League of Legends (LoL) received patch 9.6 with changes to the champions and game system. Among the modifications is Kayle’s first update after the rework of the champion, and changes in the abilities of the Urgot. The patch also introduces changes to Neeko, Ornn and Rek’Sai. Another novelty is the reset in ranked queues after reports from players.
Talked a bit about CS bounties and the tweaks we are making to them in 9.6 over on the boards — https://t.co/pnqiiDR205
— Josh Leesman (@esportsjatt) March 14, 2019
Here are the most important changes to LoL with patch 9.6.
Urgot
Urgot received changes in virtually all of his abilities, including his passive that now deals more damage to the target champion. The shield granted by his W ability has been withdrawn, but had its mana cost, recharge time, and on-hit damage reduced. The shield has now been granted to skill E, which has increased the mana cost and boost in damage. The range, damage, and casting time of the ultimate have been increased by the developer.
Kayle
After rework in patch 9.5, Kayle received some adjustments based on the results presented. The attack damage and attack speed have been nerfed. Her W ability received a nerf in the movement speed multiplier, as well as her ability E which now only lasts for basic attack time. In addition, her Standard Adaptive strike was switched from Ability power to Attack Damage.
Current state of 9.6:
Buffs: Ornn, Trundle, Urgot, Xayah, Caitlyn, Gnar, Hecarim, Nautilus, Shen
Nerfs: Rek'Sai, Sylas, Jayce, Morgana, Zoe, Leblanc, Overheal, Dematerializer
Changes: Kayle, Ivern, Ghost Poro, Manamune
Notably doing Tear stuff instead of Ezreal.
— David Capurro (@OdysseyDcap) March 12, 2019
Neeko
In the previous update, Neeko was nerfed. In patch 9.6, attack speed is increased from 1.5% to 2.5%, but her W ability, Shape Shifter, will no longer proc twice at high attack speeds.
Ornn
In patch 9.1, Ornn was changed from being an aggressive champion in the laning phase to become the opposite i.e. weak in the early game and a menace in the late game. But the current meta requires strength in the early game, so some changes were needed to bring Ornn back. Its Q does not go into cooldown if Ornn is in the middle of a charge and the cooldown time of the W has been reduced. Accidental cancellation of charge in the E and R skill has been fixed by the developer.
Got last minute changes to the Trundle and Urgot lists before we cut the 9.4 patch. We expect Urgot's probably going to be pretty sad for a patch or two, but there's some stuff we're considering to encourage more offensive builds a few patches out if that ends up true. pic.twitter.com/HB975JujcB
— David Capurro (@OdysseyDcap) February 13, 2019
Reset in ranked rows
After disapproval from the League of Legends community, Riot Games decided to partially reset the top ranks:
- Master +: All players in the Master, GrandMaster, and Challengers bracket become Master o LP.
- The plays in Diamond I to III: Players in Diamond I, II and III will lose one division, but will have their progress in the promotion series and LPs preserved.
- Diamond IV: Players in Diamond IV get no LPs regardless of their status before the update.
- Diamond I Promotion Series: For players in Diamond I who are in series, their number of wins or losses will be reduced.
- Rewards: rewards will be retained, but will be in accordance with the new ranking.
- GrandMaster and Challenger: rewards for GrandMaster ranker will be locked until March 27 and the Challenger until April 3.
Meanwhile, some minor bug fines and changes have been introduced to the matchmaking.
