League of Legends Patch 12.23 Highlights

League of Legends Patch 12.23 is now live. This is the final patch of the year and continues to iron out the massive number of changes already introduced for the preseason. Only two items (plus one jungle item) were adjusted, but 18 champions have received a balance pass. Here are all the biggest changes of League of Legends Patch 12.23. For the full patch notes, click here.

Champion Nerfs

Lillia

Q – Blooming Blows

• Magic Damage: 35/50/65/80/95 (+40% AP) ⇒ 40/50/60/70/80 (+40% AP)
• Outer Edge True Damage: 35/50/65/80/95 (+40% AP) ⇒ 40/50/60/70/80 (+40% AP)

As expected (for us anyway), changing Lillia to a melee champion increased her strength by a large amount. The nerf to try and bring her in line is a loss of 15 damage on her Q, both for the inner hit and outer hit. When a champion’s main wave clear/jungle clear spell gets damage reduction, it tends to affect them quite a bit. Expect Lillia to be a tad slower, but still strong if she gets fed.

Mordekaiser

Passive – Darkness Rise

• Damage Cap against Monsters: 180 ⇒ 28-164 (based on level)
• Passive Proc on Monsters: Generates a stack on all monster hits ⇒ Generates a stack on large monster hits

Mordekaiser was having a lot of fun in the jungle after the first big preseason patch. These nerfs to hit passive will greatly reduce his clear speed, since he won’t be able to proc his passive on some camps that he could before.

Syndra

W – Force of Will

• Transcendent Upgrade Bonus Damage: 15% (+1.5% per 100 AP) ⇒ 12% (+2% per 100 AP)

E – Scatter the Weak

• Cooldown: 15 seconds ⇒ 17 seconds
• Magic Damage: 75/115/155/195/235 (+55% AP) ⇒ 75/115/155/195/235 (+45% AP)

Syndra has been incredibly good for the first time in a while following her mid-scope update. This round of nerfs is honestly pretty light. She is losing AP ratio on her E, but gaining some back on W. Overall, it should be a damage decrease for most of the game. The biggest part is the 2 second nerf to E’s cooldown. The main effect this creates is that Syndra will get two stuns off in a fight less often.

Trundle

Base Stats

• Base Attack Speed: 0.67 ⇒ 0.60

R – Subjugate

• Damage Based on Target’s Maximum Health: 20/27.5/35% (+2% per 100 AP) ⇒ 20/25/30% (+2% per 100 AP)

A base attack speed nerf to Trundle will notably decrease his clear speed, especially since he has an attack speed steroid in his kit normally. The nerf to his ultimate will be noticeable at later ranks, but Trundle will normally be outscaled by level 16 anyways.

Yuumi

Passive – Bop ‘n’ Block

• Cooldown: 14-6 seconds (based on level) ⇒ 18-6 seconds (based on level)

R – Final Chapter

• Root Duration: 1.75 seconds ⇒ 1.25 seconds

This is a massive nerf to Yuumi’s ultimate. A whole half a second of root time gone means that pick plays and Yuumi-based engages just got a lot more unreliable. The passive nerf mainly reduces how much Mana she can refund in lanes where she has a good matchup, making it easier to out-sustain her.

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Champion Buffs

Cho’Gath

Passive – Carnivore

• Mana Restored on Enemy Kills: 3.5-7.75 (based on level) ⇒ 4.7-9.5 (based on level)

W – Feral Scream

• Base Damage: 75/125/175/225/275 ⇒ 80/135/190/245/300

R – Feast

• Cooldown: 80 seconds ⇒ 80/70/60 seconds

For the scaling monster that is Cho’Gath, this set of buffs is huge in multiple ways. Firstly, more Mana refund on minion kills will allow him to stay in lane for longer. Second, 25 more base damage on his maxed W will increase the fighting power of his tank build. And finally, getting to use Feast more often means that Cho’Gath will seldom be missing the ability for stacking, fighting, or objective securing.

Dr. Mundo

Base Stats

• Base Magic Resist: 32 ⇒ 29
• Magic Resist Growth: 2.05 ⇒ 2.3
• Base Attack Speed: 0.72 ⇒ 0.67
• Attack Damage Growth: 3.5 ⇒ 2.5

Passive – Goes Where He Pleases

• Cannister Health Loss: 7% of current health ⇒ 3% of current health
• Cannister Heal: 8% of maximum health ⇒ 4% of maximum health
• Max Health Regen per 5 seconds: 0.8-1.6% (linear progression) ⇒ 0.4-2.5% (non-linear progression, equal at level 11)

Q – Infected Bonesaw

• Health Cost: 50 ⇒ 60

W – Heart Zapper

• Health Cost: 5% of current health ⇒ 8% of current health
• Gray Health Healed after Not Taking Damage: 0% ⇒ 50%
• Damage Stored as Gray Health: 25/30/35/40/45% ⇒ 80-95% based on level in the first 0.75 seconds, then 25% afterwards
• Duration: 4 seconds ⇒ 3 seconds

E – Blunt Force Trauma

• Passive Bonus AD: 15/20/15/30/35 (+ 25/30/35/40/45 based on missing health) ⇒ 2.5/3/3.5/4/4.5% maximum health
• Health Cost: 10/20/30/40/50 ⇒ 20/30/40/50/60
• Cooldown: 8/7.5/7/6.5/6 seconds ⇒ 9/8.25/7.5/6.75/6 seconds
• Bonus Damage to Monsters: 200% ⇒ 150%

R – Maximum Dosage

• Missing Health Gained as Maximum Health: 8/11.5/15% ⇒ 15/20/25%
• At rank 3, Mundo’s R’s healing effects are increased by an additional 5% per nearby enemy champion
• R no longer gives bonus AD

This is a large balance pass at Dr. Mundo. The gist of it is that Mundo is losing a decent chunk of AD and damage, mostly from the base and scaling ratios and his R cast. In exchange, Mundo will end up being a lot tankier when he hits level 16. This likely won’t force him into the meta, but in lower elo’s where players get punished in lane less often, Mundo will be a monster in the late game on League of Legends Patch 12.23.

K’Sante

Base Stats

• Base Health Regeneration: 8.5 ⇒ 9.5
• Health Growth: 104 ⇒ 108

E – Footwork

• E will now partially reset auto attacks in K’Sante’s base form, and will be a full auto attack reset while in his All Out form
• Wall Forgiveness: Adjusted E so that if K’Sante is very close to dashing through a wall he will now go through the wall

K’Sante has been fairly popular since his release, but everyone who plays him says the same thing: he feels underwhelming. These buffs to his HP pool and some nice quality of life on his E will make playing K’Sante even more fun.

Kassadin

Q – Null Sphere

• Shield Strength: 60/90/120/150/180 (+ 40% AP) ⇒ 80/110/140/170/200 (+ 30% AP)
• Shield is granted when the Q projectile leave’s Kassadin’s hand ⇒ Shield is granted when Q is cast

E – Force Pulse

• Cooldown: 5 seconds ⇒ 21/19/17/15/13 seconds
• This spell no longer requires a certain number of stacks in order to be cast
• Ally and enemy spells cast nearby Kassadin reduce E’s cooldown by 1 second

Some more anti-Mage buffs to Kassadin. Gaining 20 more base shield on his Q, coupled with the ability to instantly get it whenever you can cast, will make him much stronger overall into AP matchups. The change to his E should be power neutral in most cases, but some rapid fire champions like Casseopeia and Ezreal will feel much better playing into Kassadin.

Malphite

E – Ground Slam

• Magic Damage: 60/95/130/165/200 (+60% AP) (+30% Armor) ⇒ 70/110/150/190/230 (+60% AP) (+40% Armor)
• Mana Cost: 50/55/60/65/70 ⇒ 50 at all ranks

A huge buff to Malphite’s wave and jungle clear. It’s important to look at the earlier ranks, seeing as how Q max Malphite is often his best way of contesting lane. Even then, 15 more damage at rank 2 is notable.

Maokai

Passive – Sap Magic

• Heal: 4-34 (based on level) + (4-10% maximum health (based on level)) ⇒ 4-34 (based on level) + (4-12% maximum health (based on level))

Q – Bramble Smash

• Base Damage: 65/110/155/200/245 (+2/2.25/2.5/2.75/3% of the target’s maximum HP) ⇒ 70/120/170/220/270 (+2/2.25/2.5/2.75/3% of the target’s maximum HP)
• Bonus Damage to Monsters: 80/100/120/140/160 ⇒ 120/140/160/180/200

Maokai jungle is back in action. Gaining 25 more damage on his maxed Q and a whopping 40 bonus damage to monsters at all ranks means that he will be able to keep up in clear speed even with Immolate being gone.

Sion

Base Stats

• Base Mana: 330 ⇒ 400
• Mana Growth: 42 ⇒ 52

Q – Decimating Smash

• Base Damage: 30/50/70/90/110 ⇒ 40/60/80/100/120

Baus fans rejoice, these buffs will greatly increase Sion’s ability to farm all those creeps. Gaining 70 mana at level 1 is a big deal since Sion previously struggled to sustain himself. The 10 extra damage at all ranks on his Q is the icing on the cake. Sion should be inting a lot less after this patch.

Tahm Kench

Passive – An Acquired Taste

• On-Hit and On-Q Bonus Magic Damage: 8-60 (based on level) (+ 3% bonus health) ⇒ 8-60 (based on level) (+ 3% bonus health) (+ 2% AP per 100 bonus health)

Q – Tongue Lash

• Magic Damage: 80/130/180/230/280 (+ 90% AP) ⇒ 80/130/180/230/280 (+ 100% AP)
• Self Heal: 10/15/20/25/30 (+ 3/3.5/4/4.5/5% missing Health) ⇒ 10/15/20/25/30 (+ 5/5.5/6/6.5/7% missing Health)

W – Abyssal Dive

• Magic Damage: 100/135/170/205/240 (+ 125% AP) ⇒ 100/135/170/205/240 (+ 150% AP)

E – Thick Skin

• Damage Stored to Gray Health: 13/21/29/37/45% ⇒ 15/23/31/39/47%
• Increased Damage Stored to Gray Health: 40/42.5/45/47.5/50% ⇒ 42/44/46/48/50%

R – Devour

• Magic Damage: 100/250/400 (+ 15% (+ 5% per 100 AP) of target’s maximum health) ⇒ 100/250/400 (+ 15% (+ 7% per 100 AP) of target’s maximum health)
• Shield: Lasts 2.5 seconds after Devour ends ⇒ Decays by 50 health per 0.25 seconds after Devour has ended until gone

For those who wanted to play AP Tahm Kench, this is the patch for you. Buffs across the board to Kench’s damage on every spell and his sustain on Q and E. The only compensation nerf present is making his Devour shield disappear faster at lower AP values. But who cares, we’re eating enemies, not teammates.

Zeri

Base Stats

• Move Speed: 325 ⇒ 330
• Base Attack Damage: 50 ⇒ 53
• Base Armor: 20 ⇒ 24
• Health: 600 ⇒ 630
• Attack Speed Ratio: 0.568 ⇒ 0.625
• HP Growth: 109 ⇒ 115

Passive – Living Battery

• Fully Charged Basic Attack Damage: 90-200 (based on level) (+90%AP) (+1-15% (based on level) target maximum HP) ⇒ 90-200 (based on level) (+110%AP) (+1-15% target maximum HP)
• Gotta Zip Shield Bonus: 10% multiplicative Move Speed ⇒ 10% Move Speed (Note: this should make the shield stack worse with other Move Speed sources)
• Bonus Move Speed Duration: 3 seconds ⇒ 2 seconds

Q – Burst Fire

• Range: 825 ⇒ 750
• Conversion of Excess Attack Speed to Bonus AD: 60% ⇒ 70%
• Physical Damage: 8/11/14/17/20 (+ 100/105/110/115/120% AD) ⇒ 15/18/21/24/27 (+ 104/108/112/116/120% AD)

W – Ultrashock Laser

• Damage Type: Magic ⇒ Physical
• Physical Damage: 20/55/90/125/160 (+100% AD)(+40% AP) ⇒ 20/60/100/140/180 (+130% AD) (+25% AP)
• Cast Time: 2.5x Attack Time ⇒ 0.55-0.3 seconds (based on Attack Speed)
• Missile Speed: 2200 ⇒ 2500
• Beam Cast Time: 0.75 seconds ⇒ 0.85 seconds

E – Spark Surge

• Mana Cost: 80 ⇒ 90/85/80/75/70
• Cooldown: 24/22.5/21/19.5/18 seconds ⇒ 22/21/20/19/18 seconds
• NEW – For 5 seconds after using her E, Zeri gains Lightning Rounds and her Q – Burst Fire will deal additional magic damage to the first enemy hit
• NEW – Bonus Magic Damage to First Target Hit with Lightning Rounds: 20/22/24/26/28 (+20% AP)(+12% bonus AD).This damage is increased by up to 65% based on Zeri’s Critical Strike Chance.
• Lightning Rounds Pierce Damage Falloff after First Target Hit: 60/70/80/90/100% ⇒ 80/85/90/95/100%
• Vision while Sliding on Terrain: 850 units ⇒ 1500 units

R – Lightning Crash

• Zeri’s Overcharged attacks no longer deal 5/10/15(+15% AP) Bonus Magic Damage On-Hit
• Chain Lightning Range: 450 ⇒ 650
• On-Cast Magic Damage: 150/250/350 (+80% AP)(+80% bonus AD) ⇒ 175/275/375 (+110% AP)(+100% bonus AD)
• If Zeri’s R hits at least one enemy champion, Zeri gains 10% Move Speed, 30% Attack Speed, and chaining shots for 5 seconds. Hitting champions with Q or auto attacks refresh this buff by 1.5 seconds. (Note: this buff cannot be extended to be longer than its original duration.)
• Hitting enemy champions grants Zeri 1 stack (3 stacks for critical strikes) of Overcharge for 1.5 seconds. Zeri gains 0.5% Move Speed for each stack of Overcharge, stacking infinitely.

And for the longest list of changes of League of Legends Patch 12.23, we have Zeri. This controversial champion has basically been given a mid-scope update here. The main points to understand are that her Q’s range is now 750 instead of 825. Losing 75 range should allow for slightly more counterplay when she gets going.

Additionally, her W now deals physical damage and has a much bigger AD ratio and smaller AP ratio. This should ensure that the obnoxious AP W spam build stays gone. As compensation, Zeri now has access to a lot more on-hit damage when she actually does get to hit people and speed around in her R. Overall, this is definitely a much better direction for Zeri than letting her fluxuate between being the all-powerful goddess of League and a literal pea-shooter.

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Items

Ravenous Hydra

• AoE Splash Damage: 60% AD for melee champions /30% AD for ranged champions ⇒ 50% AD for melee champions/25% AD for ranged champions
• Omnivamp from Stacks: 4% ⇒ Removed

Ravenous Hydra was by far the best item in the game last patch. This set of nerfs should make it a bit less universally appealing. It’s lower AoE values combined with far less sustain will hopefully stop four champions from rushing one every game.

Sunfire Aegis

• Combine Cost: 1000 ⇒ 900
• Total Cost: 2800 ⇒ 2700
• Health: 400 ⇒ 500

Cheaper and more HP. Overall a nice power increase for Sunfire since top lane tanks still would like to build the item early into AD matchups.

Jungle Changes

Jungle Companions

• Companion Attack Damage: 20 (+ 15% AD) (+ 10% AP) (+ 4% bonus health) ⇒ 16 (+ 15% AD) (+ 10% AP) (+ 3% bonus health) (+ 10% bonus Armor) (+ 10% bonus Magic Resist)
• After their first evolution, jungle companions will consume 2 bonus treats on Large Monster kills and receive the associated benefits
• Bonus Treat Gold: 50 gold ⇒ 35 gold
• The 20% bonus damage provided by companions no longer works on Epic Monsters

The power level of Jungle went far too high with the initial round of preseason changes. Games would devolve into whichever jungler was playing the better champion and could get fed. Decreasing the AD of companions and the early treat gold should slow junglers down to be even with the rest of the game’s pace. Removing the bonus damage to Epic Monsters should also make early two-man Baron plays less viable.

And those are the biggest changes of League of Legends Patch 12.23! The preseason is in full swing and the game is changing at a rapid pace. We’ll have about a full month before the next patch due to the holiday break, so expect the meta to start solidifying until more major changes are introduced.