Patch 11.23 Notes

 BOOM, baby! Preseason 2022 is here, and it’s BIG!

Patch 11.23 brings sweeping changes to the Rift (literally and figuratively) with the new Chemtech & Hextech Drakes, 6 new items, 24 item updates, 3 changes to runes, and Objective Bounties! Ultimate Spellbook is also back with dozens of new Ult-ernates and a special treat for junglers.

We’re also diving deeper Into the Arcane this week. Continue exploring the story behind Jinx & Vi with new events, thematic updates in-game, secret Council Archives, and interactive content online!

Preseason is our very own kind of Progress Days on the Rift. There are tons of experiments and discoveries to make—innovate your heart out!

Speaking of innovation, TFT’s first balance patch of Gizmos & Gadgets is here. Read all about the change at the TFT patch notes here!

MID-PATCH UPDATES

11/23/2021 Objective Bounties

The Objective Bounties system currently overvalues Dragons and Dragon Souls when determining leads, so we’re adjusting their values accordingly. Additionally, damaging an objective with an active Objective Bounty will no longer reset the 15 second deactivation timer.

11/19/2021 Ultimate Spellbook & Evelynn Bugfix

Ult-ernate Summoner Spells

MORDEKAISER R +35 Bonus Ability Haste ⇒ +15 Bonus Ability HasteOLAF R +10 Bonus Ability Haste ⇒ 0 Bonus Ability HasteVEX R Fixed a bug where taking Vex’s R – Shadow Surge as their Ult-ernate Summoner Spell would sometimes cause issues for champions

Ultimate Spellbook Champion Buffs

ELISE +5% Damage Dealt, -5% Damage TakenFIDDLESTICKS +5% Damage Dealt, -5% Damage TakenNIDALEE +5% Damage Dealt, -5% Damage Taken, +20% HealingNUNU & WILLUMP +5% Damage Dealt, -5% Damage Taken, +20% HealingTHRESH +5% Damage Dealt, -5% Damage Taken, +20% Shielding

Ultimate Spellbook Champion Nerfs

APHELIOS -5% Damage DealtMORDEKAISER +5% Damage TakenRELL +5% Damage Taken ⇒ -5% Damage Dealt, +10% Damage TakenSETT -5% Damage Dealt, +5% Damage TakenWARWICK +5% Damage TakenWUKONG +5% Damage Taken

Evelynn

BUGFIX Fixed a bug where Evelynn would appear translucent while in Passive – Demon Shade‘s stealth mode

11/18/2021 Objective Bounties & Bugfixes

Caitlyn

BUGFIX Fixed a bug where Caitlyn’s recall would get interrupted if an enemy triggered one of her W – Yordle Snap Traps

Objective Bounties

We’re making it harder for Objective Bounties to come online. Losing teams will have to be even further behind for Objective Bounties to activate. Objective Bounties will also fall off faster once the losing team starts to catch up.

Hextech Drake

HEXTECH DRAGON SOUL Fixed a bug where Champion-created clones could proc Hextech Dragon Soul’s chain lightning skill repeatedly, ignoring its cooldown

11/17/2021 Lulu & Caitlyn Bugfixes

Caitlyn

DOUBLE HEADSHOTS Fixed a bug where Caitlyn could sometimes fire multiple extended-range Headshots at targets marked by W – Yordle Snap Trap or E – 90 Caliber Net at very high attack speeds

Lulu

BUGPIX Fixed a bug where Pix would become targetable after Lulu travels through a Hexgate

PATCH HIGHLIGHTS

Cafe Cuties Gwen, Cafe Cuties Soraka, Cafe Cuties Annie, Cafe Cuties Bard, Cafe Cuties Sivir, and Cafe Cuties Vladimir will be available December 2, 2021. Players will be able to earn Arcane Caitlyn starting November 22, 2021 and Arcane Jinx starting November 24, 2021 for a limited time.

INTO THE ARCANE

 “Every legend has a beginning, and we hope you’re enjoying Arcane’s. But there’s even more to the lore than just the show! Check out all the Arcane-inspired League of Legends content below and in Into the Arcane. “

OBJECTIVE BOUNTIES

 “Objective Bounties are another way for losing teams to get back into the game, in addition to Champion Bounties. They grant extra gold rewards for taking objectives when a team is far behind, and are designed to be hard to claim—but not impossible! We still want the winning team’s leads to matter, so losing teams will have to capture multiple objectives in order to cash out, because a single bounty won’t pay out very much. We hope that Objective Bounties will allow you to execute big brain strats to equalize the game, rather than having to wait around to capitalize on your opponent’s mistakes.

Objective Bounties activate only when a team is sufficiently behind and objectives that’ll pay out bounties are highlighted on the minimap for both teams. If the losing team takes an objective with an active bounty, each of its members will receive Objective Bounty gold. “

 “Objective Bounties are calculated in the background based on four factors: XP lead, Gold lead, Dragon lead, and Turret lead. When they activate, each objective available to the team that’s behind gains a bounty. Bounties start at the following, split evenly amongst all five team members. “

BARON & ELDER DRAGON 500 gold

DRAKES & RIFT HERALD 500 gold

OUTER TURRET 250 gold

INNER TURRET 400 gold

BASE TURRET 400 gold

 “As the losing team falls farther behind, these base amounts can increase up to an additional 60%. The exact bounty for each reward will be visible under the losing team’s objective icons in the tab-menu. “

Blue team is behind; the additional gold they’ll get for taking an objective is listed below each objective’s icon

 “Objective Bounties activate 15 seconds after a team falls below the threshold and deactivate 15 seconds after they rise above it. This deactivation timer extends if the losing team remains in combat with an objective that has an active bounty. “

JUNGLE CHANGES

 We’re introducing two new dragons to Summoner’s Rift, complete with new buffs, souls, and terrain effects. The selection rate of Chemtech Rift and Hextech Rift terrains will be temporarily doubled during patch 11.23 only so you can try out the new map changes and dragon souls more frequently during preseason. 

CHEMTECH DRAKE

 Chemtech Drake is all about playing on the edge, taking calculated risks, and fighting for every scrap. The Chemtech Dragon Soul encourages you to go big or go home, and trade your life for high value plays. 

CHEMTECH DRAKE BUFF Grants up to 5% bonus damage per stack against enemies with 340-1020 (your level 1-18) more current health than you CHEMTECH DRAGON SOUL When a team obtains the Chemtech Dragon Soul, they receive a buff that grants them a brief second life upon their next death. Champions revive with 80% of their base health + 50% of their bonus health and gain 75/30% (melee/ranged) decaying Move Speed. Revived champions take 40% less damage, deal 33% less damage, and take damage equal to an ever-increasing percent of their starting health every 0.25 secondsYou might notice that Chemtech Soul is similar to the Ruined Drake buff from Ultimate Spellbook this summer, and it is!CHEMTECH RIFT Gas zones emerge in four jungle locations that camouflage any champion within it. Champions within the zone deal up to 10% more damage to enemies who have more current health than them. Maximum damage is achieved when at 340-1020 (based on the attacker’s level) less health than themCAMOUFLAGE Camouflaged enemies are not revealed by regular vision wards, but are revealed by Control Wards, Scryer’s Blooms, and effects that reveal invisible units. They’re also revealed while you’re standing near them

HEXTECH DRAKE

 Hextech Drake is all about controlling the map, flanking your foes, and trapping the enemy team for a wombo combo. The Hextech Dragon Soul grants a unique lightning that slows down enemies, allowing you to control teamfights and chase down stragglers. 

HEXTECH DRAKE BUFF Grants 5 Ability Haste and 5% attack speed per stack HEXTECH DRAGON SOUL When a team obtains the Hextech Drake Soul, they gain a chain lightning slow on their next basic attack or ability that deals 25-75 true damage (based on champion level 1-18), bounces to 3 additional targets, and slows units hit by 45/35% (melee/ranged) (+5% per 1000 bonus health, +1% per 100 AP, +3% per 100 bonus AD) for 2 seconds (8 second cooldown)HEXTECH RIFT Pairs of Hex-gates appear across the map which allow champions to quickly travel from one location to its paired counterpart. Hex-gates are activated with a brief channel that can be interrupted by immobilizes or damage. Each pair of Hex-gates has a 30 second individual cooldown per champion

CLOUD DRAKE

 The Cloud Drake buff wasn’t getting much love this year, despite being very powerful. It was hard to tune because it needed to give a lot of ultimate Ability Haste to be a powerful reward, but not so powerful that it’d completely warp the game. So we’re making some adjustments. Run like the wind! (Cloud Dragon Soul and Cloud Rift are unchanged.) 

CLOUD DRAKE BUFF 12 Ultimate Ability Haste ⇒ +3.5% out-of-combat Move Speed, +3.5% slow resistance

RIFT SCUTTLER

 The first Rift Scuttler spawn has been too impactful in deciding the outcome of the early game, so we’re reducing its importance with lessened XP. Now that it’s squishier (and tinier), you can defeat it more easily and scuttle back to safety sooner. 

BABY BUG The first Rift Scuttler will now have 35% reduced health, grants 80% reduced XP, and has been slightly reduced in size to match its lower value. (Note: The 80% reduced XP does not impact the bonus XP granted by the Huntsman passive on jungle starter items.)

NEW ITEMS

 We’re adding some new items for mages, tanks, bruisers, and assassins, who have all been lacking meaningful options since the item system update last preseason. 

CROWN OF THE SHATTERED QUEEN

 Mages have often felt at the mercy of their bursty foes with little else to do but hide on the far side of teamfights or hope their Stopwatch is enough to survive. This new Mythic lets them sacrifice some early damage for the chance to live longer—especially in the early game, when a completed Zhonya’s may not be a good option. 

TOTAL COST 2800 gold

BUILD PATH Lost Chapter + Kindlegem + Amplifying Tome + 265 gold

ABILITY POWER 70

HEALTH 250MANA 600

ABILITY HASTE 20

SAFEGUARD (PASSIVE) You are Safeguarded, reducing incoming champion damage by 75%. Safeguard persists for 1.5 seconds after taking champion damage (40 second cooldown, restarts upon taking damage from an enemy champion)POISE (PASSIVE) While Safeguarded and for 3 seconds after it’s broken, gain 10-40 (based on your champion’s level) ability power

MYTHIC PASSIVE Grants all other Legendary items 1% Move Speed and 8 ability power

EVENSHROUD

 Tanky supports felt pigeonholed into one Mythic (Locket of the Iron Solari) which was a purely defensive tool. We’re adding another Mythic for those who want to focus more on engaging offensively instead of relying on Locket’s anti-burst. 

TOTAL COST 2500 gold

BUILD PATH Kindlegem + Aegis of the Legion + 300 gold

HEALTH 200

ABILITY HASTE 20

ARMOR 30

MAGIC RESIST 30

CORUSCATION After immobilizing champions or being immobilized, cause that target and all nearby enemies to Repent, increasing the damage they take by 12% for 5 secondsMYTHIC PASSIVE Grants all other Legendary items 5 armor and 5 magic resist

AXIOM ARC

 Prior to the Youmuu’s Ghostblade buffs in patch 11.17, there weren’t many options for assassins to pick up Ability Haste. Axiom Arc is a new Legendary item designed to be the Ability Haste pick-up while also allowing ability-focused assassins to snowball a lead. 

TOTAL COST 3000 gold

BUILD PATH Serrated Dirk + Caulfield’s Warhammer + 800 gold

ATTACK DAMAGE 55

ABILITY HASTE 25

LETHALITY 10

FLUX (PASSIVE) Whenever an enemy champion dies within 3 seconds after you’ve damaged them, refund 25% of your ultimate’s total cooldown

SHADOWFLAME

 Offensive options for mages have been quite narrow, especially for those who wanted Legendary items to simply deal more damage. Shadowflame should let you blow up your opponents and will be extra spicy against those who stop your damage with shields on shields on shields. 

TOTAL COST 3000 gold

BUILD PATH Hextech Alternator + Needlessly Large Rod + 700 gold

ABILITY POWER 100

HEALTH 200

CINDERBLOOM (PASSIVE) Damage to champions benefits from 10-20 magic penetration based on the target’s current health. (Maximum value at 1000 or less health, minimum value at 2500 or more health.) Gains the maximum magic penetration if the target was recently affected by shields

WINTER’S APPROACH

 Tanks who need mana can really struggle during teamfights as they slowly grind through their mana bars. Let the spell spamming commence. (Thanks, Wild Rift!) 

TOTAL COST 2600 gold

BUILD PATH Tear of the Goddess + Kindlegem + Ruby Crystal + 1000 gold

HEALTH 400

MANA 500

ABILITY HASTE 15

AWE (PASSIVE) Gain bonus health equal to 8% manaMANA CHARGE (PASSIVE) Strike a target with an ability or auto attack to consume a charge and gain 3 bonus mana, doubled if the target is a champion. Grants a maximum of 360 mana at which point this item transforms into Fimbulwinter

FIMBULWINTER

BUILD PATH This item upgrades from Winter’s Approach upon reaching Mana Charge‘s maximum bonus 360 mana.HEALTH 400MANA 860ABILITY HASTE 15AWE (PASSIVE) Gain bonus health equal to 8% manaEVERLASTING (PASSIVE) Slowing (melee only) or immobilizing an enemy champion consumes 3% of current mana and grants a shield for 3 seconds, absorbing 100-200 (+5% current mana) damage (8 second cooldown). The shield is increased by 80% if more than one enemy is nearby

TANK ITEMS

 Tank Mythics sort of feel like reskins of each other right now, and the choices aren’t very cool or satisfying—just a bunch of different ways to burn people. These updates should create more distinction while still giving you the durability you need to succeed. We also gave the tank Mythic passives a bit more health so your stats progress better throughout the game.

Tank Legendaries had a different issue where the MR options felt really light aside from Spirit Visage, so we’re heightening the fantasies of other choices like Force of Nature and Abyssal Mask. 

BAMI’S CINDER

 Immolate was meant to help with waveclear but would instead often throw off your CSing because your own minions would steal the last hits. We’re adding a small QoL helper to help you miss fewer of them. This update takes effect on all items that have the passive. 

UPDATED IMMOLATE (PASSIVE) Now also executes minions that would be killed by one more tick of Immolate

FROSTFIRE GAUNTLET

 In order to differentiate the Immolate tank Mythics, we’ve shifted some of Frostfire’s power into its “signature” effect—the Snowbind AoE passive. This chunky hit should make chasing down and debilitating enemies much more satisfying. Caution: Icy surface ahead! 

UPDATEDSNOWBIND (PASSIVE) Basic attacks a create frost field that slows enemies. ⇒ Basic attacks create a frost field for 1.5 seconds that deals 20-100 (+0.5% max health) magic damage to all enemies in the area. Enemies that move across the field are slowed (slow rate and cooldowns unchanged)

IMMOLATE (PASSIVE) Unchanged

MYTHIC PASSIVE Unchanged

TURBO CHEMTANK

 Turbo Chemtank’s Immolate effect often felt more like a requirement for jungle clear rather than an interesting passive. We’re shifting the item’s power into one big explosion, which should make it the go-to option for gankers and initiators that just gotta go fast. 

SUPERCHARGED (ACTIVE) Unchanged

NEW REFUEL (PASSIVE) Moving and dealing damage fills up the Chemtank. At 100 stacks, your next basic attack deals 40-120 (+1% max health, +3% Move Speed) magic damage to all nearby enemies (increased by 25% against minions and 175% against jungle monsters).

REMOVED IMMOLATE (PASSIVE) Deals magic damage to nearby enemies upon taking or dealing damage

UPDATED

MYTHIC PASSIVE Empowers each of your other Legendary items with 5 Ability Haste and 50 health

 Sunfire Aegis is the most expensive tank Mythic, yet its stats are a bit underwhelming. We’re buffing up its durability to match its cost. 

TOTAL COST 3200 gold (unchanged)

HEALTH 350 (unchanged)

ABILITY HASTE 20 (unchanged)

ARMOR 30 ⇒ 35MAGIC RESIST 30 ⇒ 35

FLAMETOUCH (PASSIVE) Unchanged

IMMOLATE (PASSIVE) Unchanged

UPDATEDMYTHIC PASSIVE Empowers each of your other Legendary items with 5% slow resist, 5% tenacity, and 50 health

 Last season’s Abyssal Mask was powerful for champs who could use its Immobilize effect, and pretty much those champs only. We’ve reshaped it to be more of a hybrid offense/defense tool that shines against magic damage comps or large teamfights. It should also be an exciting choice for some AP bruisers and battlemages! 

TOTAL COST 2700 (unchanged)

BUILD PATH Giant’s Belt + Negatron Cloak + 900 gold ⇒ Kindlegem + Spectre’s Cowl + 650 gold

HEALTH 400 ⇒ 450NEWABILITY HASTE 10MAGIC RESIST 60 ⇒ 30

UPDATED UNMAKE (PASSIVE) Immobilizing enemy champions increases the damage they take by 15% for 5 seconds ⇒ Curse nearby enemy champions, reducing their magic resist by 5 + 1% bonus health (max 20). For each cursed enemy, gain 7 magic resist

FORCE OF NATURE

 Force of Nature was meant to fill the void Adaptive Helm left behind, but its value straddles between stacking resistances and movement speed. We’ve condensed and buffed its effects a bit; it should now be the go-to option when facing heavy magic damage comps or high-DPS mages like Ryze or Cassiopeia. 

HEALTH 350 (unchanged)

MAGIC RESIST 60 ⇒ 70

MOVE SPEED 5% (unchanged)

UPDATED ABSORB Taking ability damage grants bonus Move Speed and magic resist, stacking up to 5 times. Each unique ability gives 1 stack ⇒ Taking magic damage from enemy champions grants a stack of Steadfast (max 6) for 5 seconds. Enemy immobilizing effects grant an additional 2 stacksNEWDISSIPATE While at 6 stacks of Steadfast, take 20% reduced magic damage and gain 10% increased Move Speed

KNIGHT’S VOW

 Knight’s Vow was unpopular despite being powerful all year. We’ve returned the ally heal so that Pledge feels more like a mutual partnership rather than a selfless sacrifice. We’ve also sharpened the damage reduction to work better against burst damage, and removed the movement speed boost. 

HEALTH 400 (unchanged)

BASE HEALTH REGEN 300% ⇒ 150%

ABILITY HASTE 10 (unchanged)

PLEDGE (ACTIVE) Unchanged

UPDATED SACRIFICE (PASSIVE) While your Worthy ally is nearby and you are above 30% of your maximum health, redirect 15% of the damage they take to you. If they are below 50% of their maximum health, gain 35% bonus Move Speed towards them ⇒ While your Worthy ally is nearby, redirect 10% of damage they take to you and heal for 8% of the damage they deal to champions. If they have less than 30% health, redirect 20% of damage they take to you instead

AEGIS OF THE LEGION

 We’re dropping the price of Aegis to make it more accessible in tank builds, especially for supports. Sunfire Aegis and Locket of the Iron Solari are still strong, so their total costs are unchanged. Gargoyle Stoneplate is relatively weak compared to others though, so it’s inheriting the discount. 

TOTAL COST 1500 gold ⇒ 1400 gold

GARGOYLE STONEPLATE

TOTAL COST 3300 gold ⇒ 3200 gold

LOCKET OF THE IRON SOLARI

COMBINE COST 200 gold ⇒ 300 gold (total cost unchanged)

MAGE ITEMS

 Mage item choices have been pretty limited this season, especially for AP bruisers and some battlemages. We’re making a few options less generic but otherwise opening up items to appeal to all AP users. 

EVERFROST

 We want to offer a cheaper tier of Mythics for AP mana users who don’t need “luxury” damage options right away, so we’re bringing Everfrost’s price down to match the new mage Mythic, Crown of the Shattered Queen. This way, mana users can opt into cheaper items if they need an earlier spike. 

TOTAL COST 3200 gold ⇒ 2800 gold

BUILD PATH Kindlegem + Lost Chapter + Blasting Wand + 250 gold ⇒ Kindlegem + Lost Chapter + Amplifying Tome + 265 gold

ABILITY POWER 80 ⇒ 70

HEALTH 250 (unchanged)MANA 600 (unchanged)

ABILITY HASTE 20 (unchanged)

GLACIATE (ACTIVE) Unchanged

UPDATEDMYTHIC PASSIVE Grants all other Legendary items 15 ability power ⇒ 10 ability power

DEMONIC EMBRACE

 Demonic Embrace should be a core item for AP bruisers, battlemages, and tanks who want more damage. It wasn’t fulfilling that role very well, so we’re removing its stacking resistance, boosting it for melees, and giving it a new passive that will make those tanky AP builds shine. 

ABILITY POWER 70 ⇒ 60

HEALTH 350 ⇒ 450

UPDATED

AZAKANA GAZE (PASSIVE) Dealing ability damage burns enemies for (2% for melee / 1.2% for ranged) max health magic damage every second for 4 seconds. No longer grants bonus resistances while enemies burn

NEW DARK PACT (PASSIVE) Gain 2% of your bonus health as ability power

ARCHANGEL’S STAFF

 Archangel’s and Seraph’s were basically just big powerful sticks of AP and mana this year. We’re pushing them to better fit spell-slinging battlemage and bruiser playstyles. 

TOTAL COST 3000 gold (unchanged)

BUILD PATH Tear of the Goddess + Amplifying Tome + Needlessly Large Rod + 915 gold ⇒ Tear of the Goddess + Kindlegem + Blasting Wand + 950 gold

ABILITY POWER 65 ⇒ 60

NEW HEALTH 200MANA 500 (unchanged)

UPDATED AWE (PASSIVE) Grants ability power equal to 3% bonus mana ⇒ Gain Ability Haste equal to 0.5% bonus mana

MANA CHARGE (PASSIVE) Unchanged

SERAPH’S EMBRACE

BUILD PATH This item upgrades from Archangel’s Staff upon reaching the maximum 360 bonus man

aABILITY POWER 65 ⇒ 80

NEW HEALTH 250

MANA 860 (unchanged)

UPDATED AWE (PASSIVE) Gain ability power equal to 3% bonus mana ⇒ Gain Ability Haste equal to 1.3% bonus mana

UPDATED EMPYREAN (PASSIVE) Increase your maximum mana by 5% (+ 2.5% per 100 AP) ⇒ Restore health equal to 40% of mana spent, up to 25-50 +10% ability power per cast. Toggles can restore the same amount per 1 second

COSMIC DRIVE

 Cosmic Drive was strong throughout the season… but not very exciting. We’re amping up the fantasy of this move-fast-cast-fast item and making its passive available way sooner. 

TOTAL COST 3000 gold (unchanged)

BUILD PATH Fiendish Codex + Kindlegem + Ruby Crystal + 865 gold ⇒ Fiendish Codex + Aether Wisp + Ruby Crystal + 850 gold

ABILITY POWER 80 ⇒ 75

HEALTH 200 ⇒ 250

ABILITY HASTE 20 ⇒ 30

NEW MOVE SPEED 5%

UPDATED SPELLDANCE (PASSIVE) If you have at least 160 ability power, gain 20 Ability Haste and 20 bonus Move Speed ⇒ Damaging a champion with 3 separate attacks or spells grants 20% Move Speed (decaying to 10%) and 40 ability power until leaving combat

HORIZON FOCUS

 Horizon Focus was a pretty niche, glass-cannon item that essentially gave long-range mages a lot of bonus damage. We’re broadening its use case so that more champs feel happy picking it up. 

TOTAL COST 3000 gold (unchanged)

BUILD PATH Hextech Alternator + Needlessly Large Rod + 700g ⇒ Hextech Alternator + Fiendish Codex + 1050 gold

ABILITY POWER 115 ⇒ 85

NEW HEALTH 150

NEW ABILITY HASTE 15

UPDATED HYPERSHOT (PASSIVE) Now also applies Hypershot to slowed enemy champions

VOID STAFF

 Void Staff was a very powerful but generic purchase for amping up your AP and melting through MR. We’re shifting some of its power to its magic penetration so it’s not a one-stop-shop for mages who buy it. 

TOTAL COST 2700 gold ⇒ 2800 gold

BUILD PATH Blighting Jewel + Blasting Wand + 700 gold ⇒ Blighting Jewel + Blasting Wand + 800 gold

ABILITY POWER 70 ⇒ 65

MAGIC PENETRATION 40% ⇒ 45%

DORAN’S RING

 We’re adding an incentive to Doran’s Ring for champions who want to get aggressive in lane. We still want champions to have access to mana in tough matchups, so we’re keeping the base mana regeneration relatively high—now there’s just a bonus treat for dueling. 

FOCUS (PASSIVE) Unchanged

UPDATED DRAIN (PASSIVE) Killing a unit restores 6 mana. If you can’t gain mana, restore 3 health instead ⇒ Restore 0.75 mana every second. Damaging an enemy champion increases this amount to 1.25 mana every second for 10 seconds. If you can’t gain mana, restore 50% of the value as health instead

HEXTECH ALTERNATOR

 Hextech Alternator was one of many AP damage items that were a bit too glass cannon-y. We’re trading some of its AP for durability. This change affects Horizon Focus and the next three items, all of which build from Hextech Alternator. 

TOTAL COST 1050 gold (unchanged)BUILD PATH Amp

lifying Tome + Amplifying Tome + 180 gold ⇒ Amplifying Tome + Ruby Crystal + 215 gold

ABILITY POWER 40 ⇒ 25

NEW HEALTH 150

REVVED (PASSIVE) Unchanged

HEXTECH ROCKETBELT

TOTAL COST 3200 gold (unchanged)

BUILD PATH Ruby Crystal + Hextech Alternator + Blasting Wand + 900 gold ⇒ Amplifying Tome + Hextech Alternator + Blasting Wand + 865 gold

NIGHT HARVESTER

TOTAL COST 3200 gold (unchanged)

BUILD PATH Ruby Crystal + Hextech Alternator + Blasting Wand + 900 gold ⇒ Amplifying Tome + Hextech Alternator + Blasting Wand + 865 gold

LETHALITY ITEMS

 While assassins were strong, their Mythics felt lackluster. Many assassins were opting into Mythics like Goredrinker or Stridebreaker, and some rushed Legendaries like Youmuu’s before their Mythic. We’re not opposed to flexing into unique builds, but building a Lethality Mythic first was almost always the weaker option. We’re reducing the gap between Mythics and Youmuu’s for melee Lethality users, while ranged Lethality users should be relatively unaffected. 

DUSKBLADE OF DRAKTHARR

TOTAL COST 3200 gold ⇒ 3100 gold

BUILD PATH Serrated Dirk + Caulfield’s Warhammer + 1000 gold ⇒ Serrated Dirk + Caulfield’s Warhammer + 900 gold

UPDATED NIGHTSTALKER (ACTIVE) Bonus AD on next basic attack against an enemy champion deals 65 (+25% bonus AD) ⇒ 75 (+30% bonus AD) for melee / 55 (+25% bonus AD) for ranged (all else unchanged)

ECLIPSE

TOTAL COST 3200 gold ⇒ 3100 gold

BUILD PATH Serrated Dirk + Long Sword + Vampiric Scepter + 850 gold ⇒ Serrated Dirk + Long Sword + Vampiric Scepter + 750 gold

UPDATED EVER RISING MOON (PASSIVE) Cooldown for melee champions reduced from 8 seconds ⇒ 6 seconds (all else unchanged)

PROWLER’S CLAW

TOTAL COST 3200 gold ⇒ 3100 gold

BUILD PATH Serrated Dirk + Caulfield’s Warhammer + 1000 gold ⇒ Serrated Dirk + Caulfield’s Warhammer + 900 gold

UPDATED SANDSWIPE (ACTIVE) The dash deals 65 (+25% bonus AD) ⇒ 75 (+30% bonus AD physical damage (all else unchanged)

YOUMUU’S GHOSTBLADE

TOTAL COST 2900 gold ⇒ 3000 gold

RUNES

FIRST STRIKE

 First Strike is a new Inspiration keystone that gives you a huge damage and gold boost when you strike an enemy champion first, but nothing if they hit you first. It’s been great for artillery champions and assassins during playtests, and we’re excited to see you experiment with it! You can read more details behind its design here. 

FIRST STRIKE (PASSIVE) Basic attacks or abilities against an enemy champion within 0.25 seconds of entering champion combat grants 5 gold and First Strike for 3 seconds, causing you to deal 10% extra damage against champions, and granting 100% (70% for ranged champions) of bonus damage dealt as gold. 25-15 second cooldown (levels 1-18)NOT SECOND STRIKE If an enemy strikes you first, First Strike still goes on cooldown without providing any of its bonuses. (Unlike Banshee’s Veil, subsequent damage won’t keep restarting the cooldown)

PROTOTYPE: OMNISTONE (removed)

 With the introduction of First Strike, it’s also time we say goodbye to Prototype: Omnistone, a keystone that never really found a place in most players’ hearts. Its rules were too complex, and tinkering with it risked making it even harder to master. This left us in a tough spot where we couldn’t safely buff it because of its potential to warp gameplay in ways we weren’t comfortable with. 

REMOVEDPROTOTYPE: OMNISTONE (PASSIVE) Periodically grants a single use of another random keystone. After a keystone is used or has expired, another random keystone is granted

GLACIAL AUGMENT

 Some champions were using Glacial Augment’s Freeze Ray to CC enemies before casting skillshots to guarantee a wombo combo, which—though clever—wasn’t the intended design. This updated version should appeal to tanks and some enchanters without removing skill expression. We think it’ll be particularly useful to defend allies or amplify huge engages. 

UPDATEDGLACIAL AUGMENT (PASSIVE) Basic attacks on-hit periodically slow enemy champions ⇒ Immobilizing an enemy champion will cause 3 glacial rays to emanate from them towards you and other nearby champions, creating frozen lines for a few seconds that slow enemies for 35% (+5% per 10% heal and shield power) (+2% per 100 AP) (+2% per 100 bonus AD) and reduce their damage by 15% against your allies (not including yourself). The frozen lines last for 3 (+100% of the final duration of the immobilizing effect) seconds

REMOVED FREEZE RAY (PASSIVE) Slowing an enemy champion with an item active creates a frozen line that slows all enemies within

LETHAL TEMPO

 The keystones available for marksmen felt a little flat. Hail of Blades offered a burst of instant attack speed, Lethal Tempo a delayed burst of attack speed, and Press the Attack a delayed burst of damage. Lethal Tempo stood out as the least popular of the bunch despite having a similar win rate. This meant it was either more niche, less satisfying, or both. We’re clarifying Lethal Tempo’s identity as the best ramping option for long term value and adding attack range to make it more unique. 

REMOVED LETHAL TEMPO (PASSIVE) After 1.5 seconds upon damaging an enemy champion, you gain bonus attack speed and your attack speed cap is increased for 3 seconds. Attacking a champion while the effect is active extends the duration to 6 seconds

UPDATED LETHAL TEMPO (PASSIVE) Gain (15% for melee/5% for ranged) attack speedfor 6 seconds when striking at least one enemy champion with each auto attack. This effect stacks up to 6 times. While this effect is at its cap, also gain (50 for melee/100 for ranged) attack range and increase your attack speed cap from 2.5 to 10

ULTIMATE SPELLBOOK

 Ultimate Spellbook is back—with a twist! (If you need a refresher, the original rules can be found here.)

We’ve added several new ultimates to the pool of Ult-ernate Summoner Spells, champion select bans, a new auto-smite feature for junglers, and special interactions with the new Chemtech and Hextech Drakes! Ultimate Spellbook will incorporate all of preseason’s content upon release (except for Objective Bounties) and will be available from November 18, 2021 to January 10, 2022. 

New Ult-ernate Summoner Spells

Akali

Blitzcrank

Caitlyn

Camille

Dr. Mundo

Evelynn

Jinx

Kindred

Orianna

Seraphine

Urgot

Vex

Vi

Viktor

Xin Zhao

Removed Ult-ernate Summoner Spells

Malphite

Ult-ernate Summoner Spell Balance Adjustments

 As a catch-all note, any changes that have been made to champion ults since patch 11.14 (the last run of Ultimate Spellbook) have also been applied to their Ult-ernate versions in this mode. The only exception is the following bonus Ability Haste reduction on Ashe’s R. 

Ashe

R BONUS ABILITY HASTE 35 ⇒ 20

Auto-Smite

 Jungle mains around the world, rejoice! We’re introducing a special feature called Auto-Smite so that junglers can still pick a Summoner Spell other than Smite in this mode.

Junglers will be locked into taking Auto-Smite instead of a Placeholder Ult-ernate Summoner Spell during champ select. Auto-Smite gets replaced by the Ult-ernate that you select at the beginning of the game, granting you a buff that is also called Auto-Smite. 

AUTO-SMITE BUFF When fighting Epic Monsters, Rift Scuttlers, or Allied Buff Monsters, Auto-Smite automatically executes the monster once it reaches the threshold health at which a regular Smite would last-hit them

 We’re also introducing a new jungle starter item called Obsidian Edge that will only be available on Ultimate Spellbook. It has the same stats as the other two jungle items, but with a different completion criteria just for Auto-Smite and without Chilling or Challenging Smite’s effects against champs (since you can’t Auto-Smite a champion). 

OBSIDIAN EDGE – STATS & EFFECTS Grants the same stats as Hailblade and Emberknife, except for…OBSIDIAN EDGE – AUTO PATH (PASSIVE) Triggering Auto-Smite 5 times consumes this item, granting all of the item’s effects permanently as well as increasing Auto-Smite’s threshold and damage to 900

 Lastly, Ivern’s Auto-Smite works a little differently because, well, Ivern. 

BE FREE, MY FRIEND When Ivern takes Auto-Smite, he will not be able to use it to bypass Passive – Friend of the Forest‘s grove maturation timer. However, freeing a qualifying jungle camp (Epic Monsters, Rift Scuttlers, or Allied Buff Monsters) will trigger Auto-Smite, granting him the heal and jungle starter item stack that a regular Smite would

Dragons & Terrain

 The only dragons that will spawn in this mode are the new Hextech and Chemtech Drakes! Any time your team slays one of these dragons in Ultimate Spellbook, your team will also gain a stack of the Echoes of Ruination buff. 

ECHOES OF RUINATION Your attacks against enemy turrets apply Echoes of Ruination, dealing 0.3% of the turret’s health as damage per second

CAITLYN, JAYCE, & JINX UPDATES

 In order to streamline Caitlyn’s future visuals, skins, and overall development, we’ve given the Sheriff of Piltover an Art and Sustainability Update (ASU)! In-game models, voiceovers (VO), sound effects (SFX), and visual effects (VFX) for Caitlyn and eight of her skins have been modernized. All of her splashes have also been updated, and some have been completely redone.

Jayce and Jinx have also been modernized for clarity and thematic purposes. 

Caitlyn ASU

 During this ASU, Caitlyn’s Headshots were re-coded as empowered attacks rather than abilities. This removed several cases where Caitlyn was able to Headshot while her basic attack was on cooldown since Headshots now use her basic attack timer. We’re monitoring Caitlyn’s performance—especially at high skill levels—to ensure this doesn’t unintentionally nerf her.

The following changes apply to Base, Arcade, Prestige Arcade, Headhunter, Lunar Wraith, Officer, Pool Party, and Safari Caitlyn, except for the new VO. VFXs, SFXs, splash arts, and in-game models for these skins have been updated to varying degrees. 

VOICEOVER Base Caitlyn has new VO

BASIC ATTACK Added ejected bullet when reloading her rifle

PASSIVE – HEADSHOT “Passive Ready” SFX adjusted for more of a Hextech feel. Added SFX that plays when Caitlyn’s Headshot is ready for use.

Q – PILTOVER PEACEMAKER New meshes and particles made to look more Hextech. Initial on-hit SFX are now more impactful than subsequent hits.

W – YORDLE SNAP TRAP Added indicator on traps and their activation VFXs. Trap SFXs adjusted to match new animation timing.

E – 90 CALIBER NET New range indicator. On-hit SFX are now more impactful

R – ACE IN THE HOLE New laser and Hextech imagery. On-cast SFX are now more impactful and have additional Hextech elements.

Jayce VFX & SFX

 The following updates apply to base and Debonair Jayce only (except for the VO). VFX and in-game models for Debonair, Forsaken, Full Metal, Jayce Brighthammer, and Resistance Jayce have also been updated to varying degrees. 

VOICEOVER Base Jayce’s voice lines have been remastered for clarity and quality

BASIC ATTACK Missiles and hits are now unique between ranged and melee stances. Added new critical hit VFX.PASSIVE – HEXTECH CAPACITOR Modernized visuals for reduced noise and clarity

Q (MERCURY HAMMER) – TO THE SKIES! Modernized visuals. Added clarity to match AoE size.Q (MERCURY CANNON) – SHOCK BLAST New projectiles and explosions. Added burst when projectile supercharges.

W (MERCURY HAMMER) – LIGHTNING FIELD Modernized visuals with better defined AoE edge. Reduced noise to match damage level.

W(MERCURY CANNON) – HYPER CHARGE Removed noise

E (MERCURY HAMMER) – THUNDERING BLOW Modernized visuals; addded directionality on knockback

E (MERCURY CANNON) – ACCELERATION GATE Modernized visuals

RECALL New SFX

Jinx VFX & SFX

 The following updates apply to Base, Ambitious Elf, Crime City, Heartseeker, Firecracker, Odyssey, and Zombie Slayer Jinx. Crime City, Firecracker, and Zombie Slayer Jinx’s in-game models have been cleaned up to varying degrees. 

BASIC ATTACK Added glows to machine gun missiles. New rocket trails and explosions.W – ZAP! Modernized ground telegraph, missile, and hit VFXE – FLAME CHOMPERS! Modernized telegraph visualsR – SUPER MEGA DEATH ROCKET! New missile and explosion. Modernized rocket animations to emphasize its movement boostRECALL New SFX

/ALL CHAT

 Based on initial results since we originally disabled /all chat in a few regions in patch 11.21, we’re continuing the disable where it’s already in effect but we’re not adding additional regions. From here on out, we’ll message any per-region changes to impacted regions only, unless we’ve got global updates to share. 

END OF SEASON REWARDS

 Summoner’s Rift Ranked and Honor End of Season Rewards will be distributed starting this patch and will be completed by December 16 (Riot Regions and Garena only). Clash End of Season Rewards will be distributed starting this patch and will be completed by December 16 (Riot Regions only). Tencent will distribute Ranked and Clash rewards for players in China during patch 11.24. You can find more details at the Player Support page here! 

IXTAL CLASH

 Team formation for the first weekend of the Ixtal-themed Clash starts on November 15, and the tournament will be on November 20 and 21. Team formation for the second weekend will open on November 29, and the tournament will be on December 4 and 5.

Ixtal Clash is not a part of the regular Clash season. You’ll still be able to earn Ixtal rewards, but your Clash VP track won’t be affected. 

BUGFIXES & QOL CHANGES

Loot Odds

 Drop rates for content from Loot items, now called Loot Odds, will soon be displayed in the Store on the League client! You can now view Loot Odds directly in the client in addition to the existing Hextech Crafting FAQ webpage so you can make better informed decisions at the time of purchase.

Loot Odds will roll out slowly all over the globe starting later in patch 11.23. Certain regions have additional regulations around Loot, so it may take additional time for Loot Odds to appear. 

Tooltip Trackers

 Numerous item and rune tooltips have been updated to include stat trackers so that players can evaluate the impact of them throughout their games. 

Items

BLOODTHIRSTER Now tracks damage blocked by Blood Barrier

GARGOYLE’S STONEPLATE Now tracks damage blocked by Monolith

GUARDIAN’S HORN (ARAM) Now tracks damage blocked by passive

LORD DOMINIK’S REGARDS Now tracks bonus damage from Giant’s Slayer

RAPID FIRECANNON Now tracks how many times extra range was utilized

SPIRIT VISAGE Now tracks bonus healing and shielding from Boundless Vitality

STORMRAZOR Now tracks champions slowed by Paralyze

Runes

AFTERSHOCK Now tracks damage mitigated

Bugfixes

Tagged

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *