League of Legends Patch 10.3 Preview: Sett Set for Nerfs

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League of Legends. Photo courtesy of Riot Games. /

Champions

Ezreal

"Base Stats Mana per Level: 42 -> 50 Attack Speed per Level: 1.5 -> 2.5%"

Patch 7.24b may just seem like another League of Legends patch to you, but to Ezreal players across the globe, it was the patch that changed their champion forever. It was in this patch that the balance team reduced Ezreal’s Attack Speed growth from 2.8% to 1.5% in order to combat Ezreal jungle’s crazy clear speed and incredibly high priority in the role.

Just over two years later and the Attack Speed growth has been returned (albeit 0.3% less) to an Ezreal that never really recovered from that day and currently sits at a dismal 48.06% win rate on Patch 10.2.

Take this change along with the increased mana per level and Ezreal may finally be able to compete in the bot lane from Patch 10.3 onwards. He’s still a long way from the likes of Senna, Aphelios, and Miss Fortune, but ADC mains can start to consider the Prodigal Explorer over the next few weeks of solo queue.

Galio

"Q – Winds of War Tornado Duration: 1.5 -> 2 seconds Tornado Damage Ticks: 3 -> 4"

Galio’s Q now has 33% greater damage if enemies are stupid enough to stand inside the tornado for the full 2 seconds. This is unlikely everywhere above Iron elo though, so don’t expect this to have much of an impact to a 47.63% win rate champion.

Leona

"W – Eclipse Magic Damage: 60/100/140/180/220 -> 60/95/130/165/200 E – Zenith Blade Magic Damage: 60/100/140/180/220 -> 50/90/130/170/210"

With a 51.03% win rate, 16.8% pick rate, and 31.0% ban rate, Leona is probably the number one support champion in the current meta, her only competition being Nautilus. This is also represented by her 64% presence in pro play, which will only increase as Nautilus’ Patch 10.2 changes come into play next week onwards.

Now it’s Leona’s turn to face some nerfs. Taking into account the fact that Eclipse is the first skill Leona players put points into, this is a -10 damage nerf at Level 1, increasing to a -30 damage nerf at Level 9. Nothing to write home about.

In the early levels, Leona and her lane partner are already over-killing squishy ADCs due to the length of crowd control in Leo’s kit. Now they’ll just kill their lane opponents slightly slower and it won’t have much of an impact on Leona’s support priority in the current meta.

Enjoy a few more weeks of Leona, Nautilus, Thresh, Leona, Nautilus, Thresh!

Miss Fortune

"Base Stats Attack Speed per Level: 3 -> 2.25%"

She may be overshadowed by the broken Aphelios and Senna, but at a 53.07% solo queue win rate and a 69% pro play presence, it’s clear that Miss Fortune is also an incredibly strong AD Carry right now and needs addressing on Patch 10.3.

As it stands, Miss Fortune is set to see her Attack Speed per Level reduced from 3% to 2.25% next week which could impact her item build quite significantly. MF players may have to forgo their early Essence Reaver and Infinity Edge purchases and slot a Rapid Firecannon in between them to ensure they have enough Attack Speed to provide sufficient DPS in team fights.

Rumble

"W – Scrap Shield Bonus Movement Speed: 20/25/30/35/40 -> 15/20/25/30/35% Enhanced Bonus Movement Speed: 30/37.5/45/52.5/60 -> 22.5/30/37.5/45/52.5% Shield Strength: 80/110/140/170/200 -> 60/95/130/165/200"

Rumble is designed to be a niche solo lane pick who is selected for his massive impact on team fights while accepting his vulnerable early game due to the lack of mobility in his kit. It goes without saying that a 95% presence in pro play isn’t really “niche”.