League of Legends Patch 10.8 Breakdown: The Marksman Patch
Master Yi
"R – Highlander Bonus Attack Speed: 30/55/80% -> 25/45/65%"
Master Yi dominates solo queue at most elos right now due to how easily he can snowball games with just one or two kills. The balance team has set out to stop that on Patch 10.8 with a nerf to his ultimate ability, Highlander.
At level 11, Highlander will now grant Yi 10% less bonus attack speed than before, decreasing his DPS in team fights, and making it more difficult to reset Alpha Strike.
This won’t kill off the Wuju Bladesman, but it won’t feel nice either. The reduced attack speed is enough to prevent Yi from single-handedly rolling over team fights on occasion, particularly in the late game, which could be enough to see a slight drop in his 50.80% win rate.
Orianna
"W – Command: Dissonance Ally Haste/Enemy Slow: 20/25/30/35/40% movement speed -> 30/35/40/45/50% movement speed E – Command: Protect Shield Ratio: 0.4 ability power -> 0.5 ability power"
In our vast ocean of meta mid lane picks in the current meta, Orianna is nowhere to be found. The Lady of Clockwork struggles to match her mid lane counterparts in terms of burst, utility, and overall DPS.
To change this, the balance team has chosen to buff her utility, in the form of increased Command: Dissonance movement speed and a larger Command: Protect shield.
The former will aid Orianna in escaping/chasing enemies at all stages of the game which could be particularly effective in lane, while the latter is more of a late game buff when she is protecting herself of teammates in fights.
Ideally, these buffs will allow Orianna to compete with stronger mid laners on Patch 10.8 and we will hopefully see her win rate rise from 47.62% over the next few weeks.
Ryze
"Base Stats Health: 570.48 -> 575 Armor: 21.552 -> 22 Attack Damage: 55.04 -> 56 Q – Overload Bonus Movement Speed: 20/25/30/35/40% when consuming 2 runes -> 28/32/36/40/44% when consuming 2 runes"
Slightly increased Overload movement speed when consuming 2 runes isn’t going to help Ryze climb up from his 46.03% win rate in solo queue.
Senna
"Passive – Absolution Mist Wraith Spawn Chance: 25% on minions Senna doesn’t kill -> 22% on minions Senna doesn’t kill"
Fasting Senna has taken over the bottom lane and needs to be pulled back slightly to avoid farming supports from taking over the meta.
Losing 3% of her Absolution stacks isn’t the end of the world but is enough to make players consider the power of alternative ADCs, especially on a patch filled with marksman buffs.
Sett
"W – Haymaker Base Damage: 90/120/150/180/210 -> 80/105/130/155/180"
Sett’s W – Haymaker is the most vital ability in his kit. Whether it’s wave clear, trading, or straight up dueling, Sett relies on Haymaker to do the work in terms of damage and self-shielding.
The issue is this ability has become too powerful and too reliable, so it’s getting nerfed on Patch 10.8.
As this is a base damage nerf, the Boss’ early game will be most affected as he’ll struggle to damage enemy champions and minions as much as before, reducing his lane priority before picking up a full AD item.
As a result, we will probably see Sett’s 50.59% win rate drop slightly over the next few weeks as top lane mains look for alternatives to dominate lane and snowball a lead on the Rift.
Soraka
"Base Stats Mana: 375 -> 425 Q – Starcall Cost: 60/65/70/75/80 mana -> 45/50/55/60/65 mana"
Since her brief spell in the top lane, Soraka has been a shadow of her former self and struggles to have any presence in the bot lane, much to the dismay of Soraka mains. Hopefully that’ll be fixed on Patch 10.8!
Increased base mana and a reduced mana cost for Starcall mean Soraka can stay in lane for longer without being forced to recall for a refill.
The Starchild will now find poking and topping up her carry’s health bar much easier and can hopefully find her way back into the higher levels of the support tier list.