League of Legends 12.2 Patch Notes

The new League of Legends 12.2 Patch Notes address many of the frustrating meta issues, while adding in a new playable character to the roster. Zeri, the Spark of Zaun, will zip, zap and zoom across the Summoner’s Rift on January 20. In addition, mini reworks for Janna and Tahm Kench are finally being implemented into the game. There’s a lot in these League of Legends 12.2 Patch Notes, so get comfortable for a pretty long read. And without much further ado, here are all the League of Legends 12.2 Patch Notes.

[Related: What is the Udyr Rework Release Date]

New Champion

Zeri

On January 20, Zeri joins Summoners Rift. As was already known, Zeri will be a bot lane champion of the ad carry classification. With a very unique playstyle, the green-haired vigilante will be an excellent addition to the game.

Click here for an abilities run down.

Champion Balance

Buffs

Nocturne

Base Stats

• Health Growth :: 85 -> 95

Q – Duskbringer

• Bonus AD Ratio :: 75% -> 85%

Nocturne has honestly been pretty trash as of late. The balance patch increased his base stats, with more health and bonus AD scaling. Though miniscule, this should at least help him scale more efficiently into the game. Don’t expect this buff to be enough to make Nocturne super relevant.

Rengar

R – Thrill of the Hunt

• [NEW] HIDE AND LEAP :: Innate – Rengar can leap to enemies with his next basic attack when he is in camouflage

As a primary jungler, this battle kitty has been suffering on the Chemtech Rift.  Because the Chemtech provides camouflage, while decreasing the total amount of bushes, Rengar hasn’t been able to perform his signature hops as often. Rengar has certainly gotten the worst of it as so much of his power budget is dedicated to his passive’s interaction with brush. But note that this affects only his passive on his R, rather than just his base passive. 

Samira

R – Inferno Trigger

• Physical Damage per Shot :: 0/10/20 (+50% AD) -> 5/15/25 (+50% AD)
• Total Damage per Target :: 0/100/200 (+500% AD) -> 50/150/250 (+500% AD)

Riot definitely wants Samira to become relevant, since buffing Samira’s R is almost asking for some trouble. This particular marksman relied heavily on Shieldbow to perform her primary functions. But with Immortal Shieldbow receiving substantial nerfs, Samira really felt the brunt of the blow. The champion wasn’t even strong before the Shieldbow nerfs.

Senna

Q – Absolution

• [NEW] LOW VISIBILITY :: Innate – Senna’s basic attacks now slow enemies by 20% (+6% per 100 AP) (+10% per 100 bonus AD) for 2 seconds

Ever since the old Glacial Augment rune was reworked, Senna definitely fell off. This change adds utility to Senna’s current weak kit. Adding slows her to basic attacks without the necessity of a rune will be great for Senna. But since the slow only occurs after she uses Absolution, it’s hard to tell how strong the champion will truly. Keep an eye on this champion.

Tristana

Base Stats

• Base Health :: 559 -> 600
• Base Health Regeneration :: 3.75 -> 4

The poor yordle marksman has been in a pretty bad state. But the thing about Tristana is that if buffed too hard, she’ll just take over the game. So the changes seem to target her base health stats, to increase her sturdiness instead of increasing her damage. This simply means Tristana won’t be punished as hard for committing to plays.

Veigar

[s] Q cooldown decreased; stacks from large monsters and minions increased.

[c] The tiny master of evil has been less threatening than usual as of late. We’re upping the rate on his <em>Phenomenal Evil</em> stacks so that he can stand above his competitors in the mid lane. (Figuratively speaking, at least.)

Q – Baleful Strike

• Cooldown :: 7/6.5/6/5.5/5 seconds -> 6/5.5/5/4.5/4 seconds

Stacks Granted Upon Killing Large Monsters and Minions :: 2 -> 3

Decreasing Baleful Strike cooldown is actually pretty big for Veigar. In addition, with more scaling from killing monsters, Veigar will be able to perform its late game monstrous plays more efficiently. Early game, this barely impacts the yordle. But definitely keep an eye on the scaling carry during the late.

Volibear

Base Stats

• Attack Damage Growth :: 3 -> 3.5

E – Sky Splitter

• Cooldown :: 15 seconds -> 13 seconds

The scary, humogous bear is not so big in the meta. All stats and general play experiences on the champion show him to be performing below acceptable levels, very much warranting the need of some buffs. But it seems Riot is pretty cautious when tuning Voli.

Yasuo

Q – Steel Tempest

• Damage :: 20/45/70/95/120 (+100% AD) -> 20/45/70/95/120 (+105% AD)

The Immortal Shieldbow nerfs left Yasuo quite sad. As one of the samurai’s main items to sustain, the pick has been left in a pretty terrible state. The increase in Q damage scaling is still a pretty minimal nerf, so don’t expect Yasuo to be all that powerful.

Yone

Q – Mortal Steel

• Damage :: 20/40/60/80/100 (+100% AD) -> 20/40/60/80/100 (+105% AD)

This is literally the same buff as Yasuo.

Nerfs

Lulu

W – Whimsy

• Cooldown :: 16/15/14/13/12 seconds -> 17/16/15/14/13 seconds

Lulu deserves more nerfs. Considering how strong Lulu is, this nerf to Whimsy barely impacts her play. With her base stats being as high as they are, and with her synergy with itemization, Lulu will very much still remain powerful. Expect more nerfs in the future, as Riot slowly but surely come to their senses.

Qiyana

Base Stats

• Base Health Regeneration :: 7.5 -> 6

Q – Edge of Ixtal

• Grass Trail Zone Duration :: 3.5 seconds -> 3 seconds

Qiayana was in an overbearing state of play. Capable of bursting just about anyone upon popping out of invisibility, this nerf targets punishing her when misplayed and forcing Qiyana players to time their abilities for effectively.

Shen

Q – Twilight Assault

• Increased Bonus Damage :: 10-40 (+6 every 3 levels) (+5/5.5/6/6.5/7% (+2% per 100 AP) of target’s max health) -> 10-40 (+6 every 3 levels) (+4/4.5/5/5.5/6% (+2% per 100 AP) of target’s max health)

This nerfs targets Shen’s dueling potential. His biggest strength is his global map pressure, so Riot wants to continue to promote his strengths while highlighting Shen’s more notable weakness. In other words, try to stomp Shen in lane before the ninja roams the map, and takes over the game.

Talon

W – Rake

• Damage Against Monsters :: 130% -> 105%

This is a massive nerf targeted towards Talon jungle. Considering the pick was in a very unhealthy state of power, the nerf is well warranted. With slower clear speeds, the jungle Talon pick pretty much falls out of relevance. Riot stated that they want players to consider harder when picking the jungle Talon pick. But in actuality, this should just absolutely destroy the pick’s viability. Which is a good thing, considering how annoying Talon is to deal with.

Zed

R – Death Mark

• Damage :: 100% AD (+25/40/55% of damage dealt against marked target) -> 65% AD (+25/40/55% of damage dealt against marked target)

As Zed’s signature way of dealing damage, this particular nerf guts Zed’s burst damage potential in his ultimate. Riot clearly understands that the pick has been in too good of a position, and want to deal with it accordingly.

Mini-Reworks

[UPD] Janna

Base Stats

• Move Speed :: 315 -> 330
• Base AD :: 46-71.5  -> 52-103
• AD Growth :: 1.5 -> 3
• Basic Attack Range :: 550 -> 500

Passive – Tailwind

• [UPD] TAILWIND :: Janna gains 8% bonus move speed only while moving toward allied champions. (Bonus move speed for allied champions moving towards Janna unchanged.)
• [REM] FAST & FURIOUS  :: Janna’s basic attacks and W – Zephyr no longer deal bonus magic damage based on her bonus move speed

Q – Howling Gale

• Cost :: 60/90/100/120/140 mana -> 60/70/80/90/100 mana
• Minimum Range :: 1000 -> 1100
• Maximum Range :: 1750 -> 1760
• Time to Destination :: 1.5 seconds -> 1.25 seconds

W – Zephyr

• Range :: 550 (from edge to edge) -> 650 (centered)
• Slow Duration :: 2 seconds -> 3 seconds
• Cooldown :: 8/7.5/7/6.5/6 seconds -> 12 seconds at all ranks
• Base Damage :: 55/85/115/145/175 -> 70/100/130/160/190
• Bonus Move Speed :: 6/7/8/9/10% -> 8/9/10/11/12%

E – Eye of the Storm

• [UPD] A FRIENDLY FORECAST :: Innate – Whenever Janna’s abilities slow or knock up at least one enemy champion, Eye of the Storm‘s cooldown is reduced by 20% she receives +20% heal and shield power for 5 seconds
• Shield :: 80/115/150/185/220 (+70% AP) -> 80/110/140/170/200 (+65% AP)
• Cooldown :: 16/15/14/13/12 seconds -> 15/13.5/12/10.5/9 seconds
• Shield Decay Starts After :: 0.75 seconds -> 1.25 seconds

R – Monsoon

• Healing Tick Rate :: 0.5 seconds -> 0.25 seconds (total heal amount unchanged) 

What this rework essentially does it allow Janna’s skill to create a higher impact in game. At the current moment, it feels almost as if Janna floats around doing nothing. The plays she creates seem quite minimal, not to say she’s that terrible of a champion, but Janna definitely seems way too dependent on her teammates. Though she will still rely on her allies, her moves as a whole have longer range, allowing her perform her main functions as a support from far away. In particular, Riot believes Janna’s ally shielding and peel are what makes her appealing to enchanter players, so they’ve shifted some power from her W and poke damage into buffs to her Es and Qs.

[UPD] Tahm Kench

Q – Tongue Lash

Enemy Slow :: 40% -> 50%

E – Thick Skin

• Amount of Damage Stored into Grey Health :: 45/50/55/60/65% -> 15/25/35/45/55%, increased to 45/50/55/60/65% if there are 2 or more visible enemy champions nearby (dead or alive)
• Amount of Healing Restored from Grey Health :: 30-100% (levels 1-18) -> 45-100% (levels 1-18)

R – Devour

• Ally Shield Upon Devour :: 400/500/600 (+100% AP) -> 500/700/900 (+150% AP)
• Move Speed Upon Devouring Ally :: Slows Tahm Kench by 30/20/10% while ally is swallowed -> Grants Tahm Kench 40% move speed for 3 seconds (regardless of swallow duration)

Riot did a mini-rework of Tahm Kench back in 11.13 because his old kit held huge advantages in highly coordinated team play. Their goal back then was to lower his priority in Pro pick/ban while putting him in a place where he could have a fun playstyle, as well as reasonable winrates in both of his roles. 

The rework is looking pretty good so far in terms of Pro play as he doesn’t have nearly as much priority there as he used to. When it comes to his winrates, the rework didn’t dramatically affect the difference between his support versus top capabilities, but it did highlight the gap. This left support Tahm Kench players feeling like the catfish was no longer viable in their role. Now that Riot had some time to observe all of these effects together, they’re willing to take a riskier swing to buff support Kench while nerfing his top lane capabilities to keep him in check up there.

Items

Lich Bane

Build Path :: Blasting Wand + Aether Wisp + Sheen + 600g -> Fiendish Codex + Aether Wisp + Sheen + 550g (total cost unchanged)

• Ability Haste :: 0 >>> 15
• Spellblade Damage :: 150% base AD (+40% AP) >>> 75% base AD (+50% AP)
• Spellblade Cooldown :: 2.5 seconds >>> 1.5 seconds

At the start of Season 2021, Riot revamped Lich Bane to broaden its user base by removing its ability haste and increasing Spellblade‘s damage and cooldown. These changes made it very powerful as a burst tool, but that burst also got a few nerfs throughout the year. As a result, Lich Bane was left feeling pretty underwhelming for its core users, so they’re partially restoring it to a healthier state.

Rylai’s Crystal Scepter

• Total Cost :: 3000 gold -> 2600 gold
• Combine Cost :: 815 gold -> 415 gold
• Ability Power :: 90 -> 75
• Health :: 350 -> 400

Rylai’s has been struggling to find its place in the last couple of seasons because it’s been trying  to serve tanky battlemages, burn mages, and AP supports alike all at once. They’re focusing on its purpose as a utility item by lowering its cost and increasing its health to make it more accessible to tankier midrange mages and supports.

Jungle

Chemtech Drake

Chemtech Dragon Soul

• Zombie Health :: 80% base health + 50% bonus health -> 70% base health + 40% bonus health
• Zombie Duration (Without Other Health Impacting Factors) :: 4 seconds -> 3 seconds

The Chemtech Dragon Soul is still significantly overperforming compared to other dragon soul buffs. Riot is nerfing the undeads’ health and, uh, longevity. Expected lifetime? Active duration?

Chemtech Rift

• Offensive Action Camouflage Timer :: 1.5 seconds -> 2.5 seconds
• Bonus Damage Vs Enemies with More Current Health :: Up to 10% -> Up to 12%

The Chemtech Rift is also impacting games a bit more than intended, so they’re doing some fine tuning. At launch, champions instantly entered camouflage when they entered the fog. In 11.24, Riot made the camouflage timer check for any offensive moves in the last 1.5 seconds upon entering the fog as well. The only change to the camouflage mechanics this patch is an increase to that timer.

Hextech Drake

Hextech Dragon Soul

Chain Lightning True Damage :: 25-75 (based on attacker’s level, 1-18) >>> 25-50 (based on attacker’s level, 1-18)

Hextech Dragon Soul is also overperforming compared to other soul effects, though not to the same degree as Chemtech.

Runes

Lethal Tempo

• Attack Speed per Stack (Melee) :: 13% -> 10-15% (levels 1-15)
• Attack Speed per Stack (Ranged) :: 7% -> 5-9% (levels 1-12)

Lethal Tempo’s power is skewed a little too much toward early game right now, making it especially cheese for melee champions. They’re adjusting it to be weaker early on and letting it scale instead. This is honestly a really cool decision.

ARURF is Back!

• ARURF First Strike Cooldown :: 25-15 seconds (levels 1-18) >>> 15-9 seconds (levels 1-18)
• ARURF Glacial Augment Cooldown :: 25 seconds >>> 15 seconds

Ring in the Lunar New Year with ARURF starting on January 26! (That’s the All Random Ultra Rapid Fire game mode for those new around these parts.) Beyond the normal ARURF, Riot Games added a flipper full of changes to a couple of runes and a few surprises to the Awesome Buff of Awesomely Awesome Buffing’s tooltip.

VFX Updates

Sona

• Base Sona :: Complete overhaul
• Muse Sona :: Minor details added to new base
• Pentakill Sona :: Same as new base
• Silent Night Sona :: Recolored from new base
• Guqin Sona :: Minor details added to new base
• Arcade Sona :: Complete overhaul
• DJ Sona :: Complete overhaul and additional special celebration effects for each passive aura
• Sweetheart Sona :: Same as new base, plus some cleanup
• Odyssey Sona :: Minimal tweaks
• Pentakill III: Lost Chapter Sona :: Minimal tweaks

Vayne

• Base Vayne :: Complete overhaul
• Dragonslayer Vayne :: Recolored from base with added smoke and flames
• Heartseeker Vayne :: Recolored from base with heart in W decal
• SKT T1 :: Same as new base, different missiles to match model
• Arclight Vayne :: Recolored from base with more golden, divine sparks

Bugfixes & QoL Changes

• Fixed a bug where Teleport could sometimes still target certain units other than towers before 14 minutes
• Fixed a bug where Unleashed Teleport would permanently replace one of your Summoner Spells if acquired and used via the Unsealed Spellbook rune
• Champions will now correctly drop Unleashed Teleport spell shards if used after 14 minutes into a game with Zoe
• Fixed a bug where Yone could sometimes cast Unleashed Teleport while his E – Soul Unbound was active
• The exclamation point stealth indicator has been fixed and will correctly reappear above your champion if you are visible to an enemy inside the Chemtech Fog after completing certain stealthing abilities (such as Akali’s W – Twilight Shroud)
• Fixed a bug where towers would incorrectly target enemy champions who took damage from Kog’Maw’s Passive – Icathian Surprise or Karthus’s Passive – Death Defied
• Rengar’s Passive – Unseen Predator leap basic attacks will correctly trigger Navori Quickblades’ Deft Strikes effect
• Fixed a bug where taking damage from certain jungle monsters would sometimes incorrectly grant stacks toward Force of Nature’s Absorb passive
• Fixed a bug where triggering Glacial Augment’s passive would incorrectly count toward triggering Eclipse’s Ever Rising Moon passive
• Fixed a bug where Mythic or active item icon borders would sometimes appear in incorrect locations. (Ahh, yes, the mysterious orange squares…)
• Enemy player chat and emote mute toggle buttons have been fixed and will no longer overlap with other icons in the scoreboard
• DJ Sona and K/DA Seraphine’s in-game music mute toggle buttons have been fixed and will display correctly next to their champion icon in the scoreboard every game
• Chat restriction notifications have been fixed and will once again inform players how many messages they have left in their limit

 In Conclusion

That’s all for the League of Legends Patch 12.2 Patch Notes! Compared to the previous small patch of 12.1, this is pretty huge. From multiple champion balance changes, some mini reworks, a brand new playable character, and even the return of ARURF, it’s about to a fun two weeks on Summoner’s Rift. These changes show that Riot is ramping back up, committing to making the new jungle changes work properly.

There are also separate skins and chromas releasing in the League of Legends Patch 12.2 Patch notes. Check out the official League of Legends webpage to see them.

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