League of Legends Patch 13.6 – Buffs & Nerfs

As a Live Service game, League of Legends hits us with new stuff occasionally. Coming in the form of patches, League introduces changes to existing game content and brings in newer things. This article will look at all the exciting stuff Riot has brought us in the latest Patch 13.6.

Key takeaways:

• A detailed look at the new League of Legends Champion.
• An overview of all the buffs and nerfs to Champions and Items.
• A look at all other changes in this patch.
• …and more!

Let’s go!

Milio–The Latest League of Legends Champion

It’s always exciting when Riot Games introduce a brand new Champion to League of Legends. They’ve pumped the numbers a bit over the past few Seasons, and we seem to be showered with newcomers more often than ever. This time around we have Milio, the brand new Support Champion that has much to offer.

Milio is another in the long line of Champions from the famed regions of Shurima and Ixtal, and is boyish look can be deceiving. He has a ton of buffs to give, heals to throw out, and reminds us of a hybrid between Yuumi and Lulu. That in itself should scare you to death.

Let’s take a look at Milio’s abilities:

Passive – Fired Up: Milio’s spells enchant his allies, making their next attack or spell deal extra damage and apply a burn.

This is a seriously powerful ability that gives Milio and his companion a ton of early game damage that could prove crucial to winning the game.

Q – Ultra Mega Fire Kick: Milio kicks a ball at the enemy. Upon impact, the ball bounces behind the target, damaging and slowing targets in the area.

A great immobilizing and damaging tool, this ability allows Milio to step out of his Support role for a minute and become a Mage. His combination of Support and Damaging abilities is lethal in action.

W – Cozy Campfire: Milio creates a comfy zone for his allies that heals them and increases their range. The zone follows the Champion closest to where it was cast.

This ability is just incredible. When paired with Champions like Caitlyn, it becomes genuinely overpowered. Just imagine how far away Cait could poke down her enemies. That, alongside Milio’s passive that would give her bonus damage, is a scary combination, and we’re sure to see lots of those.

E – Warm Hugs: Milio shields his ally and boosts their movement speed.

This is a very basic ability reminiscent of Karma’s E which does… the exact same thing. Seems like Riot hasn’t been thinking out of the box all too much when it came to designing Milio. But then again, you can only overengineer so much.

R – Breath of Life: Milio unleashes a wave of flames that cleanses CC and heals his allies.

Now, this is it. This is the big one. The fact that Milio has a spell that can both heal and remove CC at once means that his whole team becomes nigh unstoppable. It makes him the perfect pick against any CC Champion out there. Picks like Leona are now entirely obsolete so far as Milio is on the opposing side. This is a game-changing spell and will likely cause Milio to have an exceptionally high ban rate for quite some time.

Nevertheless, Milio is a unique and refreshing addition to the Support role. He’s already been making strides on the Rift, and it remains to be seen just how much he will impact the game.

Game and System Changes in Patch 13.6

Champions aren’t the only ones that get nerfed, buffed, or changed. Items and the game’s many systems are also prone to those, and Patch 13.6 certainly did a lot of ‘em. The Drake got nerfed, Bot Lane got nerfed, and so on. Let’s see what exactly changed in 13.6:

Item Buffs

Only one item received the grace of Riot this patch. All others were retouched, but not in their favor.

The item in question is Nashor’s Tooth. These are the changes:

Ability Haste: 0 → 15

Cost: 3000 → 3200

Build Path: Blasting Wand + Recurve Bow + Amplifying Tome → Blasting Wand + Recurve Bow + Fiendish Codex

As we can see, Nashor’s Tooth received 15 Ability Haste compared to giving none previously. The item’s cost increased accordingly since Ability Haste is a valuable stat. We can also see that the build path has also slightly changed. Nashor’s was a strong item before, and these changes will certainly make it even more popular.

Item Nerfs

Two items were nerfed in Patch 13.6: Bloodthirster and Navori Quickblades.

Bloodthirster:

Shield: 180-450 (levels 9-18) →  100-400 (levels 8-18)

Navori Quickblades:

Cooldown Refund: 15% → 12%

The changes to both these items were slight but could be impactful. The shield on Bloodthirster and the ordeal surrounding overhealing were insane in previous patches. It is good that Riot finally addressed the issue by nerfing the primary overheal item.

Navori Quickblades was also a strong item and deserved a retouch. It’s good that Riot didn’t nerf it into the ground as they did with other items, Champions, and systems in the past.

System Nerfs

Many aspects of the game received a nerf in Patch 13.6. From the Dragon to Runes, these are the changes:

Dragon:

• Hextech Drake:

1. Bonus AH and AP: 9/18/27/36% → 7.5/15/22.5/30%
2. Hextech Soul Base Slow: 45%/35% (Melee and Ranged) decaying over 2s → 40%/30% (Melee and Ranged) decaying over 2 seconds

• Infernal Drake: Bonus AD and AP: 6/12/18/24% → 5/10/15/24%

• Mountain Drake: Bonus AR and MR: 9/18/27/36% → 8/16/24/32%

• Ocean Drake: Missing HP Regeneration: 3/6/9/12% → 2.5/5/7.5/10%

All the Dragons and their various bonuses have been nerfed quite a bit. While Infernal retains its end-game strength, all the others are not so lucky and have been adjusted severely. This will certainly change how the game plays overall, as the Dragon buffs are the most valuable objective in the game (save for the Nexus).

Runes:

• Lethal Tempo: Ranged Attack Speed: 30-54% (max at level 12) → 24-54% (max at level 18)
• Legend: Bloodline:

1. Lifesteal per stack: 0.4% → 0.35%
2. Max Health: 100 → 85

Lethal Tempo’s abusive attack speed has been nerfed significantly and turned into an effective late-game tool rather than an early-game curb stomper.

The Legend: Bloodline rune was an expected change and aligned with the Bloodthirster nerf. Lifesteal has been prominent in the past couple of patches, and overheal was an entirely busted mechanic. Now we hope that those will not be as abused as before.

Champion Changes in Patch 13.6

Now for the crown jewel of any patch–the Champions. Everything in the game is prone to change, yes, but the Champions are the game. If they’re adjusted in a significant manner, so is the core of the game.

Champion Nerfs

Three Champions have been nerfed in Patch 13.6, two of which were long overdue.

Yuumi was finally nerfed in this patch. Riot Games buffed her in the previous one, but overdid themselves quite a bit. That buff made Yuumi a pick or ban Champion that could easily carry games with her insane enchanting abilities. Duos like Yuumi and Xerath were totally busted and difficult to win against. Riot decided to address this in 13.6:

• Q – Prowling Projectile:
  1. Ally On-Hit Magic Damage: 10-20 (+10% AP) → 10-20 (+5% AP)
  2. Cooldown: 7.5-6.25s → 6.5
  3. Mana: 50-75 → 50-100
  4. Unattached Missile Speed: 1000 → 850
  5. Enhanced Missile Speed: 1900 → 1650
  6. Max Range: 2000 → 1725
• R – Final Chapter:
  1. Bonus Armor and MR: Removed.
  2. Overheal Shield Duration: 3 Seconds → 1.5 Seconds

These are welcome changes that are going to make Yuumi much more bearable in games. Her many bonuses and enchanting abilities were a nuisance and genuinely made the game boring. She should be nerfed even more.

Aurelion Sol was another strong pick that had a rework in the previous patches and has been dominant ever since. It’s another welcome nerf that is long overdue since Sol was just too strong to bear.

Q – Breath of Light:

• Magic Damage: 15-55 (+30-90 (based on level)) (+60% AP) → 15-55 (+30-80 (based on level)) (+60% AP)
• Burst Proc Damage: 45-65 (+20-40 (based on level)) (+35% AP) → 45-65 (+20-30 (based on level)) (+35% AP)

• – E – Singularity: Cooldown: 12-10s → 12s
• – R – Falling Star/The Skies Descend:
  1. Falling Star Stun duration: 1.25s → 1s
  2. The Skies Descend Knockup Duration: 1.25s → 1s

While seemingly insignificant, these changes are a welcome sight and are bound to impact game quality positively. Aurelion Sol was, like Yuumi, a pick or ban Champion, and having those in the game is no fun for anyone.

Veigar also saw a nerf in Patch 13.6. Here is what changed:

•  Base Stats:
  1. HP: 575 → 550
  2. Armor: 21 → 18
• W – Dark Matter: Damage: 100-300 → 85-305

Minor changes that shouldn’t have that much of an impact on how Veigar plays. He’ll always be the most evil, fun Yordle in League of Legends.

Champion Buffs

Four Champions were buffed in Patch 13.6. Vayne, Galio, Talon, and Ashe received positive adjustments in this patch. Ashe, in particular, received a minor buff that made her a great pick.

Vayne

Vayne was already pretty strong, especially in the Top Lane. Riot Games thinks otherwise, and this is what they decided to buff:

• Base Stats: Passive Movement Speed: 30 –> 45

•  Q – Tumble:
  1. AD Scaling: 60-80% –> 75-115%
  2. Buff Duration: 7s —> 3s

•  W – Silver Bolts: %Max HP Damage: 4-12% –> 6-10%

With these changes, Vayne has been turned into a Tank shredding beast like no other. The increased AD scaling on her Q will definitely impact her Top Lane dominance. She was also one of the best scaling Champions in League of Legends before. With these changes, she becomes a hyper beast in the late game, and we’re genuinely afraid of meeting her on the Rift.

Galio 

Galio’s a relatively unpopular pick at the moment. Riot seems to want to bring him back to life a bit by buffing his stats.

• W – Shield of Durand:

1. Magic Damage Reduction: 20-40% (+8% MR) –> 25-45% (+12% MR)
2.  Physical Damage Reduction: 10-20% (+4% per 100 Bonus MR) –> 12.5-22.5% (+6% per 100 Bonus MR)

•  E – Justice Punch: Cooldown: 12-8s –> 11-7s

We should see Galio played more often, as he is a fun and engaging Champion that can have a massive impact on matches.

Talon

Like Vayne, Talon was already a solid pick before. Riot Games loves doing this to us–buffing already strong Champions as if they weren’t powerful enough. We can’t get enough of it. Let’s see what they changed:

• Base Stats: Base Mana: 377 –> 400
• Passive – Blade’s End: Damage: 75-255 (+200% Bonus AD) –> 80-280 (+210% Bonus AD)
• W – Rake Mana Cost: 55/60/65/70/75 –> 50/55/60/65/70

Thankfully these changes weren’t too drastic. If Talon were any weaker, they would undoubtedly be. We hope he gets a nerf down the line, as he can be one of the most impactful Assassins in the right hands.

Ashe

Ashe is a fantastic ADC that everyone should try. Straightforward and easy to learn, she is mighty indeed. However, Riot decided to tack on yet another buff to her.

• Passive – Frost Shot: Damage Against Frosted Enemies: 110% (+75% Crit Chance) –> 115% (+75% Crit Chance)

While the change isn’t too big, it will definitely make her shred through Champions that much quicker. Her Passive and Q are some of the strongest abilities in League of Legends, and when we first saw that this buff was coming, we couldn’t believe our eyes. The balance team at League of Legends strikes yet again with absurd changes no one wanted.

Champion Adjustments

Only one Champion received a minor adjustment –Dr. Mundo. Riot saw that Mundo was underperforming in the early game and overperforming in the late game. Thus they wanted to even things out a bit by making these changes to his kit:

• Base Stats:

1. Base Health Regen: 6.5 –> 7
2. Health Regen Scaling: 0.55 –> 0.5

•  W – Heart Zapper: Recast Timer: 1 s –> 0.5 s

•  E – Blunt Force Trauma: Damage to Jungle Monsters: 150% –> 200%

Some Changes and Bug Fixes

Recently, Riot Games added a rubble function to the Turrets in ARAM. Whenever a tower went down, its ruins became a physical object on the map. Some people liked this new mechanic, while most others absolutely abhorred it. Well, Riot caved in under the pressure and decided to remove the mechanic altogether.

We regret that they did so since it was finally something new and unique added to ARAM, which has become stale over the years. Hopefully, Riot will develop some new formula to include in ARAM.

Two Yuumi skins were completely bugged and were missing several sound effects following her recent rework. Her EDG World Championship and Yuubee skins glitched out and weren’t displaying the proper audio after she was given all the changes in the previous patch. This has now all been fixed, so everything is in working order.

Conclusion

And that’s it. Those were all the changes, buffs, and nerfs that dropped in League of Legends Patch 13.6. The next patch is just around the corner, so we’ll inform you about that one promptly. If you have something to say about the game’s current state, don’t miss out on leaving a comment below. We love interacting with our faithful readers!