'League of Legends' Patch Nerfs Akali's Healing and Stealth

League of Legends' latest patch notes have been revealed with Akai's nerfs to her healing and stealth abilities poised to go through to the live servers.

Riot Games unveiled the patch notes on Tuesday ahead of the patch's full release and featured both Aatrox and Akali as two champions who will feel the nerfs the most in this update. Aatrox's mobility took a hit, but Akali's nerfs saw two different parts of her kit removed which were the subject of heated discussions among Akali mains while the changes were being tested on the PBE.

The two big takeaways from the changes listed below is that Akali no longer heals with her Five Point Strike and also can't hide from enemy turrets when she's in her Twilight Shroud. Those notes which were taken straight from Riot Games' official patch page can be found below so Akali players aren't surprised when they aren't as healthy during the laning phase or take a few shots from a turret.

Base Stats

• HEALTH REGEN 3.5 ⇒ 6

Q - Five Point Strike

• REMOVED: HEAL Akali no longer heals for 5/10/15/20/25 (+0.2/0.25/0.3/0.35/0.4 total attack damage) (+0.2/0.25/0.3/0.35/0.4 ability power) if Five Point Strike hits at least one enemy when cast at 180 or more energy

W - Twilight Shroud

• REMOVED: STEALTH FROM TURRETS Twilight Shroud no longer prevents turrets from revealing Akali
• COOLDOWN 21/18.5/16/13.5/11 seconds ⇒ 21/19/17/15/13 seconds

The changes might not sit well with Akali players, but those who played against the champion will be happy to see that she can't avoid their turrets due to a smoky shroud. Riot Games explained the decision by saying turret diving was a strength Akali didn't need as much as the other parts of her kit and rationalized the late-game cooldown nerf.

"Ultimately, though, Akali has so many strengths (the ability to switch targets mid-fight without giving up kill pressure, and four forms of mobility, among others) that she doesn't need to also be a reliable turret diver," Riot Games said. "Given Akali finds better success in longer fights than other assassins, the short duration of turret dives make sense as a weakness, which they now are. The cooldown nerf is simpler: We're reducing Akali's late-game access to Shroud's defenses."

As for the healing nerf, Riot Games said it was softening the Five Point Strike changes by increasing the champ's base health regeneration rate. The ability provided too much healing in lane to let Akali survive less favorable matchups, Riot Games said.

League of Legends' Patch 9.3 is expected to be released on Wednesday.