League of Legends Patch 8.1 Notes Updated With Zoe Nerf

The notes for League of Legends Patch 8.1 have been updated with an additional change to Zoe's kit that removes Hextech Gunblade from her pool of Spell Thief items she can pick up from minions.

Zoe's nerf to her "W," Spell Thief, wasn't included in the initial reveal of the patch notes for the latest League update with the champion previously only having three changes listed, but the notes now show a fourth change to take note of. According to the notes, minions will no longer drop the Hextech Gunblade item for Zoe's use with her Spell Thief ability.

Q - Paddle Star

• UPDATED: Now does not register Zoe's new position (for purposes of Q range) until she has fully emerged from R - Portal Jump

W - Spell Thief

• UPDATED: Minions can no longer drop shards for Hextech Gunblade

E - Sleepy Trouble Bubble

• DELAY BEFORE TRAP IS CREATED: 0.6s ⇒0.8s

R - Portal Jump

• DELAY BEFORE EXIT PORTAL APPEARS: 0.1s ⇒ 0s

The patch notes are occasionally updated mid-patch to apply a hotfix for a problematic champion or item, but those changes are usually listed towards the top of the notes in a new section reserved for mid-patch updates. With Zoe's new nerf showing up under her section instead, this was more likely a simple exclusion of the nerf that was supposed to go in the notes as opposed to a last-minute change.

Removing the item from Zoe's list of possibilities might be just the start of more nerfs that players hope for, but it does take away some of her kill pressure in lane. Obtaining the active effect of Hextech Gunblade gives Zoe quite a bit of free damage along with a brief slow to help her proc her other abilities, a combination that can feel pretty awful to be hit with if you're on the receiving end of the RNG.

Zoe still has several other tools at her disposal with her Spell Thief such as Teleport and other effects, but her opponents at least won't see this item showing up for free any more.