What’s New in LoL: Breaking down the Patch 14.5 Notes

The League of Legends community welcomed patch 14.5, a major update eagerly awaited by gamers everywhere. 

This patch introduces a fresh wave of changes and improvements, which is a big deal for players keen on keeping their gameplay sharp and competitive. 

The update is more than just a simple software refresh. It’s about honing your strategies, exploring new opportunities, and adapting to the ever-changing gaming environment.

Champion Changes

In the patch 14.5 notes, we see a mix of buffs, nerfs, and adjustments targeting various champions. 

These changes aim to balance gameplay, ensuring every player gets a fair shot at victory. Let’s dive into how these updates might shake up the League.

Buffs

Several champions received buffs, making them more formidable on the battlefield:

Rek’Sai’s attack windup time has been reduced, making her quicker and deadlier in skirmishes. This could mean she’ll be a more popular pick for those who like to be aggressive early in the game.

 

Kayn, particularly in his Darkin form, now enjoys increased healing, potentially extending his presence in prolonged fights. This change might encourage players to lean towards Darkin over Shadow Assassin.

 

 

Kog’Maw’s adjustments include faster movement and more impactful abilities, which could bring him back into the spotlight as a preferred ADC.

 

 

Jarvan IV’s armor growth and Q cooldown reduction promise a sturdier presence and more frequent spear thrusts. This could increase his pick rate as a versatile jungler or top laner.

 

Sivir gets a boost in base armor, potentially strengthening her early-game resilience against poke and trade-offs in the bot lane. Expect Sivir to stand her ground more sturdily during skirmishes.

 

Veigar and Vex receive damage upgrades on their Q and passive abilities, respectively. Veigar’s dark matter is now even more threatening, while Vex’s shadowy flair will pack a punch, especially against agile foes, possibly seeing them emerge more in the mid-lane picks.

Wukong undergoes a tweak to his passive, which could enhance his dueling potency in the laning phase and his jungle clearing efficiency by adjusting the stack mechanics for better early-game engagements.

These buffs are set to empower underused champions, possibly introducing new strategies for teams.

Nerfs

On the flip side, some champions are getting toned down:

Twisted Fate and Vayne are receiving significant nerfs. Twisted Fate’s damage and attack speed have been reduced, which might lower his dominance in the lane. Vayne’s nerf, focusing on her mobility and early-game aggression, could change how she fits into team compositions.

 

Yorick’s ghouls will deal less damage, and his Maiden is less tanky against AoE attacks. This adjustment might impact his split-pushing capabilities.

 

Bel’Veth’s nerf to her E damage reduction, and passive bug fix might curb her early-game dueling edge, adjusting her dominance in skirmishes and epic monster contests.

 

Brand faces adjustments to his passive and ultimate, possibly toning down his burst potential, particularly in the support role, without dampening his jungle capabilities.

 

 

Evelynn’s Q sees a reduction in damage, slowing her snowball capacity and making her think twice before diving into fights.

 

Maokai and Nidalee both receive nerfs, affecting their mobility and damage output. This likely impacts Maokai’s utility as a support and Nidalee’s prowess in higher elo brackets.

 

 

Senna’s adjustment to her Q damage aims to balance her scaling as both a support and ADC without stripping away her utility.

 

 

Zac gets a specific nerf to his W in top-lane encounters, intended to balance his overpowering lane control without undermining his jungle role.

 

These nerfs are intended to balance the scales, ensuring no single champion can easily overpower others.

Adjustments

Some champions got tweaks to bring them into a better balance:

• Seraphine sees a comprehensive rework, with changes aimed at reinforcing her role as a support rather than a mid-lane AP carry. This includes modifications to her abilities’ damage output and utility.
• Smolder receives adjustments to his abilities, making his gameplay feel more intuitive and rewarding strategic plays.

These adjustments are a testament to the developers’ commitment to fine-tuning the game, ensuring every champion can shine in their respective roles according to the insights from the LoL patch preview.

New Items and Modifications

Several items have been adjusted to balance the gameplay:

Celestial Opposition

Receives a buff, reducing its cooldown and increasing its slow effect, making it a more viable choice for tank supports over Solstice Sleigh.

 

• Cooldown reduced from 20 to 18 seconds
• Slow duration increased from 1.5 to 2 seconds
• Slow strength up from 50% to 60%

Dream Maker

Tweaks aim to enhance scaling into the late game, offering a shift towards better scaling over immediate power spikes.

• Blue Bubble Damage Reduction now scales from 75-255 based on level
• Purple Bubble Bonus Damage adjusted to 50-170

Frozen Heart

Addressed for its overperformance as a generic tank item, with a price increase and an armor reduction.

• Price up from 2400 to 2500 gold
• Armor decreased from 70 to 65

Heartsteel and Its Ornn Upgrade Leviathan

These items receive noteworthy adjustments to better align with their intended users and enhance gameplay diversity.

 

• Heartsteel: This item has been tweaked to become more appealing for champions who can leverage health ratios effectively. The change from 100 (+10% bonus health from items) to 80 (+12% bonus health from items) for its proc bonus damage aims to enhance its scaling potential, allowing players to capitalize on health-focused builds for more impactful plays.
• Leviathan (Ornn Upgrade): Following the same path as Heartsteel, Leviathan also sees its proc bonus damage adjusted to 80 (+12% bonus health from items), promoting a stronger late-game presence for those wielding it. Additionally, a bug fix addressing an unintended 25 Ability Haste bonus further fine-tunes the item’s performance and ensures consistency with its intended design.

Solstice Sleigh

Nerfed to balance its dominance among tank support upgrades.

• Cooldown increased from 20 to 30 seconds
• Bonus health adjusted to 50-230 based on level
• Movement speed bonus reduced to 25%

Spear of Shojin

Adjusted to synergize better with its intended champion pool, improving spell interaction.

• Spells now grant 1 stack per cast, with attack-based spells benefiting from spell amplification.

Sunfire Aegis

 

This item saw a rollback on previous nerfs to better align with its intended performance level. The adjustments aim to make it a more appealing choice for champions who benefit from its defensive and offensive mix.

 

• Health increased from 450 to 500
• Immolate base damage up from 12 to 15

AP Assassin Items Adjustments

Aiming to diversify the item choices for AP assassins, these changes tweak the power levels of key items.

Lich Bane: A favorite for amplifying burst damage, its Spellblade damage has been adjusted to shift from 75% base AD (+50% AP) to 75% base AD (+45% AP), tuning its impact slightly.

 

Stormsurge: Its movement speed bonus has been increased from +5% to +8% to enhance mobility, making it a more alluring choice for those looking to weave in and out of combat effectively.

 

Hextech Rocketbelt: Known for its active dash and burst potential, its total price has been increased to 2600 from 2500, but compensates with an ability power boost from 60 to 70, further enhancing its appeal as a powerful tool for closing gaps and securing kills.

System Updates

This patch includes many bug fixes and quality-of-life changes, aiming to smooth out gameplay, eliminate frustrating glitches, and enhance the overall player experience.

These include visual improvements, adjustments to champion abilities for clarity, and corrections to unintended interactions across the board.

This round of item and system adjustments in patch 14.5 notes shows Riot’s continuous effort to refine League of Legends, keeping the battle for the Nexus as thrilling as ever.

The End of Split 1 and the Start of Split 2

As we navigate through the thrilling esports landscape of Season 2024, League of Legends players are keenly setting their sights on their ranked objectives. As the first split of the 2024 League of Legends ranked season approaches its conclusion, it’s time for players to step up their game. 

Whether you’ve been steadily climbing the ranks or pushing off your competitive journey, here’s your heads-up to start planning. Split 1 will wrap up on May 14, 2024, at exactly 23:59:59, based on each server’s local time. Then, Split 2 will start on May 15, 2024, at 12:00:00. 

This timing offers a seamless transition for those looking to either hold their hard-earned rank or climb even higher.

Additionally, a notable bugfix is on the horizon, aimed at rectifying the ranked countdown timer’s hiccup within the game’s client, which has been inaccurately reflecting the Split 1 end date based on the previous year’s data. 

This adjustment is scheduled for implementation in Patch 14.6, ensuring the countdown accurately mirrors the outlined end and start dates for your ranked aspirations.

Refreshing ARAM: Balancing the Battlefield in Patch 14.5

In the latest patch 14.5 notes, ARAM receives some exciting updates to keep things fresh. The changes aim to breathe new life into tanks that have been out of the spotlight and ensure they fit well with the updated item system.

For a bit of extra fun, Camille and Naafiri are now more player-friendly, with added Ability Haste to spice up their gameplay. This means players can use their skills more often, making matches even more engaging.

However, it’s not all about making things easier. Following feedback from the LoL patch preview, some champions have been a tad too powerful in ARAM. Adjustments have been made to balance the scales.

For example, Zac receives a slight nerf specific to ARAM, addressing his recent dominance. Similarly, Illaoi’s healing abilities have been dialed back to keep her in check without removing her impact on the game.