Updated on April 9, 3:44 p.m. (GMT+8): Added new information released by Riot Phroxzon.
League of Legends Lead Gameplay Designer Matt “Riot Phroxzon” Leung-Harrison posted a preview of LoL patch 25.8 today.
In this patch, the game devs are implementing a minor systems return for certain items that have been underperforming or were over-nerfed in previous balance iterations, such as Cryptbloom and Opportunity.
Looking ahead, the team also plans to make adjustments to the AP item system. The goal is to enhance the distinct specializations of different builds and address a few generalist items that are outliers, for example, Liandry’s Anguish.
LoL patch 25.8 patch notes
LoL patch 25.8 champion buffs
- Blitzcrank
- Brand
- Hwei
- Mel
- Renekton
- Shen
- Singed
- Sona
- Zeri
- Zoe
The team is satisfied with Mel’s current strengths and now has a much better grasp of her power trajectory and the practical impact of her skills, Riot Phroxzon reported.
Recognizing that she has been underpowered for some time, they are planning to buff her to make her more relevant. Their observations indicate that player adaptation to her W and Q range after the nerf has been significant, indicating room for increased power.
Zoe has been relatively underrepresented. To address this, she is receiving a slight increase to her waveclear capabilities, wrote Riot Phroxzon. This adjustment aims to compensate for her predictable nature, which limits her ability to dictate the pace of the game as much as intended.
LoL patch 25.8 champion nerfs
- Aatrox
- Gwen
- Lulu
- Tristana
- Yone
- Yorick
- Yuumi
Adjustments made to Gwen have largely achieved their intended outcome, shifting her away from being a scaling, entirely squishy AP champion focused on one-shotting opponents. Currently, she is proving to be overly influential, necessitating a slight reduction in her power, wrote Riot Phroxzon.
LoL patch 25.8 champion adjustments
- Ahri
- Annie
- Syndra
- Xerath
Ahri’s current incentives, particularly her interaction with Rod of Ages and Liandry’s Anguish, are resulting in one of her strongest builds, wrote Riot Phroxon.
While she possesses a variety of viable builds, maintaining balance across all of them simultaneously is challenging. This specific build, however, is not aligned with her intended champion identity as a mobile yet easy-to-kill mage, which is why she is receiving adjustments.
Annie’s adjustments are intended to enhance her satisfaction by shifting some power away from Tibbers’ consistent damage, which can be difficult to perceive, and distributing it into her other abilities, Riot Phroxzon elaborated.
Her kit is receiving an innate penetration component which aims to improve her effectiveness against tanks over multiple spell rotations, reducing her reliance on one-shotting squishy targets, a playstyle often frustrating for players. However, she will still retain her capacity to quickly eliminate vulnerable enemies.
Syndra’s item builds have predominantly focused on movement speed and kiting strategies. The upcoming changes will redistribute her power, reducing the emphasis on these builds and allocating more power to items that enhance her burst damage, Riot Phroxzon wrote. This shift encourages players to invest in more AP.
LoL patch 25.8 system buffs
- Cryptbloom
- Opportunity
- Overlord’s Bloodmail
LoL patch 25.8 system adjustments
- Dead Man’s Plate
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