The League of Legends (LoL) meta is about to change significantly with LoL Patch 12.8 as Riot Games has brought back champions that were nowhere on the horizon in the past few patches. The company is buffing a total of 14 champions across all five roles on Summoner’s Rift. Initially, Riot revealed that it would be buffing the kits of 16 champions, but the detailed patch preview has only 14.
On 20th April, Game designer Ezra “Phlox” Lynn detailed all the buffs that were teased the day before. He wrote on , “12.8 with all the content! We've pulled a few things from this patch either for more time or after reconsiderations. Pretty fun patch I'd say! Numbers are definitely subject to further change. Also, remember 12.8 is the MSI patch so no more changes coming for the pro game there.”
Notably, the 2022 Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) will be played on LoL Patch 12.8, which is slated to be released on the live servers on 27th April. This gives the teams participating in the event close to two weeks to practice on the new patch.
Champion buffs in LoL Patch 12.8
Before getting into the nitty-gritty of the buffs, one has to note that Riot has removed top-laner Aatrox and support champion Seraphine from the list.
Now, the champions who are receiving a buff in LoL Patch 12.8 are as follows:
Mordekaiser
Vladimir
Poppy
Sejuani
Fiddlesticks
Zoe
Kassadin
Vel’Koz
Xerath
Sylas
Ezreal
Tristana
Jhin
Bard
In the top lane, Mordekaiser, Vladimir, and Poppy are receiving significant buffs.
Riot Games is giving Mordekaiser’s Passive - Darkness Rise a boost. Through his passive, Mordekaiser gains a powerful damage aura and movement speed after landing three attacks or spells against champions or monsters. Now, in LoL Patch 12.8, Mordekaiser’s passive movement speed will be increased from 3% to 3%/6%/9% at levels 1/6/11 respectively.
Meanwhile, Vladimir’s Armor has been increased to 27 from 23.
Poppy, on the other hand, is undergoing some powerful changes. Her W - Steadfast Presence’s cooldown has been reduced at all levels and her R - Keeper’s Verdict will now send enemies flying away faster and further. But, the cooldown refund on her ultimate will be less if she does not use her ultimate’s second cast.
Jungle champions Sejuani and Fiddlesticks are also on the buff list, meaning that games on LoL Patch 12.8 will favor team fighting.
Riot has reduced the cooldown of Sejuani’s Passive - Fury of the North based on her level. Meanwhile, Fiddlesticks’ W - Bountiful Harvest while used on enemy champions will be increased on LoL Patch 12.8.
Zoe, Kassadin, Vel’Koz, Xerath, and Sylas are the mid-laners that are getting buffed by Riot Games. Notably, most of the champions are favored picks in pro play and this makes the patch very spicy.
Mana costs of Zoe’s Q - Paddle Star and R - Portal Jump have been decreased. For Kassadin, Riot is giving him a bigger shield with his Q - Null Sphere. Vel’Koz will be receiving increased Ability Power (AP) ratios on his Q - Plasma Fission and W - Void Rift.
The other two mages are also getting major power amplification of their kits. The stun duration of Xerath’s E - Shocking Orb will now increase based on the distance, and Sylas’ R - Hijack will have its cooldown reduced at all levels.
With the buffs in LoL Patch 12.8, Attack Damage Carries (ADC) Ezreal, Jhin, and Tristana will look to replace the stale Jinx-Aphelios meta in the bottom lane.
Ezreal’s R - True Shot Barrage’s cooldown will be reduced immensely at all three levels, and at the highest rank, it will be 30 seconds. Meanwhile, Tristana’s AD per level will be increased.
Now, Jhin’s changes are quite a few. Jhin’s W - Deadly Flourish will root and crowd control (CC) longer than usual. The cooldown on his E - Captive Audience has been reduced at all ranks. Apart from this, the damage on these two spells is no longer reduced against monsters.
Bard is the only support champion on the list now that Seraphine has been removed from the patch notes.
Now, with LoL Patch 12.8, players will be rewarded more handsomely for collecting more chimes. The damage on his Passive - Traveller’s Call will be increased per chime collected and his W - Caretaker’s Shrine healing has also been increased.
LoL Patch 12.8 will go live on 27th April and the fact that champions like Sylas, Zoe, Ezreal, and Jhin are getting buffed is a strong indicator of a meta shift in League of Legends. Since this is only a patch preview, the numbers and the buffs detailed are subject to change before the patch goes live on the servers.
RELATED: LoL Patch 12.8: Riot’s Next Patch Is a Long One
