Patch 12.3

Overview

Patch 12.3

Season 2022 is in bloom!

We've carefully plucked a delicate bouquet for you this patch, including several champion nerfs and a significant update to the fighter item system. This is also our first patch reacting to Pro play on the preseason meta, so there's a lot of focus on balancing that skill bracket this week. Ahri's champion refresh is another part of the floral mix and, last but not leaf, the rest of the Crystal Rose and Withered Rose skins will be available soon. ❀

Official Patch Notes Link

Jina "Ahrisoo" Yoon

Paul "RiotAether" Perscheid

Mid-Patch Updates Patch Highlights Champions Items Bugfixes & QoL Changes VFX Updates Upcoming Skins & Chromas

Mid-Patch Updates[]

2/11/2022 - Ahri Bugfix[]

		Ahri
		RUSH, SPIRITS : Fixed a bug where Ahri’s R - Spirit Rush would sometimes become unusable if she was too far away to consume an enemy champion's essence in time

2/4/2022 - Janna Nerfs[]

		Janna
	Janna's 12.2 changes swept Summoner's Rift by storm, making her one of the strongest and most popular supports. However, it wasn't clear just how strong of a nerf she needed last patch due to a Glacial Augment bug that interacted with her Q and R a little too well. Even after the hotfix, Janna remains very strong with Glacial and other runes, so we're lowering her early roaming power and her enhanced heal and shield window. These changes are not intended to address her (and other enchanters') recent top lane strategy. We're working on a separate solution for that and will update as soon as we have an accurate forecast.
		BASE MOVE SPEED : [330] ⇒ 325 W - ZEPHYR BASE BONUS MOVE SPEED : [8/9/10/11/12%] ⇒ 6/7.5/9/10.5/12% E - EYE OF THE STORM ENHANCED HEAL & SHIELD POWER DURATION : [5 seconds] ⇒ 4 seconds (upon slowing or knocking up at least one enemy)

2/3/2022 - ARURF and Seraphine & Twisted Fate Bugfixes[]

ARURF Balance Changes
Champion Buffs

AKALI : [-5% Damage Taken] ⇒ -10% Damage Taken

DARIUS : [+5% Damage Dealt, -10% Damage Taken] ⇒ +5% Damage Dealt, -15% Damage Taken

KATARINA : [-5% Damage Taken] ⇒ +5% Damage Dealt, -5% Damage Taken

KLED : [-5% Damage Taken] ⇒ -10% Damage Taken

MORDEKAISER : -15% Damage Taken

NUNU & WILLUMP : [-5% Damage Taken] ⇒ +8% Damage Dealt, -5% Damage Taken

QIYANA : [-5% Damage Taken] ⇒ -10% Damage Taken

RAMMUS : [+10% Damage Dealt, -10% Damage Taken] ⇒ +10% Damage Dealt, -15% Damage Taken

REK'SAI : [+5% Damage Dealt] ⇒ +5% Damage Dealt, -5% Damage Taken

SION : [+10% Damage Dealt] ⇒ +10% Damage Dealt, -8% Damage Taken

THRESH : [-8% Damage Taken] ⇒ -13% Damage Taken

VIEGO : [+5% Damage Dealt] ⇒ +5% Damage Dealt, -5% Damage Taken

Champion Nerfs

MALPHITE : -5% Damage Dealt

MASTER YI : [-20% Healing] ⇒ -10% Damage Dealt, -20% Healing

MORGANA : [-5% Damage Dealt] ⇒ -10% Damage Dealt, +5% Damage Taken

ORIANNA : [-10% Damage Dealt, +8% Damage Taken, -20% Shielding] ⇒ -10% Damage Dealt, +10% Damage Taken, -20% Shielding

SERAPHINE : [-3% Damage Dealt, -20% Healing] ⇒ -8% Damage Dealt, -20% Healing

SHACO : [-5% Damage Dealt] ⇒ -10% Damage Dealt, +5% Damage Taken

VEX : [-10% Damage Dealt] ⇒ -10% Damage Dealt, +5% Damage Taken

VOLIBEAR : [+5% Damage Taken, -20% Healing] ⇒ -5% Damage Dealt, +5% Damage Taken, -20% Healing

YUUMI : [-30% Damage Dealt, +20% Damage Taken, -30% Healing] ⇒ -40% Damage Dealt, +20% Damage Taken, -40% Healing

ZED : [-5% Damage Dealt] ⇒ -15% Damage Dealt

Bugfixes

HECARIM BUGFIX : Fixed a bug where Hecarim's Q - Rampage would get disabled for the rest of the game after Viego possessed him in ARURF

Seraphine

TAKE NOTES : Fixed a bug where Seraphine's abilities would get canceled if cast while attacking an enemy with a Passive - Stage Presence empowered basic attack

Twisted Fate

ANY CARD : Fixed a bug that caused Twisted Fate's next basic attack after using W - Pick a Card to have a slight delay

2/2/2022 - Ahri Bugfix[]

		Ahri
		STOP! IN THE NAME OF LOVE : Fixed a bug where Ahri's E - Charm could interrupt Unstoppable enemies, such as Malphite during his R - Unstoppable Force GOT SOULS? : Fixed a bug where Ahri would infinitely drop Thresh’s Souls and Senna’s Mist Wraiths if killed by an enemy Ahri’s W - Foxfire

Patch Highlights[]

Crystal Rose Akshan, Crystal Rose Janna, and Withered Rose Elise will be available February 10, 2022.

Champions[]

Ahri
Champion refreshed. Base stats and all skills updated.

Ahri's unique identity as a highly-mobile mage assassin has eroded over the years. Instead of a being flighty terror dashing across a teamfight, she's limited to a single attempt at an exciting play with her R, then fishing with her E from safety for the rest of the fight. To address this, we're refreshing her passive to offer a partial ultimate reset upon takedowns so a well-played Ahri can capitalize on favorable situations to hunt down the entire enemy team. We've also redistributed her abilities’ mana costs and early damage so each spell feels rewarding. To balance things out, we're slightly nerfing her burst damage and defensive stats. (As an aside, these changes are unrelated to Ahri’s upcoming ASU.)

Base Stats

HEALTH GROWTH : [92] ⇒ 82

HEALTH : [526-2090 (levels 1-18)] ⇒ 500-1894 (levels 1-18)

BASE HEALTH REGENERATION : [5.5] ⇒ 2.5

ARMOR : [21-80.5 (levels 1-18)] ⇒ 18-77.5 (levels 1-18)

Passive - Essence Theft

PIECES OF YOU Killing minions or monsters grants Ahri an Essence Fragment. After obtaining 9 Essence Fragments, Ahri consumes them to heal for 40-120 (+25% AP). When Ahri scores a takedown against an enemy champion within 3 seconds of damaging them, she feasts upon their Essence, healing for 80-200 (+35% AP).

Q - Orb of Deception

DAMAGE PER PASS : [40/65/90/115/140 (+35% AP)] ⇒ 40/65/90/115/140 (+40% AP)

MANA COST : [65/70/75/80/85] ⇒ 60/70/80/90/100

W - Fox-Fire

DAMAGE : [40/65/90/115/140 (+30% AP)] ⇒ 60/85/110/135/160 (+30% AP)

MANA COST : [40] ⇒ 25

FLAME DURATION : [5 seconds] ⇒ 2.5 seconds

BONUS MOVE SPEED DURATION : [1.5 seconds] ⇒ 2 seconds

HEAT-SEEKING Updated missile targeting and last-hitting logic

E - Charm

DAMAGE : [60/90/120/150/180 (+40% AP)] ⇒ 80/110/140/170/200 (+60% AP)

MANA COST : [70] ⇒ 50

ENTRANCED Ahri's abilities no longer deal bonus damage to enemies hit by Charm

R - Spirit Rush

INITIAL DURATION : [10 seconds] ⇒ 15 seconds

A SPIRITED CHASE Consuming a champion's Essence with Essence Theft while Spirit Rush is active extends Spirit Rush's recast duration by and up to 10 seconds, and grants an additional cast of Spirit Rush (up to 3 casts stored)

VFX & SFX Updates

PASSIVE - ESSENCE THEFT : VFX and SFX have been updated for all skins

W - FOX-FIRE : Cleaned up VFX and enhanced missile movement

R - Spirit Rush : Cleaned up VFX and added new ammo bar icons to indicate number of stored Spirit Rush casts

		Akshan Passive damage decreased.
	Akshan's been quite strong everywhere (especially in top lane), so we're hitting his early passive power to make his harass on melee enemies a bit less dirty.
		Passive - Dirty Fighting BONUS MOVE SPEED UPON CANCELING SECOND SHOT : [35-75 (levels 1-18)] ⇒ 20-75 (levels 1-18) THREE-STACK BONUS MAGIC DAMAGE : [20-175 (levels 1-18)] ⇒ 10-165 (levels 1-18)

		Amumu Base armor decreased. E passive's damage reduction now capped per instance.
	Amumu has been too strong in Average play ever since he got a ton of new items this season. And although flat damage reduction is supposed to shine against champions like Zeri, completely negating certain attacks or abilities is a bit much—especially for an always-on passive—so we're adjusting his E to match similar abilities.
		Base Stats ARMOR GROWTH : [3.5] ⇒ 3 ARMOR : [30-89.5 (levels 1-18)] ⇒ 30-81 (levels 1-18) E - Tantrum MAXIMUM PASSIVE DAMAGE REDUCTION : [Up to 100% per instance of physical damage] ⇒ Capped at 50% per instance of physical damage

		Brand QoL changes on passive and R.
	We're firing up a couple of quality of life changes to make Brand's passive a little more intuitive, while also optimizing the bounces on his ult.
		Passive - Blaze BLAZE IT Mana refund upon killing an enemy now also occurs if Brand's ability last hits a target that was not already Ablaze R - Pyroclasm PYROMANIA Pyroclasm's fireball now prioritizes bouncing to nearby enemies before bouncing back to Brand at full range. Pyroclasm will still prioritize bouncing to enemy champions first (before minions or monsters), regardless of range.

Caitlyn
AD growth decreased. Q damage reduced.

Caitlyn is getting banned really often in Pro play lately, likely because of her ability to shut down many popular late-scaling marksmen. Instead of curtailing her early lane bullying strengths, we're getting on the case by nerfing her wave control and scaling instead.

Base Stats

AD GROWTH : [3.8] ⇒ 3.4

ATTACK DAMAGE : [62-126.6 (levels 1-18)] ⇒ 62-119.8 (levels 1-18)

Q - Piltover Peacemaker

DAMAGE AGAINST SECONDARY ENEMIES : [60%] ⇒ 50%

Bugfixes

Fixed a bug where Caitlyn's ult would incorrectly get a cooldown refund if she was feared during its cast

		Corki First package delayed and restock cooldown increased.
	Corki's been taking over Pro play. We're making his lane a bit less safe and lowering his impact on the first dragon and Rift Herald fights by delaying his first package, which used to let him secure a return to combat at the speed of heat. They'll also get restocked at a slower rate so that he can't make special deliveries to every dragon spawn.
		Passive - Hextech Munitions FIRST PACKAGE ARRIVES AFTER : [8 minutes] ⇒ 10 minutes PACKAGES RESTOCK EVERY : [4 minutes] ⇒ 5 minutes

		LeBlanc W damage decreased late.
	LeBlanc has been too stranc for too lanc, especially in Pro where she's been popular for a while now. We're tapping down her first-maxed skill to curb her early burst and waveclear.
		W - Distortion BASE DAMAGE : [75/115/155/195/235] ⇒ 75/110/145/180/215

		Lillia R sleep duration increased early.
	We're making Lillia’s lullaby last a little longer so she can follow up with her spells and help her teammates more consistently at early levels. Sweet dreams~ ♪
		R - Lilting Lullaby SLEEP DURATION : [1.5/2/2.5 seconds] ⇒ 2/2.25/2.5 seconds

		Nami Passive initial bonus move speed increased and now decays over duration. E on-hit base damage reduced.
	It's high tide for a Nami adjustment! This should make the move speed boost on her passive much more noticeable, so you can stop taking your enchanter supports for granted. (Just kidding. Maybe.) She's already pretty strong, so we're balancing out this slight buff with a small nerf to her E.
		Passive - Surging Tides BONUS MOVE SPEED [45 (+20% AP) for 1.5 seconds] ⇒ 90 (+20% AP), decaying over 1.5 seconds E - Tidecaller's Blessing ON-HIT DAMAGE (PER HIT) : [25/40/55/70/85 (+20% AP)] ⇒ 20/35/50/65/80 (+20% AP)

		Quinn W passive attack speed bonus increased early. R damage ratio increased.
	Although Quinn is technically flying fine, her impact has descended a bit across all skill brackets due to various system changes recently. Since she's ended up with some headroom, we're taking this opportunity to improve her gameplay satisfaction.
		W - Heightened Senses BONUS ATTACK SPEED : [20/30/40/50/60%] ⇒ 28/36/44/52/60% R - Skystrike FLURRY DAMAGE : [40% AD] ⇒ 70% AD

		Senna Passive soul drop rate for Senna's farm reduced.
	The buff to Senna's Q last patch did make her support stronger as intended, but it also overwhelmingly increased her ADC winrate. Our goal isn't to make ADC Senna weak, but instead to bring her two roles closer together in strength. (Before you grab a calculator, this rounds out to approximately one soul for every six minion waves.)
		Passive - Absolution QUICK MATHS [Minions and lesser monsters that Senna kills have a 10% chance] ⇒ Minions and lesser monsters that Senna kills have a 2.7777% chance to spawn a Mist Wraith '(all else unchanged))

		Twisted Fate Q damage ratio increased; base damage decreased late. E bonus attack speed decreased early.
	Twisted Fate seems to always have the right cards in Pro play with his global power and consistent CC. We're cutting into his abilities' base stats so he has to buy more AP to dish out big damage instead of opting for his usual utility builds.
		Q - Wild Cards MAGIC DAMAGE : [60/105/150/195/240 (+65% AP)] ⇒ 60/100/140/180/220 (+70% AP) E - Stacked Deck BONUS ATTACK SPEED : [20/25/30/35/40%] ⇒ 10/17.5/25/32.5/40%

Zeri
Base move speed reduced. Fully charged basic attack damage decreased. R chain lightning damage decreased and can now critically strike.

Zeri's Trinity Force build has ended up being much stronger than expected, skyrocketing her winrate once players swapped over from crit. We're targeting these nerfs to ideally hit her Tri Force build more than her crit ones, but because there's some overlap, we're compensating the latter with a bit more zap on her ult.

Base Stats

MOVE SPEED : [330] ⇒ 325

Basic Attack

FULL CHARGE DAMAGE BASED ON TARGET'S MAX HEALTH : [3-20% (based on level)] ⇒ 3-15% (based on level)

R - Lightning Crash

CHAIN LIGHTNING MAGIC DAMAGE : [10/20/30 (+15% AP)] ⇒ 10/15/20 (+15% AP)

STATIC SHOCK Chain lightning magic damage can now critically strike

Bugfixes

Zeri's E - Spark Surge will correctly vault over Trundle's E - Pillar of Ice and glide over Anivia's W - Crystallize wall instead of dashing through them
Fixed a bug where several of Zeri's VFX would not display correctly upon reconnecting to the game

Items[]

We're making changes to the fighter system to re-establish the differences between nimbler, more fragile fighters like Fiora and less agile but beefier picks like Darius. Previously, most items were accessible to most fighters thanks to the built-in health. While this made big health-stackers happy, when lighter fighters used these generic items, it would wash out their weaknesses, making them durable yet still high-damage and high-mobility (contrary to their subclass characteristics).

Ideally with these changes, each subclass will feel like they have items tailored just for them. For more context, check out our Quick Gameplay Thoughts article about it here. Lastly, we're aware this is a pretty big shift and will be keeping a very close eye on things and almost certainly following up.

Mythic Fighter Items

For fighter Mythics, we're shifting a couple of items from high health, all-in-one purchases into more unique and offensive options. Not all fighters should be tanky and durable, and those who should—like juggernauts—can lean on specific Legendaries for that.

Trinity Force is the exception here. We're bumping up its health to make it match the other options in exchange for a small reduction in stacking AD. This way, the amount of health you get won't be the main reason why you choose (or don't choose) a certain Mythic; rather, each Mythic should have its own unique benefits to make that decision clearer and fairer.

Divine Sunderer

BUILD PATH : [Sheen + Phage + Kindlegem + 700 gold] ⇒ Sheen + Caulfield's Warhammer + Kindlegem + 700 gold

HEALTH : [400] ⇒ 300

ATTACK DAMAGE : [35] ⇒ 40

Deicide (Ornn Masterwork Item)

HEALTH : [550] ⇒ 450

ATTACK DAMAGE : [55] ⇒ 60

Goredrinker

BUILD PATH : [Ironspike Whip + Phage + Kindlegem + 300 gold] ⇒ Ironspike Whip + Caulfield's Warhammer + Kindlegem + 300 gold

HEALTH : [450] ⇒ 300

ATTACK DAMAGE : [45] ⇒ 55

Ceaseless Hunger (Ornn Masterwork Item)

HEALTH : [600] ⇒ 450

ATTACK DAMAGE : [60] ⇒ 70

Trinity Force

HEALTH : [200] ⇒ 300

THREEFOLD STRIKE (ON CHAMPIONS OR STRUCTURES) [+6% base AD per stack, up to 5 times for +30%] ⇒ +4% base AD per stack, up to 5 times for +20% (also applies to Infinity Force)

Infinity Force (Ornn Masterwork Item)

HEALTH : [300] ⇒ 400

Legendary Fighter Items & Components

Our approach to fighter Legendaries is similar: Shift health into AD across select items. Another top priority is to move Sterak's Gage out of being a go-to default option for all fighters. Lighter fighters should now be more intrigued by this reworked Death's Dance, which will scale with your other AD purchases and sustain tools. It also requires fighters to be constantly active in a fight to be effective, which is something we believe is important for systemic lighter fighter survivability.

We're also adjusting a few somewhat underpowered Legendaries that should support lighter fighters (like Maw and Ravenous Hydra). These items need to be powerful enough for lighter fighters to consider purchasing them over other options. And finally, a few component items have also been updated to round everything out.

Death's Dance

TOTAL COST : [3100 gold] ⇒ 3300 gold

IGNORE PAIN (PASSIVE) [Stores [35% for melee/15% for ranged] of post-mitigation physical damage received] ⇒ Stores [30% for melee/10% for ranged] of all types of post-mitigation damage received, (not including true damage), which is successively taken as true damage over 3 seconds instead. ow also applies to damage on shields

DEFY (PASSIVE) [Heal for 15% maximum health upon scoring a kill or assist] ⇒ Heal for 175% bonus AD if a champion dies within 3 seconds after you've dealt damage to them. (all else unchanged))

Sterak's Gage

ATTACK DAMAGE : [50] ⇒ 0

THE CLAWS THAT CATCH (PASSIVE) Gain 40% of your base AD as bonus AD

BLOODLUST (PASSIVE) After dealing damage to or taking damage from an enemy champion, heal for a portion of your maximum health over 6 seconds

LIFELINE (PASSIVE) [If you take damage that would reduce you below 30% of your maximum health, gain a shield that absorbs 100 (+[8% for melee/4.8% for ranged] of your maximum health) per stack of Bloodlust) for 4 seconds] ⇒ If you take damage that would reduce you below 30% of your maximum health, gain a shield equal to 75% of your bonus health that decays over 3.75 seconds

Maw of Malmortius

ATTACK DAMAGE : [50] ⇒ 55

ABILITY HASTE : [15] ⇒ 20

SHIELD : [200 (+20% maximum health)] ⇒ 200 (+[225% for melee/168.75% for ranged] bonus AD)

LIFELINE (PASSIVE) When Lifeline is activated, gain 12% omnivamp until the end of combat (i.e. have not dealt or taken damage for at least 3 seconds)

Blade of the Ruined King

TOTAL COST : [3200 gold] ⇒ 3300 gold

MIST'S EDGE (PASSIVE) [Basic attacks deal [10% for melee/6% for ranged] of target's current health] ⇒ Basic attacks deal [12% for melee/8% for ranged] of target's current health as physical damage (all else unchanged))

Black Cleaver

HEALTH : [450] ⇒ 350

ATTACK DAMAGE : [40] ⇒ 45

ABILITY HASTE : [25] ⇒ 30

Ravenous Hydra

ATTACK DAMAGE : [65] ⇒ 70

Hearthbound Axe

TOTAL COST : [1100 gold] ⇒ 1000 gold

COMBINE COST : [450 gold] ⇒ 350 gold

Hexdrinker

ATTACK DAMAGE : [20] ⇒ 25

		Turbo Chemtank
	Our changes to Turbo Chemtank in patch 12.2 were a bandaid to bring the item back in line on dash-y champs (like Akali and Irelia) while we looked for better solutions. We're further adjusting its stacking mechanics to make Turbo Chemtank better suited for "tanking" rather than for "turbo charging" at enemies. Emphasis on the tank, not the turbo. (These changes also apply to its Ornn Masterwork item, Turbocharged Hexperiment.)
		REFUEL (PASSIVE) STACKS [Gain 5 stacks per instance of damage dealt against champions and large monsters, and 1 stack for every 15 units traveled] ⇒ Gain 5 stacks per instance of damage taken from champions and large monsters, and 1 stack for every 25 units traveled (still capped at up to 10 stacks for dashes and blinks) REFUEL (PASSIVE) BONUS DAMAGE [At 100 stacks, your next basic attack deals magic damage to all nearby enemies, increased by 25% against minions and 175% against monsters] ⇒ At 100 stacks, your next basic attack deals magic damage to all nearby enemies, increased by 30% against minions and 200% against monsters

Bugfixes & QoL Changes[]

Hextech Gates Champions will now both visually and mechanically move along the Hextech Gates’ travel paths rather than immediately teleporting to their destination gate. This also means that active champion effects (such as Kennen’s R - Slicing Maelstrom) will travel along with and apply their effects around the champion’s traveling indicator.
Fixed a bug where Teleport could sometimes still target certain units other than towers before 14 minutes
Fixed a bug where Kled's W - Violent Tendencies' fourth attack would not deal its bonus damage if the ability was learned during a basic attack
Fixed a bug where Runaan's Hurricane would not proc correctly with Ezreal's Q - Mystic Shot after a certain range
Fixed a bug where killing an enemy champion with The Collector would grant Samira an extra Style stack
Fixed a bug where the Charm icon would not appear in champion buff/debuff bars
Fixed a bug where Kled's Courage bar would display incorrect values upon losing Skaarl
Fixed a bug where resource bars (like Energy or Rage bars) would sometimes get visually stuck when changing window display modes
Varus's Q - Piercing Arrow cancellation VFX has been restored on all skins
Fixed a bug where Talon's blades would briefly disappear for a frame during his R - Shadow Assault's VFX
Base Darius and Base Amumu's voiceovers have been remastered for clarity
Fixed Battlecast Skarner's sound effects to play correctly when he marks a minion with Crystal Venom using his E - Fracture and when he gains Crystal Charge upon triggering Crystal Venom
The in-game FPS indicator's update rate has been reverted for smoother reporting
Fixed a bug where players would be able to select multiple roles in Summoner's Rift lobbies with 5 players
Fixed a bug where pressing the ESC key would not close the role selector in game lobbies

VFX Updates[]

		Vel'Koz
	This update should make Vel'Koz's VFX more Void-y and his hitbox indicators more accurate.
		BASE VEL'KOZ : Complete overhaul and adjusted hitbox indicators BATTLECAST VEL'KOZ : Some cleanup ARCLIGHT VEL'KOZ : Cleanup and new E indicator INFERNAL VEL'KOZ : Minor tweaks and new E indicator BLACKFROST VEL'KOZ : Minor tweaks and new E indicator