Welcome to the first patch of the new season, patch 12.1!
You can find all the changes here, but let’s discuss how these changes are going to affect the game.
Diana
Passive AP ratio and monster damage ratio increased
In Patch 11.8, Riot monitored League and came up with a conclusion that the current meta did not have enough junglers, which was accurate!
To fix this, Diana was one of the champions that her jungle damage got buffed. After a while, in Patch 11.16, her jungle damage was nerfed because she was played many times in pro-play as a jungler.
Finally, at patch 12.1, Diana is buffed again like in Patch 11.8. Diana is always a solid jungle pick as long as her ‘numbers’ are good enough. With this buff, I am sure that we will see more of her in both pro-arena and soloqueue.
Champion Changes
Gangplank
Q mana cost and cooldown decreased
Gangplank has always been one of the strongest champions when you hit late game but many players miss that he is also very strong at level 1 when he can spam Q to his opponent without taking much damage.
Both buffs will make him stronger at early game and I recommend keeping an eye on him to see how stronger he might become.
Rek’Sai
E ability base damage decreased; and the cooldown got increased.
Rek’Sai was a dominant jungler especially in Korean server with his new leveling-up pattern.
Players in solo-queue first maxed E instead of Q and by that, Rek’Sai became more like an assassin instead of a fighter with high true damage.
The nerf on his tunnel cooldown is not that relevant but, the AD nerf will limit his damage outcome and his place at the meta for sure.
Sona
Armor growth reduced. E cooldown increased.
Sona is one of the most popular support picks in the game since enchanters became more popular than tanky supports like Alistar or Rell.
Even though she is weaker in early game, her overall power level made her a viable pick for the role.
With these nerfs, especially her late game takes a big hit and probably you should look for other enchanters instead of her.
Item Changes
Eclipse
Q mana cost and cooldown decreased
Eclipse was a great item for many melee champions (or even Draven) and his buff at Patch 11.23 was an overkill as Riot acknowledged.
With this nerf the item is still viable but not as OP as it used to be.
Force Of Nature
Absorb stack duration increased, magic damage reduction ratio increased
Even though tanks (and adcs) are not in a great position in the meta right now, Force of Nature is still a good and valid tank item.
20% magic damage reduction was a solid feature, making this %25 will make this item even better.
Too bad there is no place for tanks in the meta right now.
Immortal Shieldbow
AD and lifeline shield decreased
Immortal Shieldbow is a perfect fit for many champions like Yone, Yasuo, or even Vayne.
We can argue on if this item needed a nerf or not but especially the nerf on lifeline shield will make these picks weaker than they used to be.
Wit’s End
Build Path Changed, magic resist decreased.
The defensive and offensive options Wit’s End provides are almost unique so it was one of the most OP ‘situational’ items in the game.
With the changes, this item will provide less magic resist, but it is still a reliable item.
Summoner Spell Changes
Teleport
CD changed, can only be used on an allied tower for the first 14 minutes
Well, this is interesting.
Especially in pro-play we always see 5v5 fights at min 5-6 with all solo laners joining the party with teleports.
Starting from season 12, this is no longer the case.
I believe this will change pro-play a lot than it seems and solo laners even try to pick ignite, exhaust … instead of teleport to increase their lane domination at the early game.
This is hard to guess but, well, let’s wait a couple of days more till pro leagues start!
Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed this article.
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