LoL jungler Amumu in Patch 14.9

As of the latest data from U.GG, Amumu reigns first as the top-performing jungler across all ranks, boasting an impressive win rate of 52.74%. Only Rammus comes close, trailing slightly behind with a win rate surpassing the 52.27%.

This sudden rise to prominence for Amumu can largely be attributed to the subtle buffs introduced in Patch 14.9 by Riot Games. While the improvements may seem modest, with a mere increase in base attack damage and armor by four and three points respectively, they have proven to be quite impactful in elevating Amumu’s performance on the rift.

Prior to these adjustments, Amumu was already holding his own in the jungle, maintaining a respectable win rate of 50.48% in Patch 14.8. However, the recent buffs have undoubtedly transformed him into a formidable contender in the League of Legends meta.

However, it’s worth noting that Amumu’s dominance is more pronounced in lower ranks, reflecting his reputation as a champion favored by less experienced players due to his straightforward yet strong kit.

In higher ranks, where skill and strategy play a more significant role, other junglers such as Rek’Sai and Ivern continue to exert their dominance with win rates exceeding 52%. Nevertheless, Amumu remains a viable option, holding his own with a commendable win rate of 51.15% in Emerald+ rankings.

Looking ahead to Patch 14.10, scheduled changes to champions like Skarner, Viego, and Nocturne hint at potential shifts in the jungle metagame. With these adjustments, it’s likely that the dynamics of jungle gameplay will evolve once again.

With the Mythic Essence serving as a hybrid of its predecessors, players now have the opportunity to acquire Prestige Edition, Hextech, and Mythic skins directly from the Mythic Shop, with the entire inventory undergoing rotation on a monthly basis.

Patch 14.9 Mythic Shop rotation

Skins

Currently, the Mythic Shop boasts a selection comprising 5 Prestige skins, 2 Hextech skins, and 1 Crystalis Indomitus skin. However, the offerings don’t stop there, as players can also expect to find rotating accessories aligned with the thematic essence of the new Crystalis Motus skins.

Accessories

Additionally, accessories associated with Crystalis Indomitus Kha’Zix will also make their appearance, enhancing the diversity and allure of the shop’s offerings.

Patch 14.10 Mythic Shop rotation

To add to the excitement, the Mythic Shop promises regular updates with 2 Prestige skins cycling in and out every month. Furthermore, players can anticipate the rotation of 2 older Hextech skins alongside a new Mythic skin every three months, ensuring a steady influx of fresh content to explore and acquire.

When it comes to pricing, skins within the Mythic Shop vary in cost depending on their unvaulting history. Prestige skins are initially priced at 125 ME for their first appearance, with subsequent unvaults seeing an increase to 150 ME for the second, and 200 ME for any subsequent appearances thereafter.

Similarly, Hextech skins are priced at 100 ME for their debut, with subsequent appearances fetching 125 ME, providing players with a dynamic pricing model that rewards early adoption while maintaining accessibility for repeat purchases.

The next rotation of the Mythic Shop is slated to coincide with the launch of League of Legends’ new patch 14.10 on May 15, 2024.

They’ve been working hard to get everything ready for the patch for 2024 MSI, focusing on making the game better for pro players and competitive play. Now, they can finally concentrate on fixing other issues in the game.

Some of the big changes in the upcoming patch include improving hitboxes, which will make aiming and hitting targets more accurate. They’re also giving Skarner another round of adjustments to make sure he’s balanced and fun to play.

Riot’s plan is to make adjustments to champions who have been too strong in season 14, so the game feels fairer for everyone. These changes will be tested on the League PBE first, so they might not all stick.

League of Legends patch 14.9 early notes

Champions

Ahri

• W damage reduced by five.
• R cooldown increased from 130-80 to 130 to 100.

Akshan

• Q movement speed changed from 20-40 percent to 20 percent flat.
• Q non-champion damage decreased from 40-90 percent to 40-80 percent.
• Minimum R damage increased from 20-30 plus 10 percent total AD to 25-45 plus 15 percent total AD.
• Maximum R damage increased from 80-120 plus 40 percent total AD to 75-135 plus 45 percent total AD.

Amumu

• Base AD increased by four.
• Base armor increased by three.

Aurelion Sol

• E AP ratio decreased from 100 percent to 80 percent.

Bel’Veth

• Passive attack speed decreased from 0.28-1 percent from level 1-13 to 0.28-1 percent from level 1-17.
• Q damage decreased from 10-30 plus 110 percent total AD to 10-30 plus 100 percent total AD.
• Q monster modifier changed from 140 percent total damage to plus 45-85 flat damage.

Blitzcrank

• Passive shield duration decreased from 10 seconds to four seconds.
• W movement speed reduced from 70-90 percent decaying to 60-80 percent decaying.

Evelynn

• W slow decreased from 65 percent to 45 percent.
• R AP ratio decreased from 75 percent to 65 percent.

Janna

• W damage changed from 55-195 plus 30 percent bonus movement speed and 60 percent AP to 55-175 plus 30 percent bonus movement speed plus 50 percent AP.
• E shield increased from 80-220 to 80-240.

Jinx

• R cooldown increased from 70-40 to 85-45.

Karma

• Q slow increased from 35 percent to 40 percent.
• R+E AoE shield increased from 90 to 100 percent.
• R+E AoE bonus Haste increased from 12 percent to 15 percent.

Kassadin

• E AP ratio decreased from 80 percent to 70 percent.

Malzahar

• Q mana cost changed from 80 flat to 60-80.
• E cooldown decreased from 15-7 to 11-7.

Master Yi

• E damage reduced by 10.

Nilah

• Q active damage total AD reduced by 10 percent at max rank with 10 percent less crit chance.
• Q active attack speed increased from 10-50 percent by level to 10-60 percent by level.

Olaf

• Q damage reduced by five.
• Q monster modifier increased by 5-25.
• R passive resists decreased from 10-30 to 10-20.

Pyke

• W cost increased from 50-65.
• W cooldown increased by two.

Sejuani

• Passive resists increased from 10 plus 50 percent bonus to 10 plus 75 percent bonus.
• W damage adjusted from 30-210 plus eight percent max HP to 10-130 plus 12 percent max HP.

Seraphine

• Q AP ratio increased from 50 percent to 60 percent.

Skarner

• Mana regeneration growth increased from 0.6 to 0.75.
• Q damage decreased from 10-70 to 10-50.
• W slow 20-40 percent to 20 percent flat.
• W shield decreased from nine percent max HP to eight percent max HP.

Taliyah

• Q mana increased by 10.
• Q bonus monster damage AP ratio reduced from 10 percent to five percent.

Twitch

• HP decreased from 682 plus 100 to 630 plus 104.
• R bonus AD reduced from 40-70 to 30-60.
• W slow AP ratio decreased from six percent AP to five percent AP.

Urgot

• Armor growth reduced from 5.45 to five.

Items

Death’s Dance

• AD increased from 55 to 60.
• Heal on kill increased from 50 percent bonus AD to 75 percent bonus AD.
• Build path now requires a Pickaxe.

Eclipse

• Melee max HP damage decreased from eight percent to six percent.

Hexdrinker

• Magic resist decreased from 35 to 30.
• New build path requires second Long Sword.

Maw of Malmortius

• Extra 15 Haste added.
• AD increased from 65 to 70.
• Magic resist decreased from 50 to 40.
• Price increased by 300 gold.
• Lifeline effect changed from 12 percent life steal to 10 percent Omnivamp.
• Lifeline shield 2.5 seconds to three second.

Sundered Sky

• Cooldown increased from six seconds to eight seconds.
• Heal based off of base AD decreased from 140 percent base AD to 120 base AD.

Sterak’s Gage

• Price increased from 3000 to 3200.
• Lifeline cooldown increased from 60 seconds to 90 seconds.

Patch 14.9 is set to go live on Wednesday, May 1, but remember, things could still change before then. All the changes, except for new skins, will be added during the downtime for patching.

In an effort to enhance the consistency of hitboxes for each champion in League of Legends, game designer Phreak has addressed existing inconsistencies. The initial wave of adjustments is slated to debut in the upcoming Patch 14.9 update, set to roll out next week.

Riot Phroxzon talked about Phreak’s focus on consistency during a patch preview on April 22. They want to make it easier to select champions and target them with spells. Phroxzon mentioned that champions’ hitboxes should match their size better, like not having a “Yordle-sized” Warwick or Briar.

Over the years, there have been small changes to these features, mostly for single-target attacks or abilities like Graves’ Q and Nautilus’ Q. Recently, Smolder had a small adjustment because his hitbox didn’t match his model exactly.

In Patch 14.9, 34 champions will have their hitboxes changed in three areas: the actual hitbox, the clickbox, or their ability to block minions. Yuumi and K’Sante will have changes in all three areas, with most champions getting changes to their clickbox, which is the area around the champion’s model.

We don’t know if every champion will get these changes eventually, but many are getting updated next week. The goal is to make all units in the game more consistent, not just champions.

We’ll probably get a list of all the champions getting changes before Patch 14.9 comes out next week. This update will also have changes to the ranked system and more nerfs for Skarner.

LoL Patch 14.9 Preview

Lee Sin ASU

Among the most anticipated features is the long-awaited Art and Sustainability Update (ASU) for Lee Sin. Riot Games is set to unveil a revitalized Lee Sin, complete with stunning visual enhancements, improved clarity, and enhanced sound effects.

Champions

Buffs

• Bel’Veth

Nerfs

• Ahri
• Aurelion Sol
• Blitzcrank
• Evelynn
• Janna
• Kassadin
• Master Yi
• Nilah
• Olaf
• Pyke
• Skarner
• Taliyah
• Urgot

Adjustments

• Akshan
• Jinx
• Twitch

Items

Buffs

Nerfs

• Spear of Shojin
• Sterak’s Gage
• Sundered Sky

Adjustments

• Maw of Malmortius
• Hexdrinker

Arena Game Mode

But that’s not all—Riot Games is also reintroducing the beloved Arena game mode in patch 14.9, set to make a grand return for a four-month stint in the client. Unlike previous updates, Arena will be available throughout the entirety of Ranked Season 14 Split 2, providing players with opportunities to partake in the gameplay it offers.

MSI 2024 Event

Furthermore, Patch 14.9 will coincide with the highly anticipated 2024 Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) event, offering players the chance to participate in thrilling Empyrean-themed battles.

Empyrean Skins

With the release of Empyrean skins, including a legendary skin for Varus and the debut prestige skin for Kayle, players will have even more reasons to immerse themselves in the event. During the MSI event, players can earn tokens and rewards simply by playing League of Legends games.

With that said, League of Legends Patch 14.9 is scheduled to go live on May 1st.

According to a recent Reddit post, players have found themselves receiving notably reduced experience, catching the immediate attention of the game’s developers.

This newfound issue arises when players mistakenly purchase and subsequently refund a jungle item, triggering an unexpected debuff that lower the experience garnered from lane minions. Such a setback fundamentally alters gameplay dynamics, placing affected individuals at a considerable disadvantage for the duration of the match.

Interestingly, this bug appears to exclusively affect a specific set of players who opt to take the summoner spell Smite while occupying roles outside the traditional jungle position. While this may limit the bug’s impact to a niche segment of the player base, its severity has nonetheless prompted swift action from Riot Games.

Acknowledging the community uproar, Riot Norak has responded to related Reddit threads, soliciting replays and ensuring investigation into the matter. This outreach has prompted an influx of testimonials from affected players.

Reports indicate that players who inadvertently bought and refunded the jungle item found themselves permanently afflicted with lower minion experience. This unintended consequence is speculated to stem from Riot’s adjustments to minion experience distribution for jungle roles, affecting players who unwittingly interacted with the item.

Even after attempting to rectify the situation through item refunds, the debuff persisted, effectively condemning affected players to a game-long handicap. However, with Riot’s active engagement and commitment to resolving the issue, a resolution is anticipated in the near future.

It is widely anticipated that the forthcoming Patch 14.9, slated for release on May 1, 2024, will include a fix for this disruptive bug, restoring balance to the game’s experience mechanics.

Diverging from last year’s event, which unveiled the captivating Inkshadow skin line, this year’s Mid-Season Invitational will forgo introducing its own distinct skin line, opting instead to reintroduce the dimension-defying Empyrean skins.

This decision promises players another opportunity to immerse themselves in the cosmic clash of darkness intertwined with neon-glowing stars. 6 new champions are poised to make their entrance into the cosmic universe of Neon Strata, with the Righteous one, in particular, debuting a Prestige edition of her skin.

Scheduled to kick off on May 1, the 2024 event heralds the resurgence of the Empyreans within the League universe, ushering in a fresh array of champions to join the cosmic fray.

Nocturne, Varus, Brand, Malzahar, Akali, and Kayle emerge from the depths of the universe, donning their Empyrean forms ablaze with celestial energy. Kayle, in particular, ascends to newfound levels with the Prestige edition of her Empyrean skin, embodying divine power in a manner never before witnessed.

League of Legends 2024 Empyrean skins

Akali

Price: 1350RP

Rarity: Epic

Brand

Price: 1350RP

Rarity: Epic

Malzahar

Price: 1350RP

Rarity: Epic

Nocturne

Price: 1350RP

Rarity: Epic

Varus

Price: 1350RP

Rarity: Epic

Kayle

Price: 1350RP

Rarity: Epic

Kayle (Prestige Edition)

Price: Battle Pass

Rarity: Prestige

From the sleek cybernetic designs to the mesmerizing glowing motifs, the Empyrean skins promise a visual spectacle for players eager to once again embrace the cosmic clash of champions. However, for those who opt to forgo this iteration of skins, Riot Games has an assortment of other cosmetics poised to grace League’s client.

The highly anticipated debut of the new Empyrean skins took place on April 16 on the PBE servers with their official release slated for May 1, perfectly timed to coincide with the return of both Arena and MSI, ensuring players are fully equipped to adorn their favorite champions in cosmic splendor as they venture into battle.

Released on April 17, Patch 14.8 immediately bolstered Skarner’s performance following many tweaks to the scorpion champion. However, it seems more changes are in the pipeline, as hinted by League content creator Spideraxe.

Skarner nerfs coming in LoL Patch 14.9

• P health damage reduced from 7% – 12% max HP to 7% – 10%
• Q health ratio reduced from 6% bonus HP to 5%
• W base damage reduced from 50 – 150 to 50 – 130

Shortly after the adjustments went live, Spideraxe discovered additional alterations added to the PBE servers and shared them on X. It appears that Skarner is already lined up for three nerfs, targeting his passive, Q, and W abilities.

Regarding his passive, the health damage it inflicts is set to decrease from 7-12 percent maximum health to 7-10 percent. Consequently, Skarner will deal considerably less damage with his other attacks, which rely on his empowered passive. Additionally, the health ratio of his Q ability has been reduced from six to five percent bonus health, while the base damage of his W ability has been diminished from 50-150 to 50-130.

While it’s premature to definitively label Skarner as overpowered in solo queue at the time of writing, his initial statistics for Patch 14.8 are certainly impressive. Presently, he boasts a 52.53% win rate in the jungle, according to U.GG, accompanied by a substantial 26.5% ban rate and a 8.2% pick rate. This marks a significant improvement from Patch 14.7, where his win rate languished at 42% by the update’s conclusion.

Given such a substantial climb in the rankings, it’s unsurprising that Riot Games is swift to respond. However, these impending changes should not be taken for granted, as Patch 14.9 is still two weeks away, with a scheduled release date of May 1.

Set to go live on the League client for the entirety of the second split of the ranked season, which spans from May through September, this version of Arena, as revealed by Riot Games in their dev blog, is poised to redefine the player experience.

New Map

One of the most anticipated additions is the introduction of a brand-new map dubbed “The Koi Pond.” This visually captivating arena boasts 3 distinct sections, providing ample space for thrilling 2v2 battles. With features like the Bloom Bridge, portals, and blast cones facilitating fluid movement between these segments, strategic maneuvering is key to securing victory.

In line with the new map, players can expect a revamped shopping experience within Arena. Aligning with the evolving thematic elements of League of Legends throughout Split 2, the introduction of a dedicated shop area promises to enrich the gameplay with opportunities for tactical decision-making.

Prismatic items and Anvils

Moreover, Arena introduces a groundbreaking item tier known as “Prismatic.” These exclusive items boast unparalleled stats and effects, empowering players to build unque champion builds.

Unlike conventional items, Prismatic items cannot be purchased directly from the shop; instead, players are presented with a selection of random Prismatics during specific rounds, reminiscent of the Augments system from previous version.

Arena also introduces the concept of Anvils, consumable items available for purchase in the shop. These Anvils offer players a choice of three random items within predefined categories, ranging from Prismatic and Legendary to Stat. Not only are Anvils a cost-effective way to purchasing individual items, but they also add an element of unpredictability to itemization strategies.

Rank System

In addition to gameplay enhancements, Arena brings about a revamped ranked system, set to kick off with a one-patch pre-season on patch 14.10. This new system accommodates party sizes ranging from 1 to 8 players, fostering diverse team comps while maintaining balance and fairness. Furthermore, the ranked season will be accompanied by refined matchmaking rules, ensuring a competitive yet enjoyable experience for all players.

Excitement for Arena’s return is palpable, with the mode already making its debut on the League of Legends PBE on April 15. Its official release for the wider player base is scheduled for May 1, coinciding with the launch of patch 14.9. While the ranked system’s implementation is slated for patch 14.10, players can rest assured that Riot Games is committed to delivering an immersive experience.

The blind monk is set to undergo a comprehensive visual update, along with an Art and Sustainability Update (ASU), aimed at refining both his appearance and gameplay mechanics.

This overhaul encompasses not only Lee Sin’s 3D model but also his body proportions, marking a significant departure from his current aesthetic. Riot’s development team, in a recent Dev Update video, shed light on their intention to revamp all of the champion’s skins, ensuring they are seamlessly aligned with the updated model.

Keen-eyed players may observe the introduction of a distinctive long ponytail adorning Lee Sin’s character model, a subtle yet impactful addition aimed at augmenting his visual identity.

This feature, though not newly introduced, has been enhanced to impart a more dynamic and natural appearance, free from the constraints of being statically affixed to his model.

Beyond the visual, the update extends to Lee Sin’s animations, encompassing his basic attacks and spellcasting motions. Notably, the champion’s abilities undergo a significant transformation, shedding the visual clutter that previously obscured gameplay clarity.

In its place, players can expect cleaner, more intuitive indicators signaling the activation and impact of Lee Sin’s abilities, facilitating smoother gameplay experiences.

Moreover, Riot Games has fine-tuned the champion’s sound effects, ensuring that each spell cast is accompanied by distinct auditory cues. This attention to detail not only enhances the gameplay experience but also clarity the execution and impact of Lee Sin’s abilities.

As anticipation mounts for the Lee Sin visual update, Riot Games has set a target release date of May 1, 2024, coinciding with the rollout of patch 14.9.