League of Legends Patch 13.3 recap

Patch 13.3 is bringing major changes all over the map. The newly reworked Aurelion Sol is finally playable on live servers. The third patch of the season also brought the Ahri ASU. Her Art & Sustainability update gives her base model a much-needed breath of fresh air, which also translates to her many skins. 

Patch 13.3 Champion nerfs

Riot Games is still reeling from the cyber attack they suffered recently. This resulted in the current patch being pushed back by a day. But given how many major changes patch 13,1 B brought, it’s surprising to see so few nerfs on this patch. We can only guess that they are letting the meta shape itself, without too much input.

One simple and old champion that found major success with a minor change was Amumu. Late in season 12, Riot Games gave him 2 charges on his Q ability. This catapulted the sad mummy in the support meta at Worlds 2022. But it also made him a better jungler. Now they are hitting both roles at the same time. His Q ability will now cost 5 more mana at every level. Meanwhile, his E ability will do 15 to 5 less damage at early levels, while maintaining pace later on.

Patch 13.3 K’Sante nerfs

If you were watching the 2023 LEC Winter Split, you would know how dominant K’sante has been. Currently, the latest addition to the game has too much crowd control that lasts too long. That’s why Riot Games are reducing the knock-up and stun duration on the third cast of his Q ability. The knock-up will now last 0,65 seconds instead of the flat 1, and the stun is lowered to 1 second from 1,25. This builds upon the minimal stun nerf he is also receiving on his W ability. It went from 0,35- 0,75 seconds to 0,3-0,5 scaling gradually now.

 K’sante has also been super tanky in many scenarios where other tanks wouldn’t survive. That’s why he will now receive 108 health growth per level instead of the previous 114. His ultimate ability will now strip him of more resistance to compensate for the high-flying acrobatics. It used to lower his bonus resistances by 65% but that number now will be 85%.

Kassadin and Zac nerfs

Riot Games continues to spy on our recommendations and keep nerfing those champions. Our in depth Kassadin guide explained how to abuse the buffed Rod of Ages item properly. But after nerfing him during the previous patch, Riot Games are back at it again. His E ability is taking another nerf, this time having its base damage lowered in the early levels. The cooldown decrease it received from nearby spell casts has also been lowered, from 1 second to 0,75. His infamous ultimate ability will now also do 10 less damage at every point in the game. The bonus damage it received from each cast was also lowered by 5, making his road to the late game a bit harder. 

Zac is another outlier that has dominated many roles outside of his native one. He is one of the best junglers in the game, but he has also seen success in other roles. We saw Caps play him in the mid-lane in the LEC. But he has also been a great support and has always fared well in the top lane. That’s why his W ability will now do 1% less damage per 100 ability power, making AP Zac a lot less powerful. His E ability which allows him to make spectacular engages will now do 20 less flat damage later on and will scale more poorly with ability power. It seems that Protobelt Zac might stay in the ARAM mode for now. 

Patch 13.3 Champion buffs

Jarvan’s W ability has been the laughingstock of League for quite some time. Riot has refused to buff because it could warp professional play, but after the durability update, Jarvan has been even worse. His base stats are getting buffed, as he will start the game with 36 instead of the previous 34. His W ability will have its cooldown lowered by a second, going from 9 to 8, but it will also last one second less, going from 5 to 4 seconds.

The major thing here is the shield size buff, which is now larger by 80% of Jarvan’s bonus attack damage.  Kayle is receiving two small buffs, with her passive giving her a 10% movement speed boost instead of the previous 8%. The second buff is to her E ability, giving her more damage equal to 5% of her total ability power. This might sound like a lot but it makes her scary late game even more lethal. 

Patch 13.3 Annie mini rework

Annie didn’t receive as much attention as Aurelion Sol, but these changes should definitely make her feel stronger. She will now spawn with her passive fully stacked. Not only would this improve her early laning, but it would also open opportunities for early invades. Her E ability will now shield for 20 health more on early levels. But the shield also scales much better with ability power as the game goes on, going from 35% to 55% of her total ability power. A new Retaliation mechanic was also added to her E ability. 

Suppose anyone damages Annie or Tibbers with basic attacks or spells while being shielded. In that case, the shield will return 30-90 per level and 40% of Annie’s total ability power as damage to the attacker. Her ultimate ability called Tibbers is also undergoing a few quality of life changes. The bear will now have more health, equal to 75% of Annie’s ability power. The resistances are also increased by 5% of her total AP and the movement speed will scale up to 400, instead of the previous 350 at all ranks. 

Assassin buffs on patch 13.3

Kayn and other assassins have struggled to find success during the current meta. With the jungle changes that happened during this preseason, farming junglers like Kayn have struggled even harder. Blue Kayn is receiving 5% more damage on his passive once he transforms, while his Q ability is getting 15% of his bonus attack damage as a direct damage buff. This only applies to Blue Kayn and not Red.

Riot has always been careful when balancing LeBlanc, given how dominant she can be in competitive play. Now that we haven’t seen her in quite some time, they are ready to make her life easier. She will now regenerate 8 mana per second instead of the previous 6, and that number will grow by 1 with each level instead of the previous 0,8. Her Q ability will now cost 50 mana at all ranks, instead of scaling up to 70 mana . Her ultimate ability is also having its cooldown lowered on the first two levels, going from 60 and 45 to 50 and 40. 

Trundle and Lee Sin buffs 

Trundle has been the natural counter to tanks but after dominating the 2022 meta, Riot Games have taken him down. On patch 13,3 his W ability is having 2 seconds of its cooldown removed at all ranks, making his skirmishing potential much more potent. Lee Sin’s Q ability is also getting a 10% damage buff, going from 100% of his bonus AD to 110%. This will be a direct buff to Lee Sin at every level and especially when he builds lethality. His E ability will now slow for 20% more at maximum rank, going from 60 to 80%. The big kicker here is the damage buff on it, going from 100-220 (+100% bonus AD) to 35-155 (+100% total AD). Changing the damage multiplier from bonus to total AD will increase Lee Sin’s damage at every point of the game. 

Patch 13.3 Support tank buffs

Ever since the durability update, tanks have taken over the top lane and jungle. But this has pushed them out of the support role, making room for more enchanters. This means that tank supports need help finding value, even when they make the correct plays and engages. Here is how Riot plans on fixing that.

Patch 13.3 Alistar changes

They are doing away with the numbers on the heal Alistar’s passive provides. It will now heal himself for 5% of his maximum health and heal his allies for 6% of his maximum health. His Q ability will now cost 5 less mana at all ranks but will do more damage equal to 70% of his total ability power. His W ability is also receiving the same treatment but with different numbers. Instead of 5, his W ability will now cost 15 less mana at all levels. Meanwhile, the damage is increased equal to 90% of his total AP. His E ability will also cost 5-10 less mana at higher ranks and will do more damage equal to 70% of his total ability power. 

Patch 13.3 Braum adjustments

Braum is another legendary tank in the support role, who has struggled to find his footing in season 13. The cooldown on his passive will now scale down on levels 1,6, and 11 instead of the previous 1,7, and 13. The cooldown on his Q ability is getting reduced by 2-0,5 second at early ranks while keeping the 6 second cooldown at max rank. His W ability however is receiving the biggest buff, which could push Braum in competitive play. Not only does this ability block damage and spells that are projectiles, but it also gives bonus resitances. The numbers are being doubled at early ranks, and rise steadily to max rank. Going from 10/14/18/22/26  to 20/25/30/35/40 armor and magic resist per rank, means we might see a lot more Braum in the following weeks. 

Hook supports buffed on patch 13.3 

Nautilus is receiving a small flat damage buff on his passive, but it will still stun for the same period. His W ability will now cost 60 mana instead of the previous 80 at all ranks. But it will also shield Nautilus for 10 more damage at every rank. His E ability is receiving a 5 to 20 flat damage buff at higher ranks, but the major x factor here is the AP ratio. Going from 30 to 50% of his total ability power means that we might see AP Nautilus back in the jungle with an improved clear speed. Pyke’s E ability will now do 10 to 40 more damage at higher ranks but it will still stun for the same period.

Rakan and Thresh are also getting some major buffs, which should be evened out by some other adjustments. Rakan’s Q ability will have its cooldown lowered by 1 second at all ranks, the mana cost is reduced by 15, and the base heal it gives is increased by 100 health. To compensate, his W ability is losing 5 to 20 flat damage at all ranks but will scale better with ability power. Thresh’s hook will now do 5 to 20 more as flat damage and 80% of his total ability power as additional damage. But his W ability will now shield for less damage per soul collected, going from 2 to 1,5. 

Patch 13.3 Item and System adjustments 

Radiant Virtue might not gather as much hype as the other new mythic items for tanks, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad item. Professional play has seen the item being built in multiple roles. Most of the value was tied to the healing passive and the cooldown it used to give to all nearby teammates. That’s why Riot Games are increasing the cooldown from 60 to 90 seconds. They are decreasing healing from 8-16% of maximum health over 9 seconds to a flat 12% over the same period. The passive that gave 20 Ability haste to all allies within a 1200 radius has also been removed. 

Umbral Glaive and Overheal buffs on patch 13.3 

The buffs to Umbral Glaive towards the end of season 12, made the item one of the best early options for lethality users. Not only is it cost-effective, but it also holds a powerful passive. Killing wards with one auto attack and revealing them every 40 seconds was major. choked out most of the vision the enemy team had placed. The resurgence of ADC supports only made this worse, so Riot is taking a few measures. The cooldown on the item is getting increased to 50 seconds. Ranged champions will now also need 2 auto attacks to kill the revealed ward. This passive will no longer apply to traps such as Jhin’s or Nidale’s, but it will still reveal them.

Overheal is a rune many ADC players love using, but the meta has made Presence of Mind irreplaceable. Riot tried to reverse this trend by buffing the mana pools of multiple ADC champions on patch 13,1 B. Now that these champions don’t need to rely on PoM, they are making Overheal better. Instead of the shield being 10 + 9% of the holder’s maximum health, it will now shield for 20-300 health, based on champion level.