League of Legends Early Patch 13.21 - Rammus Is not OK, Jungle Pet Revert

The last patch was easily one of the biggest in the game. The Anti-Snowball changes slowed the pace of the game to Season 7/8 levels. The Jungle changes vastly lowered the power of meta junglers. Overall, Patch 13.20 changed how the game should be played across the board.

Although the newer adjustments were positive in most cases, we have certain losers of the patch who need some help and winners who need nerfs.

Graves is thriving, while Hecarim is in the dumpster

This Patch 13.21 is gonna continue the trend towards the new state of the game but with a set of adjustments to make Junglers feel better, more buffs to K’Sante, and nerfs to a few of the overperformers of the patch. Oh… and a couple of new AP junglers coming.

Revert of Jungle changes - Jungle Pet Adjustments

Starting with the Jungle Pet Adjustments. The last patch drastically reduced the healing effectiveness of junglers from camps. From Jungle Pets itself and the raw value given from clearing a camp.

This reduced healing helped combat the feeling that Junglers could be 24/7 on the map without consequences (link to phreak's video), but these changes also disabled jungle picks from actually playing the game.

For that reason, some of the Jungle healing changes are being reverted.

• Damage adjusted 16 (+10% AP) (+20% bonus Armor and Magic Resistance) (+3% bHP) >>> 15.5 (+10% bAD) (+12% AP) (+20% bonus Armor and Magic Resistance) (+3% bHP)
• Heal per attack changed 70% of damage dealt >>> 13-46 (based on levels 1-12), healing cap removed.
• Large monster heal capped at 90 HP

With these adjustments, you can bet that many junglers will be happy with their early games. However, the healing cap removal is going to make it harder for Junglers to heal up after level 12.

With these changes out of the way, let’s jump into the Champion changes.

Mid

Too much scaling

Anti-Snowball changes (you must be tired of reading this) have created a new meta. The slower pace has substantially increased the viability of champions like Kassadin which currently hovers a 53% WR in Masters+ (Something odd for a weak scaling pick).

Although the likes of Kassadin, Orianna, and Syndra are certainly a problem, one pick that is really easy to pilot and is winning too often is Aurelion Sol. For that reason, he’s getting nerfs to his scaling so he stops to players ELO.

• Breath of Light (Q) Damage per tick adjusted from 3.75-10 (based on levels 1-18) (+1.875/3.125/4.375/5.625/6.875) (+7.5% AP) to 0 (+5.625/7.5/9.375/11.25/13.125) (+6.875% AP).
• Base burst damage adjusted from 20-30 (based on levels 1-18) (+40/50/60/70/80) to 0 (+60/70/80/90/100).

On the bright side, his early game is the same so Aurelion Sol OTPs (link to mobafire guide) should not suffer too much from this change.

Lastly, after all of Leblanc's nerfs (And to Statikk Shiv) she’s finally in a balanced state so Riot is making adjustments to bring back AP Leblanc.

• Distortion (W) AP ratio increased from 65% to 75%.
• Ethereal Chains (E) full tether AP ratio increased from 70% to 80%.

According to Phreak these changes intend to make LeBlanc play riskier using the extra damage of her second E AP ratio, which forces her to play in the front.

Jungle

The winner of the patch

Changes to the Jungle had their winners and losers as previously stated. And one champion certainly that benefitted the most from them is Rammus.

According to LeagueofGraphs, Rammus's win rate is 54.9%, at least 3% more compared to the last patch. This is worrying when you take into account how easy is for players to pick up Rammus and start winning games.

Even with the upcoming buffs to Jungle pet ratios and sustain, these changes will not be enough to hinder Rammus's strength. In amidst of the Armordillo becoming a huge problem in Low Elo, they are nerfing him in Patch 13.21

• Powerball (Q) base damage reduced from 100/125/150/175/200 to 80/110/140/170/200
• Defensive Ball Curl (W) bonus Armor reduced from 35 (+40/50/60/70/80% Armor) to 30 (+35/45/55/65/75% Armor)

Another champion that is getting more brutal patch by patch is Briar. Before she keeps getting out of control (Or berserk), Riot is taming her power again.

• Attack Speed per level reduced 2.3% >>> 2%
• [P] Crimson Curse heal on kill increased 100% >>> 125% of remaining bleed damage
• [W2] Snack Attack target's missing HP damage AD ratio reduced 4% per 100 bAD >>> 3.5% per 100 bAD

In terms of buffs, four junglers are getting some help after the Jungle changes.

Hec is getting buffs this patch

First, Master Yi. The Pet AD ratio and the changes to Avatar Upgrades significantly reduce the Wuju Bladesman's effectiveness, especially the lack of tenacity in the Mosstomper upgrade that allowed him to play more aggressively against hard CC comps.

In compensation, Master Yi Wuju Style (E) cooldown is being reduced.

The second champion getting buffs is Bel’Veth. These are minor ones and are only helping out with her Royal Maelstrom (E) cooldown, but should be good enough to get her in a better spot.

The third champion is Hecarim. He’s getting an improvement in his AD Growth and the Spirit of Dread (W) duration. The buffs to Hecarim are fair considering that most of his power budget was removed once they nerfed Gustwalker and Water walking.

The last jungler getting buffs is Morgana. The last patch buff didn’t quite put her in the spot Riot wanted so they are again following up with more buffs (They are forcing this).

• [W] Tormented Shadow buffs
• Damage per tick increased 6/11/16/21/26 >>> 6/11.5/17/22.5/28
• Monster damage ratio increased 165% >>> 170%

Curious enough, two more AP champions are getting adjustments to make them viable in the Jungle. Keep reading to find out.

Top

Dr Mundo got too strong in Patch 13.20

Mundo scales with time and HP, games are taking longer this Patch. Mundo becomes OP. Not much to say, and his recent win rate of 53.3% certainly reflects that.

The fact that Grasp of the Undying was left untouched compared to the other runes, was the extra mile that took Dr. Mundo from a relative OK pick to a menace in Top.

Before he rampages through lower elo games too much, Riot is preemptively nerfing his infinite scaling.

• [E-P] Blunt Force Trauma bonus AD HP ratio reduced 2/2.5/3/3.5/4% >>> 2/2.25/2.5/2.75/3%

There are two Top champion buffs in this patch: Tahm Kench and K’Sante.

Tahm Kench is getting buffs to his passive damage in HP scaling, but nerfed slightly in base. W CD is going down. With Tahm Kench building Heartsteel, this extra HP bonus damage is bigger than it seems.

Lastly, K’Sante is getting buffs after his huge rework in the last patch.

New changes to the Pride of Nazumah have made him a more accessible champion to lower elos while nerfing his power in elite play.

Because of the large scope of changes, bugs were pretty much a given.

In Patch 13.21, besides bugfixes (A lof of them), there are a few buffs to K’Sante’s All-Out damage, Q Bonus HP Cap being lowered and the W maximum channel increased from 1.0s to 1.5s.

These are not game-changing but are slowly growing towards the goal of making K’Sante a fun champion balanced for all players.

ADC

On-hit buffs for Varus

There are three ADC champions receiving changes in this patch. Let’s start it off with the Varus ones.

Varus is either loved or hated by Riot, when he’s strong, the champion utility makes him a staple in the bot lane even one of the best weak-side champion picks in competitive. Is not the same case if Lethality Varus is OP.

So to give him some love while maintaining Lethality Varus in check, he’s receiving a few buffs to help his on-hit damage build this patch.

• Blighted Quiver (W) on-hit base damage increased from 7/12/17/22/27 to 7/13/19/25/31
• Hail of Arrows (E) slow increased from 25/30/35/40/45% to 30/35/40/45/50%

One champion that’s been doing hot is Caitlyn. According to Riot Phroxzon, Lethality Caitlyn play rate has skyrocketed in the last few patches, the issue is that this build creates a toxic gameplay with no counterplay with her Ace in the Hole (Ultimate) one-shotting carries.

• [P] Headshot Critical Strike Chance ratio increased 142.1875% >>> 148.75% (81.25% >>> 85%)
• [R] Ace in the Hole adjustments:
• Damage adjusted 300/525/750 (+200% bAD) (+(35% Critical Strike Chance)% damage) >>> 300/500/700 (+170% bAD) (+(50% Critical Strike Chance)% damage)
• Cooldown increased 90/75/60 >>> 90 flat seconds

These nerfs should decrease her Lethality build overall while buffing her Crit build.

Last but not least in the ADC balance, Jinx buffs from the last patch were too much so she's receiving nerfs. The uncapped stacks on Get Excited! Propelled to OP status once the patch went live.

Because Riot does like that Jinx passive lives up to her character, they are tuning it down in a way that remains good but not broken.

• [P] Get Excited! nerfs:
• Stacks capped at 5
• Epic monster and Structure takedowns no longer grant stacks beyond the first

Champion Adjustments

Expect to see Zyra in the Jungle next patch

Two mage supports are receiving buffs tailored to the jungler while Seraphine is getting changes to make her a stronger support instead of a bot carry pick.

Starting with Brand and Zyra Jungle.

Zyra Jungle is now possible in Patch 13.21. First, she's getting a Base Attack Speed increase to make her jungling easier. Furthermore, both Deadly Spines (Q) and Grasping Roots (E) are getting buffs to the scaling (And a minor buff to Zyra's Q damage).

To compensate for that newly added scaling power, the base damage of Grasping Roots and Q's Thorn Spitter is being decreased.

The second AP Support making it into the Jungle is Brand. He's getting more buffs though.

Base Stats

• Base HP reduced 590 >>> 570
• HP per level increased 102 >>> 105
• Base Armor increased 22 >>> 27
• Armor per level reduced 4.7 >>> 4.2
• Base Attack Speed increased 0.625 >>> 0.681
• Attack Speed per level increased 1.36% >>> 2%

• [P-Ablaze] Blaze Ablaze damage per tick monster ratio increased 120% >>> 220% (still capped at 80 pre-mitigation per tick)

• [E] Conflagration base damage reduced 70/95/120/145/170 >>> 65/90/115/140/165

Just the Ablaze extra tick damage is going to make his jungling way faster. Beware! these changes may encourage a few players to pick him in the jungle. You are warned.

The last adjustment is to make Seraphine Support more viable.

Nerfs to Seraphine APC

Despite being released as a Mid lane pick, Seraphine has never been a popular pick in that lane. She has jumped from Support to Carry several times, and now she’s played mainly as an APC in Bot.

There are several reasons why this happens, even sparked a discussion on r/LeagueofLegends subreddit.

https://www.reddit.com/r/leagueoflegends/comments/17atrth/phreak_on_seraphine_changes_if_this_is_neutral_on/

To make Seraphine support a possibility while nerfing her APC power in bot, she's receiving a lot of changes.

Base Stats

• HP per level reduced 104 >>> 90
• Base Armor increased 19 >>> 26
• Base Mana reduced 440 >>> 360
• Mana per level increased 40 >>> 50
• Base Mana Regeneration increased 8 >>> 11.5
• Mana Regeneration per level reduced 1 >>> 0.4

[Q] High Note adjustments:

• Damage adjusted 55/70/85/100/115 (+45/50/55/60/65% AP) >>> 55/80/105/130/155 (+50% AP)
• Cooldown reduced 10/8.75/7.5/6.25/5 >>> 9/8/7/6/5 seconds

[W] Surround Sound adjustments:

• Base Shield increased 50/70/90/110/130 >>> 50/75/100/125/150
• Heal reduced 5/5.5/6/6.5/7% (+0.4% per 100 AP) >>> 3/3.5/4/4.5/5% (+0% AP)
• Cooldown reduced 28/26/24/22/20 >>> 28/25/22/19/16 seconds
• Mana cost increased 50/60/70/80/90 >>> 80/85/90/95/100

[E] Beat Drop adjustments:

• Base damage increased 60/80/100/120/140 >>> 60/95/130/165/200
• Mana cost reduced 60/70/80/90/100 >>> 60/65/70/75/80

System Nerfs

More rune adjustments to the ones that started dominating in Patch 13.20, and lastly, Hullbreaker (Item) adjustments.

With the game pace being slower, First Strike extra gold was giving too much value to champions using it. To leave the extra gold income in its place but balance the keystone in the game, Riot has nerfed the Bonus True damage.

The second keystone being nerfed is Phase Rush. With the likes of Aery, Electrocute, and the rest of early game runes being nerfed, Phase Rush was overperforming and giving an unfair advantage to a few champions -Garen is one of them- so nerfs were needed.

• Phase Rush Melee Bonus Movement Speed 30-60% to 25-50%.

Last but not least, one item that’s been a nuisance in the game is Hullbreaker. Champions that build this item create an unhealthy state of the game that kind of forced other players to build Hullbreaker to evenly match it.

To not make the item lose its identity, Riot is nerfing the bonus resistance numbers so champions that don't build the item have more fighting chance against these split pushers.

• Boarding Party bonus Armor and Magic Resistance reduced 10-75/5-37 (based on levels 11-18) >>> 10-60/5-30 (based on levels 11-18) (melee/ranged)

With this, we are wrapping up this League of Legends 13.21 Early Patch Notes. As always, you can check the list below for all of the detailed changes. There’s still a possibility that any of these changes will not make it into the next week. Keep that in mind!

For more content on the latest League of Legends and TFT updates, check our News section. You can also check the best guides for your champion, or look up your stats to know what to improve or showoff!

List of Changes

Champion Changes

Aurelion Sol

• Breath of Light (Q)
• Damage per tick adjusted 3.75-10 (based on levels 1-18) (+1.875/3.125/4.375/5.625/6.875) (+7.5% AP) >>> 0 (+5.625/7.5/9.375/11.25/13.125) (+6.875% AP)
• Base burst damage adjusted 20-30 (based on levels 1-18) (+40/50/60/70/80) >>> 0 (+60/70/80/90/100)

Bel'Veth

• Royal Maelstrom (E) cooldown reduced 24/22.5/21/19.5/18 >>> 20/19/18/17/16 seconds

Briar

• Attack Speed per level reduced 2.3% >>> 2%
• Crimson Curse (P) heal on kill increased 100% >>> 125% of remaining bleed damage
• Snack Attack (W2) target's missing HP damage AD ratio reduced 4% per 100 bAD >>> 3.5% per 100 bAD

Caitlyn

• Headshot (Passive) Critical Strike Chance ratio increased 142.1875% >>> 148.75% (81.25% >>> 85%)
• Ace in the Hole (Ultimate) Damage adjusted 300/525/750 (+200% bAD) (+(35% Critical Strike Chance)% damage) >>> 300/500/700 (+170% bAD) (+(50% Critical Strike Chance)% damage)
• Cooldown increased 90/75/60 >>> 90 flat seconds

Dr. Mundo

• Blunt Force Trauma (E) bonus AD HP ratio reduced 2/2.5/3/3.5/4% >>> 2/2.25/2.5/2.75/3%

Jinx

• Get Excited! (Passive)
• Stacks capped at 5
• Epic monster and Structure takedowns no longer grant stacks beyond the first

K'Sante

• Dauntless Instinct (Passive) - All Out (Ult Passive) Bonus damage increased 35% >>> 45/60/75% (based on levels 6/11/16)
• Ntofo Strikes (Q) cast speed bHP ratio increased 0.01111~% per 100 bHP (capped at 1800 bHP) >>> 0.01666~% per 100 bHP (capped at 1200 bHP) (same cast speed reduction)
• Path Maker (W)
• Will no longer be broken by Charm and Fear
• Reduced minimum channel 0.75 >>> 0.65 seconds (bugfix)
• Max duration increased 1 >>> 1.5 seconds
• [E-W] bugfixes aka Interactions between Path Maker (W) and Footwork (E)
• No longer allows double-casting/tapping [W]
• No longer stops [E] Footwork dash short
• [R-W] All Out Bonus no longer allows you to left click to cancel
• All Out (Ultimate)
• Armor/Magic Resistance/AD now update every quarter second (Aftershock cannot be "snapshot" anymore but Gargoyle Stoneplate/Jak'Sho give +AD as they gain stacks)
• Omnivamp buffs/bugfixes
• [R-Q/E] Ntofo Strikes and Footwork reset time reduced 0.1 seconds >>> instant



LeBlanc

• Distortion (W) AP ratio increased 65% >>> 75%
• Ethereal Chains (E) full tether AP ratio increased 70% >>> 80%



Master Yi

• Wuju Style (E) cooldown reduced 18 >>> 14 seconds



Morgana

• Tormented Shadow (W)
• Damage per tick increased 6/11/16/21/26 >>> 6/11.5/17/22.5/28
• Monster damage ratio increased 165% >>> 170%



Rammus

• Powerball (Q) base damage decreased 100/125/150/175/200 >>> 80/110/140/170/200
• Defensive Ball Curl (W) bonus Armor reduced 35 (+40/50/60/70/80% Armor) >>> 30 (+35/45/55/65/75% Armor)



Tahm Kench

• An Acquired Taste (Passive) damage adjusted 8-60 (based on levels 1-18) (+3% bHP) >>> 6-48 (based on levels 1-11) (+5% bHP)
• Abyssal Dive (W) cooldown refund increased 40% flat >>> 40/42.5/45/47.5/50%



Varus

• Blighted Quiver (W) on-hit base damage increased 7/12/17/22/27 >>> 7/13/19/25/31
• Hail of Arrows (E) slow increased 25/30/35/40/45% >>> 30/35/40/45/50%

System Nerfs

Brand (Jungle)

• Base HP reduced 590 >>> 570
• HP per level increased 102 >>> 105
• Base Armor increased 22 >>> 27
• Armor per level reduced 4.7 >>> 4.2
• Base Attack Speed increased 0.625 >>> 0.681
• Attack Speed per level increased 1.36% >>> 2%
• Blaze (Passive) - Ablaze damage per tick monster ratio increased 120% >>> 220% (still capped at 80 pre-mitigation per tick)
• Conflagration (E) base damage reduced 70/95/120/145/170 >>> 65/90/115/140/165

Seraphine (Support)

HP per level reduced 104 >>> 90
• Base Armor increased 19 >>> 26
• Base Mana reduced 440 >>> 360
• Mana per level increased 40 >>> 50
• Base Mana Regeneration increased 8 >>> 11.5
• Mana Regeneration per level reduced 1 >>> 0.4
• High Note (Q)
• Damage adjusted 55/70/85/100/115 (+45/50/55/60/65% AP) >>> 55/80/105/130/155 (+50% AP)
• Cooldown reduced 10/8.75/7.5/6.25/5 >>> 9/8/7/6/5 seconds
• Surround Sound (W) adjustments:
• Base Shield increased 50/70/90/110/130 >>> 50/75/100/125/150
• Heal reduced 5/5.5/6/6.5/7% (+0.4% per 100 AP) >>> 3/3.5/4/4.5/5% (+0% AP)
• Cooldown reduced 28/26/24/22/20 >>> 28/25/22/19/16 seconds
• Mana cost increased 50/60/70/80/90 >>> 80/85/90/95/100
• [E] Beat Drop adjustments:
• Base damage increased 60/80/100/120/140 >>> 60/95/130/165/200
• Mana cost reduced 60/70/80/90/100 >>> 60/65/70/75/80

Zyra

• Base Attack Speed increased 0.625 >>> 0.681
• [Q] Deadly Spines adjustments:
• Damage increased 60/95/130/165/200 (+60% AP) >>> 60/100/140/180/220 (+65% AP)
• [Q-P/W] Thorn Spitter damage adjusted 20-100 (based on levels 1-18) (+15% AP) >>> 20-88 (based on levels 1-18) (+18% AP)
• [E] Grasping Roots adjustments:
• Damage adjusted 60/105/150/195/240 (+50% AP) >>> 60/95/130/165/200 (+60% AP)
• [E-P/W] Vine Lasher damage adjusted 20-100 (based on levels 1-18) (+15% AP) >>> 20-88 (based on levels 1-18) (+18% AP)

Runes Adjustments

First Strike

• Bonus true damage reduced 8% >>> 7%

Phase Rush

• Melee bonus move speed reduced 30-60% (based on levels 1-18) >>> 25-50% (based on levels 1-18)

System Adjustments

Jungle Pets

• Damage adjusted 16 (+10% AP) (+20% bonus Armor and Magic Resistance) (+3% bHP) >>> 15.5 (+10% bAD) (+12% AP) (+20% bonus Armor and Magic Resistance) (+3% bHP)
• Heal per attack changed 70% of damage dealt >>> 13-46 (based on levels 1-12), healing cap removed
• Large monster heal capped at 90 HP

Hullbreaker

• Boarding Party bonus Armor and Magic Resistance reduced 10-75/5-37 (based on levels 11-18) >>> 10-60/5-30 (based on levels 11-18) (melee/ranged)