League of Legends Patch 11.4 Highlights

Champions

Caitlyn

Base Stats

• DAMAGE GROWTH 3.3 ⇒8
• ATTACK SPEED GROWTH 3.5% ⇒ 4%

Caitlyn has been struggling quite a bit in Season 11. Her build path isn’t as optimal as the other meta ADC champions and her ability to bully others in lane hasn’t been shown to matter. While these changes alone will not thrust her into the spotlight, the nerfing of the two most powerful ADC champions may prompt some more players to try her out.

Camille

W – Tactical Sweep

• COOLDOWN 15/13.5/12/10.5/9 seconds ⇒ 17/15.5/14/12.5/11 seconds

One of the strongest top laners in the game has not gone unnoticed. Not only did she have the highest pick rate across skilled solo queue, she has also maintained a strong presence in pro play. Two seconds off of her W may not seem like the biggest hit, but for a champion who only builds between 20-40 Ability Haste, it will definitely be noticeable. Don’t expect Camille to disappear, but some champions may now be able to contest her better in the top lane.

Fiora

Passive – Duelist’s Dance

• MARK DAMAGE 2.5% (+4.5% per 100 AD) ⇒ 3% (+5.5% per 100 AD)

Speaking of top laners contesting Camille, Fiora has gotten a nice buff this patch. While the Grand Duelist has seen brighter days in ranked, pro players have not shied away from her. She has one pick in the LPL and is being played by many pros in solo queue specifically into the Camille matchup. Since Fiora has to save Riposte for Camille’s Hookshot stun, the W nerf will allow Fiora a bigger window to close the gap without being slowed. The scaling nature of Fiora’s mark true damage will also allow her to destroy tanks even harder, giving her more potential value as a draft counter pick.

Kai’sa

Q – Icathian Rain

• BASE DAMAGE PER MISSILE 45/61.25/77.5/93.75/110 ⇒ 40/55/70/85/100
• MAX SINGLE-TARGET BASE DAMAGE 101.25/137.8125/174.375/210.9375/247.5 ⇒ 90/123.75/157.5/191.25/225
• MAX EVOLVED SINGLE-TARGET BASE DAMAGE 168.75/229.6875/290.625/351.5625/412.5 ⇒ 150/206.25/262.5/318.75/375

The big bad wolf of bot lane is finally getting knocked down a peg. Kai’sa has absolutely terrorized all forms of play since the new season began. Her Q has received multiple nerfs that should see her early trading and shoving power reduced. At level 6, Kai’sa’s Q will hit for 7.5 less damage per missile and about 17 less on isolated targets. When fully scaled and evolved, she will be missing 37.5 damage per isolated Q. These nerfs are not overwhelming, but they should open early windows for Kai’sa to be punished before she scales into a mid-late game monster.

Katarina

R – Death Lotus

• ON-HIT DAMAGE RATIO 25% ⇒ 25/30/35%
• DAMAGE PER KNIFE 15% bonus AD (+9.9% per 100% total AS) ⇒ 16% bonus AD (+12.8% per 100% total AS)

Here’s an interesting buff to Katarina. The mid lane assassin has been very successful in skilled solo queue, having the third-highest pick rate in Diamond+ with a good win rate to boot. However, the bulk of her builds have been standard AP burst Kat. Variations that take advantage of her new on-hit damage on ultimate do exist but haven’t been quite as reliable. With these buffs, Katarina players may experiment more with Kraken Slayer-based builds or BotRK/Nashor’s rushes. Whether or not a new build will fully take the spotlight is up in the air.

Samira

Passive – Daredevil Impulse

• BONUS DAMAGE RATIO 7.5% AD ⇒5%-10.5% AD (levels 1-18)

Q – Flair

• DAMAGE RATIO 100% AD ⇒ 80/87.5/95/102.5/110% AD

W – Blade Whirl

• DURATION 1 second ⇒75 seconds

E – Wild Rush

• Samira no longer dashes through allies
• Samira can now dash through enemy towers, but will target champions over towers
• DASH SPEED 2050 ⇒ 1600

R – Inferno Trigger

• COOLDOWN 3 seconds ⇒ 8 seconds

Samira has been a controversial champion ever since release. Her strength was initially off the charts, drawing some of the highest ban rates in both solo queue and pro play. Even after multiple nerfs, Samira is still being constantly banned despite having <50% win rates in every level of ranked, plus the LCK and LPL. These changes aim to make Samira more fun to play against by nerfing or stripping oppressive mechanics.

Her passive bonus damage ratio has been nerfed early, scaling to its prior number at level 11. Q has also taken an early game nerf, but will be back to full capacity at level 7. The reduction in Blade Whirl duration plus the removal of Samira’s ability to dash through allies will make her much easier to pin down and kill. Hopefully, some of Samira’s ban presence will be reduced from Patch 11.4 on.

Soraka

Q – Starcall

• MOVEMENT SPEED BONUS 15/17.5/20/22.5/25% ⇒ 20/22.5/25/27.5/30%

W – Astral Infusion

• BASE HEAL 90/125/160/195/230 ⇒ 100/135/170/205/240

Soraka is already a very underappreciated champion. Despite a low solo queue win rate across the board, Soraka has been tested by pro players as a support, top laner, and even a bot lane carry. Even though Moonstone Renewer has been nerfed on this patch, these buffs more than compensate for that. Overall, Soraka is still a strong champion that just requires some time to get going.

Talon

W – Rake

• COOLDOWN 9 seconds ⇒ 9/8.5/8/7.5/7 seconds
• BONUS DAMAGE RATIO 40% AD ⇒ 55% AD

While Talon isn’t in an oppressive state at the moment, he still enjoys a dedicated group of high elo players in multiple regions. These buffs to his W should give Talon the wave shove he needs to roam and snowball more consistently. Since W is Talon’s first max, he’ll have access to the 8 second CD at level 5 and the 7 second CD at 9.

Items

Moonstone Renewer

• STARLIT GRACE ALLY HEAL 70-100 (based on ally’s level) ⇒ 50-100 (based on ally’s level)

The MoonStaff build has been very powerful in the hands of the right champions. With this nerf, the item has been toned down in the early game. When looking at the numbers, it’s important to note that champions don’t get Mythic items until they have built up quite a few levels. If someone completes Moonstone at level 9, they are only missing 11 base healing. While some of the more non-traditional MoonStaff builders may look elsewhere next patch, the combo will still be strong on enchanters.

Cosmic Drive

• No longer grants bonus movement speed when dealing ability damage
• If you have at least 160 ability power, gain 20 ability haste and 10-30 movement speed (based on level)
• ABILITY HASTE 30 ⇒ 20

The very niche Cosmic Drive has received a rework that will likely make it much more viable. The movement speed when dealing damage is gone and the base Ability Haste on the item has dropped from 30 to 20. Instead, the item now gives you a spike of 20 more Ability Haste and 10-30 movement speed based on level. Having constant value instead of conditional value will always make an item better.

Speaking of value, let’s look at the passive more closely. The item requires 160 AP to activate its stat boosts. Cosmic Drive itself gives 75 AP while Luden’s, Liandry’s, or Everfrost gives 80 AP. This means that with one Adaptive Force rune, the new passive will always activate as a second item. Expect to see this item a lot as a win more, snowball-type item.

Jungle Camp Changes

Gromp

• EXPERIENCE 135/138.375/145.125/155.25/168.75/182.25 (levels 1/3/4/5/7/9) ⇒ 125/128.125/134.375/143.75/156.25/168.75 (levels 1/3/4/5/7/9)
• GOLD 105 ⇒ 85

Large Krug

• EXPERIENCE 37/37.925/39.775/42.55/46.25/49.95 (levels 1/3/4/5/7/9) ⇒ 27/27.675/29.025/31.05/33.75/36.45 (levels 1/3/4/5/7/9)
• GOLD 42 ⇒ 32

Small Krug

• EXPERIENCE 18/18.45/19.35/20.7/22.5/24.3 (levels 1/3/4/5/7/9) ⇒ 16/16.4/17.2/18.4/20/21.6 (levels 1/3/4/5/7/9)

Crimson Raptor

• EXPERIENCE 45/46.125/48.375/51.75/56.25/60.75 (levels 1/3/4/5/7/9) ⇒ 35/35.875/37.625/40.25/43.75/47.25 (levels 1/3/4/5/7/9)
• GOLD 45 ⇒ 35

Ever since jungle items were removed, junglers have had their build paths opened up. Their high early gold generation has led to stronger power spikes allowing the role to completely take over the game. These numbers may be hard to fully digest, but it essentially boils down to giving junglers less gold and experience through the first 9 levels of clearing.

A full clear now gives 40 less gold than it did last patch. At level 1, junglers will earn 42 less experience while a level 9 clear is missing 56.7 exp. This will noticeably stack up over numerous clears in the early levels, allowing solo laners to stay decisively ahead of junglers.

And those are all the major changes of Patch 11.4. Seeing strong champions like Kai’sa, Camille, and Samira being nerfed is very promising for the meta moving forward. Hopefully, all of the changes that have been made to both under-utilized champions and items will help shake things up as the season is now in full swing. As for the jungle, it will be interesting to see which champions excel with the new resource values. Carry junglers could start to take a back seat to more tanky, supportive ones.