League of Legends Patch 13.7 Breakdown

Patch 13.7 is going live on servers as most of the competitive scene is preparing for the playoffs. This patch is going to affect the MSI meta, so pro-play adjustments are plentiful. Veigar is getting nerfed once again and Azir is a completely new champion.

League of Legends Patch 13.7 Champion Buffs

Riot Games is all about tank supports coming back into the meta. This is the third Alistar buff in 4 patches. His items, his scaling and now his base stats are receiving a buff. The cow is having its Base Armor increased by 3, going from 44 to 47.  His Base Health will also be higher, going from 670 to 685.

With MSI being a few weeks away, Riot is shifting the meta. We haven’t seen much of Kalista recently, but that should change moving forward. Her Attack damage growth per level is getting increased from 3,5 to 3,75. This should give Kalista 4 attack damage more at level 16. Not a big change but one she will definitely make good use of considering how often she auto-attacks. The duration of her passive channel has also been lowered from 12 to 8 seconds, and it will now immobilize Kalista as well.

We are heading towards a Kinded/ Graves meta this summer. Look no further than the recent Graves buff. Riot wants farming junglers back in the meta so Graves is their first option. Each pellet from his passive will now do 30% crit instead of the previous 20%. The cooldown on his ultimate ability has also been buffed, being lowered from 120/90/60 seconds to 100/80/60 seconds. Get ready for some Crit Graves builds invading your jungle moving forward.

League of Legends Patch 13.7 Mid Lane Champion Buffs

Get ready for some Katarina gameplay. This champion has always been a thorn in many League player’s eyes. But after 2 years of negligence, she will be back in the meta. Giving her on-hit damage on her E and ultimate ability, meant her passive needed to be nerfed. But now those changes are reverted and her ultimate ability will do 20% more damage scaling of attack speed. This is the strongest Katarina has been in years so get your bans ready. 

Yasuo is another iconic mid lane champion that has been in a slump. Pro players have picked him here and there, but ever since Yone was released, Yasuo isn’t the main option anymore.  Riot are fixing this by increasing his passive shield in the late game by 100 health points. But that doesn’t matter as much as the buffs on his E ability. They made the damage per stack scale linearly, going from 25% of E’s base damage to 15-25% of E’s total damage depending on the level. The maximum amount of stacks has also been increased from 2 to 4.

Azir Skill Order changes affecting W ability

It’s not the first time and probably not the last. Riot Games has a history with Azir balancing and season 13 is no different. The first few months in competitive play showed why this champion can never be balanced. The poke with his Q ability and play-making with his ultimate ability will always make him overpowered in the hands of skilled players. Riot already tried fixing him in patch 13,5 and now they are doubling down on the new direction.

Instructions are clear, max his W ability first. They added more damage to it, while nerfing his Q ability even more severely. The Stab range has been lowered and the mana costs have been increased. His base stats are also getting some love, increasing his Base Armor from 19 to 22 and increasing his Attack Speed Growth from 5% to 6%. His passive Tower will now last 45 instead of 30 seconds and it can be casted from 700 range instead of 500. With this, the developer team is hoping to push Azir out of the pro-play meta and make him viable in ranked play. 

League of Legends Patch 13.7 Champion Nerfs

Annie support has been her most overpowered role after his recent mini-rework. The damage reflection on the shield was a new feature that many bot laners are struggling to combat. Her E ability also helps her easily stack the stun on her passive ability, so it’s time for some general nerfs. Her E ability is having its shield amount reduced by 20 at max rank with its cooldown being increased by 2 seconds as well.

Olaf has been a beast in the top lane, although the jungle is his primary kingdom. Most of his success has been tied to his passive and Q ability enabling him to win every skirmish regardless of matchup. On patch 13,7 Olaf’s passive ability is losing 10% of attack speed at early levels while his Q ability is losing 5 flat damage at every rank. This might not be a lot, but it’s still a subtle way to keep him in check.

With international tournaments coming up, it’s time for some Lee Sin balancing. Just like Azir, Lee Sin has been and will always be a pro-play mainstay. Well, Riot is fine with that, as long as he doesn’t overshadow other jungle champions. That’s why his base attack damage and base armor are being reduced by 2 points. 

Kha’zix and Veigar adjustments on League of Legends Patch 13.7

Just like every assassin in the game, Kha’zix has been struggling after the durability update. With so much health, sustain and shielding in the game, these champions are finding it hard to complete their role. Eliminating priority targets is their thing, and now it’s harder than ever. Riot doesn’t want Kha’zix players to evolve W and poke. To help Kha’Zix go in and eliminate targets, they have lowered the isolation range on his Q ability from 425 to 375. This makes it much harder for his opponents to negate his damage. The duration of his ultimate ability has also been buffed, from 10 to 12 seconds. In contrast, his W ability when evolved will now slow for 40% instead of 60%. This number used to be 90% for isolated targets but will now be 75%

Veigar has been dominating the bot lane ever since he received 100 range on his Q and W abilities. Combining this with his scaling prowess and the utility his cage provides, bot laners are having a hard time dealing with him. To reimagine his scaling image and remove the snowball capabilities, Riot Games is adjusting the AP scalings on his abilities. His Q ability will now scale from 45 to 65% of total ability power depending on rank, unlike the previous 60% at all ranks. His w ability has undergone the same change, going from 100% at all ranks to 70/80/90/100/110%. The AP ratios on his ultimate ability have also been adjusted, going from 75% at all ranks to  65/70/75%.

League of Legends Patch 13.7 Jungle Champion Nerfs

Sejuani is another pro-play-oriented nerf and that’s because she brings way too much value right now. Her Q ability is having its cooldown increased at every rank 1 second. Her ultimate ability is also receiving a 10-second cooldown nerf at every rank. This should prevent her playmaking potency and objective control, especially in the early game. Her passive is also losing 50 flat damage against jungle monsters, making her clear a bit slower.

Similarly to Sejuani, Vi has found a spot in professional play by offering lockdown and tankiness. She also seems to be doing too much damage while building none at all, so Riot is adjusting her scaling numbers. Her Q ability will now do 10 to 20 flat damage less at every rank, but her bonus AD scalings have been increased by 10 to 20%. Lethality builds will feel this change the most, so make sure to pop in some ARAM games to try out this new tech.

Wukong has been a mainstay in the jungle meta in both competitive and ranked play for the last several months. His playstyle perfectly suits the meta composed of low economy junglers that can provide a lot of value. That’s why Riot is targeting his E ability, reducing the attack speed boost it gives by 5% at every rank. He is also losing 2 attack damage at level 1 and the cooldown on his signature W ability has been increased by 2 seconds at max rank. This should slow down his early clear and force him into building damage items that have cooldown reduction as the game goes on. 

League of Legends Patch 13.7 Bot Lane Nerfs

Just like Alistar, Thresh is another support champion enjoying the spoils from patch 13,4. He might be a situational pick, but the cooldown refund on his signature Q ability seems to be a bit overpowered. Instead of refunding 3 seconds of cooldown each time a hook lands, it will now be 2 seconds. But if you are a great Thresh player, 99% of the time this won’t affect you.

Zeri has also been the talk of the bot lane, but not just recently. She has dominated the meta ever since he was released, apart from a few weeks. With the recent buffs to Bloodthirster and other sustain items, she has reached levels of sustain rivaling bruisers. That’s why she will now receive 5 health points less every time she levels up, on top of her passive stealing 45% of enemy shields instead of 60%. Her ultimate ability is also losing 15% of its bonus AD scaling, making her late game a bit more tolerable. 

With so much emphasis being put on the bot lane in recent patches, it’s no surprise to see Rammus dominating in terms of win rate. He is the best counter to any champion that auto attacks so Riot is nerfing his signature W ability, which will now give him 5 to 20% less armor once activated.

League of Legends Patch 13.7 Item Changes

The biggest change regarding the items on patch 13,7 is the fact that anti heal items like Oblivion Orb, Morellonomicon, Chemtech Putrifier, Executioner’s Calling, Mortal Reminder, and Chempunk Chainsword will apply the debuff even if the target was shielded from the ability damage. Not having to build two separate items to negate shields and healing is a great QoL change.

On the other hand, bruisers that like healing a lot are getting a buff to Death’s Dance. The item was changed at the start of season 13, but now they are reverting to the old build path. Deaths Dance is losing 10 Attack Damage, 5 armor, but gaining 15 ability haste in return. 

Catalyst of Aeons has been a great item to purchase on the first base, making Rod of Ages an even more powerful item. This component is getting adjusted to give 300 Health instead of the previous 225. To offset this, the total cost of the item has gone from 1100 gold to 1300 gold.