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

League of Legends. Photo Courtesy of Riot Games.
League of Legends. Photo Courtesy of Riot Games. /
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Aurelion Sol, League of Legends.
League of Legends. Courtesy of Riot Games. /

Aurelion Sol

"Base Stats Health: 510 –> 575."

New Aurelion Sol gets another small buff, we still don’t know how the mini-rework of Patch 9.17 is faring, so wait a little longer to calculate ASol’s power level.

Caitlyn

"Base Stats Attack Damage: 60 –> 62."

Scaling AD Carries rule the roost in the bottom lane at the moment, so handing a small amount of power to those who thrive in lane is the ideal method to punish the bot lane snooze-fest. Albeit a small change, this will aid AD mains in their decision making in future patches as they look to win lane, win game.

Ekko

"W – Parallel Convergence Cost: 50/55/60/65/70 mana –> 30/35/40/45/50 mana. Stun Duration: 1.75 seconds –> 2.25 seconds."

This could be the sleeper buff of Patch 9.18. An increased stun duration of 0.5 seconds, as well as a 20 mana cost discount, could push Ekko up a few tiers in the middle lane.

You shouldn’t be getting caught by Ekko’s W – Parallel Convergence, but if you are, you deserve to be punished. A 2.25 second stun offers huge potential to blow up an enemy carry, perfect for an AP assassin like Ekko.

Evelynn

"R – Last Caress Empowered Damage Amplifier: 100% against enemies below 30% of their maximum health –> 140% against enemies below 30% of their maximum health. Empowered Damage: 250/500/750 (+1.5 Ability Power) –> 300/600/900 (+1.8 Ability Power)."

If you felt like Evelynn was a strong assassin jungler before, you’ll be even more convinced on patch 9.18. Now she’ll deal 140% damage to champions below 30% max health for a huge execute, which could be terrifying if you let Evelynn get ahead in the early game. A larger AP ratio on her ultimate makes this buff even scarier.

Jhin

"Base Stats Attack Damage: 57 –> 59."

Jhin receiving the Caitlyn treatment in an attempt to scurry out Xayah, Kai’Sa, and Tristana from the bottom lane.

Kai’Sa

"E – Supercharge Bonus Attack Speed: 40/50/60/70/80% –> 40/45/50/55/60%."

ADC Queen Kai’Sa is overdue a nerf as she’s been pretty much the #1 choice for marksmen since her release. Not only can she assassinate enemy targets, she also offers excellent teamfight DPS, and has her own escape.

Reducing the attack speed buff on her E – Supercharge is one way to lessen the impact of one area of her kit, without hitting the others. Now, she’ll continue to escape attempts to kill her, assassinate enemy carries, but won’t be able to pump out as much damage in teamfights as she could previously.

Kai’Sa will maintain her place amongst the top tier ADCs in the current meta, but she’ll finally be a bit weaker and other options may be considered.

Kayle

"E – Starfire Spellblade Base Passive Damage: 10/15/20/25/30 –> 15/20/25/30/35."

+5 base damage on E, combined with her buffs in previous patches, continues to push Kayle towards a much stronger state. Nevertheless, her most recent changes haven’t been tested out enough yet and we still don’t understand Kayle’s true power level.