Is the ganking meta ending? – League Patch 13.3 Preview

Riot Games is pushing out more tentative changes to shift the League meta, with major changes to junglers and supports in Patch 13.3.

Image Credits | Riot Games

League Patch 13.3 will focus on jungle and support changes

Riot announced some adjustments and buffs to engager supports, which have slowly faded away from the meta. With the hope of bringing them back, the balance team is giving better stats, scaling, and lower mana costs across various champions. Not only that but there will be a big tweak to Radiant Virtue to nerf its presence across all roles. Riot’s goal is to make ganking increase the trade off between ganks and farm as ganking junglers are having too much impact currently.

Aside from these changes, Riot will finally release the Ahri ASU and Annie buffs that were promised in the previous patch. Given the most recent social engineering attack done to Riot, the updates were pushed back in the schedule.

Regarding the skins, we should be getting the ones to celebrate Valentine’s Day: Heartache and Heartthrob lineups. While the numbers aren’t currently out yet, here is a list of all champions and items that should receive some tweaks in League Patch 13.3, which should hit live servers on Feb. 8.

Update (Feb. 1): now that we have got the full list of changes, we can go make a better analysis of what’s going to happen. The most significant changes are the Umbral Glaive and Radiant Virtue nerfs: we should progressively see them less present across the board. Not only that but Lee Sin and Leblanc seem to get the best buffs of the patch. Considering that they’re still quite popular, the changes will buff up their win rate and play rate.

The turret damage increase is also substantial: it will be much harder to dive in the first few minutes of the game, giving weaker lanes more time to breathe and scale. Bully ADCs paired with ranged supports might slowly phase out of the meta. That said, the shift won’t be immediate, as there seems to be good balance in this upcoming patch.

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League Patch 13.3 patch changes

Champions

Ahri

• ASU hit live servers.
• Changes from 12.9, 12.17, and 12.21 returned to live:
  • Q mana cost: 60-100 >>> 55-95, AP ratio 45% >>> 40%.
  • E cooldown: 14 seconds >>> 12 seconds, Charm duration; 1.2-2 seconds >>> 1.4-2 seconds.
  • R cooldown: 140-90 seconds >>> 130-80 seconds.

Alistar

• Passive self heal: 23-142 (based on level) >>> 5% max HP.
• Ally heal: 46−284 (based on level) >>> 6% max HP.
• Q mana cost: 55-75 >>> 50-70, AP ratio: 50% >>> 70%.
• W mana cost: 65-85 >>> 50-70, AP ratio: 70% >>> 90%.
• E mana cost: 50-90 >>> 50-70, AP ratio per tick: four % AP >>> seven %, maximum AP ratio: 40% >>> 70%.

Amumu

• [Q] Bandage Toss mana cost: 40/45/50/55/60 >>> 45/50/55/60/65
• [E] Tantrum damage: 80/110/140/170/200 >>> 65/100/135/170/205

Annie

• Mana regeneration growth: 0.8 >>> 1.
• Passive now gains maximum stacks upon game start and respawn.
• E now damages targets once per shield (Tibbers’ shield is counted separately). Now damages targets from all damage sources, instead of only basic attacks. Shield AP ratio: 35% >>> 55%. Base damage: 20-60 >>> 25-65. Damage AP ratio: 25% >>> 40%.
• Tibbers HP now scales with 75%, resists: 30-90 >>> 30-90 (+5% AP), movement speed: 350 at all ranks >>> 350-400.

Azir

• R soldiers will now properly collide with enemies even if Azir dies during the ability’s cast time.

Braum

• Base HP regeneration: 8.5 >>> 10
• Base HP: 610 >>> 640.
• Passive cooldown interval: levels 1-13 >>> 1-11.
• Q cooldown: 10-6 >>> 8-6 seconds.

Jarvan IV (likely pulled back)

• Base armor: 34 >>> 36
• [W] Golden Aegis adjustments:
  • Cooldown: 9 >>> 8 seconds
  • Shield duration: 5 >>> 4 seconds
  • Shield now has a +90% bAD ratio

Jax

• Default skin R has shield visual effect restored and improved hit sound effect
  • Now will properly play all sound effects.
• Nemesis Jax now has lightning visual effects added to R.
• God Staff Jax now has sparkle and spike visual effects added to R.
  • Adjusted cape animation has reduced stiffness.
  • Jax will no longer return to his idle animation between attacks.
• Mecha Kingdoms Jax now has ember explosion visual effects added to R.
  • Adjusted visual effects for on-hit attacks.
  • R sound effects will now properly play.
• Conqueror Jax will now have spike visual effects added >>> R.
• Prestige Conqueror Jax will now have spike visual effects added >>> R.

Kayn

• [P-SA] The Darkin Scythe bonus magic damage: 13-40% >>> 15-45% of post-mitigation damage
• [Q] Reaping Slash damage: 75/95/115/135/155 (+65% bAD) >>> 70/90/110/130/150 (+80% bAD) (This buff does not benefit Rhaast’s version of Reaping Slash)

Kayle

• Passive Divine Ascent Exalted move speed: 8% >>> 10%
• E – Starfire Spellblade buffs:
  • [E-P] Passive on-hit AP ratio: 20% >>> 25%
  • Target’s missing HP damage: 8/8.5/9/9.5/10% >>> 8/9/10/11/12%

Kassadin

• [E] Force Pulse nerfs:
  • Cooldown reduction for nearby spell casts: 1 >>> 0.75 seconds
  • Damage: 80/105/130/155/180 >>> 60/90/120/150/180
• [R] Riftwalk damage: 80/100/120 >>> 70/90/110 (damage per stack also reduced)

K’Sante

• [Q3] Ntofo Strikes nerfs:
  • Knockup duration: 1 >>> 0.65 seconds
  • Stun duration: 1-1.25 (fuzzy duration) >>> 1 second flat
• [W] Path Maker minimum stun duration: 0.35/0.45/0.55/0.65/0.75 >>> 0.3/0.35/0.4/0.45/0.5 seconds
• [R] All Out bonus resistances lost: 65% >>> 85

LeBlanc

• Mana regeneration per 5 seconds increased 6 >>> 8
• Mana regeneration per level increased 0.8 >>> 1
• [Q] Sigil of Malice mana cost reduced 50/55/60/65/70 >>> 50 flat
• [R] Mimic cooldown reduced 60/45/30 >>> 50/40/30 seconds

Lee Sin

• [Q1/Q2] Sonic Wave/Resonating Strike bAD ratio: 100% >>> 120%
• [E1] Tempest damage: 100/130/160/190/220 (+100% bAD) >>> 35/55/75/95/115 (+110% tAD)
• [E2] Cripple slow: 20/30/40/50/60% >>> 20/35/50/65/80%

Nautilus

• Q base damage: 8-110 >>> 4-116 (based on level).
• W mana cost: 80 >>> 60, base shield: 40-80 >>> 50-90.
• E base damage: 55-175 >>> 55-195, AP ratio: 30% >>> 50%.

Pantheon (pulled back)

• Base attack speed: 0.644 >>> 0.658.
• Q mana cost decreased from 30 >>> 25, cooldown: 13-8 >>> 11-7.

Pyke (pulled back)

• Q bonus AD ratio: 60 % >>> 100% bonus AD.
• E base damage: 105-225 >>> 105-265.

Rakan (pulled back)

• Q base damage: 70-250 >>> 70-290, base damage AP ratio: 70% >>> 90%.
• Base heal: 30-115 >>> 40-210 (based on level).
• R AP ratio: 70% >>> 80%.

Thresh (pulled back)

• Passive AP per soul: one >>> 1.25, passive armor per soul: one >>> 1.25.
• Q base damage: 100-260 >>> 100-280, AP ratio: 50% AP >>> 75%.
• W cooldown: 22-16 >>> 21-17.
• E cooldown: 13-10 >>> 12-10, AP ratio: 40% >>> 60%.

Trundle

• Dance now scales with move speed
• [W] Frozen Domain cooldown: 18/17/16/15/14 >>> 16/15/14/13/12 seconds

Zac

• [W] Unstable Matter AP ratio: 4% per 100 AP >>> 3% per 100 AP
• [E] Elastic Slingshot damage: 60/110/160/210/260 (+90% AP) >>> 60/105/150/195/240 (+80% AP)

Items

Archangel’s Staff

• Now limited to one Lifeline item.

Radiant Virtue

• Cooldown: 60 >>> 90 seconds.
• New effect: Upon casting your ultimate you Transcend for eight seconds, increasing your maximum HP by 15 %. While Transcended, you and allies within 1200 units heal for five % of your maximum HP upon Transcending and every four seconds thereafter.
• Removed: Upon casting your ultimate you Transcend for 9 seconds, increasing your maximum HP by 10 %. While Transcended, you and allies within 1200 units gain 20 basic ability haste and heal for two % of your maximum HP upon Transcending and every three seconds thereafter. Ally healing is increased by up to 100 % based on their missing HP.

System changes

Overheal

• Base shield: 10 at all levels >>> 20-300 (based on level).
• Removed: Shield no longer scales with maximum HP.

Tenacity

• Most sources of tenacity will now stack multiplicatively together, resulting in a general nerf to Tenacity stacking

• Blackout nerfs:
  • Cooldown increased 40 >>> 50 seconds
  • No longer instantly kills traps
  • Bonus damage to wards reduced 2 >>> 2/1 (melee/ranged)

Early jungle ganking

• Treat gold reduced 30 >>> 20 gold
• Experience from large monsters increased: 75 >>> 85
• Stealth Ward trinket cooldown reduced 240-120 >>> 210-120 seconds
• Tower damage increased 162-344 >>> 182-350 (based on 0-14 minutes)

Skins – Coming soon!

Update (Feb. 1): added exact numbers, pulled back Pantheon, Thresh, Rakan and Pyke.

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