League of Legends Patch 9.17 Breakdown – Summoner’s Rift

With Worlds on the horizon, patch updates become more and more important. This time it’s Patch 9.17 and we’re here to break down all the important changes coming to League of Legends this week.

Due to the fact that playoffs, gauntlets, play-ins, and Worlds are coming up in the next few weeks, it’s no surprise that Riot want to be careful with big changes. As the greatest League of Legends teams in the world gear up for Patch 9.19 (the Worlds patch), they’ll be treated to a few small patch editions in the build-up.

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In Patch 9.17 we’ve got just 11 champion changes, only 2 of which could be considered major – Aurelion Sol and Kayle. Don’t expect solo queue to change much over the next fortnight due to the small amount of buffs and nerfs in these patch notes, but definitely keep your eye on the two mentioned champions as they could start taking over your games as a result of their updates.

As always we’re going to break down every single change and inform you what they might mean for solo queue and pro play.

Champions

Aurelion Sol

"Passive – Center of the Universe Damage: 20/23/26/29/32/35/40/45/50/55/60/70/80/90/100/110/120/130 –> 16/18/20/22/24/27/30/35/40/45/50/60/70/80/90/100/110/120. Ratio: 0.18-0.35 (levels 1-18) ability power –> 0.25 ability power. [Removed] Ability-inhibiting crowd control no longer nullifies Center of the Universe. Q – Starsurge Cooldown: 10 seconds –> 11/10/9/8/7 seconds. Movement Speed: 10% –> 20%. [New] If Aurelion Sol is faster than his star, the star will speed up to keep up with him. W – Celestial Expansion [New] When Aurelion Sol pushes his stars out to the Outer Limit, they gain increased damage and rotate at a high, but decaying speed. After 3 seconds or if Aurelion Sol reactivates it early, the stars will retract and grant Aurelion Sol 40% movement speed, decaying over 1.5 seconds. Cooldown: 6/5.5/5/4.5/4 seconds –> 8/6.5/5/3.5/2 seconds. Mana: 40 mana + 22/24/26/28/30 mana per second it’s activated –> 70/80/90/100/110 mana on cast. E – Comet of Legend [Removed] Passive: Aurelion Sol no longer gains bonus movement speed when moving in the same direction for a period of time. Range: 3000/4000/5000/6000/7000 –> 5500/6000/6500/7000/7500. Cooldown: 60/55/50/45/40 seconds –> 80/75/70/65/60 seconds. Speed: 600 –> 600/650/700/750/800."

A lot to digest on a single champion, but ultimately all these changes amount to are a more vulnerable early game and smoother transition to a strong late game. Sol currently has a pick rate below 1%, so it’s clear he could do with a change on Patch 9.17.

The Starsurge change will have enemies fearing for their lives as he barrels down the mid lane with a 2 second stun waiting. Aurelion’s W is much stronger when reactivated and has excellent damage, but is a lot more expensive to cast. Added range and speed on E – Comet of Legend could be strong, however as this is maxed last, Sol will have to wait until the late game to feel the effects of this buff.

All in all, Aurelion Sol will be seen a lot more in solo queue and possibly competitive play as a result of these changes. His early game utility and late game damage could see him climb up the mid lane tier list.

Kayle

"Passive – Divine Ascent Kayle ascends to her Aflame form at level 6 and Arisen form at level 11 –> Arisen form at level 6 and Aflame form at level 11. Zealous Bonus Movement Speed: 15% when Exalted and moving toward enemies –> 8% when Exalted in all directions. Zealous Stack Sources: Basic attacks against non-structures –> All basic attacks. Arisen Attack Range: 550 –> 525. [Removed] Kayle’s bonus attack speed from her Zealous form no longer increases to 10% bonus attack speed per stack when Kayle is in her Arisen form. [Removed] Fire waves no longer deal true damage. [New] When Kayle is in her Transcendent form, she gains an additional 50 range for a total of 575 attack range on basic attacks. Q – Radiant Blast [New] Mana Refund: Now refunds 50% of the ability’s mana for each champion hit with it. Cast Delay: 0.5 seconds –> 0.25 seconds. Cast Time: Attack speed timer –> 0.25 seconds. Missile Speed: 2000 –> 1600. Range: 950 –> 900. Resistances Reduction: 20% of the target’s armor and magic resistance for 3 seconds– 15% of the target’s armor and magic resistance for 4 seconds. E – Starfire Spellblade Bonus Magic Damage: 8/10/12/14/16% (+0.01 per 100 ability power) of the target’s missing health –> 8/9/10/11/12% (+0.01 per 50 ability power) of the target’s missing health. On-Hit Ratio: 0.1 total attack damage and 0.2 ability power –> 0.1 bonus attack damage and 0.25 ability power. R – Divine Judgement Cost: 100 mana –> 100/50/0 mana. AoE Radius: 475 –> 500."

It’s no secret that Kayle is a shadow of her late game self in the laning phase and is often bullied by her lane opponent or by frequent ganks. It’s time for that to end.

Not only does Kayle reach an important point earlier (Arisen form), she also receives some helpful buffs in the later stages, such as greater AoE on her ult and improved AP ratios on E. Basically, this change sacrifices some of Kayle’s late game power for a stronger early game. And while it won’t immediately boost Kayle to the top tier of top lane, she’ll definitely be picked more often now and could occasionally show her face in pro play.