Hello to everyone except those who aren't my friend.
Before we dive into the patch changes, a quick PSA-- patch 10.4 will not be going live until February 20 due to American holidays!
In this patch, we're breaking top Sona and Soraka since they're grossly overpowered in the lane. Additionally, we're making larger changes to the jungle champion pool and giving some traditionally non-jungler champions better tools to do so if they want. This way, we're diversifying the arguably small champion pool for veteran and new players. And finally, we're making Aphelios a little easier to understand not just for the person playing him, but for his opponents too.
GRAVITY FIELD BUGFIX : When playing Viktor on the Chaos side (top side) his Gravity Field will successfully stun enemies walking through or standing on it on the third stack
BAMI'S CINDER BUGFIX : Trundle can no longer hurt his allies if he has Bami's Cinder or any of the items that it builds into by casting his pillar on an ally champion and displacing them
Amumu Q dash speed increased. R cooldown decreased and now stops dashes.
these buffs, plus the Immolate changes (spoiler alert!) in 10.4 should help Amumu as he tries to play with the big boys.
Q - Bandage Toss
DASH SPEED :[1350]⇒ 1800 after hitting an enemy
R - Curse of the Sad Mummy
COOLDOWN :
[150/130/110 seconds]
⇒
130/115/100 seconds
STOP! IN the NAME of LOVE Now stops enemies in the middle of their dashes
Aphelios Players can now see both of Aphelios' guns. Calibrum no longer resets basic attack timer after consuming a mark. Crescendum sentries die faster. R range decreased.
Aphelios is the galaxy brain marksman whose kit has a billion things you have to learn, but he's stressing out opponents who can't understand what he's doing and seems to be lacking adequate counter play at higher ranked games. Better clarity will lead to a drop in Aphelios' performance since opponents will more frequently make correct decisions, but we also threw some raw nerfs with a focus on making sure opponents have successful ways to catch him and beat him up.
Passive - Weapons of the Faithful
WEAPON VIEW Players can now see both guns Aphelios is holding next to his health bar
Calibrum, the Rifle
BASIC ATTACK RESET Aphelios no longer resets his attack timer right after consuming a mark (his attack timer still resets for the mark attack)
Crescendum, the Chakram
RED VS. BLUE : Aphelios' sentry's range indicators are now red for enemies when it's inactive
BASE NUMBER of SENTRY ATTACKS :[4]⇒ 3 (the number of attacks still scale with attack speed)
SENTRY HEALTH AGAINST RANGED : Ranged basic attacks deal [2]⇒ 3 damage (Sentries have 6 health)
SENTRY HEALTH AGAINST AOE : AoE attacks deal [2]⇒ 4 damage (Sentries have 6 health)
SENTRY BUGFIX : Aphelios' sentries no longer occasionally die upon being activated
Sharpening (can you sharpen guns?) Caitlyn's early game harass potential since she's sitting in a pretty weak spot right now.
Base Stats
BONUS ATTACK SPEED :[10%]⇒ 20% at level 1
Garen Increased Q empowered basic attack damage ratio. Increased W resistances after max from enemy kills. W shield increased.
Our goal is to bring back build diversity for Garen, specifically buffing his tankier builds while keeping his damage-oriented builds still viable. To that point, there is a change missing in this section that's included in the Jungle Champions section instead, so look below for that!
Q - Decisive Strike
EMPOWERED BASIC ATTACK DAMAGE RATIO :[0.4]⇒ 0.5 attack damage
W - Courage
BLOOD of MY ENEMIES At max resistances from enemy kills, Garen increases his bonus armor and magic resist by 10%
SHIELD :
[0.1 maximum health]
⇒
70/95/120/145/170 (+0.2 bonus health)
Gnar Base MS increased. Passive Mini Gnar MS decreased. R damage ratios increased.
Similar to Garen, we have a jungle Gnar-specific change which you could find in the Jungle Champions section. But generally, we're looking to power him up a little bit, specifically when he's Mega Gnar, since he's feeling a bit underwhelming even has a huge hulking monster.
Base Stats
MOVEMENT SPEED :[325]⇒ 335
Passive - Rage Gene
BONUS MOVEMENT SPEED :
[10-30 (levels 1-18) in Mini Gnar form]
⇒
0-20 (levels 1-18) in Mini Gnar form
R - GNAR!
DAMAGE RATIO :
[0.2 attack damage, 0.5 ability power]
⇒
0.5 attack damage, 1.0 ability power
Jayce Base mana and mana growth increased. Q base damage increased.
Jayce should now be able to cast more abilities to fend off his opponents.
Base Stats
MANA :[357.2]⇒ 375
MANA GROWTH :[37]⇒ 45
Q - To the Skies!
BASE DAMAGE :
[45/80/115/150/185/220]
⇒
55/95/135/175/215/255
Lux Q damage increased; cooldown decreased early. Lux can now Flash while casting R.
Buffing support Lux to give players the option to viably take her bot lane.
Q - Light Binding
BASE DAMAGE :
[70/115/170/205/250]
⇒
80/125/170/215/260
DAMAGE RATIO :[0.7]⇒ 0.6 ability power
COOLDOWN :
[13/12/10/11/9 seconds]
⇒
11/10.5/10/9.5/9 seconds
R - Final Spark
FLASHDANCE Lux can now Flash while casting Final Spark
Singed was pumped up on his plant-based potion before it was cool. While his healthy libations have been letting him conquer the top lane, we're going to make his triumphs a bit more risky by reducing his early tankiness.
Base Stats
HEALTH :[610]⇒ 580
ARMOR :[37]⇒ 34
Sona Auras now grants Sona mana at first ally tag. Q, W, and E costs increased.
I don't play her top anyways.
Q - Hymn of Valor
MANA RESTORE Sona now gains 30 mana the first time she tags an ally with her aura
COST :
[50/55/60/65/70 mana]
⇒
75/80/85/90/95 mana
W - Aria of Perseverance
MANA RESTORE Sona now gains 30 mana the first time she tags an ally with her aura
COST :
[80/85/90/95/100 mana]
⇒
105/110/115/120/125 mana
E - Song of Celerity
MANA RESTORE Sona now gains 30 mana the first time she tags an ally with her aura
COST :[65]⇒ 90 mana
Soraka Base stats adjusted. Q self-heal, Rejuvenation heal duration, and bonus movement speed decreased; Q cost increased. W health cost decreased when Rejuvenated; heal increased later.
Chipping away at Soraka's top lane potency as she's the winningest top laner at the current moment. We also want to keep the impact on her support lane minimal as she’s not overperforming there.
Base Stats
HEALTH :[529.04]⇒ 535
HEALTH GROWH :[78]⇒ 74
MANA :[350.8]⇒ 375
MANA GROWTH :[60]⇒ 40
ATTACK DAMAGE :[50.04]⇒ 50
Q - Starcall
SELF-HEAL :
[60/80/100/120/140 (+0.5 AP)]
⇒
40/50/60/70/80 (+0.3 AP)
REJUVENATION HEAL DURATION :[5]⇒ 2.5 seconds
COST :
[40/45/50/55/60 mana]
⇒
60/65/70/75/80 mana
BONUS MOVEMENT SPEED :
[15/20/25/30/35%]
⇒
10/12.5/15/17.5/20%
W - Astral Infusion
ME AFTER A MASSAGE AND ICE CREAM While Soraka is Rejuvenated, the 10% maximum health cost for casting Astral Infusion will be reduced by 40/55/70/85/100%
One trend we've seen over the years is that new and low-MMR players pick jungle at a much lower rate than other positions—even when it's stronger than those other positions. For 10.4, we're approaching this problem by giving some popular champs at these skill levels better tools to jungle with, especially also because jungle has an arguably smaller champion pool than other positions. While players here will still have to contend with the learning curve of jungle as a position, they won't have to learn to play a new champion as well. All the changes below are to ability effectiveness against monsters to avoid accidental impacts to lane strength.
As a caveat, we're investigating other solutions to help out jungle and the satisfaction of playing the role in the future too, so look forward to seeing more from us outside of these changes.
Attempting to broaden Hail of Blades' use cases since it's currently taken specifically by junglers who can chain their CC abilities with their basic attacks.
MAXIMUM TIME BETWEEN ATTACKS :[2]⇒ 3 seconds
COOLDOWN :[4 seconds out of combat]⇒ 8 seconds
Legend Runes
We've seen Bloodline all too often as the dominant pick for ADCs, especially in pro, all last year. We're slowing down all the Legend runes' stacking for minion farming vs. champion killing since Bloodline specifically relies on stacking up. And since pros get more of their stacks from farming than kills compared to everyone else, this should be most impactful at that level of play.
ALACRITY, TENACITY, AND BLOODLINE MINION KILLS PER STACK :[20]⇒ 25
Currently, a lot of players are taking Perfect Timing since it builds into core items on so many different types of champions (mages [Zhonya's], AD champs [Guardian's Angel], and tanks [Gargoyle Stoneplate]). Don't get us wrong, we are happy to see it, but there's much more satisfaction as a player and as a spectator when it's used aggressively rather than defensively.
STOPWATCH COST :[600g]⇒ 650g
OUR TIME IS RUNNING OUT : Grants a Commencing Stopwatch that becomes a Replica Stopwatch at [10 minutes]⇒ 14 minutes. Takedowns reduce this timer by 2 minutes.
YOU CAN'T PUSH IT UNDERGROUND No longer additionally reduces the cooldown of Guardian's Angel, Gargoyle Stoneplate, and Zhonya's Hourglass by 15%
IMMOLATE Once every 10 seconds, your next immobilizing ability deals 6-23 (+0.02 bonus health) and releases a fire nova that also deals that bonus damage around you
IMMOLATE Once every 10 seconds, your next immobilizing ability deals 12-29 (+0.04 bonus health) to all enemies it hits and releases a fire nova that also deals that bonus damage around you
IMMOLATE Once every 10 seconds, your next immobilizing ability deals 26-43 (+0.05 bonus health) to all enemies it hits and releases a fire nova that also deals that bonus damage around you
We're making an adjustment to how slow resistance stacks on a champion to match Tenacity stacking. Now, slow resistance will stack multiplicatively instead of linearly. As an example of the change, two 30% slow resistance effects will now reduce slows by 51% rather than 60%.
We've talked a bunch in the past months about the switch to globally unique Riot Accounts and usernames. Starting later in 10.4, you’ll need to use those unique Riot Accounts, since the region selector on the login screen will disappear. When you log in, you'll automatically be directed to the server associated with your account (so if you log in using your PBE account, you’ll be sent straight to PBE). You’ll also be able to change your language by going to the settings on the login screen (the little cog on the bottom right). Worth noting: if your account isn’t globally unique when this change goes through, you’re going to need to update it on this website before you log in to the game.
We have a new crash handling system going live this patch which will automatically collect crash data to help diagnose issues. Crash reports help us improve the game because it alerts us when something goes wrong! You can opt out of the automatic crash reports collection by clicking the Settings (gear icon) in-client. There, look under General and toggle off the option. Thanks for helping us help you! Read more about Crash Reporting on the Player Support website.
Bird of Prey Anivia's Crystallize is now using its proper skin
Fixed an issue where Dr. Mundo's damage penalty was not properly applying in ARAM
Pyke's, Cho'Gath's, and Urgot's execute indicators appear as intended and are properly visible
PROJECT: Pyke's Ghostwater Dive is no longer missing its PROJECT HUD screen overlay
Pulsefire Caitlyn's Ace in the Hole UI overlay now properly appears when she casts the ability
PROJECT: Vayne's Final Hour HUD no longer disappears prematurely
Removing a friend, being removed by someone else, or being blocked by someone else will no longer break the Social panel and chat window
Sett now properly becomes Unstoppable and suppresses Tahm Kench when casting The Show Stopper while Tahm Kench casts Devour
Attacking a non-revealed Noxious Trap from Teemo with Umbral Glaive will now properly do triple damage
Qiyana's Supreme Display of Talent no longer breaks Unstoppable animations/abilities when cast in the river or in a brush
Sett's Facebreaker will only stun enemies if he successfully grabs one on each side
When Qiyana casts Supreme Display of Talent towards a wall just barely within Yasuo's Wind Wall, she should no longer be able to successfully explode the targeted wall
Champions will no longer be in a T-pose for the remainder of the game if they get eaten by Tahm Kench’s Devour
Battle Boss Qiyana's Royal Privilege cooldown indicator is no longer barely visible in brush
Abilities that cannot target allies will not proc Guardian
Lee Sin's abilities now properly count per use towards Electrocute
Wukong can properly cast Cyclone even after he's used it immediately before getting killed by a knock-up
Vi's Vault Breaker will no longer cause her next basic attack to fail triggering runes