League of Legends Patch 8.22 Breakdown

We are just weeks away from the 2019 preseason, but before those long-awaited changes hit the Rift, we have yet another small patch — this time it’s patch 8.22. While the last couple months have been quiet when it came to balance changes (mainly because of Worlds), Riot is shipping some concrete buffs and nerfs that should make your solo queue exhibitions a bit more pleasant.

The 2018 ranked season is coming to an end in a couple of days, so keep that in mind if you’re aiming to climb the ranks!

Buffs

The buffs coming with patch 8.22 are far from earth-shattering. They’re mostly aimed at giving some seemingly forgotten champions a small shift in power to make them a bit more viable in the current meta.

Maokai

It’s been a while since we’ve seen Maokai in competitive play. Right now, players ranked platinum and above have him at an underwhelming 36th place (0.80% play percent) as a top laner. As a jungler, he ranks even worse, a pathetic 0.17% pick percentage.

To give Maokai a very slight push into viability, Riot is increasing the base health percentage damage of his “Sapling Toss” (from 6/6.5/7/7.5/8% target’s max health to 7/7.25/7.5/7.75/8% target’s max health) while decreasing its cooldown by one second (11/10).

While these changes won’t exactly make him a viable pick, they’ll help with his jungle clear speed.

Nunu & Willump

Even though they received numerous buffs over the last couple of patches, Nunu & Willump still haven’t seen any concrete play. The patch 8.21 changes didn’t really push Nunu & Willump into viability, so Riot’s taking a more direct approach this time around.

Riot is buffing their base attack damage from 57 to 61, and increasing the base heal of their “Consume” from 37.5/60/82.5/105/127.5 (+0.35 ability power)(+5% bonus health) to 60/96/132/168/204 (+0.56 ability power)(+8% bonus health).

This is a hefty buff. Whether or not it propels Nunu & Willump into competitive play remains to be seen, but if you’re one of the few who use them, you’re probably not complaining.

Pyke

This is where things get interesting. Pyke is getting some concrete changes, and they’re essentially buffs in patch 8.22 if you’re playing him as an assassin.

A Pyke building lethality can be a threatening pick for sure, but only if he gets ahead in the early stages of the game. If, on the other hand, you fall behind, building lethality really won’t do you any good as you’ll always be playing (and itemizing) from behind. That’s one of the main reasons why players started playing Pyke more like a tank (that executes low health targets) rather than an assassin support.

To counteract this, Riot is giving smaller buffs to certain elements of his kit while decreasing mana cost. Building Frozen Heart doesn’t feel like a must anymore.

Pyke’s passive will now scale off bonus attack damage rather than maximum health, so if you’re not building AD and lethality, you’re not getting the full benefit of his passive. From patch 8.22 onwards, you’re going to be healing for 80 health + 8 health per 1 bonus attack damage, up to 60% max health.

His “Ghostwater Dive” now costs 25 less mana (50, instead of 75), and much like Pyke’s passive, it scales off of bonus lethality — from 60/65/70/75/80% (+4% per 100 bonus attack damage) to 40% at all ranks (+1.5% per 1 lethality).

Pyke’s dash/stun “Phantom Undertow” now costs less mana (from 50 to 40), and its stun lasts 1.1 seconds at all ranks plus an added 0.1 seconds per 10 lethality. In the early stages of the game this won’t be a big deal, but once you start building lethality, Pyke’s stun is going to last longer than ever.

Finally, Pyke’s ultimate “Death From Below” is getting a higher execute threshold — an increase of 1.5 per 1 lethality.

Overall, these are very interesting changes that should align Pyke with his high-risk high-reward style of play.

Trundle

We haven’t seen Trundle in completive play since Riot basically nerfed him into the ground a few patches ago. The changes to “Chomp” and a weaker slow on his “Pillar of Ice” made him a far less threatening pick than before.

To give back some of his recently lost strength, Riot is upping the base damage to his “Chomp” (from 20/30/40/50/60 to 20/35/50/65/80) while also increasing its AD ratio — from 0/0.1/0.2/0.3/0.4 total attack damage to 0.1/0.2/0.3/0.4/0.5 total attack damage.

These aren’t the biggest of changes, but they could push him back into viability.

Nerfs

Patch 8.22 is especially interesting because Riot has finally nerfed two champions that have been running rampant in both competitive and casual play. While Irelia nerfs are still missing for some reason, these changes should make your solo queue games a bit more enjoyable.

Akali

Akali has become a disgustingly strong champion over the last couple of months. As a result, Riot is shipping some much-needed nerfs. Better late than never.

They’re upping the cooldown of her “Twilight Shroud” from 17/15.5/14/12.5/11 seconds to 21/18.5/16/13.5/11 seconds, while also decreasing the base damage of her ultimate “Perfect Execution” from 100/150/200 to 85/150/215.

These changes will make Akali players work harder to attain concrete advantages in lane, while also nerfing her early game prowess. She will remain a powerhouse in the late game, but at least getting to that point won’t be as easy.

LeBlanc

After becoming a must pick/ban champion in the current meta, Riot is nerfing her “Distortion” base damage, from 85/125/165/205/245 to 75/115/155/195/235.

This might not be the biggest nerf in the world, but it’s at least something. Riot says that in Season 9, champions will have the opportunity to start the game with a significant amount of Magic Resist, so this might be a sufficient nerf overall.

Viktor

Riot is changing Viktor’s “Siphon Power” discharge base damage from 20/50/80/110/140 to 20/45/70/95/120, as well as its discharge ratio from 1.0 total attack damage + 0.5 ability power to 1.0 total attack damage + 0.55 ability power.

They’re also decreasing the base damage per tick of his ultimate “Chaos Storm,” from 150/250/350 to 130/210/290, as well as its ratio per tick from 0.7 ability power to 0.85 ability power.

Other Champion Changes

Also in patch 8.22 are numerous bug fixes for Jhin. When you add everything up, they should function as a buff, but you’re probably not going to notice a difference in-game.

Fiora is also getting a small improvement. Her “Lunge“ will still prioritize her ultimate’s vitals first but will now prioritize an ultimate-affected target afterward even without a vital that can be proc’d. This is a smaller change that’s going to leave a positive impact, but it’s not exactly a buff per se.

Rune Changes

Time Warp Tonic

Before this nerf, Time Warp Tonic offered way too much sustain to both top and mid laners (when combined with Corrupting Potion). In a way, it became a must-buy for many different champions, at least in competitive play. It simply gave way too much as a passive rune choice, so these nerfs are highly welcomed.

Potions, elixirs, and biscuits no longer last 20% longer, but you’ll still gain a 5% movement speed buff while under the effect of a potion/biscuit.