League of Legends patch 26.8 is shaping up to be a shallow update, mainly addressing Mel as still by far the most annoying champion in the game, even after her mini rework, while buffing some others purely to increase player satisfaction.
Champion buffs
Hwei
- P Damage: 35 – 230 -> 40 – 285 (based on level)
- P NEW: Hwei’s ability slows stack with each other for diminishing value
- NOTE: Hwei has a balance impacting bugfix: His QE and R slows no longer stack with other champion or item slows
Hwei was created to be mainly a midlaner, but as is the case with many champions, he also tends to be very strong as a bot lane carry or a support. These changes are aimed at retaining him as a midlaner while somewhat diminishing his viability on bot without making him outright unviable.
Lillia
- P Monster Damage cap: 65 -> 70 – 180 (based on level)
Lillia has been receiving Q AP ratio nerfs over the years, mainly because of how oppressive she is when ahead, especially on toplane. These nerfs have inadvertently made her weaker in the jungle as well. This buff is looking to bring her some of the lost clear speed back.
Lucian
- E CD: 18 / 17 / 16 / 15 / 14s -> 16 / 15.5 / 15 / 14.5 / 14
- E Mana Cost: 40 / 30 / 20 / 10 / 0 -> 32 / 24 / 16 / 8 / 0
This buff may look insignificant, but considering that Lucian doesn’t max his E first, shaving 2 seconds off his mobility skill could be the deciding factor between a kill or a successfully avoided gank, and failure.
Tahm Kench
- P Damage: 6 – 48 (Levels 1-11)(+1.5% AP per 100 bonus HP)(4.5% bonus HP) -> 5 – 60 (Levels 1-12)(1.25% AP per 100 bonus HP)(4.5% bonus HP)
Just a small adjustment that could help Tahm Kench’s trading patterns, both as a support and on top.
Champion nerfs
Mel
- Q Initial Hit: 60 / 90 / 120 / 150 / 180 (+60% AP) -> 60 / 85 / 110 / 135 / 160 (+55% AP)
- W CD: 35-23 -> 38-26
- W MS duration: 1.5s -> 0.75s
Mel is still incredibly frustrating to deal with, and her banrate isn’t going down sufficiently at any rank. The main issues are her W reflect and general ease with which she’s able to poke her lane opponent. These changes lower her damage output and open up bigger windows of her vulnerability.
Karma
- Base AD: 51 -> 49
- AD Growth: 3.3 – > 3.0
- E Mana Cost: 50 / 55 / 60 / 65 / 70 -> 60 / 65 / 70 / 75 / 80
Karma was nerfed in the previous patch with a change that targeted her R+E shielding, but evidently, it wasn’t enough, and she’s still one of the best supports in the game. These changes will try to make her trading pattern a tad weaker.
Mundo
- Q Monster Cap: 300 / 375/ 450 / 525 / 600 -> 250 / 325 / 400 / 475 / 550
- E Monster Cap: 200% -> 140%
Mundo remains a very strong jungler, which could feel oppressive due to the advantages he gets from his fast and healthy clear, so Riot is trying to dial him back a bit without making top Mundo any weaker.
Champion adjustments
Yuumi
- R Healing: 30 / 40 / 50 (+10% AP) – 30 / 50 / 70 (+12 AP)
- R Best Friend Increased Healing: 30% -> 30 – 60% (Levels 6-12)
- NOTE: Yuumi has a balance impacting bugfix: Her R no longer heals her attached ally an additional time whenever it heals other allies.
Yuumi has lost most of her relevance and frustration years ago, but she still remains a viable support, especially with certain champion pairings. The bugfix made her R feel weaker even though it fixed a bug, so she received a compensation change instead.
Update 26.8 was initially slated to also contain a Viego buff, which would have increased his Q damage and R missing HP damage, but Matt “Riot Phroxzon” Leung-Harrison later clarified that there was a data correlation issue, so his changes are being pulled from the patch, and he will be monitored and investigated further.
