League of Legends‘ newest patch is now available and marks the first larger patch of the year with some significant changes to take note of.
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Following Riot Games’ decision to move towards a patching process that alternates between larger and smaller patches every two weeks, Patch 8.2 follows the smaller 8.1 that had leftover fixes from last year’s PBE. Now that this patch is out after being tested on the PBE for the normal duration, several problematic champions and runes were affected while other impactful decisions involving supports, minions, and much more were also included.
While most patches can usually be processed with a quick glance while scouring for changes that affect your main champions, this one’s a bit more involved and may lead to some surprises for players that don’t study it as carefully. To make sure you’re not one of those players who’s not caught off guard by a Nunu sauntering into your jungle or when minions take issue with you chucking spears as Pantheon, check out some of the most important changes found in Patch 8.2.
Report Support for No Sightstone
In an empowering move for supports, the Sightstone item has been removed from the store, a change that’s going to affect quite literally every single game that you play in some way.
Aside from rushing an Ardent Censor last year or opting for some damage items if you’re developing an early lead as Brand or Zyra, one of the go-to first backs for supports has always been picking up a Sightstone, maybe a support item upgrade or boots as well if you can afford it. That’s no longer an option though now that Sighstone’s gone with the active item effect being placed on upgraded support items as a quest reward.
This also means that the fully-upgraded support items’ active effects – running down enemies with Talisman of Ascension and saving teammates with Face of the Mountain – are gone. Some of those item effects may come back later as other items, but Face of the Mountain’s shielding effect is an exception, an effect that’s gone for good.
The change frees up supports to find new build paths that suit their circumstances while getting a Sightstone for progressing through the early-mid game, and though it might take some time for new build path metas to settle, this looks to be an overall beneficial change for supports.
Vayne and Ezreal Calm Down, Jinx Gets Excited
The ADC meta in the bot lane has been filled with champions like Vayne, Ezreal, and Tristana, and while the Yordle gunner is left untouched, the other two champions both took a hit in the latest patch.
Vayne’s changes are pretty simple, but much appreciated anyone who’s tired of being torn to shreds in three attacks. The new rune options gave the champ tools she needed to make it to later in the game where she excels, and to fix that, the champ’s base stats and ultimate’s power were reduced in the patch. Ezreal’s Mystic Shot (Q) also took a pretty significant hit in the early game with its starting damage being reduced by more than half.
Nerfs aside, you might see a Jinx or two in your games from now on as well. The champion can now obtain uncapped attack speed once her passive kicks in, and her Switcheroo! (Q) now gives way, way more attack speed later in the game.
Ezreal
- Q – Mystic Shot
- BASE DAMAGE: 35/55/75/95/115 ⇒ 15/40/65/90/115
Jinx
- Base stats
- BASE ATTACK DAMAGE: 66 ⇒ 61
- ATTACK DAMAGE GROWTH STAT: 2.41 ⇒7
- Passive – Get Excited!
- [UPDATED] TOO EXCITED: Get Excited’s attack speed no longer stacks
- [NEW] OVER 9000: Jinx’s attack speed can exceed the cap while she is Excited
- Q – Switcheroo!
- [UPDATED] MINIGUN ATTACK SPEED: 30/40/50/60/70% ⇒ 30/55/80/105/130%
- [REMOVED] JINXED: Minigun no longer gains attack speed based on Jinx’s level
Vayne
- Base stats
- ATTACK SPEED GROWTH: 4% ⇒3%
- R – Final Hour
- BONUS AD: 30/50/70 ⇒ 20/30/40
Minions Are Fed Up with Bullies
Minions have spent a long enough time watching their champion allies get pelted with spears, poisonous darts, and every other form of targeted abilities, and they’re finally going to start doing something about it.
One of the biggest changes that comes to League in the latest patch, point-and-click abilities that previously allowed for an easy trading pattern in lane will now draw minion aggro. This means that champions that could previously rely on these bullying trading patterns with ease – think Pantheon, Cassiopeia, and Teemo with his Blinding Dart – will now have to work around the minions as if they were auto attacking their enemies.
While this change affects quite a few champions in the mid lane, it also affects two Summoner Spells that players will see in most games: Ignite and Smite. Since both of these abilities are targeted and affect a champion, they’ll both draw aggro as well. This means that Igniting an enemy champ during a close fight that was won primarily with spells may just draw those minions over to deliver a finishing blow to yourself.
Nunu Is (Possibly) Back, Baby
Watch your jungle camps and the early-game Dragons carefully, because if you’re not careful, you might just lose them to Nunu and his trusty companion, Willump.
The yeti rider received two separate buffs that help the champion find a better spot in the meta because, as Riot Games said in the patch notes, “Nunu just isn’t very good right now.” His Consume (Q) now lets Nunu throw hands with the best of them by granting bonus magic damage on his basic attacks that grows with however many stacks the ability has, and his Blood Boil (W) now grants both him and his target a sizeable 40 percent AP buff.
On the flip side of Nunu’s Buffs, Eveylnn also received nerfs that toned down the shadowy champion’s burst damage with Kha’Zix’s power being reduced as well.
Evelynn
- E – Whiplash
- UNEMPOWERED DAMAGE: 4% target’s maximum health (+2.5% per 100 ability power) ⇒ 3% target’s maximum health (+1.5% per 100 ability power)
- EMPOWERED: 6% target’s maximum health (+3.5% per 100 ability power) ⇒ 4% target’s maximum health (+2.5% per 100 ability power)
Kha’Zix
- Passive – Unseen Threat
- RATIO: 0.4 bonus attack damage ⇒2 bonus attack damage
- Q – Taste Their Fear
- RATIO: 1.1 bonus attack damage ⇒2 bonus attack damage
Nunu
- Q – Consume
- [NEW] THESE HANDS: Well Fed now additionally grants 3/5/7/9/11 (+5 per 100 ability power) magic damage on basic attacks
- W – Blood Boil
- [NEW]MAGIC FINGERS: Now additionally increases ability power by 40% (max increase: 40/60/80/100/120) on both targets.
Kleptomancy Gets Nerfed Because Stealing Is Wrong
You won’t find quite as much gold in your pockets or as many Mana Potions in your inventory now that Kleptomancy received several nerfs to the rune’s power.
The Keystone Rune was the source of several champion’s power and popularity at the moment with champs like Ezreal, Gangplank, and even Nasus opting to take the rune for some easy procs and quick cash. The Keystone Rune is probably the one seen most often out of the Inspiration tree, and while it’ll likely still be a go-to option for the champs that already make use of it, it won’t be quite as effective.
On the contrary, another Inspiration Keystone Rune got a few buffs that may inspire some players to check it out if they haven’t already. Glacial Augment now puts a heavier slow on enemies in all of its forms with ranged and melee champs benefitting from the buffs.
Inspiration
- Glacial Augment
- MELEE SLOW: 40-50% (at level 1-18) ⇒ 45-55% (at level 1-18)
- RANGED SLOW: 20-40$ (at level 1-18) ⇒ 30-40% (at level 1-18)
- ACTIVE ITEM SLOW: 50% ⇒ 60%
- Kleptomancy
- [UPDATED] LESS LOOT: Drop rate significantly decreased in the first 15 minutes of the game
- [UPDATED] LESS LESS LOOT: After 15 minutes, drop rate slightly decreased for melee, significantly decreased for ranged
- [UPDATED] BUYER’S MARKET: Sell values about 20% lower
