Greetings, Summoners.
Welcome to patch 5.9 – the one where we ship some new behind-the-scenes changes (check out that new attack move functionality and changes to combat text), deliver a sparkling new Ashe champion update, trade Cinderhulk’s champion-chewing power for jungle-clearing fire, and dole out some balance tweaks in the name of champion diversity. There it is.
First, some new attack move functionality and changes to combat text. You might have noticed us taking more of an interest in refining League’s background code, UI, and general usability. This might come with some additional pain (hello Quick Cast with Range Indicators), but sometimes you gotta make a mess before you can actually see what needs to be cleaned. Something like that. We have a lot of context for both, so please be sure to read up!
Second: Ashe’s champion update. Check her out! We could say that’s about it, but one thing we can add is we really wanted to solidify Ashe as the utility markswoman of League of Legends, so interpret our changes in that direction (there’s also the addition of a little more depth and counterplay, but that should always be the case).
Third, and we’ll go for a combination plate here: Cinderhulk and champion diversity. It’s not to say that this entire patch is about Cinderhulk as it relates to champion diversity; rather, one (Cinderhulk) feeds into the other (Champion Diversity). We also have a slew of other changes that are just for the latter. Check out the individual contexts for Akali, Olaf, Trundle, Xin Zhao, et al, for more information, but the short story is that we want all champions to have strategic viability in the League of Legends ecosystem, and we’re working hard to ensure this is a reality.
Final note, we’re having a lot of fun saying diversity dirigible, so that may be where we stay in terms of design transportation. Just saying.
Chris “Pwyff” Tom & Patrick “Scarizard” Scarborough
ATTACK MOVE FUNCTIONALITY
Something we’ve been tinkering with in the workshop – a small functional addition to the attack move command (commonly bound as shift + right click or A + left click). The explanation goes like this: whenever you issue an attack move command on the ground, your champion moves toward that location while automatically attacking anything they encounter along the way.
This is unchanged. Don’t worry about it.
The other scenario is if you issue an attack move command on the ground and there are targets (minions, monsters, champions, etc) in your immediate attack range. In this case, your champion won’t even move – they’d just attack the closest thing. Here we’re adding one small tweak to the attack move targeting mechanism called attack move on cursor. What this option does is make it so that if there are multiple targets in your immediate attack range, rather than attacking the closest target, your champ will attack the target closest to your cursor.
Functionally this means if you’re Vayne trying to use attack move to hit an enemy Caitlyn with two stacks of silver bolts, but you miss her model by 3 pixels and click the ground, you won’t take your frustrations out on that nearby minion hugging your left kidney. Or if you’re being chased by two baddies side by side, this change allows you to clarify your targeting intentions quickly while still tapping into the speed of attack move ground click kiting (say that three times fast).
If you’re not a fan of this change, you can toggle it off in the menus. We’re just trying to get as much coverage as possible so we can iterate based on feedback if need be (or if this has unforeseen consequences, we can just toggle it off).
NEW We’ve added a new feature, “Attack Move on Cursor,” that will attempt to attack move the target nearest your cursor if you target the ground near them. If no target is found, you will attack the nearest target as normal (or move to the targeted area if no targets are nearby at all).
You can toggle this feature off in the options menu. We could have shipped this already off, but we know people are lazy and then we won’t get feedback and that’s really no good.
COMBAT TEXT
This has been on the PBE for a little while, and since we haven’t run into any big issues with it, we figured why not? If you run into any issues with readability or have any feedback, feel free to let us know. Otherwise… woo combat text changes. Woooo!
Generally, the more damage a single hit deals – the bigger it will be on screen, up to a limit. Insignificant damage numbers will be far less pronounced and will fade more quickly.
Champion damage over time and multi-hit abilities now display a ‘combined’ total damage number, as well as the normal tick damage. This will only display the ‘combined’ total damage on minions.
We’ve made some minor adjustments to the position and scroll direction of various types of text. Specifics include: on-hit procs will scroll with the original damage hit, and heals will scroll in the same direction as shield absorption text.
BALANCE CHANGES
A number of patches back, we reduced some of Akali’s ability to click on – and delete – squishy enemies. This time around we’re looking to give her back some viability and power, but not in the cases where she was raising alarm. In other words, we want Akali to be able to contend when she shows up, but we don’t want to just do it by exacerbating her frustrating gameplay. You’ll see this strategy in our changes to E’s utility (wave clear and as an energy dump), as well as R positioning Akali much closer to her target so she can actually get off a Q proc.
Crescent Slash (E): COOLDOWN 7/6/5/4/3 seconds ⇒ 5/4/3/2/1 seconds
RATIO 0.3 ability power ⇒ 0.4 ability power
Shadow Dance (R): Shadow Dance now dashes Akali through her target.
For a bear-toting powder keg of midlane murder, Annie’s ranges have always made it difficult to interact. Though her attack range is still above average, keeping it in-line with her spells helps opponents skirt the dangerous line between ‘On-Fire’ and ‘about to be’.
Attack Range reduced to 575 from 625.
Azir now has an indicator showing his soldier’s attack range.
Still terrorizing the top stables, Hecarim’s snowball potential quickly becomes an avalanche for teams without a way to keep him down. We’re curbing some of his repeated aggression when it comes to sustained Q usage, but unlocking its full potential against monsters so he can gallop freely in the jungle. (That’s where horses are from, right?)
Rampage (Q): Now deals full damage to monsters. Mana Cost reduced, 20/23/26/29/32 mana ⇒ 32/34/36/38/40 mana.
Between being a hell-bent specter of vengeance as well as a flashy marksman, Kalista is nothing if not polarizing. One small misstep can be all she needs to begin her hopping-spree and litter the rift with spears – a task made even easier when there’s a convenient tank or fighter to backpedal off of. We like the finesse required to use Martial Poise to dart and dodge through opposing skillshots, but in the interest of throwing a bone to melee champions everywhere, she’ll need to rely more heavily on good ol’ fashioned positioning to get her away from some of the beefier bouncers on the battlefield.
Martial Pose (Passive): REMOVED No longer gains bonus distance when dashing backwards.
While Morgana’s strong crowd control and top-tier denial tool in Black Shield make her fantastic for those looking to protect a priority target or pick off a straggler, they also toe the line of making her a ‘fallen-angel-of-all-trades’. In the interest of keeping her strengths strong, we’re limiting her early lane control with the powerhouse pushing of Tormented Soil so she isn’t great in every situation.
Tormented Soil (W): 12/19/26/33/40 damage per second ⇒ 8/16/24/32/40 damage per second
No longer will Nasus have his sick baits outplayed by random cast time interference. Ult safely, my friends.
Fury of the Sands (R): Fixed a bug where it could take up to 0.25 seconds to grant the bonus health.
While Nocturne’s not in the worst spot as far as living nightmares go, his early-game’s a little softer than we’d like considering how reliant he is on the post-6 paranoia pressure he puts on lanes. Mixing in a tad more spookiness to Unspeakable Horror’s damage output should up his effectiveness when murdering frightened Teemos.
Unspeakable Horror (E): DAMAGE 50/100/150/200/250 ⇒ 80/120/160/200/260
Speed bonus towards scared targets now correctly works with allied fears (such as Hecarim’s Onslaught of Shadows and Shaco’s Jack-In-The-Box).
True to his viking origins, Ragnarok’s double-edged sword of offense vs. defense paints an interesting decision point for Olaf players. The trade-offs become much less clear the further he falls behind, creating an uphill battle through waves of sustained damage and crowd control to even land a hit in. Adding a speed boost doesn’t solve all of Olaf’s problems, but it’ll help him close the gap on mispositioned targets, forcing them between Ragnarok and a hard place.
Ragnarok (R): NEW Now grants 50/60/70% bonus Movement Speed towards enemies for 1 second.
These days Renekton’s looking more like his old lane-dominant self than a pair of shoes, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t use some polish around the edges. We’re increasing the usability of Ruthless Predator both as basic-attack reset and a powerful CC tool so his trades can feel as weighty as they should without going too far in either direction.
Ruthless Predator (W): NEW Now grants 50 bonus range.
SELF STUN ON EMPOWERED CAST 0.75 seconds ⇒ 0.5 seconds
Dominus (R): Fixed a bug where it could take up to 0.25 seconds to grant the bonus health.
Known for fast-paced combos and even faster executions, Riven’s a flurry of strikes and shouts that every solo laner has to pay respect to. We’re toning down this blade-wielding blitzkreig by shaving some of her mobility and reliable damage, meaning she’ll have to rely on getting up-close and personal with her abilities if she wants to enjoy the same level of effectiveness.
Movement Speed reduced to 340 from 345.
Wind Slash (R): Missile Speed reduced to 1600 from 2200.
Not much to see for the Rogue Mage in this patch besides some changes to a pretty goofy interaction between Muramana and his opponents’ melting faces. We’re still evaluating what kind of love Ryze will need (if any) post-update as people learn what builds and skill orders work best, but he’s right at the top of our radar for emergency rations if need be.
Arcane Mastery (Passive): While stacking, Arcane Mastery’s icon is grey to differentiate ‘charging’ and ‘ready’ states.
Spell Flux (E): No longer triggers single-target spell effects (Rylai’s, Muramana) on instances of damage beyond the first.
Desperate Power (R): Fixed a bug where casting a spell as Desperate Power’s buff expired caused that spell to not go on cooldown.
Even though Bandle City’s most famous commando is never far from the front lines, Explosive Charge is having less of an impact that we’d hoped for being the cornerstone of both her damage output and strategic niche of ‘breaking every tower forever’. We’re tacking on an extra bit of boom, as well as smoother cast-times when Tristana gets trigger-happy so she’ll get more bang for the effort required.
Explosive Charge (E): BONUS DAMAGE PER STACK 25% ⇒ 30%
NEW Cast time is now reduced by Attack Speed.
For a fighter so hyped as the ultimate Tank-Buster, Trundle’s been pretty underwhelming in the age of Cinderhulk. Much of this isn’t even due to his stat-stealing nature – his presence in fights simply isn’t there when compared to his peers. To power-up the truly unique clubbing experience Trundle provides, we’re giving him some oomph on his most iconic spell so he can put any lopsided skirmishes (or mispositioned marksmen) on ice.
Pillar of Ice (E): SLOW 25/30/35/40/45% ⇒ 30/35/40/45/50%
KNOCKBACK DISTANCE 150 ⇒ 225
Though often seen as a high-damage diver, we’re beefing up Xin’s crowd control to boost his potency when functioning as a team’s initiator. He’ll still need additional follow-up from his team to not splat immediately afterwards, but at least he’ll hit with all the force of a great typhoon before going down.
Crescent Sweep (R): NEW Now applies a 0.75 second stun to knocked back targets.
Another one of the League’s flashiest champions, Zed isn’t well known for letting his opponents get a word in (let alone a single spell-cast) once he’s marked them for death. Now even the most unsuspecting of prey has a small window to throw a wrench in Zed’s plans before he vanishes to safety.
Death Mark (R): Now has a 1 second cooldown before it can be reactivated to return to Death Mark’s shadow.
CHAMPION UPDATE
Basic Attack Missile Speed increased to 2500 from 2000.
Critical Strike Damage Multiplier reduced to 1.10 from 2.0.
Attack Speed growth reduced to 3.33 from 4.
Frost Shot (Passive)
Spells and basic attacks slow targets by 5/11/17/23/29/35% (at levels 1/4/7/10/13/16) for 2 seconds.
Basic attacks always critically strike targets slowed by Frost Shot for additional damage, but Ashe cannot crit normally. This bonus damage is increased by Critical Strike items.
Ranger’s Focus (Q)
Applying Frost Shot grants Focus for 4 seconds, stacking up to 5 times. Activating Ranger’s Focus consumes all Focus stacks, granting 20/25/30/35/40% Attack Speed and boosting Frost Shot’s slow by an additional 20% for 4 seconds.
If 5 stacks are consumed, Ashe’s basic attacks are replaced by a flurry of arrows resulting in 1.15/1.20/1.25/1.30/1.35 of her Total Attack Damage per attack for the duration.
Cost: 50 Mana at all Ranks
Cooldown: 18 Seconds at all Ranks
Volley (W)
Fires arrows in a cone, each dealing 20/30/40/50/60 physical damage.
Enemies can block multiple arrows from Volley, but will only take damage from the first.
Arrow Fired 7 ⇒ 9
Missile Width 1 ⇒ 20
Cost: 50 Mana at all Ranks
Range: 1200
Cooldown: 12/10/8/6/4 seconds from 16/13/10/7/4 seconds
Hawkshot (E)
Reveals terrain as it flies toward target location anywhere on the map. Grants vision for 5 seconds. Ashe can store up to 2 charges of Hawkshot at a time.
REMOVED No longer passively generates gold.
Ammo Recharge Rate: 90/80/70/60/50 seconds
Range: Global
Cooldown: 5 Seconds at all Ranks
Enchanted Crystal Arrow
Launches a crystal arrow of ice in a line that stuns an enemy Champion dealing 250/425/600 (+1 AP) magic damage. The farther the arrow flies, the longer the stun, up to 3.5 seconds. Surrounding enemies take half damage.
Slow on enemies in area: 50% ⇒ Frost Shot’s current value
Cost: 100 Mana at all Ranks
Range: Global
Cooldown: 100/90/80 Seconds
SKINS
The following skins will be released at various times during Patch 5.9:
Star Guardian Lux – 1350 RP
SSW Rengar – 750 RP
SSW Talon – 750 RP
SSW Twitch – 975 RP
SSW Thresh – 975 RP
SSW Singed – 750 RP
Jack of Hearts Twisted Fate
Ace of Spades Ezreal – 750 RP
King of Clubs Mordekaiser – 750 RP
Queen of Diamonds Syndra – 750 RP
Wild Card Shaco – 750 RP
ITEMS
Skirmisher’s Sabre
When we first shipped Skirmisher’s Sabre, we made that debuff duration long to really emphasize its extended combat use. Plonk it on an invading Lee Sin, smack him around a few times, and suddenly he’s reconsidering his decisions in life. That said, we’re now seeing this thing really pick up in popularity (particularly in top lane), and we’ve realized that 6 seconds is probably too long. Particularly when there are focused summoner spells (Ignite and Exhaust) that Challenging Smite straight up outclasses with its breadth of uses. It’s worth re-emphasizing that we do like emergent gameplay when it pops up – as long as it doesn’t stifle champion diversity (ie: if top lane becomes “who can use Challenging Smite the best?” that would be concerning).
P.S. That bugfix would have been done regardless of the strength of Skirmisher’s, given the definition of true damage. C’mon.
REMOVED No longer reduces incoming True Damage from the Challenged target.
Mark duration reduced to 4 seconds from 6 seconds.
Enchantment: Cinderhulk
It’s clear that Cinderhulk’s got two big strengths – a scaling defense component (+25% bonus health) and a lot of ramping ambient damage against champions. After our initial investigations, we realized we didn’t want to reduce the defensive component of Cinderhulk, so we instead tackled its offensive potential. This is a slightly designer-y way of saying we want Cinderhulk to keep its tanky identity, but is probably overtuned in its champion-mauling capabilities. That said, we’re trying to not just straight nerf it, so re-clarifying Cinderhulk as a jungle clearing pickup seems like a good idea.
NEW Now does +100% bonus damage to monsters.
REMOVED Cinderhulk’s Immolate passive no longer increases in damage while in combat.
BASE DAMAGE 16 (+1 per champion level) magic damage scaling up to 24 (+1.5 per champion level) magic damage ⇒ 15 (+0.6 per champion level) magic damage
SUMMONER’S RIFT
Dragon
Every season we make Dragon a more difficult encounter and then, at some point in time, he gets old and trivial and nobody’s actually scared of this scaly baddy. It’s that time. We’re just amping up a bit of his early game here. By mid to late, this change should be pretty negligible.
ATTACKS PER SECOND 0.45 ⇒ 0.5
BASE DAMAGE 75 ⇒ 100
FOR CLARITY % current health damage is unchanged, in case you were concerned.
HOWLING ABYSS
We’ve taken 75% of Mark’s damage and put it into Dash so… if you want to execute someone with a snowball, you’re going to have to go on a trip.
Mark/Dash still deals 20 (+10 per champion level) true damage. If you’re wondering why we’re reiterating something, see below. It makes sense, we promise.
MARK DAMAGE Mark damage now deals 25% of total damage (above).
DASH DAMAGE Dash damage now deals 75% of total damage (above the above).
MATCH HISTORY
Last year we introduced Match History to the web; we’ll be bringing a good chunk of that functionality to your profile page in the days following 5.9’s release. The web experience will remain the place to go for shareable (show-offable?) match details like build paths or damage stats, but the client should now be sufficiently leveled up for effective review!
In-Profile Summary View
VIEWABLE MATCHES 10 ⇒ 20
PUBLIC Ranked matches are visible to any player who visits your profile.
PRIVATE Normal matches are only visible to you and your friends.
Custom games are only visible to you.
In-Profile Full View
The full view of the in-profile Match History now displays much of the information from the web view’s “Match Overview” tab.
SCOREBOARD Shows champion, summoner spells, items, KDA, CS and gold per playeras well as gold, kills and objectives taken per team.
GOLD GRAPH Tracks Team Gold Advantage, Team Gold or Champion Gold across the duration of the match.
TIMELINE Tracks champion and objective kills by time interval. Hovering over an interval breaks down who took what during that time.
EVENT MAP Interactive map of champion and objective kills for both teams. Hovering over the gold graph or timeline causes the event map to reflect the state of the game at that point in time.
BUGFIXES
- Fixed a bug where Bard was unable to self-cast W – Caretaker’s Shrine.
- Chromas are now selectable in Team Builder!
- VFX for Cassiopeia’s R – Petrifying Gaze have been adjusted to match the area of effect.
- Rammus no longer goes on an ARAM space journey if he collides with another unit while Dash-ing to his Mark-ed target while Q – Powerball is active.
