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New Tier List for Patch 14.4 – League of Legends

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Hi, you’re here with the Librarian Husky, and they’re back at it again in 14.4 with a plethora of meta-shifting adjustments.

Season 14 Updates

As always, we’ve got you covered with a complete rundown of the changes and an update on the solo Q tier list for every single role, thanks to the help of our Challenger players and analyzing the most recent data.

Item and Rune Adjustments

Let’s start off by covering all the item and Rune adjustments along with a few other miscellaneous changes. Black Cleaver is buffed in 14.4, with its shred cap being increased from 24% to 25%, while the max stacks is dropping from 6 to 5. So, you’ll now be stacking Black Cleaver faster and even getting 1% extra shred at full stacks. A few champions who will benefit the most from these buffs are Urgot, Nar, Leen, Vai, Rexi, Illaoi, and Kled.

Riot’s trying to speed up the pace of the game in 14.4 as fountain health regeneration is going up. The rate is being increased from 8.4% to 10.4% max health per second.

Malignant’s, Archangel’s, and Lud’s Companion will all receive the exact same buff, with their ability haste being increased from 20 to 25. Champions that like to stack two or more of these items will be winning out the most from these buffs, and one champ we’re really high on for 14.4 is Kadin.

Ravenous Hydra and Stridebreaker Buffs

Ravenous Hydra is receiving a buff this patch, with its active now benefiting from 150% of your life steal. Most common Ravenous users in previous patches have been Fiora, Camille, Olaf, and Trundle, so they’ll be the most positively influenced by this change. We’ve got Stridebreaker buffs for a second patch in a row, with its passive movement speed now applying even if the damage is mitigated. The active movement speed decay is being increased, going from 1.5 to 3 seconds. You can expect Garen, Belth, Set, Olaf, and Darius to benefit from these changes the most.

Terminus Buffs

Terminus will receive a few buffs for this patch, with its stack cap being reduced from 5 to three. The pen that you receive at max stacks is not changing, though, so you’ll now just get that max value much faster. Now, the max armor and magic resist you get is being changed so that you receive slightly more value early on but just one less armor and Mr later.

Champion and Item Updates in Patch 14.4

In the game, there are lots of champions that can look to take advantage of these buffs, as Kai’Sa, Kalista, Vayne, Kindred, Kog’Maw, Varus, Bel’Veth, and Ashe are the most notable.

The lone nerf to items or runes for patch 14.4 is going the way of Lethal Tempo. You’ll now have much less value from Lethal Tempo early on in the game, but it’s going to become stronger later on. Champions that want to duel early in lane will be hit the hardest by this change, so we expect for Yone, Tryndamere, Yasuo, Jax, and Trundle to be losing some strength.

Riot will be making a bunch of adjustments to support items for this patch, with the charge rate on your gold proc going from 18 to 20 seconds. The first charge, however, will now be coming in slightly earlier in the game, at 1 minute and 50 seconds instead of 2 minutes and 8 seconds.

Support Item Adjustments

The Bloodsong support upgrade is going to be nerfed yet again, with its range damage amp being lowered from 6% to 5%. This change will affect Senna and Bard the most, as they’ve been abusing Bloodsong really well in recent patches. The Solstice Slay support upgrade is being toned down a notch as well, with its heal being changed from a flat 120 to now scaling off 7% max health. Movement speed from Solstice is being changed as well, going from a flat 90 to now 30%. The movement speed duration is down from 4 to 3 seconds. Almost all melee supports have been running Solstice in recent patches, so they’ll be seeing a slight drop in power for 14.4.

Enchanter and Mage Support Changes

Even enchanters like Janna have been favoring Zac’s Realm Spike over Dream Maker in recent patches, so Riot’s nerfing Realm Spike to hopefully increase the priority of Dream Maker. The base damage is dropping, while the AP ratio and max health damage are being increased. The cooldown will be 1 second less early in the game. All your mage supports will be affected by these changes and have less bully power in lane, while certain enchanters like Janna, Karma, Seraphine, and Nami will be dropping in power as well.

Top Lane Adjustments

Let’s move on to covering the top lane changes now, as we’ve got Jayce lined up for a couple of buffs. Base AD is going up from 57 to 59. Melee W mana restore is being increased by five at all ranks, while W damage per tick is also going up by five at all ranks. Melee E will see a quality of life change to where it will be more consistent. Buffs are okay, but nothing that really stands out to propel Jayce significantly up the tier list. For now, we’ll be leaving Jayce in the top lane C-tier.

Another C-tier top laner from recent patches is buffed for 14.4, as we have some changes for Renekton. Q champion healing is going up, but only at the later ranks. E cooldown is being reduced, but once again, it’s just at the later ranks where it will be affected. Our bonus health is seeing a buff at all ranks, with it being more significantly buffed at max rank. Considering the Q and E buffs don’t help Renekton’s first few levels out at all, we don’t see these buffs going very far for a champion who’s more early game reliant.

Top Lane Tier List Adjustments

Like Jayce, we’ll be leaving Renekton down in the top lane C-tier for the time being.

These next set of buffs actually look pretty impactful, as Volibear will receive a few adjustments. The Q movement speed is going from 8% all the way up to 12% at rank one, E cooldown is dropping by 1 second, and R cooldown is being reduced by a whole 30 seconds at rank one. The one nerf being thrown in is to the turret disable duration of Volibear’s R, and it will be lowered by 1 second.

All in all, the straight-up skirmish power of Volibear becomes much more reliable moving forward, and especially with that R buff, you’ll be able to push your advantages much quicker than before. We’ve had Volibear in the top lane C-tier for a while, but he’s getting a considerable push out for 14.4, moving up into the top lane A-tier.

Illaoi and Fiora Adjustments

Riot overshot a little with the 14.3 Illaoi changes, so they’re circling back with some nerfs in 14.4. Tentacle damage is being changed so that the base damage is up, but the total AD ratio is dropping from 115% to 100%. This is a pretty substantial nerf, especially since it’s a total AD ratio and not a bonus AD ratio. Since Illaoi has been massively overperforming in 14.3, we’re going to leave her in the OP tier despite this nerf, but if the change ends up too harsh, we may have to adjust her further down the tier list for the mid-patch update.

Fiora is being targeted with a nerf for this patch, with her W attack speed slow being sliced in half, going from 50% to 25%. The nerfs will be more matchup dependent as to how much this will actually affect Fiora, but against champs like Jax, Tryndamere, or Trundle, she’s definitely going to become a bit weaker.

Item Changes Impacting Top Laners

Riot’s making a change to Hullbreaker this patch so that its stacking and bonus damage are changed from on-attack effects to on-hit effects. This will reduce the strength of Hullbreaker on Urgot most significantly, so we may see him shy away from rushing the item moving forward. However, Black Cleaver buffs this patch are actually great for Urgot, though, and he could just start rushing the item instead. So, we still think the champion will be in a great spot, and you’ll find Urgot in the top lane S-tier.

Kante’s Adjustments

A few buffs and a couple of nerfs are headed Kante’s way for this patch. Health is going up from 570 to 625, and base mana is being increased as well, from 290 to 320. W armor and magic resist ratio is seeing a boost, going from 50% to 85%.

All-out Q will no longer slow targets, all-out W will no longer have a faster cooldown or cast time, and dash speeds on E are also being nerfed, going from 1,700 to 900 for a normal dash and from 1,800 to 1,500 when dashing to an ally.

Overall, we’re leaning towards these being net positive changes for Kante, but not to an overwhelming extent. We can’t see these changes moving the needle enough to warrant a rise up the tier list for Kante, so he’s going to remain in the top lane B-tier.

Top Lane Tier List Dynamics

The top lane tier list is mainly going to be shaped by the indirect nerf to Lethal Tempo more so than the direct champion changes. The OP tier will now be locked down by three champions, as we have Illaoi, Garen, and Darius. With the Lethal Tempo nerf for this patch, it’s going to give an indirect rise to the likes of Garen and Darius, coupled with the fact that Stridebreaker is being buffed, and the priority of both champs will be on the rise.

It’s kind of weird that Riot just straight up nerfed Lethal Tempo like that when there was really only one Lethal Tempo top laner in a dominant spot. Trundle had been super strong for too long, so he’s moving down to the top lane A-tier, but champs like Jax, Tryndamere, and Yone really haven’t been excelling in recent patches, and they’ll only become weaker, especially with Frozen Heart in as broken a spot as it is.

Impact of Frozen Heart and Malphite

The priority on Malphite and his ability to just hard counter these auto-reliant top lane champs will become even more pronounced. Malphite players in 14.3 who rushed Frozen Heart were winning 55% of the time, and that number is only going to rise due to these Lethal Tempo nerfs.

Jungle Adjustments in Patch 14.4

There’s just one jungler being directly changed in 14.4, and it’s going to be Rek’Sai. Power is being shifted around a lot, but the changes are intended to be net buffs. Base health regen and health regen growth are both being reduced. Base movement speed is going up from 335 to 340. Fury generation against minions is being reduced by 50%, so that top lane Rek’Sai does not become a menace.

W unburrow damage is being reduced but only at the later ranks. W unburrow will now have an 80% AP ratio as well. Unburrowed E cooldown is dropping from 12 to 10 seconds. The base damage on unburrowed E is being removed, however, the total AD ratio is going from 75% to 100%, while you’ll now have max health scaling on the max Fury proc from E. Burrowed E cooldown is being lowered by a ton, going from 26 seconds down to 18 at rank one. Tunnel cooldown is also dropping from 10 to 6 seconds at rank one.

Rek’Sai’s Revamped Role and Rising Rank in Patch 14.4

Lastly, R bonus AD ratio is being reduced from 175% to 100%. So, overall, more strength being added onto Rek’Sai’s E while some damage is being taken off W and R. This should really enable Bruiser Rek’Sai to thrive a lot more, whereas any kind of glass cannon Rek’Sai, where you build lethality, won’t be viable anymore. The meta build in recent patches has had Rek’Sai rushing Ghostblade, but that likely changes for 14.4, especially with the Black Cleaver buff. The two-item core of Titanic Hydra and Black Cleaver is set to take over. As for Rek’Sai’s tier list placement, we expect the champion to be in a really strong spot throughout 14.4, so we’re moving her into the jungle S-tier.

Meta Shifts in Jungle and Mid Lane

The bigger meta shifts involve many junglers like running Lethal Tempo, so it’s going to be interesting to track just how impactful those nerfs pan out. With Terminus and Stridebreaker buffed in the same patch, it’s Bel’Veth’s time to take over the meta, and we’re bumping her into the OP tier.

Brier will be the other OP tier jungler, as she’s going to benefit from this patch as well with the Black Cleaver changes. Nocturne is getting a small nudge down the tier list for 14.4 as a result of the Lethal Tempo nerfs.

Even though the Lethal Tempo changes are nerfs early on, it will be interesting to see how they affect a jungler like Master Yi, who’s not a skirmish-heavy jungler in the early game. Could Lethal Tempo being buffed later on in the game actually be more beneficial for someone like him? It’s tough to say, but the severity of the Lethal Tempo changes are likely to drastically vary based on which champion you’re playing, especially for the lower ranks, where games tend to drag out and last longer.

Mid Lane Adjustments

Ahri has been one of the weaker mid-lane champions for the first couple of patches this season, so Riot has a few small buffs planned. Health growth is up from 96 to 104, and Q AP ratio is going from 45% to 50%. We feel like Ahri still needs one more impactful change to really solidify herself back in the meta as a top-tier mid-lane champion, so she’ll remain in the B tier despite these buffs. Aurelion Sol turned into the most broken champion in the game after his 14.3 buffs, so Riot has no choice but to pull back a little in 14.4. Q bonus magic damage is dropping by five at all ranks, and the AP ratio is down as well, going from 35% to 30%.

Impact of Changes on Mid Lane Tier List

At first glance, or if you aren’t super familiar with Aurelion Sol, five damage off Q may seem like a slap in the face kind of nerf. However, you have to realize this is five damage for each burst of Aurelion Sol’s Q. When Soul Q is active, you’re able to get multiple bursts off, so over an extended fight, you’re losing way more than just five damage. As a result of this nerf, we no longer see Aurelion Sol being the most broken mid-laner for solo queue, and we’ll be shifting him from OP into S tier.

So, with mid-lane changes covered, here’s how the mid-lane tier list is shaping out: Twisted Fate and Kassadin are taking control of the OP tier slot. Kassadin has been heavily indirectly buffed over the last two patches, with Archangels and Rod of Ages buffed in 14.3, and now with Archangels and Luden’s buffed for 14.4. Cassiopeia was even arguably an OP tier mid last patch, so we expect these changes to really push him over the top.

One other notable change to the mid-lane tier list is Yone dropping from A into B tier. Lethal Tempo nerfs will hurt.

Mid-Lane and ADC Meta Developments in Patch 14.4

The early game kill threat of Yone is significantly impacted, as losing attack speed for Yone is actually even more detrimental than for other champions. This is because it’s not just attack speed he’s losing, but a longer cooldown on Q as well. Other than that, there’s nothing really too impactful going on with the midlane meta in 14.4, so you can expect things to remain pretty similar to how they were in 14.3.

Kai’Sa’s Adjustment

Just one ADC being buffed for this patch, and no surprise to see it being Kai’Sa. Kai’Sa has held one of the lowest win rates for any ADC in recent patches, so Riot’s giving her a small boost to her early game with the range of her R being increased from 1500 to 2,000. It’s an alright buff, but it’s not something that’s even going to influence the strength of Kai’Sa in all of your games. Our buff is not enough to move the needle in our eyes, so Kai’Sa is going to remain down in the ADC C-tier for another patch.

Kalista and Varus Adjustments

A nerf to Kalista is being issued for this patch due to her heavy presence in the pro scene right now. E base damage will be dropping by 10 at all ranks. There’s a bug fix being patched as well, as boots of speed will now properly affect passive dash distance. We don’t really see these changes doing a whole lot in shifting Kalista’s solo Q strength, so you’ll find her in the B-tier once again. A very simple nerf is being issued to Varus, with his base AD dropping from 62 to 60. Similar to the previous ADC changes, just nothing that significant, so we see no reason at all to shift Varus anywhere on the tier list.

Smolder’s Adjustments

The last ADC being changed for this patch is Smolder. The number of Q missiles while at 125 stacks is being reduced from 2 plus 1% Dragon Practice stacks to 1 plus 1.5% Dragon Practice stacks. W cooldown is being adjusted, with the spell being weaker early on but buffed later.

W base damage is lower early on but higher at max rank. W AD ratio is being changed from a total AD ratio to a bonus AD ratio, which is a nerf. W AP ratio is down as well, from 35% to 20%. W explosion damage will now have a bonus AD ratio, and the AP ratio is going up from 65% to 80%.

Overall, the main theme of these changes is to chop off some of Smolder’s early game strength so that he’s more punishable early on and doesn’t just get to scale into a monster for free. The changes should negatively affect Smolder slightly; however, we don’t see the nerfs being enough to warrant a push down the tier list.

ADC and Support Tier List Updates

So, we’re going to be leaving Smolder in the ADC S tier. For the ADC tier list, we’ve got some very clear-cut winners taking over the meta right now. As if Bay wasn’t already strong enough, she indirectly benefits from the Terminus buffs, so she’s only becoming even better in 14.4. Twisted Fate has been the big talking point in the ADC role over the past patch, even being pulled out in the pro scene, and we’re giving him a push into OP for 14.4.

Usually, when the play rate of a champion rises, you’ll see a slight dip in the champion’s win rate due to more inexperienced players picking up that champion. But with TF, it’s been the opposite. Twisted Fate’s play rate and win rate have both continued to rise, which is a big indicator of the champion being extremely powerful.

Agency is a word you hear thrown around quite a lot when talking about the strength of a champion for solo queue, and TF just has way more agency than most traditional ADCs. You can set up ganks better than most and have better map impact than most while still being able to output a ton of damage.

Support Champion Buffs

Three support champions will receive buffs in 14.4, and first up, we have Lulu. Lulu’s Q double-hit damage is being increased from 25% to 50%, which actually adds a significant amount of damage to the spell. E damage is going up but at the later ranks only, as it’s being increased from 240 to 260 at max rank. E shield gets a small boost as well, with it going up by five at rank one and then by 25 at max rank. Definitely not changes that will suddenly push Lulu back to the top of the solo queue meta, but we see them being enough to warrant a push out of C tier and into B.

More Support Updates

The second enchantress who will be buffed for 14.4 is Soraka. Passive movement speed is going up from 70% to 90%. Q heal will be increased by 10 at all ranks. R cooldown is buffed as well, with 10 seconds being shaved off at all ranks. Some pretty nice Soraka buffs here, nothing too over the top, but Soraka will be sitting in a solid A tier position for this patch. Thresh has been underperforming quite heavily in recent patches, so Riot’s looking to help him out. Armor is being increased from 28 to 31. E damage is going up but at the later ranks only. Most low ELO players max E last, so this change might not have a significant impact on Thresh’s performance in those ranks.

Support Tier List Shifts in Patch 14.4

Out their E max on Thresh, so this buff should end up being more low ELO skewed and not as impactful for high ELO where players like to max W second. R cooldown is buffed quite significantly with 20 seconds taken off at all ranks. Riot’s been very conservative with their changes in 14.4, so once again, these buffs won’t be enough to push Thresh back to the top of the meta, but he will be moving up one tier, going from B into A.

Bard’s Adjustments

Bard is going to be hit pretty hard in 14.4, as he’s being directly nerfed and then also negatively affected by the Bloodsong nerf. There’s just a lot less damage coming out of Bard, as passive base damage per five Chimes is going down from 14 to 10. The AP ratio, however, is up from 30% to 40% to try and incentivize more offensive builds instead of tank. Q is being changed in a similar way, as the base damage is dropping but the AP ratio is up. So, a nerf to tank Bard but not as bad of a change if you’re playing him with an early Imperial Mandate.

Further Bard and Maai Changes

A few base stat changes are being thrown in as well, with armor growth going from 5.2 to 5. The lone buff among all these changes is to Bard’s attack speed, being increased from 0.625 to 0.658. So overall, these changes significantly nerf the strength of Frozen Heart and Titanic Hydra on Bard, with much less damage coming out of him for 14.4, and we’ll have to see how players adapt to this with their builds. Regardless of what new builds pop up, Bard is most definitely weaker for this patch and will be dropping him down into the support A-tier.

Maai’s Continued Dominance

Riot completely missed the mark with the 14.3 nerfs to Maai, so they have another round ready for us in 14.4. Armor is going from 39 to 35, Q damage is being reduced by five at all ranks, and root duration is also being lowered slightly. To be completely honest, we just don’t see this being enough to remove Maai from the top of the support meta. Keep in mind the champion has had a 55% win rate throughout 14.3, and at the very most, we can see these nerfs dropping that by 2%. A 2% drop, though, still has Maai at 53%, which is higher than all.

Support Tier List and Champion Adjustments

Other supports in the game are still outclassed, so we’ll be leaving Maai in the OP tier despite these nerfs. Another support we’ve had rated very highly in recent patches, Zyra, will be nerfed. Plant damage is being lowered, going from 20 scaling to 88, to 16 scaling to 84. Zyra jungle will actually be buffed, though, with bonus monster damage being increased from 40 to 60 early on. Definitely not the end for Zyra support, so she’ll be sticking around in the S tier for the time being.

Impact of Support Item Upgrades and Meta Predictions

With all of the nerfs to the support item upgrades for this patch, we’ll have to see how impactful that turns out as the patch hits live servers. In theory, melee supports and mage supports should be getting slightly weaker, while enchanters are on the rise. But it’s tough to say if the changes will really be enough to sway the meta and actually cause melee supports to drop in priority. All in all, though, other than Bard dropping down and losing priority, not much else changes in the grand scheme of things for the support meta.

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