League of Legends Patch 9.18 notes breakdown – Summoner’s Rift edition

The League of Legends World Championship will be played on Patch 9.19, but this week we’ll be breaking down the most recent update to the game – Patch 9.18.

We’re closing in on the all-important Worlds patch and the updates to League of Legends are coming thick and fast! Patch 9.18 is the latest, looking to make small balance changes and liven up the meta in preparation for 9.19.

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This week, the balance team have took aim at two obnoxious champions in both solo queue and competitive play – Aatrox and Akali. On top of that, there are just over a dozen other champions who’ll experience small changes on Patch 9.18, shifting the state of play across all games.

But how will these changes impact solo queue and pro play in the coming weeks? We’ll cover it all in our breakdown:

Champions

Aatrox

"Passive – Deathbringer Stance Heal: Heals for bonus physical damage dealt to anything –> Heals for 25% of the damage dealt when stabbing a minion (healing vs. other targets unchanged). Q – The Darkin Blade Damage to Minions: 50-100% (levels 1-18) –> 40% at all levels."

With the highest presence in competitive play on Patch 9.16 at 95%, as well as being a top 20 champion in terms of picks and bans in solo queue, Aatrox has become an unstoppable force in the top lane over the last few patches. With excellent lane priority, duelling power, and teamfight utility, the Darkin Blade deservedly receives a touch in the right direction in the Patch 9.18 notes.

Reducing his healing from minions, as well as hitting his wave clear altogether, creates a much more balanced early game Aatrox who can’t take complete control of his lane through a few Q casts.

No doubt, this won’t kill off the recently reworked top lane champion. In fact, it’s highly likely that he’ll continue to dominate both in terms of top lane tier lists and as a flex pick. However, due to his immense presence on recent patches, any nerf is a beneficial nerf to the meta and might see top lane mains find answers to the obnoxious Aatrox pick of the last few months.

Akali

"R – Perfect Execution Removed: Akali no longer stuns her enemies for 0.5 seconds. R2 Maximum Damage: 255/450/645 (+0.9 Ability Power) –> 195/420/645 (+0.9 Ability Power). Cooldown: 120/110/100 seconds –> 160/130/100 seconds."

From the first highest presence on Patch 9.16, to the third highest presence on Patch 9.16.

Once again, Akali is a champion that excels in her main lane, mid, as well as being used as a flex pick often. With a 44.3% ban rate in solo queue on Patch 9.17, it’s clear to see why the balance team thought it was time for the Noodle Ninja to receive some nerfs.

But not for the first time the Akali nerfs fail to hit the mark and are unlikely to make a large difference to her domination of the solo lanes. Yes, losing the stun and cooldown on her ultimate will make her weaker overall, but won’t see her fall from the S Tier of mid laners on Patch 9.18.

Annie

"E – Molten Shield New: Annie gains 25% + 1.5% per level decaying bonus Movement Speed over a 1.5 second duration. Damage Reduction: 16/22/28/34/40% –> 10/13/16/19/22%. Cooldown: 10 seconds at all ranks –> 15 seconds at all ranks."

Annie is invisible in both solo queue and pro play, and she’ll continue to be so after these changes. A bit of movement speed to gap close in lane is helpful and all, but won’t do anything about the fact that she’s very one dimensional and lacks the power of the likes of Syndra or Lux.