League of Legends Patch 10.13 breakdown: Death’s Dance nerfed

This is a breakdown of the League of Legends Patch 10.13 notes

We’re a few weeks into the Summer Split and the League of Legends meta has started to take shape. Champions like Aphelios, Sett, Syndra, Thresh, and Wukong dominate the pro play meta, while Diana, Fiddlesticks, Jhin, Katarina… and Wukong are having their say in solo queue. Patch 10.13 will look to rebalance the most overpowered and the least impactful champions in the current meta.

Throughout Patch 10.13, there’s a clear focus on limiting the current strongest pro play champions, as well as reintroducing some old faces to the fray, such as AP Kog’Maw and AP Nunu. On top of that, there are some nerfs for the most popular rune and least popular item in the current meta, Conqueror and Death’s Dance, which will almost definitely have a big impact.

Here is a full breakdown of the Patch 10.13 changes:

Champions

Aphelios

"Base StatsAttack Damage Growth: 2.2 -> 2Q – CrescendumNo longer refreshes Chakram duration with attacks on epic monstersR – Moonlight VigilCritical Strike Bonus: 50% -> 20%"

Although he’s struggling to make his mark in solo queue, Aphelios has established himself as one of the strongest AD carries of the current meta with an incredible 96% presence across the top four pro play regions on Patch 10.12. As a result, the balance team have taken aim at the Lunari marksman with a trio of nerfs on Patch 10.13.

First of all, Aphelios’ attack damage per level has fallen from 2.2 to 2, slightly decreasing the champion’s base AD as the game progresses. Secondly, the duration of his Crescendum Chakrams will no longer reset on epic monsters, harming the level of control the marksman has around key neutral objectives. Finally, R – Moonlight Vigil’s crit damage will fall by over half, which will have a noticeable impact on Aphelios’ overall damage output.

While these changes aren’t a significant nerf to Aphelios’ late game damage output, the strongest aspect of his kit, they certainly limit his overall presence on the map and ability to instantly burst down epic monsters. Therefore, we can expect Aphelios to slightly fall in priority on Patch 10.13, especially when you consider the Death’s Dance nerf that will be covered later in this breakdown.

Cassiopeia

"Base StatsMagic Resist: 34 -> 32"

Not only is Cassiopeia an excellent flex pick accomplished in both the mid and bot lanes, but she also boasts one of the highest mid lane win rates (51.60%) in solo queue on Patch 10.12. Despite the fact that the Serpent’s Embrace was the recipient of nerfs as recently as Patch 10.12, she’s already been hit again this patch.

Nevertheless, it’s nothing crazy. A small magic resistance reduction from 34 to 32 will keep Cassiopeia in a healthy state but also open up opportunities for magic damage dealing mid laners and junglers to punish the snake in the early game before she starts to purchase key items and take over the Rift.

As a result of this nerf, Cassiopeia will probably become a less overbearing mid laner and fall to the A/B tier over the next few weeks.

Gnar

"E – HopAttack Speed: 20/30/40/50/60% -> 40/45/50/55/60%Attack Speed Duration: 3 seconds -> 4 seconds"

With high damage bruisers like Aatrox, Renekton, and Wukong dominating the top lane meta, there’s been little room for Gnar to Hop into the viable champion pool. However, the balance team are looking to change that with this Patch 10.13 buff.

After casting E – Hop, Gnar will now gain 40% attack speed, rather than the previous 20%, for a total of 4 seconds, rather than the previous 3. It doesn’t take a genius to understand how beneficial this change is for Gnar’s early game DPS and dueling potential, possibly leading to a few more solo kills and snowball ability through the early game.

Kalista

"Base StatsAttack Damage Growth: 4 -> 3.5"

Alongside Aphelios, Ezreal, and Varus, Kalista is one of the highest priority ADCs of the current pro play meta. Boasting an 89% presence on Patch 10.12, it’s clear that the Spear of Vengeance is more than deserving of a nerf.

That nerf comes in the form of an attack damage growth reduction from 4 to 3.5, slightly decreasing Kalista’s base AD as the game advances. While her utility and lane presence are undoubtedly her strongest attributes, Kalista relies on her attack damage for damage output, so any nerf in this regard will result in a lower presence in pro play and solo queue.

Kog’Maw

"Q – Caustic SpittleDamage Ratio: 0.5 ability power -> 0.7 ability powerR – Living ArtilleryDamage Ratio: 0.25 ability power -> 0.35 ability power"

AP Kog’Maw could be back! Keep an eye on this change and experiment with an AP Kog build in solo queue on Patch 10.13!

Lucian

"Q – Piercing LightAbility Range: 900 -> 1000"

The current bot lane meta insists on scaling carries, Lucian is not one of them. This buff is a little boost to the Purifier’s lane presence and poke damage, but doesn’t fix his inherent problem of being unable to match late game ADCs’ damage output.

Nocturne

"Passive – Umbra BladesBasic attacks against enemy champions reduce Umbra Blades’ cooldown by 2 seconds -> All basic attacks reduce Umbra Blades’ cooldown by 2 seconds"

Nocturne has one of the fastest jungle clears in the game due to his Passive – Umbra Blades and it is about to get significantly faster as a result of this Patch 10.13 buff.

By reducing the passive’s cooldown with auto attacks to monsters, it will be almost permanently available during Nocturne’s jungle clear, increasing the champion’s damage to camps, and reducing the amount of time it takes for him to level up and purchase key items.

Reaching level 6 before his jungle opponent is key to utilizing Nocturne to the maximum and this Umbra Blades buff means that will happen in most matchups. While other junglers in the current meta offer more than just raw damage, there’s no doubt this change will see Nocturne join the long list of viable junglers on Patch 10.13 and beyond.

Nunu & Willump

"Q – ConsumeDamage Ratio: 0.5 ability power -> 0.65 ability powerHealing Ratio: 0.7 ability power -> 0.9 ability powerR – Absolute Zero[New] Shield Ratio: 1.5 ability power"

Just like AP Kog’Maw, AP Nunu could be back! Be sure to test this iteration of the character in solo queue once the buffs go live!

Ornn

"Passive – Living ForgeHealth and mana items built in the field retain its previous health and mana percentage (returning to base still brings health and mana items back to full)"

Ornn has become too reliable in the top lane and can be safely picked in almost every possible matchup. Reducing his sustain will have a big impact and force the champion to retreat to base more often, rather than depending on his Passive – Living Forge to see himself through the early game.

Rakan

"W – Grand EntranceDamage: 70/115/160/205/250 -> 70/125/180/235/290"

Recently, Rakan has fallen out of favor with more reliable engagers, like Leona and Nautilus, taking his place. Increasing Rakan’s W – Grand Entrance damage does very little to help this and will not have much of an impact outside of adding a small amount of DPS in laning phase trades.

Ryze

"Base StatsMagic Resist: 34 -> 36Attack Damage: 56 -> 58"

The balance team are famously apprehensive when serving Ryze buffs as he has a tendency to take over the mid lane meta when his stats are even slightly imbalanced. These buffs are no different.

On Patch 10.13, Ryze will have 2 more base magic resist and 2 more base damage making his laning phase trades against AP opposition much more successful. While they aren’t massive improvements, Ryze will still find it noticeable easier to navigate through the early game and purchase key items safely over the next few weeks.

Syndra

"Q – Dark SphereCost: 40/50/60/70/80 mana -> 60/65/70/75/80 mana"

Needless to say, a champion that has cemented her place in the S tier of both mid lane and bot lane – along with a 93% presence in pro play – needs to be adjusted.

Syndra’s main damage, poke, and trading tool, Q – Dark Sphere, will now cost 20 more mana at rank 1, falling to 0 at rank 5. While this may not seem too impactful, it significantly reduces the Dark Sovereign’s presence during the laning phase as she is forced to auto attack minions and limit her trading damage.

This means that Syndra will build a much smaller gold lead during the early game and have fewer items in her inventory when arriving in vital mid game team fights.

Vi

"Q – Vault BreakerCooldown: 12/11/10/9/8 seconds -> 12/10.5/9/7.5/6 seconds"

With a wealth of high-impact, high-damage, and high-utility junglers in the current solo queue and pro play meta, there really is no room for Vi. That is, unless, she has a near 3 second cooldown Vault Breaker, which would definitely be worth keeping track of.

Yorick

"R – Eulogy of the IslesLeash Range: 900 -> 600"

Yorick’s Maiden will return to him when he is more than 600 units away from her, keeping it alive for longer and allowing master Yorick players to maneuver around a team fight with greater ease.

Yuumi

"E – ZoomiesCost: 100/115/130/145/160 mana -> 40/45/50/55/60 mana (+15% maximum mana)"

The cat has become too powerful over recent weeks and is one of the strongest support champions in both solo queue and pro play at the moment.

Now, E – Zoomies will cost a massive 15% maximum mana whenever cast, greatly reducing how often it can be used in a trade or team fight, and potentially reducing Yuumi to being Prowling Projectile and Final Chapter bot.

Items

Death’s Dance

"Ranged Users: Stores 20% of post-mitigation damage to be taken as damage over time -> Stores 10% of post-mitigation damage to be taken as damage over time"

The less said about Death’s Dance the better. It’s an excellent tool for top lane bruisers, provides good sustain in team fights for marksman champions, and is incredibly overpowered when combined with high DPS kits like that of Aphelios.

As it is a key component of almost every ADC’s item build right now, it is the right move for the balance team to strike it down on Patch 10.13. Now, the item will only store 10% of incoming damage for ranged champions, opening up a much greater opportunity to burst down strong marksmen in a team fight.

Runes

Conqueror

"Maximum Stacks: 10 -> 12Ability Power per Stack: 2-5 -> 1.7-4.2"

Simply put, Conqueror has become one of the most popular and overpowered keystone runes in League of Legends. You see it in the top lane, mid lane, jungle, and bot lane, so it is more than deserving of a few nerfs.

On Patch 10.13, Conqueror will see its maximum stacks reduced by 2, and its Adaptive Force per Stack fall by about 0.5 on average. This is a substantial nerf and it would come as no surprise to see champions in all roles look for alternative keystones over the course of the next few weeks.

Guardian

"Base Shield: 80-200 -> 70-150"

In response to Guardian’s Patch 10.12 changes, its shield is now being reduced slightly. The previous changes are still a bit fresh, so it remains to be seen how much of an impact this nerf will have.

What is your favorite change on Patch 10.13?