Two weeks have passed since the last patch update, which means we have yet another set of balance changes to go over — this time, it’s League of Legends patch 9.22! Unlike the last patch we looked at, this one brings a fair bit of content for us to analyze. It’s still not monumental by any means, but it’s going to leave a mark if you’re a solo queue regular.

Riot doesn’t want to make any huge waves balance-wise as they’re laser-focused on patch 9.23 and the many off-season changes that it will bring. In other words, expect absolute insanity in two weeks.

For the time being, however, we have a handful of champion adjustments and a batch of truly spectacular skins.

So, without any further ado, let’s take a closer look at what League of Legends patch 9.22 brings to the table!

New Champion Release

Champion Changes

Unlike the previous patch, this one has far more depth to it, which makes it a lot more fun. This is more in tune with what we’re used to seeing from Riot patch-wise.

Buffs

Only three buffs are shipping this time around. Not a lot, that’s for sure, but they’re three interesting ones, nonetheless, mainly because all three of these champions were at once competitive mainstays.

Kalista

Here’s a champion many forgot existed; an absolute nightmare scenario balance-wise. Riot wants to make Kalista a bit more viable, so they’re shipping two buffs to her W “Sentinel.” It will now deal bonus damage on marked targets (from 5/7.5/10/12.5/15% of target’s maximum HP from 10/12/14/16/18%). The sentinels will also mark their targets for 4 seconds instead of 3.

Not a huge buff by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s a good one, nonetheless. Hopefully, this will just slightly nudge her towards viability, without making her a must-pick. Sometimes a placebo buff is all it takes for a champion to take over both solo queue/competitive play once again, and we know that Kalista has such potential.

After all, there’s a reason why Riot is always deliberate when shipping any kind of change to such a layered, highly volatile champion.

Sejuani

Sejuani’s base attack damage is going up (from 64 to 66), along with her base health regen growth (from 0.85 to 1) and base attack speed growth (from 3% to 3.5%). Her Q “Arctic Assault” will also deal a fair bit more damage (from 80/120/160/200/240 + 0.4 AP to 80/130/180/230/280 + 0.6 AP).

Sylas

Sylas is getting two buffs this time around as he still isn’t as viable as he should be. Going forward, his base stats are going up — higher health regen (from 7 to 9), a bit less base health regen growth (from 1 to 0.9 to balance things out), and more magic resist (from 36.1 to 39).

Finally, his W “Kingslayer” will cost less mana — from 50/55/60/65/70 mana to 40/45/50/55/60.

Nerfs

Unlike the buff list, this one gets a bit lengthy. Perhaps that’s for the best seeing how Riot wants to enter the upcoming pre-season with a small several OP champions as possible. They’re finally hitting Kai’Sa and Xayah which should, in turn, make other AD carries a fair bit more viable soon.

Ashe

Riot is shipping a simple nerf to Ashe and her W “Volley.” Going forward, it’ll cost 70 mana instead of 50. This should make Ashe players more hesitant to use the ability as a pure harass tool.

Blitzcrank

Blitz’s effectiveness spiked quite a bit recently, which is always a reason for concern. To counteract this, his Q “Rocket Grab” will now deal less base damage — from 80/135/190/245/300 to 70/120/170/220/270.

Kai’Sa

By reducing the non-minion multi-hit missile damage on her Q “Icathian Rain” (from 30% to 25%), Riot is trying to both nerf Kai’Sa’s late-game prowess (especially when it comes to isolated target burst damage) but also make her wave clear a bit less potent.

Kayle

Kayle is too strong now, especially when piloted by the right player. Riot wants to make her early game a bit weaker but also make her inevitable late game dominance a bit harder to reach. First, her Q “Radiant Blast” will deal less base damage (from 70/115/160/205/250 to 60/100/140/180/220).

Secondly, her W “Celestial Blessing” will cost more mana — from 60/70/80/90/100 to 70/80/90/100/110.

Malphite

If you’ve ever been annihilated by an AP Malphite in ARAM (this was more of a rhetorical statement), then you’ll be glad to know that Riot is nerfing just this one aspect of his kit. Going forward, his ultimate “Unstoppable Force” will have a 0.8 AP ratio instead of 1.0. Not a huge change overall, but a highly welcome one, nonetheless.

Nautilus

Nautilus is incredibly strong now, so Riot is nerfing his ultimate “Depth Charge” and its primary target base damage — from 200/325/450 to 150/275/400.

Pantheon

Pantheon is incredibly strong in high elo play, and he’s even stronger in a professional setting. He’s so strong that no one’s been willing to let him through the ban phase throughout Worlds, and with good reason.

Riot is hitting his Q “Comet Spear” and W “Shield Vault” to make him a bit more balanced. His Q will now have a higher minion damage reduction (from 20% to 30%) and will have a lower execute threshold (from 25% of target’s maximum HP to 20%). Finally, the dash speed on his W will no longer correlate to his boots and the movement speed they provide.

Xayah

Xayah is finally being nerfed, although it remains to be seen whether this will be enough to make her a balanced pick, rather than a complete powerhouse. Her W “Deadly Plumage” will now grant less attack speed — from 40/47.5/55/62.5/70% to 35/40/45/50/55%. That’s a huge difference, and it’ll surely bring her down in priority, at least ever so slightly.

Upcoming Skins & Chromas

As with every new patch, Riot is releasing multiple exciting new skins. This time we’re getting True Damage Yasuo, True Damage Akali, True Damage Ekko, True Damage Senna, True Damage Qiyana, along with the accompanying Prestige Edition (a special edition Louis Vuitton variant).

The Yasuo, Akali, Ekko and Senna skins are also shipping with chromas.

That’s it for our League of Legends patch 9.22 breakdown! If you want to go over the patch more officially, click here.