League of Legends Patch 12.16 Highlights

Champion Nerfs

Diana

Passive – Moonsilver Blade

• Empowered Cleave Damage 20-250 (based on level) (+50% AP) ⇒ 20-220 (based on level) (+50% AP) (Note: Base Damage Level Comparisons: Level 6: 55 ⇒ 45, Level 11: 120 ⇒ 95, Level 16: 210 ⇒ 170)

E – Lunar Rush

• Magic Damage 50/70/90/110/130 (+ 45% AP) ⇒ 50/70/90/110/130 (+ 50% AP)

Despite this being listed under the “Adjusted” section, these changes are very clearly nerfs overall. Since the AP ratio on Diana’s passive is staying the same, she’s losing all of that damage shown in the Base Level comparison. That leaves the E ratio buffs to balance it out.

However, 5 percent AP doesn’t do that. If we assume Diana is level 16 with 400 AP, she’s losing 40 damage on passive proc while getting 20 damage on E cast. Add that to the fact that losing passive damage slows down her jungle clear and you have a nerfed Diana overall.

Draven

Q – Spinning Axe

• Base Damage 45/50/55/60/65 ⇒ 40/45/50/55/60

Draven has become a staple pick, both in pro play and solo queue for the first time in quite a while. His high base damage has allowed him to dominate bot lane and snowball the game by himself. A five point nerf to his Q damage will result in a lot of lost damage throughout lane, which should make it easier for his opponents to survive.

Poppy

Q – Hammer Shock

• Percent Health Damage Minion/Monster cap 50/80/110/140/170 ⇒ 30/60/90/120/150 (Note: this cap applies to the initial cast and the reactivation)

As one of the best meta junglers right now, Poppy was pickable in almost every situation, even when her opponents weren’t stacking mobility. Riot has responded with huge nerfs to her clear speed. Since the 20-damage reduction applies to both hits, Poppy is losing a ton of damage to her jungle camps. She’ll likely be hurt quite a bit by this patch.

Yuumi

E – Zoomies

• Bonus movement speed 20% (+ 6% per 100 AP) ⇒ 20% (+ 2% per 100 AP)
• Cooldown 12/11/10/9/8 seconds ⇒ 12/11.5/11/10.5/10 seconds

The Yuumi nerfs keep rolling in as she keeps dominating the game. The untargetable enchanter that everyone loves to play against is still here in full force. This time, it’s a nerf to the movement speed that Zoomies grants, as well as a cooldown nerf at max rank. This might actually be enough to make her drop in priority, but Yuumi always seems to stick around somehow.

Zeri

Q – Burst Fire

• Damage 8/11/14/17/20 (+ 105/110/115/120/125% AD) (+60% AP) ⇒ 8/11/14/17/20 (+ 100/105/110/115/120% AD) (+60% AP)

W – Ultrashock Laser

• Damage 20/55/90/125/160 (+ 130% AD) (+ 60% AP) ⇒ 20/55/90/125/160 (+ 100% AD) (+ 40% AP)

The other half of the dominant Yuumi Zeri lane has also been hit in League of Legends Patch 12.16. Scaling nerfs are in to her Q and W damage. Seeing as how Zeri’s W was hitting like a stronger Lux ultimate, a 30 percent AD scaling reduction is definitely appreciated. Still, Zeri has an abundance of mobility and scaling which lets her farm pentakills like no other. She likely won’t be going away completely.

Champion Buffs

Jayce

Q (Hammer Form) – To the Skies!

• Damage 55/95/135/175/215/255 (+ 120% bonus AD) ⇒ 55/100/145/190/235/280 (+ 120% bonus AD)

E (Hammer Form) – Thundering Blow

• Damage 8/10.4/12.8/15.2/17.6/20% of target’s maximum health (100% bonus AD) ⇒ 8/10.8/13.6/16.4/19.2/22% of target’s maximum health (100% bonus AD)

Jayce and pre-Worlds buffs, name a more iconic duo. The top lane bully has been slightly hurt by the Durability Update and its aftermath, but pro top laners, especially in China, still love to show dominance with him. Expect Jayce to become a powerful pick throughout the rest of the season, and look forward to seeing some NA Jayce on the Worlds stage again.

Kai’Sa

Passive – Second Skin

• Plasma on-hit base damage 4-16 (based on level) ⇒ 5-23 (based on level)
• Caustic Wounds additional damage per Plasma stack before application 1-8 (based on level) ⇒ 1-12 (based on level)

Q – Icathian Rain

• Damage per Missile 40/55/70/85/100 (+ 50% bonus AD) (+25% AP) ⇒ 40/55/70/85/100 (+ 50% bonus AD) (+30% AP)

R – Killer Instinct

• Shield Strength 70/90/110 (+ 90/135/180% AD) (+ 90% AP) ⇒ 70/90/110 (+ 90/135/180% AD) (+ 120% AP)

Before anyone screams about the second coming of AP one shot Kai’Sa, these buffs are much smaller than they appear. The passive damage increase and Q AP ratio buff are minor, but will stack up over time with the high AP Nashor’s Tooth build. The R shield increase does nothing since Kai’Sa’s shield literally never gets burnt through. The damage buffs won’t propel her into the meta, but she should feel like she’s outputting more DPS.

Malphite

Passive – Granite Shield

• Cooldown (levels 1/7/13) 10/8/6 seconds ⇒ 8/7/6 seconds

W – Thunderclap

• Cooldown 12 at all ranks ⇒ 12/11.5/11/10.5/10 seconds

Malphite has been given some really big buffs this patch. First off, two seconds off of his shield is an amazing tool that gives him more survivability and trading power in lane. Secondly, two seconds off of his maxed W is fantastic in many of his matchups where he is looking to spam it off cooldown for trading and farming. In scenarios where Malphite is pickable, he’s going to be a lot better at warping top lane in his favor.

Tristana

Q – Rapid Fire

• Bonus Attack Speed 50/65/80/95/110% ⇒ 65/80/95/110/125%

Tristana’s Q now provides an extra 15 percent attack speed. That’s more than a Dagger’s worth, which can easily make the difference in her trades and signature all-ins. Expect to see some Tristana cropping up soon, potentially even in mid and top lane.

Zoe

W – Spell Thief

• Minions killed by Allied champions will now also drop orbs while Zoe is within 1500 range

E – Sleepy Trouble Bubble

• Magic Damage 60/100/140/180/220 (+40% AP) ⇒ 70/110/150/190/230 (+45%)
• Maximum Pop Damage 60/100/140/180/220 (+40% AP) ⇒ 70/110/150/190/230 (+45%)

Zoe is receiving some massive buffs in this patch. Her niche of being a catch-oriented poke mage is helped a lot by the buffs to her E’s base damage and AP ratio. On top of that, being able to take more orbs from Spell Thief without needing to last hit minions has a lot of applications in game. The most notable one is that Zoe support actually becomes playable now.

Those are all the biggest changes of League of Legends Patch 12.16. This patch is small overall compared to the mammoth patches we’ve had up to this point. There are a couple potential wrinkles to the meta that could happen as a result of these changes, so keep an eye out as Worlds draws closer.