Hello, Librarian Husky here! Ziggs is getting absolutely plastered this patch with a huge nerf to his passive damage. This is mainly due to the champion showing up so much in pro play as of late. What do you guys think of a mage like Ziggs being played in the bot lane? Do you enjoy seeing the occasional mage played bot, or would you rather see it completely abolished from the role altogether?

Patch 14.18 Item Changes Overview

Let’s start by looking at the item changes issued for patch 14.18. Luden’s Companion will have its ability power increased from 95 to 100, with a price reduction of 50 gold. However, ability haste will be lowered from 25 to 20.

Magic Items Adjustments

Shadow Flame’s ability power is dropping from 120 to 115, but magic penetration is increasing from 12 to 15. The Cinder Bloom passive, where bonus damage is applied when the enemy is below 35% health, is being increased to 40%, though damage amplification for damage over time spells will be reduced from 30% to 25%.

Storm Surge Changes

Storm Surge will see its magic penetration increased from 10 to 15. However, movement speed is dropping from 8% to 5%. To trigger the Storm Surge passive, you now only need to deal 25% of the enemy’s max health instead of 35%, and ranged effectiveness of the passive is increasing from 90% to 100%.

ADC Item Changes

For ADC items, Bloodthirster’s life steal is being reduced from 18% to 15%. Additionally, the shield is being adjusted to be less effective early on, making rushing Bloodthirster a weaker strategy this patch. Shield Bow is also seeing adjustments, with the passive shield being lowered for ranged characters but buffed earlier for melee champions.

Fleet Footwork Rune Adjustments

Fleet Footwork is receiving another round of changes, continuing the adjustments it has experienced over the past few patches. These changes are aimed at balancing its effectiveness across different champions and situations.

Melee Champion Buffs in Patch 14.18

This time, Riot is going to increase melee champion healing to promote more aggressive trading. However, the healing for ranged champions is being reduced. Melee minion healing will drop, while ranged minion healing will increase. Melee movement speed will be boosted, though ranged movement speed remains unchanged.

Turret Changes and Lane Swaps

Turrets are being adjusted in patch 14.18 to reduce lane swaps in pro play. This is achieved by increasing the damage reduction to towers for the first five minutes from 75% to 85%. The permanent resist per destroyed turret plate is going up from 40 to 50, while temporary resist per destroyed plate for 20 seconds is changing from 45 per champion to 20 per champion.

Champion Buffs: Ahri and Gnar

Moving on to champion buffs, Ahri‘s E damage is receiving a boost, with the base going up by 40 at max rank and the AP ratio increasing from 60% to 75%. Gnar, despite the meme, is getting a buff with his base AD increasing by 3, which could translate to a 1% rise in his solo queue win rate due to his synergy with Trinity Force.

Other Champion Buffs: Jarvan, Jax, and Jayce

Jarvan’s passive damage is being buffed from 7% to 8%. On the PBE, Jax’s R on-hit damage is increasing by 20 at max rank, with bonus armor per target hit scaling from 15–25 to 20–30. Jayce will receive minor buffs, with his melee Q slow increasing by 5% and ranged E haste going up by 5% at all ranks.

Champion Buffs: Jinx, Lulu, and Malphite

Jinx is getting a buff to her attack speed growth, which is increasing from 1 to 1.4. Lulu will receive more damage on her passive, going from 3 scaling to 37, up to 5 scaling to 39. Malphite’s passive shield will be harder to break, with its value increasing from 9% to 10% of his max health.

Buffs for Samira, Shen, and Vi

Samira’s Q AD ratio is getting a damage boost, but only for the first four points in the spell, with damage remaining the same at max rank. Shen’s passive shield base value is being reduced, but the bonus health scaling is increasing from 12% to 133%. Vi’s base AD will go up by three, though her Q bonus monster damage is being nerfed from 20 to 15.

Zhao’s Armor Scaling and Damage Increase

Xin Zhao is getting more armor scaling with his armor growth increasing from 4.7 to 5. His Q bonus damage per hit is also being buffed, scaling from 16 to 52, up to 16 to 68 at max rank.

Champion Nerfs: Rell and Azir

Rell is receiving a nerf to her R jump max distance, being reduced from 450 to 250 units. Her wall jump forgiveness is also being lowered from 700 to 450 units, and the duration of her ultimate is being decreased by one second at all ranks. Azir is losing a substantial amount of damage from his R, with both the base value and AP ratio being reduced in patch 14.18.

Corki Nerf and Win Rate Impact

It’s actually kind of wild that Corki has a 44% win rate in solo queue but is still considered strong enough to be prioritized in pro play. Another nerf is targeting him this patch, reducing his Q damage by 20 at max rank. We will likely see Corki’s win rate drop below 43% in patch 14.18.

Ivern and Leona Nerfs

Ivern is losing strength on his E this patch, with the shield value and slow both being reduced. Leona is receiving a nerf similar to what Pyke faced last patch, with her base armor dropping from 47 to 43. These changes should slightly weaken their tankiness and crowd control utility.

Lillia and Miss Fortune Adjustments

The 14.17 nerfs to Lillia weren’t enough to push her out of the meta, so Riot has more changes planned for patch 14.18. Lillia’s passive monster cap is being hit hard, dropping from 70 scaling to 100, down to 65 flat. Miss Fortune is also facing a double hit, with both Bloodthirster changes affecting her and a nerf to her base AD from 55 to 53.

Additional Champion Nerfs: Nasus, Azir, and Rumble

Nasus will be less common in pro play as a midlaner due to a significant nerf to his E’s initial damage and damage per second. Azir is losing movement speed on his E, with both the initial and max movement speed reduced. Lastly, Rumble’s Q damage is also being nerfed, contributing to a slight reduction in his overall power.