Reign of Gaming

UPDATE: The patch just hit the live servers, but it hasn't been activated yet. You can have a look at the schedule for the maintenance here. 

Patch 4.2 Notes (Official)

Originally Posted by Riot (View Original Source)

Hey Summoners,

Riot Pwyff here with another League of Legends update! There’s a lot of new content in this patch, including the newly reworked Skarner and Xerath, so we’re taking it light with our other champion changes.

Looking at the overall content of this update, our goal is to create healthier gameplay patterns with champions who are particularly strong. Look at Kayle or Riven and you can see more optimal ways to play as (and against) them. At the end of the day, some of these changes are nerfs, but hopefully you’ll try to understand them (and try them out!) first. Anyways, on with the notes!

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LoL Client Updates

Repair System

With our improved repair system, any 3rd party modifications to the League of Legends client are at risk of being deleted if they cause the game to crash. Be careful!

• If you crash out of the game due to corrupt or missing data, the League of Legends patcher will automatically fix that bad data the next time you open it (so you don’t crash again)
• Soft Repair will not delete custom item sets while repairing your install

Ticker

The League of Legends ticker is an important communications tool for service status, so we’re upgrading it to deliver information better, faster and more clearly.

• Upgraded the notification box to handle more service status messages while also providing more information where necessary

Game invites

We’re taking a closer look at game invites and making some general quality of life buffs when it comes to setting up premade games.

• Updated the layout of the invite, start game, and quit buttons in the team invite lobbies for better clarity

Journal of Justice

Since the Journal of Justice has been out of publication for a while now, we're removing its link from the client. While the JoJ will be missed, we're exploring future storytelling methods for League of Legends.

• The lore tab (aka the feather) has been removed from the front of the LoL client 

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Leagues

Pick Order

We’re also making pick order more consistent in ranked play. In most cases the skill gap between players on a team is not significant enough to justify granting the top player first pick. Basing pick order on a behind-the-scenes number isn’t a great experience - not to mention there are some odd side effects for duo queue players - so we’re taking a different approach.

• All players will now have an equal (random) chance of being first pick
• For players in a duo, if either player is chosen as first pick, the team captain will be assigned first pick and the other member of the duo will get whatever position the captain received from the randomizer 

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Vision System

Improving the in-game vision system is on our current hit-list, so you will see more updates to the vision system in the future.

• Fixed a bug where units in the same brush would sometimes be invisible even if they were in your line of sight

Additionally, we’ve made some progress in our long battle against the minimap visual bug demons. Completely solving the issue is a larger project we’re hoping to tackle, but these changes should significantly improve the situation.

• Fixed a number of minimap visual bugs. While this isn’t a complete fix, it should improve things overall. 

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General

We’re continually updating the visual fidelity of LoL across the board! In this patch, we’ve buffed up a few icons and spells.

Icon Updates

The following icons have been updated:

• Soraka’s ability icons
• Ashe’s ability icons

Particle Updates

The following summoner spells have been updated:

• Flash (particles and sound)
• Clairvoyance (particles and sound)
• Ghost (particles)
• Revive (particles) 

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Reworks

Xerath

Xerath is getting a complete overhaul of his kit along with new particle effects, ability icons, VOs and some new animations. Read below for the full details.

This rework isn’t driven by a concern for power levels. Instead, like a lot of our reworks, it’s focused on delivering a unique, cohesive champion theme. Xerath’s theme has always been the arcane sniper with huge damage potential. Give him time and the right target, and he can precisely pick off his victims. That said, with Xerath’s old kit, he had so much spell penetration and rapid-fire abilities that players would often just dump all of his damage on the nearest target. We believe his new kit delivers on a better champion fantasy.

General

• BASE MANA :: 250 (+45 per level) ⇒ 238 (+47 per level)
• BASE MANA REGEN :: 7 per 5 seconds (+0.6 per level) ⇒ 6 per 5 seconds (+0.65 per level)
• ATTACK RANGE :: 550 ⇒ 525
• VISUAL :: Attack animation has been shortened slightly

Passive - Mana Surge

• Every 10 seconds, your next basic attack restores between 30 and 195 mana. The amount it restores scales with your character level.
• EFFECT :: Attacking an enemy champion restores double the amount of mana

Q - Arcanopulse

• FIRST CAST :: Begin channeling, gradually increasing the spell's range from 700 to 1400 while slowing down movement speed by up to 50%. Xerath can move while channeling.
• SECOND CAST :: Damage all enemies in a line for 80/120/160/200/240 (+0.75 ability power) magic damage
• COOLDOWN :: 9/8/7/6/5 seconds
• MANA COST :: 80/90/100/110/120
• RANGE :: Channeling increases the ability's range from 700 to 1400 over 1.5 seconds
• EFFECT :: Xerath can hold a full range Arcanopulse for an additional 1.5 seconds
• EFFECT :: While channeling this spell, Xerath gradually slows his movement speed by up to 50%

W - Eye of Destruction

• AOE DAMAGE & SLOW :: Calls down a ground-targeted blast of energy, dealing 60/90/120/150/180 (+0.6 ability power) magic damage to all enemies caught within the blast and slowing them by 10%
• CENTER OF BLAST :: Enemies caught in the middle of the blast instead take 90/135/180/225/270 (+0.9 ability power) magic damage and are slowed by 60/65/70/75/80% instead
• COOLDOWN :: 14/13/12/11/10 seconds
• MANA COST :: 70/80/90/100/110
• RANGE :: 1000

E - Shocking Orb

• SKILLSHOT NUKE :: Fires an orb of raw magic in a straight line. The first enemy hit takes 80/110/140/170/200 (+0.45 ability power) magic damage and is stunned for between 0.75 and 2 seconds (the stun duration is based on how far the orb traveled)
• COOLDOWN :: 13/12.5/12/11.5/11 seconds
• MANA COST :: 60/65/70/75/80
• RANGE :: 1000

R - Rite of the Arcane

• ULTIMATE :: Xerath roots himself in place and gains three shots of Arcane Barrage, a very long range magic artillery that does 190/245/300 (+0.43 ability power) magic damage to all enemies hit. Xerath can cancel this effect early. Half of the cooldown is refunded if no shots of Arcane Barrage were used.
• COOLDOWN :: 130/115/100 seconds
• MANA COST :: 100 at all ranks
• RANGE :: 3200/4400/5600

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Skarner

We gave Crystal Slash a stacking attack speed buff and moved its slow over to Fracture, which in turn lost its heal mark mechanic. Crystalline Exoskeleton’s movement speed bonus now ramps up over 3 seconds instead of instantly and Impale will root the target during the windup animation.

We’re giving Skarner a moderate rework to bring him slashing and impaling into the modern day. Our goals are to improve his overall counterplay, make Fracture a more useful skill and bring him up to current jungle standards. These changes shouldn't have a dramatic effect on Skarner's overall play pattern but they should make his kit feel more cohesive overall.

General

• BASE ATTACK SPEED :: lowered by 1%

Passive - Energize

• EFFECT :: Unchanged

Q - Crystal Slash

• EFFECT :: When a target is hit, Skarner gains an 8/10/12/14/16% attack speed buff that stacks up to 3 times
• SLOW :: No longer slows ⇒ moved to Fracture

W - Crystalline Exoskeleton

• COOLDOWN :: 18 seconds ⇒ 16 seconds
• MOVEMENT SPEED BONUS :: from 15/17/19/21/23% ⇒ 16/20/24/28/32% (now ramps up over the first 3 seconds)
• BASE SHIELD AND ABILITY POWER RATIO :: 70/115/160/205/250 (0.6 ability Power)⇒ increased to 80/135/190/245/300 (0.8 ability Power)
• EFFECT :: No longer provides an Attack speed bonus

E - Fracture

• COOLDOWN :: 10 seconds ⇒ 14 seconds
• EFFECT :: Targets hit are now slowed by 30/35/40/45/50% for 2.5 seconds
• MISSILE RANGE :: 800 ⇒ 1000
• MISSILE WIDTH :: reduced slightly
• MISSILE SPEED :: lowered slightly
• EFFECT :: Heal mark removed

R - Impale

• ROOT TIMING :: Impale now roots the target during the windup animation
• VOICE OVER :: Skarner will no longer prematurely celebrate with his catch lines ("NOW I’VE GOT YOU!") unless he has successfully grabbed a target 

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Champions

Ashe

We reduced Hawkshot’s cooldown at later levels and changed its bonus gold to 3 at all ranks.

Basically, we wanted Hawkshot to feel more valuable at rank 1.

E - Hawkshot

• COOLDOWN :: 60 at all ranks ⇒ 60/55/50/45/40
• BONUS GOLD ON KILL :: 1/2/3/4/5 ⇒ 3 at all ranks

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Dr. Mundo

Mundo’s cleavers got skinnier.

Designers keep watch over Mundo with skinny cleaver change. Now Mundo get no corporate bonus for bad cleaver. This separate good Mundo from great Mundo.

Q - Infected Cleaver

• MISSILE WIDTH :: 80 ⇒ 60

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Evelynn

The closer Evelynn is to her target, the faster her Hate Spike projectile travels.

We still like the notion behind our last Hate Spike change, but we’re not really happy with how it feels in game. Adjusting the ability’s missile speed still rewards enemies for keeping their distance, but also rewards Evelynn for getting up close and personal.

Q - Hate Spike

• MISSILE SPEED :: Re-adjusted missile speed to more consistently hit close targets (now has a high initial missile speed that rapidly decelerates as it travels)

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Kayle

We lowered Reckoning’s AP ratio while raising the AP ratio of Divine Blessing’s heal. We also added an AP ratio to Divine Blessing’s movement speed bonus and removed Intervention’s mana cost.

Once she gets ahead, Kayle's burst damage can be overwhelming to play against. While we're taking away some of Kayle's up-front burst, the utility scaling on Divine Blessing should help her and her team get INTO (and out of) THE FRAY.

Q - Reckoning

• ABILITY POWER RATIO :: 1.0 ⇒ 0.6

W - Divine Blessing

• HEAL/ABILITY POWER RATIO :: 0.35 ⇒ 0.45
• MOVEMENT SPEED BONUS :: now scales with ability power (+7% per 100 ability power)

R - Intervention

• MANA COST :: 100/75/50 ⇒ none

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Riven

We lowered Riven’s base health regen and increased the power of Valor’s shield.

We’re reinforcing one of Riven’s core philosophies: she's a champion who should rely on mitigating or avoiding damage to be successful. Enemies who harass Riven should feel rewarded for hitting her when her defenses are down, while Riven players can feel better about using her buffed shield to prevent that damage in the first place.

General

• BASE HEALTH REGEN :: 5.5 per 5s ⇒ 2.5 per 5s

E - Valor

• SHIELD :: 70/100/130/160/190 ⇒ 90/120/150/180/210

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Rumble

Flamespitter looks… okay.

Rumble now spits real flame instead of meatballs.

Q - Flamespitter

• VISUAL UPDATE :: Spell effect has been updated

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Thresh

Thresh’s very long range basic attack is a powerful threat in lane, so this change introduces a little more vulnerability to his kit.

General

• BASIC ATTACK RANGE :: 475 ⇒ 450

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Yasuo

It now takes more movement to generate flow and Sweeping Blade gives less flow when Yasuo dashes. We also reduced Last Breath’s cast range.

We made some general quality of life changes to Yasuo in patch 4.1 , but as players begin to master him, we’ve seen how strong he is when played to maximum effectiveness. We looked at areas where we could reduce some of that power without messing with his core playstyle. We were also unhappy with how Yasuo was using Last Breath to engage in fights by teleporting from thousands (and thousands) of miles away.

Passive - Way of the Wanderer

• MOVEMENT TO GENERATE A UNIT OF FLOW :: increased by 15%

Q - Steel Tempest

• VISUALS :: Now passively displays a range indicator around Yasuo when Steel Tempest's Whirlwind is available

E - Sweeping Blade

• PASSIVELY GRANTS FLOW WHEN HE DASHES :: 4/8/12/16/20% ⇒ 3/6/9/12/15%

R - Last Breath

• CAST RANGE :: 1300 ⇒ 1200
• BUG FIX :: Fixed a bug where Last Breath could sometimes be used beyond the maximum range

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Ziggs

Hexplosive Minefield will deal less damage to minions as they hit successive mines. Short Fuse’s base damage and AP ratio were both reduced at lower levels.

Our changes to Ziggs in patch 3.13 turned him into monster when it comes to pushing and counterpushing. While we like the philosophy behind the change, Hexplosive Minefield is a little too good as a wave clear tool, letting Ziggs play passively without any repercussions. The Short Fuse change has a bunch of numbers, but the TL;DR is that it’s just a small nerf to Zigg’s early game harass.

Passive - Short Fuse

• BASE DAMAGE ::20/27/34/41/48/56/64/72/80/88/96/105/114/123/132/141/150/160 (20 +7 at levels 1-5 / +8 at levels 6-11 / +9 at levels 12-17 / +10 at level 18) ⇒20/24/28/32/36/40/48/56/64/72/80/88/100/112/124/136/148/160 (20 +4 at levels 1-6 / +8 at levels 7-12 / +12 at levels 13-18)
• RATIO :: 0.35 at all levels ⇒ 0.25 ability power at levels 1-6, 0.3 at levels 7-12 and 0.35 at levels 13-18

E - Hexplosive Minefield

• MINION DAMAGE :: 100% from all mines ⇒ 40% damage for each mine they hit beyond the first 

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Minor Changes and Bug Fixes

In our ongoing effort to create a more consistent League of Legends viewing experience, we’re standardizing certain elements of our user interface. Players using the old legacy floating combat text prior to this change will be assimilated into the collective player experience. Beep boop.

• Removed legacy floating combat text

• Added ticks to Vilemaw's health bar
• Fixed a bug that stopped the HUD from scaling while the game was paused

Akali

R - Shadow Dance

• CLARITY :: Akali's Shadow Dance stacks can once again be seen in her buff bar

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Elise

R - Spider Form

• COLLISION SIZE :: Fixed a bug where Elise's spider form size was smaller than intended for gameplay collision purposes.

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Maokai

R - Vengeful Maelstrom

• BONUS DAMAGE :: Fixed a bug where bonus damage stored was lower than intended (now 25% higher)

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Sona

E - Song of Celerity

• TOOLTIP TEXT :: Fixed a bug where the tooltip improperly showed Song of Celerity as having a .04 AP ratio for both effects - only the slow should have a .04 AP ratio
• HASTE RATIO BUG :: .01 AP Ratio ⇒ .02 AP Ratio
• SLOW RATIO BUG :: .02 AP Ratio ⇒ .04 AP Ratio

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Teemo

• SPELL EFFECT :: Fixed a bug where Toxic Shot could apply some spell effects like Tribute or Spell Weaving

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Yorick

• GHOUL IMMUNITIES :: Yorick's ghouls are no longer immune to slows (both Movement and Attack Speed) 

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Items

Statikk Shiv

• PASSIVE CRIT :: Passive now only critically strikes when the associated attack critically strikes

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Warden’s Mail

UNIQUE Passive - Cold Steel

• SLOW BUG :: Fixed a bug where Annie’s Tibbers, Malzahar’s Voidlings, and Elise’s Spiderlings were not being affected by the slow

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Randuin’s Omen

UNIQUE Passive - Cold Steel

• SLOW BUG :: Fixed a bug where Annie’s Tibbers, Malzahar’s Voidlings, and Elise’s Spiderlings were not being affected by the slow 

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Masteries

Perseverance

Perseverance as a mastery is incredibly powerful in comparison to other equivalent masteries - particularly once you get your first big HP item - so we're bringing it more in line.

• HEALTH REGEN :: 0.7%/1.35%/2% of missing health per 5s ⇒ 0.35%/0.675%/1% of missing health per 5s 

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Summoner’s Rift

The changes affect Summoner’s Rift Only

Turrets

Back in Patch 4.1 we made this change to directly counter fast push strategies in competitive play. Reducing the timing to 8 minutes from permanent is more in line with what we wanted to accomplish, so we did just that.

Top and mid lane outer turrets

• FLAT DAMAGE REDUCTION AGAINST CHAMPIONS :: permanent ⇒ first 8 minutes

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Twisted Treeline

These changes affect Twisted Treeline only

Kha’Zix

Same changes that exist on the Crystal Scar

Q - Taste Their Fear

• ISOLATION DAMAGE BONUS :: 45% ⇒ 35%

Evolved Enlarged Claws

• MISSING HEALTH DAMAGE :: 8% ⇒ 6%