League of Legends Patch 11.23 Highlights

New Items

Crown of the Shattered Queen

• TOTAL COST 2800 gold
• BUILD PATH Lost Chapter + Kindlegem + Amplifying Tome + 265 gold
• ABILITY POWER 70
• HEALTH 250
• MANA 600
• ABILITY HASTE 20
• SAFEGUARD (PASSIVE) You are Safeguarded, reducing incoming champion damage by 75%. Safeguard persists for 1.5 seconds after taking champion damage (40 second cooldown, restarts upon taking damage from an enemy champion)
• POISE (PASSIVE) While Safeguarded and for 3 seconds after it’s broken, gain 10-40 (based on your champion’s level) ability power
• MYTHIC PASSIVE Grants all other Legendary items 1% Move Speed and 8 ability power

The new Mage Mythic item. Crown of the Shattered Queen provides decent all-around stats for spellcasters while the passive allows for increased safety against diving threats. Think of it like a Banshee’s Veil that persists for 1.5 seconds after getting hit, but with damage reduction instead of a spell shield.

Evenshroud

• TOTAL COST 2500 gold
• BUILD PATH Kindlegem + Aegis of the Legion + 300 gold
• HEALTH 200
• ABILITY HASTE 20
• ARMOR 30
• MAGIC RESIST 30
• CORUSCATION After immobilizing champions or being immobilized, cause that target and all nearby enemies to Repent, increasing the damage they take by 12% for 5 seconds
• MYTHIC PASSIVE Grants all other Legendary items 5 armor and 5 magic resist

Finally, tanky supports have a Mythic option other than Locket. Evenshroud provides decent resistances, HP, and ability haste for the 2500 gold price tag. The passive allows for big engages to immediately open up a fight by allowing your team to deal 12 percent more damage for five whole seconds. Alistar, Nautilus, Rell, and the entire engage crew will surely be taking this item.

Axiom Arc

• TOTAL COST 3000 gold
• BUILD PATH Serrated Dirk + Caulfield’s Warhammer + 800 gold
• ATTACK DAMAGE 55
• ABILITY HASTE 25
• LETHALITY 10
• FLUX (PASSIVE) Whenever an enemy champion dies within 3 seconds after you’ve damaged them, refund 25% of your ultimate’s total cooldown

Axiom Arc is a new lethality item. It has a very high price tag of 3000 for average AD and low lethality. Most of the value comes from the 25 ability haste and ultimate-refunding passive. With enough haste, three takedowns in a team fight are enough to entirely refresh the ultimate of champs that build it. Axiom Arc is essentially a big win-more item.

Shadowflame

• TOTAL COST 3000 gold
• BUILD PATH Hextech Alternator + Needlessly Large Rod + 700 gold
• ABILITY POWER 100
• HEALTH 200
• CINDERBLOOM (PASSIVE) Damage to champions benefits from 10-20 magic penetration based on the target’s current health. (Maximum value at 1000 or less health, minimum value at 2500 or more health.) Gains the maximum magic penetration if the target is recently affected by shields

Shadowflame is the new high AP option for the mage class. The price is pretty high, considering the cost of other mage items. The only raw stat it really brings is the 100 AP with a negligible 200 HP. However, the Cinderbloom passive can grant up to 20 flat magic penetration against low health or shielded targets. This essentially turns it into a snowball pickup that shines the most against teams with multiple shielding sources.

Winter’s Approach

• TOTAL COST 2600 gold
• BUILD PATH Tear of the Goddess + Kindlegem + Ruby Crystal + 1000 gold
• HEALTH 400
• MANA 500
• ABILITY HASTE 15
• AWE (PASSIVE) Gain bonus health equal to 8% mana
• MANA CHARGE (PASSIVE) Strike a target with an ability or auto attack to consume a charge and gain 3 bonus mana, doubled if the target is a champion. Grants a maximum of 360 mana at which point this item transforms into Fimbulwinter

Fimbulwinter

• BUILD PATH This item upgrades from Winter’s Approach upon reaching Mana Charge’s maximum bonus 360 mana.
• HEALTH 400
• MANA 860
• ABILITY HASTE 15
• AWE (PASSIVE) Gain bonus health equal to 8% mana
• EVERLASTING (PASSIVE) Slowing (melee only) or immobilizing an enemy champion consumes 3% of current mana and grants a shield for 3 seconds, absorbing 100-200 (+5% current mana) damage (8-second cooldown). The shield increases by 80% if more than one enemy is nearby

Tanks now have an option for mana items besides the all-armor and no HP Frozen Heart. Winter’s Approach and the upgraded Fimbulwinter grant 400 HP, tons of mana and ability haste for spamming spells, and bonus HP from its Awe passive. When upgraded, the Tanks get even tankier with a mana scaling shield.

Item Changes

Frostfire Gauntlet

• UPDATED SNOWBIND (PASSIVE) Basic attacks create a frost field for 1.5 seconds that deals 20-100 (+0.5% max health) magic damage to all enemies in the area. Enemies that move across the field are slowed (slow rate and cooldowns unchanged)

Turbo Chemtank

• NEW REFUEL (PASSIVE) Moving and dealing damage fills up the Chemtank. At 100 stacks, your next basic attack deals 40-120 (+1% max health, +3% Move Speed) magic damage to all nearby enemies (increased by 25% against minions and 175% against jungle monsters).
• REMOVED IMMOLATE (PASSIVE) Deals magic damage to nearby enemies upon taking or dealing damage
• MYTHIC PASSIVE Empowers each of your other Legendary items with 5 Ability Haste and 50 health

Sunfire Aegis

• ARMOR 30 ⇒ 35
• MAGIC RESIST 30 ⇒ 35
• MYTHIC PASSIVE Empowers each of your other Legendary items with 5% slow resist, 5% tenacity, and 50 health

These are sizable changes to the Bami’s Cinder tree of Mythic items. In addition to the Cinder itself now executing minions, each upgraded variant now has a unique feature to differentiate them from each other. Frostfire now does bonus damage to all enemies in the frost field when activated. Chemtank no longer has the immolate damage, but instead has charges that fill when moving and dealing damage. Basic attacking at full stacks unleashes an AOE burst that does bonus damage to jungle camps. Sunfire gains more damage and crowd control resistances.

Abyssal Mask

• BUILD PATH Giant’s Belt + Negatron Cloak + 900 gold ⇒ Kindlegem + Spectre’s Cowl + 650 gold
• HEALTH 400 ⇒ 450
• NEW ABILITY HASTE 10
• MAGIC RESIST 60 ⇒ 30
• UPDATED UNMAKE (PASSIVE) Curse nearby enemy champions, reducing their magic resist by 5 + 1% bonus health (max 20). For each cursed enemy, gain 7 magic resist

Force of Nature

• MAGIC RESIST 60 ⇒ 70
• UPDATED ABSORB Taking magic damage from enemy champions grants a stack of Steadfast (max 6) for 5 seconds. Enemy immobilizing effects grant an additional 2 stacks
• NEW DISSIPATE While at 6 stacks of Steadfast, take 20% reduced magic damage and gain 10% increased Move Speed

Updates are here for two of the three magic resistance tank items. Abyssal Mask has lost half of its MR, but now reduces the magic resistance of nearby enemies. This is similar to how the item used to function before the last preseason. Force of Nature is now the premier magic damage reduction item. Its MR has been upped to 70 and the Steadfast stacking system can provide an additional 20 percent reduced magic damage.

Everfrost

• TOTAL COST 3200 gold ⇒ 2800 gold
• BUILD PATH Kindlegem + Lost Chapter + Blasting Wand + 250 gold ⇒ Kindlegem + Lost Chapter + Amplifying Tome + 265 gold
• ABILITY POWER 80 ⇒ 70
• MYTHIC PASSIVE Grants all other Legendary items 15 ability power ⇒ 10 ability power

Everfrost is having its price decreased by a whopping 400 gold while losing 10 AP plus five more per Legendary item. This makes it into an earlier spiking option with equal cost and AP to the new Crown of the Shattered Queen.

Demonic Embrace

• ABILITY POWER 70 ⇒ 60
• HEALTH 350 ⇒ 450
• AZAKANA GAZE (PASSIVE) Dealing ability damage burns enemies for (2% for melee / 1.2% for ranged) max health magic damage every second for 4 seconds. No longer grants bonus resistances while enemies burn
• NEW DARK PACT (PASSIVE) Gain 2% of your bonus health as ability power

Demonic Embrace lacked clear use cases in the previous season. It has been changed, giving 100 more HP and 10 less AP. Its burn passive now deals more damage for melee champions, and bonus health is converted into more AP. This makes it a strong option on champions like Mordekaiser.

Archangel’s Staff

• BUILD PATH Tear of the Goddess + Amplifying Tome + Needlessly Large Rod + 915 gold ⇒ Tear of the Goddess + Kindlegem + Blasting Wand + 950 gold
• ABILITY POWER 65 ⇒ 60
• NEW HEALTH 200
• AWE (PASSIVE) Grants ability power equal to 3% bonus mana ⇒ Gain Ability Haste equal to 0.5% bonus mana

Seraph’s Embrace

• ABILITY POWER 65 ⇒ 80
• NEW HEALTH 250
• AWE (PASSIVE) Gain ability power equal to 3% bonus mana ⇒ Gain Ability Haste equal to 1.3% bonus mana
• EMPYREAN (PASSIVE) Increase your maximum mana by 5% (+ 2.5% per 100 AP) ⇒ Restore health equal to 40% of mana spent, up to 25-50 +10% ability power per cast. Toggles can restore the same amount per 1 second

The mage Tear of the Goddess items have been brought down in the stats department. They now give much less AP, both from base stats and from the Awe passive. They now grant HP, ability haste, and healing from mana spent. This means that control and artillery mages will build Archangel’s less while battle mages build it more.

Cosmic Drive

• BUILD PATH Fiendish Codex + Kindlegem + Ruby Crystal + 865 gold ⇒ Fiendish Codex + Aether Wisp + Ruby Crystal + 850 gold
• ABILITY POWER 80 ⇒ 75
• HEALTH 200 ⇒ 250
• ABILITY HASTE 20 ⇒ 30
• NEW MOVE SPEED 5%
• UPDATED SPELLDANCE (PASSIVE) Damaging a champion with 3 separate attacks or spells grants 20% Move Speed (decaying to 10%) and 40 ability power until leaving combat

Horizon Focus

• BUILD PATH Hextech Alternator + Needlessly Large Rod + 700g ⇒ Hextech Alternator + Fiendish Codex + 1050 gold
• ABILITY POWER 115 ⇒ 85
• NEW HEALTH 150
• NEW ABILITY HASTE 15
• HYPERSHOT (PASSIVE) Now also applies Hypershot to slowed enemy champions

Cosmic Drive and Horizon Focus were auxiliary mage items throughout Season 11 that gradually became core to many champions. Both items were very straightforward stat sticks that gave incredibly useful passives to the champions who could utilize them. The base damage on these items has been brought down in exchange for more HP, ability haste, and a stronger version of their passives. Cosmic Drive now has a mini Phase Rush that grants movement speed and AP, while Horizon Focus can now proc on slows.

Jungle Changes

Chemtech Drake

• DRAKE BUFF Grants up to 5% bonus damage per stack against enemies with 340-1020 (your level 1-18) more current health than you
• DRAGON SOUL When a team obtains the Chemtech Dragon Soul, they receive a buff that grants them a brief second life upon their next death. Champions revive with 80% of their base health + 50% of their bonus health and gain 75/30% (melee/ranged) decaying Move Speed. Revived champions take 40% less damage, deal 33% less damage, and take damage equal to an ever-increasing percent of their starting health every 0.25 seconds
• You might notice that Chemtech Soul is similar to the Ruined Drake buff from Ultimate Spellbook this summer, and it is!
• CHEMTECH RIFT Gas zones emerge in four jungle locations that camouflage any champion within it. Champions within the zone deal up to 10% more damage to enemies who have more current health than them. Maximum damage is achieved when at 340-1020 (based on the attacker’s level) less health than them
• CAMOUFLAGE Camouflaged enemies are not revealed by regular vision wards, but are revealed by Control Wards, Scryer’s Blooms, and effects that reveal invisible units. They’re also revealed while you’re standing near them

Hextech Drake

• DRAKE BUFF Grants 5 Ability Haste and 5% attack speed per stack
• DRAGON SOUL When a team obtains the Hextech Drake Soul, they gain a chain lightning slow on their next basic attack or ability that deals 25-75 true damage (based on champion level 1-18), bounces to 3 additional targets, and slows units hit by 45/35% (melee/ranged) (+5% per 1000 bonus health, +1% per 100 AP, +3% per 100 bonus AD) for 2 seconds (8-second cooldown)
• HEXTECH RIFT Pairs of Hex-gates appear across the map which allows champions to quickly travel from one location to its paired counterpart. Hex-gates are activated with a brief channel that can be interrupted by immobilizes or damage. Each pair of Hex-gates has a 30-second individual cooldown per champion

Two new Dragon types, Chemtech and Hextech, have been added to League of Legends. Chemtech Drake grants bonus damage to enemies with more current HP than you. The Soul essentially grants a buffed zombie form for dead champions to take advantage of. If you’ve never seen the Ruined Drake from Ultimate Spellbook, think Sion passive. Hextech Drake is a much more straightforward bonus to ability haste and attack speed. This Soul provides a Statikk Shiv proc on basic attacks and abilities that deals high damage and slows all enemies hit in the chain.

The map transformations are very unique. Chemtech Rift adds stealth zones to the areas around both teams’ Red Buffs and Wolf Camps. These zones add bonus damage on enemies with more current HP. Hextech Rift adds six portals that can transport champions out of their base and through the river. These new features will offer incredibly new scenarios for gameplay.

Cloud Drake

• CLOUD DRAKE BUFF 12 Ultimate Ability Haste ⇒ +3.5% out-of-combat Move Speed, +3.5% slow resistance

In order to not overlap with Hextech Drake’s effect, Cloud Drake now gives out-of-combat move speed (which it used to do) and slow resistance.

Rift Scuttler

• BABY BUG The first Rift Scuttler will now have 35% reduced health, grants 80% reduced XP, and has been slightly reduced in size to match its lower value. (Note: The 80% reduced XP does not impact the bonus XP granted by the Huntsman passive on jungle starter items.)

Runes

NEW Keystone: First Strike

• FIRST STRIKE (PASSIVE) Basic attacks or abilities against an enemy champion within 0.25 seconds of entering champion combat grants 5 gold and First Strike for 3 seconds, causing you to deal 10% extra damage against champions and granting 100% (70% for ranged champions) of bonus damage dealt as gold. 25-15 second cooldown (levels 1-18)
• NOT SECOND STRIKE If an enemy strikes you first, First Strike still goes on cooldown without providing any of its bonuses. (Unlike Banshee’s Veil, subsequent damage won’t keep restarting the cooldown)

Prototype: Omnistone

• Removed

The void that Kleptomancy left behind was filled by Omnistone last season. Unfortunately, it was largely useless. First Strike is the new replacement. Interestingly, it plays towards the extra gold function that Kleptomancy did by granting a bunch of bonus gold for earning the first hit in combat. It also has a 10 percent bonus damage function, making it useful in combat. This Keystone will likely see a lot of use in places like top lane, or even from mage supports.

Glacial Augment

• UPDATED GLACIAL AUGMENT (PASSIVE) Basic attacks on-hit periodically slow enemy champions ⇒ Immobilizing an enemy champion will cause 3 glacial rays to emanate from them towards you and other nearby champions, creating frozen lines for a few seconds that slow enemies for 35% (+5% per 10% heal and shield power) (+2% per 100 AP) (+2% per 100 bonus AD) and reduce their damage by 15% against your allies (not including yourself). The frozen lines last for 3 (+100% of the final duration of the immobilizing effect) seconds

Glacial Augment is now a peel-focused Keystone. The glacial rays that go from immobilized enemies towards you and your teammates make it much harder for them to chase. The heal and shield power scaling and damage reduction helps this niche even more. Expect to see it on enchanter supports like Janna.

Lethal Tempo

• UPDATED LETHAL TEMPO (PASSIVE) Gain (15% for melee/5% for ranged) attack speed for 6 seconds when striking at least one enemy champion with each auto attack. This effect stacks up to 6 times. While this effect is at its cap, also gain (50 for melee/100 for ranged) attack range and increase your attack speed cap from 2.5 to 10

Lethal Tempo is being specialized for more attack speed stacking over a fight. Six auto attacks grant 90 percent for melee champs and 30 percent for ranged champs. When at full stacks, Tempo users now get bonus range to help them clean up fights.

Objective Bounties

Objective Bounties are calculated in the background based on four factors: XP lead, Gold lead, Dragon lead, and Turret lead. When they activate, each objective available to the team that’s behind gains a bounty. Bounties start at the following, split evenly amongst all five team members.

• BARON & ELDER DRAGON 500 gold
• DRAKES & RIFT HERALD 500 gold
• OUTER TURRET 250 gold
• INNER TURRET 400 gold
• BASE TURRET 400 gold

As the losing team falls farther behind, these base amounts can increase up to an additional 60%. The exact bounty for each reward will be visible under the losing team’s objective icons in the tab menu.

Objective Bounties activate 15 seconds after a team falls below the threshold and deactivate 15 seconds after they rise above it. This deactivation timer extends if the losing team remains in combat with an objective that has an active bounty.

Objective bounties are a new way for teams who fall behind to come back into the game. It will function similarly to champion bounties, accruing based on XP, gold, and objective leads. Since they are split across all players unlike champion bounties, each player will only get between 50 and 100 gold at base, scaling an extra 60 percent when really far behind. Still, taking multiple of these at once will quickly swing a game.

It’s unclear exactly how this new system will affect the meta. It will likely cause many more “throw” moments since now, one lost fight while ahead will grant both champion and objective bounties, granting even more gold for comebacks than before.

Those are the most important changes of League of Legends Patch 11.23. This was an absolutely massive patch for Preseason 12. There are tons of new and updated items and runes to test out, two new Dragons and Rift transformations to play around with, and a new bounty system to get the hang of. The game is about to go through a chaotic period of change.