Riot Games reveals League of Legends Patch 12.6

Riot Games today reveals Patch 12.6 for League of Legends which includes a number of changes including new sci-fi skins, many buffs and nerfs, systemic changes to sustain items and runes and phase 1 of the Mythic Content Overhaul.

We received the following directly from Riot, and it can seem a little complex, but we hope the players out there understand

[c] Squad up for patch 12.6!

[c] Anima Squad up, that is. It’s been a hot minute since the mid-patch 12.5 balances, so there’s a lot in store this week. In addition to some spunky new sci-fi skins, we have buffs and nerfs galore, a set of adjustments to Rengar, and systemic changes to sustain items and runes. Phase 1 of the Mythic Content Overhaul is also finally here! Keep reading to find out more about Mythic Essence, the Mythic Shop, unvaulted Prestige skins, and an update on Phase 2.

[c] Anyway, back to the Rift—heard norms are looking kinda sus this week, gonna go check that out…

Your crime-fighting mecha crew not online for Flex 5s yet? No worries—you can always read about your favorite auto battler while you wait for ’em over at the TFT patch notes at https://www.leagueoflegends.com/en-us/news/game-updates/teamfight-tactics-patch-12-6-notes/

$Jina ”ahrisoo” Yoon

$Lilu ”Riru” Cabreros

$Paul ”RiotAether” Perscheid

#Patch Highlights

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Battle Bunny Prime Riven, Battle Bunny Miss Fortune, Battle Bat Vayne, Battle Wolf Sylas, Battle Cat Jinx, and Prestige Battle Cat Jinx will be available March 31, 2022.

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#Champions

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Azir

[s] Health growth increased.

[c] A little birdy told us that Azir’s been weak, and the numbers told us the birdy was right. His lack of Pro presence in a scaling meta that should favor him was the final confirmation, so we’re giving him some base stat power that should help the Emperor of Shurima in all skill brackets.

####Base Stats

Health Growth :: 92 >>> 105

Health at Level 18 :: 2116 >>> 2337

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Darius

[s] R base damage increased.

[c] Darius has been lagging behind other juggernauts after the fighter item changes, so we’re giving him a beefy damage boost. (As a reminder, his ult’s total damage can increase by up to 100% based on his passive stacks.)

R – Noxian Guillotine

Minimum True Damage :: 100/200/300 (+75% bonus AD) >>> 125/250/375 (+75% bonus AD)

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Hecarim

[s] Q and E base damage decreased late.

[c] Tankarim is taking over Pro again, so we’re nerfing the base damage on some of his bursty abilities to ensure fairer play.

Q – Rampage

Base Damage :: 60/97/134/171/208 (+85% bonus AD) >>> 60/90/120/150/180 (+85% bonus AD)

E – Devastating Charge

Minimum Total Damage :: 30/50/70/90/110 (+55% bonus AD) >>> 30/45/60/75/90 (+55% bonus AD)

Maximum Total Damage :: 60/100/140/180/220 (+110% bonus AD) >>> 60/90/120/150/180 (+110% bonus AD)

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Illaoi

[s] QoL change on R and several bugfixes.

[c] No balance changes here; instead, we fixed lots of bugs and updated Illaoi’s ult to give her some more control over her tentacles.

R – Leap of Faith

[UPD] FACE ME :: R – Leap of Faith now casts with Illaoi facing toward your cursor, allowing for more favorable Tentacle spawn locations

####Bugfixes

[*] When Illaoi attacks a Vessel while empowered by W – Harsh Lesson, nearby inactive Tentacles will now slam her target as soon as they become active (short delay removed)

[*] Spell queueing has been added to W – Harsh Lesson and R – Leap of Faith, so you can now buffer other spells while casting them

[*] W – Harsh Lesson’s visual indicators have been fixed and will show the correct range of her empowered basic attacks

[*] Tentacles can no longer spawn on either team’s base gates on Summoner’s Rift

[*] Vessels no longer contribute to Illaoi’s creep score when they expire or are destroyed

[*] Q – Tentacle Smash and E – Test of Spirit will now be visible to nearby enemy champions when cast from Fog of War

[/*]

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Jax

[s] Base health increased. W base damage increased.

[c] Jax has been mediocre for a while, so we’re giving him some early game power to help him get to his item power spikes. He may not have a real weapon at first, but now he can buy one a little sooner. :^)

####Base Stats

Base Health :: 593 >>> 615

W – Empower

Magic Damage :: 40/75/110/145/180 (+60% AP) >>> 50/85/120/155/190 (+60% AP)

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Nidalee

[s] Human W cost decreased; E mana cost decreased late and cast range increased. Cougar W damage radius increased.

[c] Human-form Nidalee is a mana-hungry huntress, but her overall kit is much more compatible with the non-mana mage Mythics. We’re giving her more access to her utility spells as well as making her AoE range bigger so she can claw enemies and jungle camps more effectively. Lastly, her heal cast range was pretty restrictive (especially for a character with so many other positioning constraints), so we’re increasing it to match that of her Bushwhack trap placement. All in all, this should make her more accessible and stronger across all skill brackets.

###Human Form

W – Bushwhack

Mana Cost :: 40/45/50/55/60 >>> 30/35/40/45/50

E – Primal Surge

Mana Cost :: 50/60/70/89/90 >>> 50/55/60/65/70

Cast Range :: 600 >>> 900 (now matches W – Bushwhack)</em>

###Cougar Form

W – Pounce

AoE Damage Radius :: 225 >>> 250

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Rengar

[s] Passive adjustments to Ferocity, leaps, and Bonetooth Necklace; new Ferocity resource bar added. Q basic attacks now always crit; damage now scales with crit chance; now applies against towers; no longer applies against plants. E cast time during leap removed; now grants true sight and some vision around target. R now also grants some vision around target.

[c] Our big kitty finally has some big changes coming to his kit! Our goals were to smooth out Rengar’s gameplay, keep his current playstyle, and clarify his builds. We’re going to keep a close eye on the Q crit damage ratio so he doesn’t get too out of line. We also know that Q no longer applying on plants can be painful for seasoned players who used this mechanic to optimize Ferocity stacks, but we strongly believe it wasn’t healthy to support long term and have instead moved that power to more accessible parts of his kit.

Passive – Unseen Predator

[UPD] HERE, KITTY KITTY :: Rengar’s next leap will grant 1 Ferocity ||| only if he has 0 Ferocity >>> upon losing all Ferocity stacks (no matter how much Ferocity he gains before his next leap)

[UPD] PURRFECT POUNCES :: Rengar will be able to leap after 0.35 seconds in brush or camouflage (or Senna’s E – Curse of the Black Mist camouflage) consistently, rather than based on a 0.3-0.45 second timer (Leap range has been slightly increased to offset variability)

[NEW] FEROCIOUS FELINE :: Rengar now has a Ferocity resource bar that indicates how much Ferocity he currently has (Stacks generated by leaps will have a different color so you’ll know if you’ll gain Ferocity on your next leap)

All Ferocity Stacks Fall Off After :: 8 seconds >>> 10 seconds out of combat

Bonetooth Necklace Takedown Timer :: Within ||| 1.5 seconds >>> 3 seconds of damaging an enemy champion

Q – Savagery

[NEW] SAVAGE STRIKES :: Rengar’s next basic attack after casting Q – Savagery will now always be a critical strike. Each 1% critical strike chance increases the attack’s damage by 0.66%.

[UPD] SCRATCHING POSTS :: Q – Savagery now also applies to basic attacks against towers

[UPD] THAT WASN’T CATNIP :: Q – Savagery no longer applies to basic attacks against plants

E – Bola Strike

[UPD] NO CAST, ONLY THROW :: Rengar can now throw his E – Bola Strike instantly (with zero cast time) during leaps

[NEW] PEEKABOO :: Now grants true sight and normal vision 150 units around the first enemy hit for 2 seconds

R – Thrill of the Hunt

[UPD] PREDATORY INSTINCT :: Now grants not only true sight, but also normal vision 100 units around the nearest enemy

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Tryndamere

[s] E cooldown reduction per crit decreased. R cooldown increased.

[c] Tryndamere is too strong at the highest levels of play. His kit scales well with Ability Haste, so we’re readjusting his cooldowns to account for the higher amounts of Ability Haste available to him through items.

E – Spinning Slash

Cooldown Reduction per Critical Strike :: 1 second (2 seconds against champions) >>> 0.75 seconds (1.5 seconds against champions)

R – Undying Rage

Cooldown :: 110/100/90 seconds >>> 130/110/90 seconds

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#Items

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[c] Many sustain options were added with the introduction of Mythics last year, especially for early game itemization. We believe sustain is still a compelling choice for Mythic slots, but these options just give a bit too much bang for your buck as they are today.

[c] To make the tradeoffs between sustain and power more significant, we’re adjusting some life steal choices in a way that better reflects their cost and value. Hopefully you’ll see less of those draintanking plays that can happen when these items are stacked, as well as fewer lanes where sustain washes out trades too quickly. Lastly, we’ve left the fighter system items out of this list since they were recently adjusted and have landed in a pretty good spot in terms of balancing sustain and power.

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Immortal Shieldbow

Life Steal :: 10% >>> 8% (12% >>> 10% for Ornn Masterwork item, Bloodward)

Shield Amount :: 275-650 (levels 1-18) >>> 275-700 (levels 1-18) (same applies to Bloodward)

Mythic Passive :: Empowers each of your Legendary items with 5 bonus AD and 70 health (same applies to Bloodward)

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Blade of the Ruined King

Life Steal :: 10% >>> 8%

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Vampiric Scepter

Life Steal :: 10% >>> 8%

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#Runes

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[c] We have a few changes to runes related to the sustain item changes above. Most notably, we’re replacing Ravenous Hunter with a new, shiny, and not-sustain-related rune: Treasure Hunter. Ravenous Hunter was too prevalent in the sustain system as it was too easy to access and stack with other runes, items, and abilities. This meant we’ve had to tune down the rune to a pretty sad state to mitigate its potential sustain power.

[c] Sustain also felt a bit out of place in Domination, a rune tree that’s supposed to be all about aggression. This replacement will give us more room to let sustain shine in the limited places where it still exists, and also reward those aggressive champions that are really looking to ca$$$h in.

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[REM] ~~Ravenous Hunter~~

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[NEW] Treasure Hunter

[NEW] CASH ONLY PLZ :: Gain 70 gold when you claim a Bounty Hunter</em> stack. This bounty is increased by 20 gold for each Bounty Hunter stack.

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Fleet Footwork

Healing When Fully Energized :: 10-100 (levels 1-18) (+40% bonus AD) (+30% AP) >>> 10-100 (levels 1-18) (+30% bonus AD) (+20% AP)

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Legend: Bloodline

Life Steal per Legend Stack :: 0.6% (up to 9% at 15 stacks) >>> 0.4% (up to 6% at 15 stacks)

[NEW] MORE BLOOD(LINE) :: After reaching maximum Legend stacks, your maximum health increases by 100

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#Mythic Content Overhaul

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[c] Phase 1 of the Mythic Content Overhaul has arrived! Here are all the details, as well as a couple of changes since: https://www.leagueoflegends.com/en-us/news/dev/the-mythic-content-overhaul – our original announcement.

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##Mythic Essence

[C] Gemstones and Prestige Points are combining into a single new currency that never expires: Mythic Essence</! Mythic Essence—ME for short—can be obtained everywhere Gemstones or Prestige Points were previously earned. You can spend Mythic Essence in the Mythic Shop for special skins, accessories, and more.

WELCOME GIFT :: All players will receive a one-time mission on March 31, 2022 that rewards 10 Mythic Essence to celebrate the launch of the new system! This mission will expire on May 2, 2022.

GEMSTONES? SHATTERED :: All Gemstones in player inventories have automatically been converted to 10 Mythic Essence each

PRESTIGE POINTS? EXPIRED :: Prestige Points (2020) have expired and were removed from inventories on March 24, 2022

MASTERWORK DROP RATES :: Mythic Essence drop rates from Masterwork Chests have been temporarily increased during Phase 1 to offset the removal of Prestige Points from chest bundles

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##Mythic Shop

[C] The new Mythic Shop features content that rotates on a regular basis, including the return of past Prestige skins!

###Mythic Skins & Accessories

[c] Mythic skins and accessories in the Mythic Shop will rotate every three months (every 6 patches).New Mythic skins debut at 100 ME and will cost 125 ME in future unvaults. Legacy Mythic skins that were once purchasable via Gemstones (such as Hextech Annie, Soulstealer Vayne, etc.) will also be available in the shop and cost 100 ME on first unvault, and 125 ME on future ones. Here’s what’s on offer for this patch rotation, as well as other options that will be available year-round.

####Mythic Skins & Accessories (Patch 12.6-12.12 Rotation)

[*] Ashen Knight Pyke (100 ME)

[*] Ashen Knight Pyke Emberwoken Chroma + Ashen Knight Pyke Summoner Icon (40 ME)

[*] ”I’m Comin’ For Ya” Emote (25 ME)

[*] Hextech Annie (100 ME)

[*] Hextech Amumu (100 ME)

[/*]

####Mythic Accessories & Other Options (Available Year-Round)

[*] Ashen Ward (50 ME)

[*] Random Skin Shard (10 ME)

[*] 50 Orange Essence (1 ME)

[*] 150 Blue Essence (1 ME)

[/*]

*Note: We’ve added the Random Skin Shard option and removed the Hextech Chest and Hextech Key options since our original announcement.

###Unvaulted Prestige Skins

[C] Prestige skins will be unvaulted on a yearly schedule, which also means they can only appear in the Mythic Shop at least one year after their original release. They’ll cost 125 ME the first time they’re offered in the Mythic Shop, 150 ME on the second, and 200 ME if they’ve been unvaulted three or more times.*

[c] Usually two Prestige skins will be unvaulted at a time and will be available in the Mythic Shop for one month (2 patches). However, to celebrate the new shop’s launch, we’re unvaulting six Prestige skins that will be available for three months (6 patches)

####Unvaulted Prestige Skins (Patch 12.6-12.12 Rotation)

[*] Prestige Arcanist Zoe (125 ME)

[*] Prestige Spirit Blossom Teemo (125 ME)

[*] Prestige Battle Queen Diana (125 ME)

[*] Prestige PROJECT: Irelia (150 ME)

[*] Prestige Pulsefire Thresh (150 ME)

[*] Prestige K/DA Kai’Sa (200 ME)

[/*]

*Note: Prestige skins from 2018 and 2019 start at higher tiers to respect original owners who obtained them when they were more exclusive before the overhaul.

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##Commemorative Prestige Skins

[c] To recognize the higher investment required to obtain Prestige skins in 2018 and 2019, players who owned these skins before patch 12.5 will receive additional, exclusive 2022 editions of these skins. Commemorative Prestige skins will never be available via shops, loot, or rerolls. The following skins will be gradually distributed to original owners over the next month:

[*] Prestige Blood Moon Aatrox (2022)

[*] Prestige K/DA Ahri (2022)

[*] Prestige K/DA Akali (2022)

[*] Prestige Arcade Caitlyn (2022)

[*] Prestige K/DA Evelynn (2022)

[*] Prestige Fuzz Fizz (2022)

[*] Prestige K/DA Kai’Sa (2022)

[*] Prestige Nightbringer Lee Sin (2022)

[*] Prestige Battle Academia Lux (2022)

[*] Prestige Bewitching Miss Fortune (2022)

[*] Prestige Star Guardian Neeko (2022)

[*] Prestige Firecracker Vayne (2022)

[*] Prestige PROJECT: Irelia (2022)

[*] Prestige Valiant Sword Riven (2022)

[*] Prestige Pulsefire Thresh (2022)

[*] Prestige True Damage Qiyana (2022)

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##Exclusive Mythic and Prestige Skin Debuts

[c] To highlight the release of new Mythic and Prestige skins, limited edition loading screen borders and summoner icons can now only be obtained by purchasing the skin in the Mythic Shop or event Token Shop during the skin’s initial debut period. Once a Mythic or Prestige skin is no longer available in these shops, it will be added to the regular loot drop and skin shard reroll pools without the limited edition loading screen border and summoner icon. This means that Mythic and Prestige skins can still be obtained via loot drops or skin rerolls but only AFTER their debut period ends, and WITHOUT their matching borders and icons.

*Note: This is another change from our original plan of removing Mythic and Prestige skins from loot drops and rerolls permanently, based on player feedback. This option grants players exclusive content for unlocking skins during debut periods and also allows collectors to obtain these skins via loot and rerolls without needing to wait for them to unvault.

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##Phase 2 Update

[c] All of the above announcements are just Phase 1 of the Mythic Content Overhaul! While we’re not launching Phase 2 just yet, we do have one big update to share regarding Showcase and Masterwork Milestones, which are reward tracks that will replace much of what was offered through Prestige Points in the past.

[c] Starting in Phase 2, Prestige skins that debut during Showcases will be available for purchase in the Mythic Shop for 125 ME! Once the Showcase ends, the Prestige skin will immediately retire from the Mythic Shop and become available via loot drops and rerolls without its border and icon, just like other vaulted Prestige skins. We’ll be adjusting the Showcase milestone rewards track to accommodate this update.

[c] And last but not least, don’t forget—there’s also a Phase 3 of the Mythic Content Overhaul! Stay tuned for more details later this year.

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##Hextech Rentals

[c] Unrelated to the above, we’re removing the ability to activate loot shards to rent champions, skins, and ward skins for 7 days. Virtually no one used the rental system; many players didn’t even know it existed (heh). Any rentals that are currently active will still stay active for their remaining duration.

[c] The ability to upgrade shards into permanents, reroll them into permanents, or disenchant them into essence is not affected by any of these changes.

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#Freljord Clash

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[c] Team formation for the second weekend of the Freljord Cup starts on March 28, and the tournaments will be on April 2 and 3.

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#Bugfixes & QoL Changes

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[*] [UPD] Janna W Bugfix/”Nerf”: Fixed a bug where Janna’s W – Zephyr range had incorrectly reverted to edge-to-edge. It has been restored and now casts from center-to-center, and its range indicator has also been fixed (Note: This issue had considerable impact on Janna’s 12.5 winrates, so we expect this to be somewhat of a nerf)

[*] Fixed a bug where, if Tahm Kench R – Devoured an allied Senna while she was inside her E – Curse of the Black Mist, both champions would disappear from enemies’ view

[*] Fixed a bug where Lux’s E – Lucent Singularity projectile would proc spell shields on all enemies it passes through, even though the projectile itself doesn’t deal damage or cc

[*] Fixed a bug where, if a ward was placed on top of an existing ward, the new one would start moving randomly around the older one~

[/*]

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#Upcoming Skins & Chromas

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The following skins will be released in this patch:

$Battle Bunny Prime Riven

$Battle Bunny Miss Fortune

$Battle Bat Vayne

$Battle Wolf Sylas

$Battle Cat Jinx

$Prestige Battle Cat Jinx