League of Legends Patch 8.14 is here! The last couple of updates shook things up – and that holds true for almost all roles and aspects of the game. However, the one role that’s been changed the most are marksmen. Even in your garden-variety solo queue expeditions, you’ve probably noticed the absence of a lot of staple AD carries like Tristana, Caitlyn, Sivir, etc. There is a reason for this.

Playing crit-based AD carries isn’t that optimal any longer, which is one of the main reasons as to why a lot of people are playing mages and bruisers in the bottom lane. A lot of people were expecting more concrete changes (buffs) to the AD role, but Riot Games said loud and clear that they don’t intend on reverting the current meta. They like the diversity in the bottom lane, and they only plan on slightly tweaking certain champions and items to make older picks (mainly crit-based) more viable.

But that aside, League of Legends Patch 8.14 isn’t huge overall and doesn’t change the game to dramatically. There are some nerfs to funneling which are highly welcomed, as well as some champion balance here and there but nothing too wild.

If you don’t want to scroll down and go through each change, you can always press CTRL + F and search for the champions you’re interested in!

League of Legends Patch 8.14 Champion Changes

Aatrox

It was evident fairly quickly that – if played correctly – the reworked Aatrox had quite a lot of tools to dominate.

Because of this, Riot is nerfing his health as well as his Q “The Darkin Blade” base damage. To compensate, they’re buffing the recharge rate of his E “Umbral Dash” for a couple of seconds when maxed out, as well as adding 2.5% and 5% more bonus attack damage to his ultimate – at levels 11 and 16.

Fizz

Riot’s changing how Fizz’s W “Seastone Trident” functions – in a big way. They want to make it more in tune with the whole assassin playstyle, and this seems like a change for the better. The only downside is – you’re going to be seeing a lot more Fizz in your ranked games.

Jinx & Twitch

Jinx received a small buff to her base health (+50) at the cost of a bit less health growth per level. It’s nothing earth-shattering, but it should help her out a bit in the laning phase. Unfortunately, this won’t catapult her back into play as she’s still far too fragile and immobile for the current meta.

Same goes for Twitch – more base health, less health growth per level.

Karma

Karma isn’t that strong of a pick in the current meta, so Riot’s upping her base mana regen per 5 seconds in addition to 5.6 more armor. The more impactful change is to her Q “Inner Flame.” They’re increasing the splash radius by thirty, but they’re decreasing its base damage at early levels. This change is documented as a buff, however, in the grand scheme of things it doesn’t make her viable – at all.

Other Game Changes for League of Legends Patch 8.14

Small Buffs

There are also smaller buffs to Sion – more damage to his Q, Ahri’s E “Charm” – much longer charm duration at early levels, Cassiopeia – higher base damage to her Q “Noxious Blast” at max levels and a +0.1 ability power scaling, Corki – higher base damage for his E “Gatling Gun” as well as resistance reduction (doubled at level one), Elise – better base health growth, Pantheon – higher base bonus attack speed at level 1, as well as more damage for his W “Aegis of Zeonia” (stun), Rek’Sai – better damage ratios for her Q as well as ultimate, Sivir – lower cooldown for her Q “Boomerang Blade”, Vel’Koz – higher damage ratio for his Q “Plasma Fission”, Vayne – increased health percentage for her W “Silver Bolts” (makes her, even more, scarier in the late game), Vi – higher base attack speed as well as lower ultimate cooldown and Viktor – increased W “Gravity Field” cast range.

Nasus also received a very interesting buff.

They’re giving him more passive lifesteal which is good, seeing how he isn’t really in a good spot right now. That said, he will remain a niche pick, and more lifesteal isn’t going to make him a viable pick. The champions (and strategies) that countered Nasus before are still applicable; however if you don’t know how to handle Nasus from the very get-go, then you’re going to have an even harder time shutting him down.

Small Nerfs/Changes

As for nerfs, Riot’s taking away some power from the following champions.

• Dr. Mundo Dr. Mundo’s cleaver now refunds 10% less health when it hits a target, Rakan has a longer cooldown on his Q “Gleaming Quill” when maxed out as well as a longer cooldown for his ultimate at all levels
• Sejuani Sejuani’s ultimate stun duration is decreased by 0.5 seconds, Shen’s Q “Twilight Assault” slow is completely gutted in the early game (by more than half at level one)
• Swain Swain’s ultimate is losing a bit of its oomph when detonated (1.34 ⇒ 1.05 AP), Talon’s W “Rake” is getting decreased damage at max levels
• Wukong Wukong’s E “Nimbus Strike” is getting nerfed when maxed out.
• Zoe Last but not least, Zoe’s getting her W “Spell Thief” base damage reduced as well as a nerf to the ability’s damage ratio.

Jungle Changes

Funneling team comps are all the rage these days, especially in competitive play. Because of this, Riot’s giving out quite a big nerf. The whole point of a funneling strategy is to give your mid laner both lane farm as well as all jungle camps.

After patch 8.14 rolls out though, you’ll be getting 10 less gold per minion if you have the most gold on your team and you have Hunter’s Machete or Hunter’s Talisman in your inventory.

And even though the reduction is removed when you complete an enchantment for your jungle item, this will still seriously impact funneling’s early effectiveness.

Summoner Spell Changes

Teleport cooldown is getting increased by 60 seconds. That’s quite a lot, and while it won’t exactly negate Teleport as a viable spell option, it’s going to impact those who were taking TP in the bottom lane.

This nerf is perhaps mainly targeted towards competitive play, but it’s going to leave a mark on solo-queue as well.

Rune Changes

There aren’t any earth-shattering changes to Runes this time around.

Conqueror is receiving a solid nerf (as it should) at early levels.

The Ghost Poro rune is getting changed quite a bit. Now after a second of being in a brush, your current trinket becomes a ghost poro item, which you can then place wherever you see fit. It’s a lot more flexible and usable, especially when you compare it to the older mechanic. You also gain adaptive bonus attack damage/ability power if you’re in enemy territory, so you’re also rewarded if you counter-jungle and invade which is a nice bonus.

Lastly, Zombie Ward is getting nerfed a bit as it no longer spawns from allied wards that timed out. That said, you do inflict bonus magic damage after destroying an enemy ward. However, the damage numbers are relatively minimal (especially in the mid and late game), so it won’t make a big difference.

League of Legends Patch 8.14 Cosmetic Updates Cursors and Skins

While this might seem a tad bit unnecessary, it’s important to note that the current in-game cursors are wildly out of date – in every way, shape, and form. It’s more in tune with how League of Legends used to look back in the day.

That said, if you’re the nostalgic type, you will always be able to revert to the old cursor – just find the option in the settings.

League of Legends Patch 8.14 New Skins

There are a ton of new skins coming with patch 8.14! Below you will find some images that will show you just how glorious these skins are!

Dark Star Cho’Gath

Hextech Poppy (available only through Hextech Crafting)

And lastly with League of Legends Patch 8.14, we have six new Samsung Galaxy skins that are celebrating Samsung’s triumph at last year’s World Championship.

SSG Gnar, Jarvan IV, Taliyah, Ezreal, Xayah, Rakan