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

Elementals and Elder Dragon

Infernal Dragon

"Infernal Drake Buff: 5/10/15/20% Attack Damage and Ability Power -> 4/8/12/16% Attack Damage and Ability Power. Infernal Soul: 90 (+0.25 Bonus Attack Damage) (+0.15 Ability Power) (+0.03 Bonus Health) Damage and 3 seconds Cooldown -> 70 (+0.18 Bonus Attack Damage) (+0.12 Ability Power) (+0.02 Bonus Health) Damage and 3 seconds Cooldown."

Mountain Dragon

"Mountain Drake Buff: 8/16/24/32% Armor and Magic Resistance -> 6/12/18/24% Armor and Magic Resistance. Mountain Soul: 225 (+0.2 Bonus Attack Damage) (+0.15 Ability Power) (+0.15 Bonus Health) Shield -> 170 (+0.16 Bonus Attack Damage) (+0.13 Ability Power) (+0.13 Bonus Health) Shield."

Ocean Dragon

"Ocean Drake Buff: 3/6/9/12% Missing Health -> 2.5/5/7.5/10% Missing Health. Ocean Soul: 180 (+0.4 Bonus Attack Damage) (+0.25 Ability Power) (+0.1 Bonus Health) Healing and 90 (+0.04 Mana) Mana restored over 3 seconds -> 160 (0.25 Bonus Attack Damage) (+0.15 Ability Power) (+0.07 Bonus Health) Healing and 70 (+0.025 Mana) Mana restored over 4 seconds."

Elder Dragon

"Elder Dragon Buff Duration: 180 seconds -> 150 seconds. Elder Dragon Burn Damage: 90-270 true damage over 3 seconds -> 75-225 true damage over 3 seconds."

Due to the fact that it’s been less than a month since preseason hit live servers and we’re still getting used to the new Elemental Dragons and Elder, it’s difficult to tell the relative strengths of each dragon in their current state. Therefore, it would be wise to defer to the balance team’s numbers and trust their decision-making process heading into Patch 9.24b and just give a quick TL;DR of these changes for now.

Infernal Dragon and Mountain Dragon have seen their buff and soul become much weaker, while Ocean Dragon’s sustain and soul shield are slightly weaker. Cloud Dragon remains untouched.

As for Elder Dragon, its buff duration has been reduced by 30 seconds to encourage fighting immediately after the dragon is slain and offer a way back into the game for a team on the back foot. The damage has also been reduced to decrease its impact on extreme late game team fights. Basically, Elder Dragon is weaker now.

Lethality

"Serrated Dirk Attack Damage: 25 -> 30. Edge of Night Attack Damage: 50 -> 55."

Lethality items received a tonne of changes on Patch 9.23 and needed monitoring throughout the course of preseason. Since those changes came into effect, it’s clear that Lethality items need a slight nudge to increase their impact on games and improve the lives of AD assassins.

As a result, the initial Lethality item, Serrated Dirk, has seen a small AD increase to improve the initial power the item grants when purchased. On top of that, the new Edge of Night will now have 55 AD instead of 50, possibly increasing the number of champions that buy it and its impact on the game.

Ultimately, these are small buffs, but AD assassins are struggling right now so they’re definitely a positive change for the champion variety in the solo lanes and jungle.

What are your thoughts on this mini patch? Does Patch 9.24b have everything you wanted for League of Legends this Christmas? Let us know what changes you’d like to see in the next patch in the comments!