League of Legends Patch 9.24b breakdown: Aphelios and Shaco nerfs

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The League of Legends balance team have made a few more updates to the game before the end of the year Here’s our breakdown of the Patch 9.24b changes.

Describing Patch 9.24 as “the final patch of 2019” was a PR masterclass from those behind the scenes at Riot Games, as Patch 9.24b could easily be an update of its own. However, we have been assured in the Patch Notes that this will be the last set of changes to League of Legends before 2020!

Along with the lengthy list of buffs and nerfs, the balance team has also provided an early Christmas gift of next year’s patch schedule, as well as a Teamfight Tactics patch to accompany Patch 9.24b. But, if you’re just interested in this week’s update to Summoner’s Rift, then stay right here and check out our breakdown below:

Champions

Alistar

"Base Stats Health: 573.36 -> 575. Attack Damage: 61.1116 -> 62. Attack Damage Growth: 3.62 -> 3.75. Passive – Triumphant Roar Heal: 20-139 (doubled to 40-278 for allies) -> 25-161 (doubled to 50-322 for allies)."

It’s no secret that Alistar is struggling in a support meta dominated by tank champions with more reliable engage tools, such as Leona, Nautilus, and Thresh. The Minotaur’s 47.15% win rate is reflective of his low priority on Patch 9.24 and it comes as no surprise that the balance team is looking to buff him on 9.24b.

Boosts to Alistar’s base stats alone are pretty insignificant and are merely a case of rounding up some ugly numbers from years gone by, but combine this with a Passive – Triumphant Roar healing buff and Alistar could be on course for an exciting start to Season 10.

Now, at Levels 3 and 6, Alistar’s ally healing is 41 and 65 respectively, increased from 34 and 55 on previous patches. As a result, this support and his lane partner will have slightly stronger sustain throughout the laning phase and will have an easier time when up against poke-heavy lane opponents.

By no means does this propel Alistar to the higher tiers of the support champion pool in preseason, but it’s a welcome nudge that will see his play rate slightly rise as support mains test him out with these small early game buffs.

Aphelios

"Calibrum, the Sniper Rifle Marked Damage Ratio: 0.4 Bonus Attack Damage -> 0.3 Bonus Attack Damage. R – Moonlight Vigil Infernum Empowered Damage Ratio: 0.4 Bonus Attack Damage -> 0.3 Bonus Attack Damage. Infernum Empowered Explosion Radius: 500 Range -> 400 Range."

It is still far too early to gauge Aphelios’ true power level at this stage, particularly given his monumental 60.30% ban rate during his short time in League of Legends so far. Perhaps it would be wiser to wait until another few weeks have passed before passing judgment on these nerfs and how they could impact the latest addition to the Summoner’s Rift roster.

Ezreal

"Q – Mystic Shot Damage Ratio: 1.1 Attack Damage -> 1.2 Attack Damage."

Despite receiving a bunch of buffs in a Patch 9.23 hotfix, Ezreal remains the lowest win rate AD Carry in the current meta at an abysmal 45.77%. This is mainly due to a string of nerfs the Prodigal Explorer faced throughout Season 9 targeted at reducing his near-permanent presence in the bottom lane in 2019, most notably the removal of Kleptomancy heading into preseason.

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No doubt, Ezreal mains and the AD Carry community deserve this Patch 9.24b change following the champion’s disappearance from the current meta, but it probably won’t see him climb back up to the top of the tier list just yet.

That being said, a +0.1 Attack Damage ratio on his main damage source, Q – Mystic Shot, is certainly a step in the right direction and will lead to Ezreal returning to the marksman champion pool as a niche pick in match-ups that require a safe laner with strong escape tools.

Keep an eye on Ezreal throughout preseason and early 2020 as he’s likely to receive a few more buffs in the leadup to Season 10 so he can leave his mark on yet another League of Legends competitive year.

Garen

"E – Judgement Spin Damage: 4/8/12/16/20 (+0-6.6 based on Level) (+0.32-0.4 Attack Damage) -> 4/8/12/16/20 (+0-0.82 based on Level) (+0.32-0.4 Attack Damage)."

One would think that the Patch 9.24 changes were successful as Garen fell from the number 1 top laner on Patch 9.23 to a much more friendly 49.07% win rate over the last week. Nevertheless, the balance team refuses to let the Might of Demacia be anything but a broken mess and are determined to see his win rate remain above 50%, despite his six months of top lane dominance.

This change is simply a revert of 1 of the 2 changes Garen received on Patch 9.24a, meaning now he just suffers from a higher Attack Speed threshold for additional spins on his E – Judgement. Therefore, it’s likely that we’ll see Garen climb back above a 50% win rate and re-establish himself as a top tier top laner for the remainder of 2019. Yippee!

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