League of Legends Patch 10.15 Breakdown: BIG Changes for Swain

There are big changes for Skarner and Swain in League of Legends Patch 10.15

The patch notes for League of Legends Patch 10.15 are here. The balance team have worked day and night to adjust champions and shut out the outliers with 13 champion changes, 3 item changes, and 1 rune change on Patch 10.15.

Riot Scruffy previewed the patch notes last week and very little has changed since we last broke down the changes. However, there have been a few adjustments and there’s still a lot more to analyze.

Here’s a full break down of the Patch 10.15 changes:

Champions

Aphelios

"Q – Crescendum, the ChakramTurret Activation Delay: 0.25 seconds -> 0.35 secondsTurret Activation Radius: 575 -> 500Q – Infernum, the Flamethrower[Removed] Runaan’s Hurricane bolts no longer deal damage to all enemies they pass throughCritical AoE Splash Missiles Count: 8 splash missiles -> 6 splash missilesRunaan’s Splash Missiles Count: 4 splash missiles -> 3 splash missilesCritical Runaan’s Splash Missiles Couint: 8 splash missiles -> 5 splash missiles[Updated] Hurricane splash missiles AoE lengths are now reduced by ~100 range"

Aphelios has an 89% presence across the top 3 competitive leagues on Patch 10.14 due to his ability to dominate team fights and out-scale almost every champion in the game.

As a result, the balance team have made the decision to increase the activation delay and reduce the activation radius for Crescendum, reducing the amount of DPS Aphelios can put out in a short space of time.

On top of that, Infernum will now fire fewer splash missiles, making it much weaker, particularly in team fights. Overall, Aphelios’ DPS will fall when equipping either of these weapons and pros will definitely weigh him up against other scaling alternatives in the future.

Caitlyn

"Base StatsAttack Damage: 62 -> 64Movement Speed: 325 -> 330"

Caitlyn boasts a 50.64% win rate and 14.1% pick rate in solo queue on Patch 10.14 as she has the tools to win laning phases and snowball an early gold lead.

Despite this, the balance team are looking to buff the Sheriff of Piltover on Patch 10.15 with increased base attack damage and movement speed. This will allow Cait players to dominate lane even more by keeping in range of their opponents and poking them with improved base damage.

Fiddlesticks

"W – Bountiful HarvestHealing: Reduced to 25% against minions -> Reduced to 15% against minions"

Fiddlesticks is primarily a jungle champion with a 51.71% win rate and a 5.8% pick rate in solo queue on Patch 10.14. Nevertheless, the Ancient Fear has made infrequent solo lanes appearances which has prompted action from the balance team.

Bountiful Harvest’s minion healing has been reduced by almost half on Patch 10.15, significantly reducing Fiddlesticks’ lane sustain and forcing him to play safer and recall more often in solo lanes. This will likely force Fiddlesticks back into his intended role.

Gragas

"W – Drunken RageDamage Ratio: 0.5 ability power -> 0.6 ability powerR – Explosive CaskDamage Ratio: 0.7 ability power -> 0.8 ability power"

Following up from AP Nunu and AP Kog’Maw buffs on Patch 10.13, the balance team have decided it’s time for Gragas to receive a similar push. The Rabble Rouser currently suffers from an abysmal 45.95% win rate in solo queue and any increase to his AP ratios will definitely help improve his current state.

Irelia

"Passive – Ionian FervorBonus Attack Speed per Stack: 8/10/12% (based on level) -> 8/12/16% (based on level)"

Irelia is nowhere to be found in solo queue and pro play and currently possesses the lowest win rate of any top lane champion on Patch 10.14 (46.77%).

The Blade Dancer’s passive attack speed per stack has been increased in the later levels in order to allow her to duel and team fight more effectively.

Lee Sin

"W – SafeguardCooldown: 12 seconds -> 14 seconds"

Despite his poor 47.67% win rate in solo queue, Lee Sin has a 79% presence in pro play on Patch 10.14, a clear signal that he is deserving of nerfs.

Safeguard will see its cooldown increased by 2 seconds on Patch 10.14, reducing the Blind Monk’s mobility and survivability throughout all stages of the game.

Ornn

"Base StatsArmor: 36 -> 33"

Similarly, Ornn boasts a 58% pro play presence on Patch 10.14 even though he struggles in solo queue. A slight reduction in armor should be enough to see the Forgelord struggle in match-ups against physical damage dealers.

Shen

"Passive – Ki BarrierShield: 50-101 (based on level) -> 70-121 (based on level)"

Shen has a 51.23% win rate in solo queue on Patch 10.14 but wouldn’t be considered a key member of the current top lane meta. Therefore, the balance team are upping his Ki Barrier shield by 20 at all levels which will increase the Eye of Twilight’s pick rate and top lane strength on Patch 10.15.

Skarner

"Q – Crystal SlashDamage Ratio: 33/36/39/42/45% attack damage -> 15% attack damage (+1/1.5/2/2.5/3% of target’s maximum health)Empowered Damage Ratio: 33/36/39/42/45% attack damage (+0.3 ability power) -> 15% attack damage (+1/1.5/2/2.5/3% of target’s maximum health)(+0.3 ability power)Buff Duration: 4 seconds -> 5 secondsCost: 10/11/12/13/15 mana -> 15 manaE – Fracture[Removed] Missile no longer loses travel speed after hitting an enemy"

Skarner’s Crystal Slash will receive a mini numbers overhaul on Patch 10.15 aimed at increasing its overall damage and making tank Skarner much more accessible.

Swain

"Base StatsMovement Speed: 335 -> 325Passive – Ravenous FlockCooldown: 12/9/6 seconds (based on level) -> 10 seconds (now scales with cooldown reduction)[Removed] Swain’s ravens no longer restores manaQ – Death’s HandCooldown: 10/8.5/7/5.5/4 seconds -> 9/7.5/6/4.5/3 secondsBolt Angle: 10 degrees -> 8 degrees[New] Death’s Hand’s Bolts now pass through championsW – Vision of EmpireRange: 3500 -> 5500/6000/6500/7000/7500Damage: 100/150/200/250/300 -> 80/120/160/200/240Cost: 70/85/100/115/130 mana -> 70/80/90/100/110 manaE – NevermoveCooldown: 13/12/11/10/9 seconds -> 10 secondsCost: 60/65/70/75/80 mana -> 50 mana"

Swain will receive a mini-overhaul on Patch 10.15 with four of his five abilities seeing major changes. The important updates to look for her are the huge Death’s Hand buffs that will significantly improve Swain’s damage output and Vision of Empire’s increased range that could allow for greater scouting in co-ordinated early game teams.

Thresh

"W – Dark PassageCooldown: 22/19.5/17/14.5/12 seconds -> 22/20.5/19/17.5/16 seconds"

Thresh is far too reliable right now as illustrated by his 61% pro play presence and 20.4% solo queue pick rate. Increasing his Dark Passage cooldown by 4 seconds will help combat this in the very late stages of the game, but has zero effect on the champion during the early game as this skill is maxed last.

Twisted Fate

"W – Pick a CardCooldown: 6 seconds -> 8/7.5/7/6.5/6 seconds"

Twisted Fate should always be a niche pick used only in certain scenarios. Instead, the Card Master currently has the highest pro play presence among mid laners on Patch 10.14 (89%). To reduce his current power level, the balance team have increased TF’s Pick a Card cooldown by 2 seconds at rank 1, making his laning phase a touch more difficult.

Yuumi

"Passive – Bop ‘n’ BlockMana Restore: 50-160 mana (based on level) -> 25-100 (+8% maximum mana) (based on level)Cooldown: 20-8 seconds (based on level) -> 18-6 seconds (based on level)"

Yuumi has finally disappeared. But she’s already set to stage a comeback with helpful mana restore and cooldown buffs on Patch 10.15.

Items

"Spellthief’s EdgeBase Mana Regeneration: 25% -> 50%FrostfangBase Mana Regeneration: 50% -> 75%Shard of True IceDamage: 45 ability power -> 50 ability power"

Spellthief’s Edge is being completely ignored in favor of Relic Shield, even on mage supports. These buffs should create a more balanced support item state.

Runes

"Unsealed SpellbookInitial Cooldown: 240 seconds -> 300 secondsMaximum Cooldown Cap: 120 seconds -> 150 secondsCooldown Reduction per Swap: 20 seconds with each unique Summoner Spell -> 25 seconds with each unique Summoner Spell"

Unsealed Spellbook is largely considered a “safe” rune for solo laners that don’t rely on a particularly keystone for damage output. This is definitely the case in pro play as multiple players use Spellbook to substantially reduce their TP cooldown during the late game.

An increased initial cooldown and cooldown cap should be enough to encourage solo laners to look elsewhere on the rune tree in the future as Spellbook will be far less effective on future patches.

League of Legends Patch 10.14 will hit live servers on the morning of Wednesday, 22 July. Keep an eye on the Riot Games server status page for maintenance updates.