFT patch notes.

Hard counters have been introduced

For the first time, Riot is taking a new and very specific path to introduce gameplay counters. There are now a few champions that have gotten stat buffs to help them counter certain parts of the game. Shielding is now countered by Blitzcrank and Renekton, Healing is counted by Katarina and Kled, Leona and Fizz take less damage than other champions, Karma and LeBlanc now have true sight, and Ahri, Cassiopeia, and Poppy are now better at stopping movement and grounding units.

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Aatrox can’t revive anymore

Aatrox has enjoyed a premier spot in the top lane every since his rework. In Riot’s ongoing quest to bring him in line with the rest of the champions in the role, he’s now being dealt his biggest blow yet: losing his revive. The revive mechanic on his ultimate, which allows him to take lethal damage and come back to life, has been part of Aatrox’s kit since his original launch, but its removal should help make him a more manageable champion on the whole, without actually removing too much of his power.

Akali got an even bigger nerf

Speaking of champions who seem perpetually too strong, Akali is also getting nerfed this patch. Unlike previous patches, where she was nerfed all around, this patch takes a slightly more detailed look at her abilities and adds and subtracts in a few different places. Her base stats are stronger, her Twilight Shroud has a lower cooldown early, but she’s now revealed by true sight. The biggest overall nerf is an increase to the cooldown of her ultimate at every level.

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There’s a new, more detailed Death Recap

Figuring out what killed you and how to avoid it is one of the most important ways to get better at League of Legends. Unfortunately, the game’s Death Recap has never made that easy. To help out with that issue, Riot is releasing a new and improved Death Recap that will do a better job of breaking down your final moments and should give players a much better idea of what went wrong and how to fix it.

Demacia Vice Skins

A little over a year after they were first shown off at the LCS Spring Finals in Miami, League’s Demacia Vice skins are finally here. Both Garen and Lucian are getting these 80s Miami Vice-inspired skins and bringing a little neon into Summoner’s Rift.

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