League of LegendsPatch 13.3 brings with it the highly-anticipated Aurelion Sol rework, Ahri’s visual update and a whole host of balance changes.
The star-throwing map-roaming dragon Aurelion Sol has changed a lot. The Star Forger’s rotating spheres are gone, replaced with a steady stream of cosmic dragon breath. His W isn’t unlike his old E, maintaining his identity as a champion that roams effectively. His new W, meanwhile, is a like a mini-shockwave that executes enemies below a certain health. Sol’s new-look ultimate crashes a star into the ground, stunning those in its radius. Sol also now has a stacking mechanic, gathering stardust that powers up his abilities. You can watch SkinSpotlights’ demonstration of the new Aurelion Sol below.
The Nine-Tailed Fox has a new look. Ahri has received a full visual update, with Riot promising her tails are “fluffier than ever.” It’sbetter seenthan described.
Balance-wise, Riot has adjusted the power of some popular items like Radiant Virtue and Umbral Glaive. Melee supports have also been buffed across the board to address the recent dominance of ranged supports. Anyone who watches professional League of Legends will be well aware of the current epidemic of Ashe versus Heimerdinger every game.
Other than that, various champions have been changed, tenacity has been adjusted and as always, there are a couple of new skins on the way.
First, the buffs. Alistar, Braum, Nautilus, Pyke, Thresh and Rakan have all benefitted from the melee support buffs. These are generally just increased numbers across the board for these champions.
One of League’s oldest champions, Annie, has received a buff to several of her abilities. Interestingly, Annie will now spawn with a fully-stacked passive at both the start of the game and when she respawns after death.
Jarvan IV has received a buff to his W (Golden Aegis) which has been traditionally quite underwhelming. Riot’s hope is that the extra bit of durability will allow Jarvan players to pursue more high-damage builds. Kayle has received buffs to both her passive and her E (Starfire Spellblade).
Kayn’s Shadow Assassin form has received buffs to Q (reaping slash) as Blue Kayn has been struggling since the durability changes. LeBlanc has had her mana regeneration buffed following her recent dip in both power and popularity. My beloved Lee Sin has received a buff (finally) to both his Q (Sonic Wave) and E (Tempest/Cripple). Lastly, Trundle has received a buff to his W (Frozen Domain) cooldown.
Now, for the losers of Patch 13.3. Amumu has had small nerfs to both his Q (Bandage Toss) and E (Tantrum). K’sante has had his numbers adjusted to make him less beefy in his All-Out form, emphasising the need for him to isolate his opponents in fights.
The ever-oppressive Kassadin has received several nerfs to his E (Force Pulse) and R (Riftwalk). Zac has had his damage reduced to stop him from being both a mobile assassin and an unkillable tank.
Radiant Virtue is now more expensive with a longer cooldown on its passive. However, more importantly, the ability haste mechanic of the item has been removed. Riot Games must’ve known I’ve been spamming Karma top in recent weeks and finally had to shut me down.
Umbral Glaive has naturally seen a rise in popularity as marksman supports dominate. To compensate, Riot has increased the cooldown of the item’s vision denial passive and reduced the true damage dealt by ranged characters from 3 to 2 (melee characters will still do 3).
For an explanation of the new tenacity system and some of the other smaller changes coming in Patch 13.3, read the full patch noteshere.
