League of Legends Patch 9.9 notes breakdown and analysis

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League of Legends. Photo courtesy of Riot Games. /

Patch 9.9 promises to be the biggest patch we’ve seen for League of Legends in some time. Did your favorite champion get buffs or nerfs?

In the introduction of Patch 9.9, Riot promised that this would be the biggest patch of the season. They certainly weren’t lying.

Aatrox basically got another rework. Soraka, Blitzcrank, and Rakan all got mini-reworks. There were enough buffs and nerfs to make into a book. The question is: how will all of these changes in Patch 9.9 shake out?

Champions

Aatrox

"Base Stats HEALTH REGEN :: 8 >>> 3 Passive – Deathbringer Stance [REM] MUTILATION: Aatrox no longer reduces healing and shielding on champions [NEW] I NEED HEALING: Heals Aatrox for bonus physical damage dealt BONUS DAMAGE: 8-16% (lvl 1-18) of the target’s maximum health >>> 5-10% (lvl 1-18) of the target’s maximum health COOLDOWN: 25 seconds >>> 15 seconds COOLDOWN REFUND: 2 seconds per ability cast and per champion hit with the edge of the Darkin Blade >>> 2 seconds per attack or ability hit on enemy champions and large monsters and per champion hit with the edge of the Darkin Blade MAXIMUM DAMAGE VS MONSTERS :: 400 >>> 100 PICTURE PERFECT: Attack frame adjusted to better match Aatrox’s basic attacks"

Lot of changes going on here with Aatrox, so let’s start with the “simplest.” His base health regen is getting gutted, but in exchange, he is getting healing from all bonus physical damage he does. Because of how this healing synergizes with his bonus percent max health damage, that is also being adjusted so he doesn’t heal like a monster.

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The cooldown on his passive is getting buffed, the cooldown refund on ability cast is getting buffed if you’re able to hit your Qs (more Qs you hit means more healing and percent max health damage). He’s also getting the cooldown refund if he hits large monsters (possibly enabling him to jungle), but Riot also reduced the max percent HP damage to monsters to compensate. In short, I’d expect this to make his clear healthier, but slower, but that could all change.

This seems like overall a buff (Aatrox gets more healing in his kit if he uses his abilities properly) but I want to see how it behaves in game before making a definitive determination.

"Q – The Darkin Blade COOLDOWN TIMER START: On first cast >>> After Q3 cast or after Q cast window expires COOLDOWN: 16/15/14/13/12 seconds >>> 14/12/10/8/6 seconds DAMAGE: 10/25/40/55/70 >>> 10/30/50/70/90"

Pretty simple. His Q cooldown now starts when the final cast is done, rather than when you first cast it. He gets a reduced cooldown on the base ability and damage buff at later ranks to compensate, so overall I think it’s a net buff.

"W – Infernal Chains SLOW: 15/20/25/30/35% >>> 25% at all ranks COOLDOWN: 18/17/16/15/14 seconds >>> 26/23/20/17/14 seconds"

Standardizing the slow and giving him a longer cooldown hurts Aatrox. Basically means he has less ways to dictate the pace of the fight, so overall nerf.

"E – Umbral Dash [REM] ATTACK DAMAGE: No longer grants 15/25/35/45/55 attack damage for 1.5 seconds HEAL TRIGGER: Physical damage vs champions >>> Any non-periodic damage vs champions (heal percentages unchanged)"

No longer grants bonus AD (which would mess with his new passive healing).

"R – World Ender [REM] FREEVIVE: Taking lethal damage during World Ender no longer revives Aatrox over 3.25 seconds, unless… [NEW] GOT THE RESET: Takedowns extend World Ender by 5 seconds, refresh its movement speed, and allow Aatrox to revive upon taking lethal damage while World Ender is active [REM] AMNESIA: Reviving no longer clears temporary buffs on Aatrox (e.g. Conqueror stacks) MOVEMENT SPEED: 120/180/240 flat movement speed for 1 second on cast and while out of combat during World Ender >>> 60/80/100% decaying over World Ender’s duration [REM] FRIENDLY FEAR: Aatrox no longer fears nearby allied minions on cast [NEW] STAYIN’ ALIVE: Aatrox receives 40/55/70% increased healing during World Ender COOLDOWN TIMER START: After World Ender expires >>> On cast COOLDOWN: 160/140/120 seconds >>> 140/120/100 seconds CAST TIME: 0.5 seconds >>> 0.25 seconds SLOW DURING REVIVE: 25% >>> 99% HEAL DURING REVIVE: 10-50% Aatrox’s maximum health (based on Blood Well) >>> 30% Aatrox’s maximum health"

Okay, lots to unpack here. The big one is that Aatrox is no longer guaranteed to revive during his ult if he dies. He has to get a takedown in order for the revive to go off.

Second, he gets a bunch of free extra healing during his ultimate. Like, a ridiculous amount.

Third, the cooldown on his ult is not only starting earlier, but it’s also shorter. That means his ult will be up more often. Plus, he can extend the duration of R – World Ender by earning takedowns (while the cooldown has already started).

Finally, he won’t have nearly as much move speed when he’s reviving to get away for free. This will make his tower dives all the more difficult to pull off.

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