The world of League of Legends is about to be shaken up once again with the upcoming launch of League Patch 14.4. This major patch is set to introduce impactful champion and item changes that will drastically alter the current meta.
In the 14.4 patch notes preview released by Riot Games, some massive changes for underpowered and overpowered champions were revealed. From nerfs to champions who have been dominating ranked play, to buffs for struggling champions, the devs are making moves to improve overall game balance.
Champion Buffs
In the LoL Patch Notes v14.4, Ahri is getting increases in her health growth and her Orb of Deception ability power ratio, Jayce has struggled recently but is seeing base attack damage improvements, mana restores and damage boosts to his Lightning Field. The ADC Kai’Sa is also benefiting, with the range on her Killer Instinct ultimate receiving a considerable increase,
Support champions are seeing buffs as well, with Lulu receiving boosted damage and shielding on Help, Pix, thresh is getting starting armor, and Flay damage improvements to make him more formidable in the bot lane duo fights, and more!
Ahri
Base Stats:
- Health Growth: 96 ⇒ 104
Orb of Deception Q: AP Ration: 45% AP ⇒ 50% AP
Jayce
Base Stats:
- Base AD: 57⇒ 59
Lighning Field W:
- Mana Restore: 10/12/14/16/18/20 ⇒ 15/17/19/21/23/25
- Damage: 35/50/65/80/95/110 ⇒ 40/55/70/85/100/115
Thundering Blow E: (NEW) Mirrors Lee Sin Ultimate Functionality
Kai’Sa
Killer Instinct R: Cast Range: 1500/2250/3000 ⇒ 2000/2500/3000
Lulu
Glitterance Q: Doublehit Damage: 25% ⇒ 50%
Help, Pix E:
- Damage: 80/120/160/200/240 ⇒ 80/125/170/215/260
- Shield: 75/115/155/195/235 ⇒ 80/125/170/215/260
Renekton
Cull the Meek Q: Champion Healing: 12-36 (+15% Base AD) ⇒ 12-44 (+17% Base AD)
Slice and Dice E: Cooldown: 16-12 ⇒ 16-10
Dominus Dominus R: Bonus Health: 250-550 ⇒ 300-700
Soraka
Salvation Passive: Movement Speed: 70% ⇒ 90%
Starcall Starcall Q: Heal: 50-110 ⇒ 60-120
Wish Wish R: Cooldown: 160-130 ⇒ 150-120
Thresh
Base Stats:
- Base Armor: 28 ⇒ 31
Flay Flay E: Damage: 75-235 ⇒ 75-255
The Box R: Cooldown: 140-100 ⇒ 120-80
Volibear
Thundering Smash Q: Movement Speed: 8-24 ⇒ 12-32
Sky Splitter E: Cooldown: 13 ⇒ 12
Stormbringer R:
- Turret Disable: 3-5s ⇒ 2-4s
- Cooldown: 160-120 ⇒ 130-100
- REMOVED: CC Immunity (Still Unstoppable)
Also Read: LoL New Items: All You Need To Know About The New Lethality Items
Champion Nerfs
Aurelion Sol, Bard, Fiora, Illaoi, Kalista, Maokai, Varus, and Zyra are all receiving targeted nerfs in League Patch 14.4. Aurelion Sol’s damage is being reduced while Bard’s base stats and abilities are being lowered. Fiora’s crowd control is being toned down and Illaoi’s passive damage output is and more!
Aurelion Sol
Breath of Light Q: Bonus Magic Damage Pers 1s: 60-100 (+35% AP) ⇒ 55-95 (+30% AP)
Bard
Base Stats:
- Armor Growth: 5.2 ⇒ 5
- Attack Speed: .625 ⇒ .658
Traveler’s Call Passive: Damage: 35 + 14/5 Chimes (+30% AP) ⇒ 35 + 10/5 Chimes (+40%AP)
Cosmic Binding Q: Damage: 80-260 (+65% AP) ⇒ 80-240 (+80% AP)
Fiora
Riposte W: Attack Speed Slow: 50% ⇒ 25%
Illaoi
Prophet of an Elder God Passive: Damage: 9-162 (+115% Total AD) ⇒ 9-182 (+100% Total AD)
Kalista
Rend E:
- Base Damage: 20-60 (+70% Total AD) ⇒ 10-50 (+70% Total AD) [Per-stack Damage Unchanged]
Bugfix: Boots of Speed now properly affect passive dash distance.
Maokai
Base Stats:
- Base Armor: 39 ⇒ 35
Bramble Smash Q: Damage: 70-270 (+2-4% Max HP) ⇒ 65-265 (+2-4% Max HP)
Nature’s Grasp R: Root Duration: 0.8-2.6 ⇒ 0.75-2.25
Urgot
Hullbreaker Works properly now
Varus
Base Stats:
- Base AD: 62 ⇒ 60
Zyra
Garden of Thorns Passive:
- Plant Damage: 20-88 (+18% AP) ⇒ 16-84 (+18% AP)
- Bonus Monster Damage: 40-100 ⇒ 60-100
Champion Adjustments
Rek’Sai, the void burrower, is also being reworked. The developers want to transition Rek’Sai away from being an assassin who relies on quickly one-shotting enemies. To do this, they have increased her W cooldown but adjusted the ability’s damage to give her more sustained brawling power. Rek’Sai’s ultimate is also being changed to be more reliable in team fights.
K’Sante
Base Stats:
- Base Health: 570 ⇒ 625
- Base Mana: 290 ⇒ 320
Path Maker W: Armor/MR Ratio: 50% ⇒ 85%
All Out R:
- REMOVED: Q no longer slows
- REMOVED: W no longer has faster CD or Cast Time
E Dash Speed: 20-40%
Rek’Sai
Intention here is to move Rek’Sai into more of a fighter and less of a one-shot Assassin. We’re cautiously returning Rek’Sai’s AOE knock-up and monitoring how that goes. This also involves moving some damage types into magic to reduce the potency of lethality on her a bit.
Smolder
Super Scorcher Breath Q: Target dying while the missile is in flight still grants a stack 125 Stacks Number of Missiles: 2 + 1% Dragon Practice Stacks ⇒ 1 + 1.5% Dragon Practice Stacks
Achooo! W:
- Cooldown: 13-11 ⇒ 14-10
- Base Damage: 70-150 (+25% Total AD) (+35% AP) ⇒ 50-170 (25% Bonus AD) (+20% AP) Explosion Damage: 25-85 (+65% AP) ⇒ 25-85 (+25% Bonus AD) (+80% AP)
Mmooommm! R:
Will cast even if Smolder dies during cast time
Also Read: LoL Best Support Champions In Patch 14.2
Item and System Buffs
Several core item purchases for fighters and marksmen are receiving sizable boosts this patch. Black Cleaver is getting its armor shred stacks faster and the movement speed passive is becoming more reliable. Ravenous Hydra‘s active will now benefit much more from lifestyle, and Stridebreaker is also gaining some needed mobility enhancements.
Black Cleaver
Shred Cap: 24% in 6 hits ⇒ 25% in 5 hits
Recipe: Kinglegem + Long Sword ⇒ Warhammer + Ruby Crystal
Passive Movement Speed: Now applies even if damage is mitigated
Passive Movement Speed: Ranged champions receive full power
Ravenous Hydra
NEW: Active benefits from 150% of lifesteal
Stridebreaker
Passive Movement Speed: Now applies even if damage is mitigated Active Movement Speed Decay: 1.5s ⇒ 3.0s (Has a buff icon now)
Terminus
Stack Cap: 5 each ⇒ 3 each
Max Armor/MR: 15-25 ⇒ 18-24
Recipe: Dagger ⇒ Second Recurve Bow
Fountain Regeneration
Max Health Regeneration Per 1s: 8.4% ⇒ 10.4%
Item and System Adjustments
The rune Lethal Tempo is receiving adjustments to make it more accessible for melee champions. The attack speed per stack has been changed to scale better for close-range fighters.
Several support items are being tweaked as well. Gold generation is being slowed down slightly but charges will come online sooner. Enchanter items like Bloodsong are having their ranged power reduced too.
Lethal Tempo
Melee Attack Speed Per Stack: 9-13.5% ⇒ 5-16%
Hubris
VFX Changes
Support Items:
Charge Rate: 18s ⇒ 20s
First Charge: 2:08 ⇒ 1:50
Bloodsong
Ranged Amplification: 6% ⇒ 5%
Solstice Sleigh
Health: 120 ⇒ 7% Max HP
Movement Speed: 90, decaying over 4s ⇒ 30%, decaying over 3s
Zaz’Zak’s Realmspike
Damage: 50 (+15% AP) (+3% Max HP) ⇒ 20 (+20% AP) (+4% Max HP)
Cooldown: 9-6 (linear) ⇒ 8/7/6 (1/11/16)
Also Read: How to Change Regions in LoL
Conclusion
The LoL Patch Notes v14.4 is set to seriously shake up the current state of the game’s meta. With massive champion changes like Jayce gaining new mechanics and Kai’Sa receiving an expanded range and impactful item adjustments like Ravenous Hydra lifesteal buffs, the ripple effects will be felt across all levels of play.
Some champions like Soraka, Thresh, and Volibear seem primed to make big jumps up the tier lists with their substantial buffs. On the other hand, nerfs to dominant champs like Aurelion Sol, Bard, and Kalista should knock them down a peg. The devs have made it clear their goal is to improve overall game balance, not just shift power around.
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