League of Legends patch 12.23 is a significant one with several major changes en route to live. These include the new ARAM map and associated balance changes, an adjustment to jungle companions, major balance changes for Kassadin, Yuumi and Zeri and an important champion select quality of life change. Let’s dive in.
The new-look Howling Abyss will be hitting live on Patch 12.23. As well as visual changes, the previously broken parts of the bridge have been repaired, giving players more space to manoeuvre. Hexgates (‘Frostgates’) will now be present on the map, transporting the player from their base to their outer tower. When the outer tower falls, the frostgate will exit at the player’s inhibitor.
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When towers are destroyed, they will leave behind rubble that acts as a wall. This new terrain will create choke points and change the fog of war. There are also new brushes being added in the middle-bottom side of the bridge. Additionally, the brushes between the outer and inhibitor turrets are now larger.
A nice quality-of-life touch is being added to ARAM champion select. You will be able to see which champions you have earned your S-rank chest for in the ARAM lobby. The end-of-year ARAM clash will be going ahead on December 10 and December 11. You can see the extent of the ARAM changes inVandiril’s video below.
The exact numerical changes for Summoner’s Rift are viewable below. The following text is a summary of the major changes.
Ravenous Hydra has been ever-present on every bruiser this preseason which has earned it a well-needed nerf. The item’s area-of-effect (AoE) damage has been toned down and omnivamp has been completely removed from Hydra’s new stacking mechanic.
As for other item changes, Sunfire Aegis is now 100 gold cheaper and gives the player 100 extra HP and Mosstomper has had its tenacity buff reduced.
In terms of champion balance, Amumu, Cho’Gath, K’Sante, Blue Kayn, Malphite, Maokai, Sion, Tahm Kench, Zac and Zeri have all received buffs. On the other hand, Lillia, Mordekaiser, Shyvana, Syndra, Trundle and Yuumi have been nerfed. Dr Mundo and Kassadin have received what Riot are classifying as an “adjustment.”
After several consecutive nerfs, Zeri has been in a rough spot for a while. Riot’s solution is to reduce her range while buffing her numbers and base stats. Zeri’s Q range has been reduced by 75 while every other ability has received significant changes.
The ever-problematic Yuumi is getting a significant nerf while Riot work “on a larger scale Yuumi rework.” With the rework, Riot is hoping to make Yuumi’s success more dependent on her lane state and reduce the aggressive capabilities of the cat. For now, they’ve nerfed her passive cooldown and the duration of her ultimate’s root.
Kassadin is receiving some meaningful changes. Riot is looking to improve the Void Walker’s performance in ranged matchups. Firstly, the stacking mechanic has been removed from Kassadin’s E. Instead of being gated by stacks, the ability will now have a flat cooldown that’s reduced by spells cast near Kassadin. His Q has also received a flat buff (with reduced scaling) and it will now appear as soon as the ability is cast, rather than when the sphere leaves Kassadin’s model.
Dr Mundo hasn’t been living up to his unkillable reputation according to Riot so they’ve adjusted each of his abilities. His passive will now take less of his maximum health, but also reward him with less health back. His Q now costs ten more health. His E now scales entirely off maximum health, as opposed to the attack damage (AD) + missing health percentage it was previously. Finally, his ultimate now heals more and at rank three, it scales off the number of nearby champions when Mundo casts it.
An interesting new champion select feature is that players will now be able to swap their pick order to streamline draft-swapping strategies. One player may request to swap their pick order with their teammate and if accepted, their places in champion select switch.
Lastly, there will be a new Malzahar skin available for those who finish with honour level five at the end of next season. Read the full list of changes below.
League of Legends Patch 12.23 Notes
ARAM Updates
Frostgates
Frostgates: Frostgates will be present from the beginning of the game and will teleport you directly from your Nexus to your outer tower. Once your first tower is destroyed, the Frostgate will then link to your team’s inhibitor tower where it will then stay for the remainder of the game.
Falling Towers
Tower Rubble: When outer towers are destroyed they will collapse and leave behind a pile of rubble which will be treated as new terrain.
Brush Changes
Brushing Up: There is now one new brush in the middle bottom side of the bridge. The brushes between the outer and inhibitor turrets have also increased in size.
Bridge Repairs
Under Repair: The gaps on the bottom side of the bridge have been filled in and are now traversable
Battle Boost QoL Updates
Not so Fast: Players will no longer be able to activate Battle Boosts within the last 10 seconds of champion select
You’re Welcome: Allies will now be able to tell which player gifted their team a Battle Boost
S-Rank Chest Visibility
Master them All! Players will now be able to see which champions they have not yet received S-Rank Chests for in ARAM champion select
ARAM Balance Adjustments
Heartsteel Maximum health gained: 10% of damage dealt > 5% of damage dealt
Mosstomper
Tenacity Buff Duration: 3 seconds > 1.5 seconds
Tenacity Type: Item (additive with item tenacity) > Champion (multiplicative with item tenacity)
Ravenous Hydra
AoE Splash Damage: 60% AD for melee champions /30% AD for ranged champions > 50% AD for melee champions/25% AD for ranged champions
Omnivamp from Stacks: 4% > Removed
Sunfire Aegis
Combine Cost: 1000 > 900
Total Cost: 2800 > 2700
Health: 400 > 500
Base Stats
Health Growth: 89 > 100
Q - Bandage Toss
Mana Cost: 30/35/40/45/50 > 40/45/50/55/60
W - Despair
Damage per Second: 12/16/20/24/28 (+1/1.15/1.3/1.45/1.6% of target’s maximum HP) > 12/16/20/24/28 (+1/1.25/1.5/1.75/2% of target’s maximum HP)
E - Tantrum
Base Magic Damage: 85/110/135/160/185 (+ 50% AP) > 80/110/140/170/200 (+ 50% AP)
Passive - Carnivore
Mana Restored on Enemy Kills: 3.5-7.75 (based on level) > 4.7-9.5 (based on level)
W - Feral Scream
Base Damage: 75/125/175/225/275 > 80/135/190/245/300
Cooldown: 80 seconds > 80/70/60 seconds
Base Magic Resist: 32 > 29
Magic Resist Growth: 2.05 > 2.3
Base Attack Speed: 0.72 > 0.67
Attack Damage Growth: 3.5 > 2.5
Passive - Goes Where He Pleases
Cannister Health Loss: 7% of current health > 3% of current health
Cannister Heal: 8% of maximum health > 4% of maximum health
Max Health Regen per 5 seconds: 0.8-1.6% (linear progression) > 0.4-2.5% (non-linear progression, equal at level 11)
Q - Infected Bonesaw
Health Cost: 50 > 60
W - Heart Zapper
Health Cost: 5% of current health > 8% of current health
Gray Health Healed after Not Taking Damage: 0% > 50%
Damage Stored as Gray Health: 25/30/35/40/45% > 80-95% based on level in the first 0.75 seconds, then 25% afterwards
Duration: 4 seconds > 3 seconds
E - Blunt Force Trauma
Passive Bonus AD: 15/20/15/30/35 (+ 25/30/35/40/45 based on missing health) > 2.5/3/3.5/4/4.5% maximum health
Health Cost: 10/20/30/40/50 > 20/30/40/50/60
Cooldown: 8/7.5/7/6.5/6 seconds > 9/8.25/7.5/6.75/6 seconds
Bonus Damage to Monsters: 200% > 150%
R - Maximum Dosage
Missing Health Gained as Maximum Health: 8/11.5/15% > 15/20/25%
[NEW] Mega Mundo Heals: At rank 3, Mundo’s R’s healing effects are increased by an additional 5% per nearby enemy champion
[REMOVED] Mundo Mad: R no longer gives bonus AD
Base Health Regeneration: 8.5 > 9.5
Health Growth: 104 > 108
E - Footwork
[NEW] Auto Attack Reset: E will now partially reset auto attacks in K’Sante’s base form, and will be a full auto attack reset while in his All Out form
Wall Forgiveness: Adjusted E so that if K’Sante is very close to dashing through a wall he will now go through the wall
Q - Null Sphere
Shield Strength: 60/90/120/150/180 (+ 40% AP) > 80/110/140/170/200 (+ 30% AP)
Shield Spawn Speed: Shield is granted when the Q projectile leave’s Kassadin’s hand > Shield is granted when Q is cast
E - Force Pulse
Cooldown: 5 seconds > 21/19/17/15/13 seconds
[REMOVED] Stacks Be Gone: This spell no longer requires a certain number of stacks in order to be cast
[NEW] Send Your Energy: Ally and enemy spells cast near Kassadin reduce E’s cooldown by 1 second
Passive - The Darkin Scythe
Shadow Assassin Bonus Damage: 8-30% (based on level) > 13-40% (based on level)
E - Shadow Step
Heal upon entering Terrain: 90/100/110/120/130 (+35% bonus AD) > 90/100/110/120/130 (+45% bonus AD)
Q - Blooming Blows
Magic Damage: 35/50/65/80/95 (+40% AP) > 40/50/60/70/80 (+40% AP)
Outer Edge True Damage: 35/50/65/80/95 (+40% AP) > 40/50/60/70/80 (+40% AP)
E - Ground Slam
Magic Damage: 60/95/130/165/200 (+60% AP) (+30% Armor) > 70/110/150/190/230 (+60% AP) (+40% Armor)
Mana Cost: 50/55/60/65/70 > 50 at all ranks
Passive - Sap Magic
Heal: 4-34 (based on level) + (4-10% maximum health (based on level)) > 4-34 (based on level) + (4-12% maximum health (based on level))
Q - Bramble Smash
Base Damage: 65/110/155/200/245 (+2/2.25/2.5/2.75/3% of the target’s maximum HP) > 70/120/170/220/270 (+2/2.25/2.5/2.75/3% of the target’s maximum HP)
Bonus Damage to Monsters: 80/100/120/140/160 > 120/140/160/180/200
Mordekaiser
Passive - Darkness Rise
Damage Cap against Monsters: 180 > 28-164 (based on level)
Passive Proc on Monsters: Generates a stack on all monster hits > Generates a stack on large monster hits
E - Flame Breath
Empowered Basic Attacks vs Marked Enemies: 3.5% of target’s maximum HP > 3% of target’s maximum HP
Base Mana: 330 > 400
Mana Growth: 42 > 52
Q - Decimating Smash
Base Damage: 30/50/70/90/110 > 40/60/80/100/120
W - Force of Will
Transcendent Upgrade Bonus Damage: 15% (+1.5% per 100 AP) > 12% ( 2% per 100 AP)
E - Scatter the Weak
Cooldown: 15 seconds > 17 seconds
Magic Damage: 75/115/155/195/235 (+55% AP) > 75/115/155/195/235 (+45% AP)
Cooldown: Fixed a bug where upgrading Q could reset its cooldown
Tahm Kench
Passive - An Acquired Taste
On-Hit and On-Q Bonus Magic Damage: 8-60 (based on level) (+ 3% bonus health) > 8-60 (based on level) (+ 3% bonus health) (+ 2% AP per 100 bonus health)
Q - Tongue Lash
Magic Damage: 80/130/180/230/280 (+ 90% AP) > 80/130/180/230/280 (+ 100% AP)
Self Heal: 10/15/20/25/30 (+ 3/3.5/4/4.5/5% missing Health) > 10/15/20/25/30 (+ 5/5.5/6/6.5/7% missing Health)
W - Abyssal Dive
Magic Damage: 100/135/170/205/240 (+ 125% AP) > 100/135/170/205/240 (+ 150% AP)
E - Thick Skin
Damage Stored to Gray Health: 13/21/29/37/45% > 15/23/31/39/47%
Increased Damage Stored to Gray Health: 40/42.5/45/47.5/50% > 42/44/46/48/50%
R - Devour
Magic Damage: 100/250/400 (+ 15% (+ 5% per 100 AP) of target’s maximum health) > 100/250/400 (+ 15% (+ 7% per 100 AP) of target’s maximum health)
Shield: Lasts 2.5 seconds after Devour ends > Decays by 50 health per 0.25 seconds after Devour has ended until gone
Base Attack Speed: 0.67 > 0.60
R - Subjugate
Damage Based on Target’s Maximum Health: 20/27.5/35% (+2% per 100 AP) > 20/25/30% (+2% per 100 AP)
Passive - Bop ‘n’ Block
Cooldown: 14-6 seconds (based on level) > 18-6 seconds (based on level)
R - Final Chapter
Root Duration: 1.75 seconds > 1.25 seconds
Passive - Cell Division
Healing per Chunk: 4/4.75/5.5/6.25% (based on R Rank) maximum HP > 4/5/6/7% (based on R Rank) maximum HP
Q - Stretching Strikes
Cooldown: 15/13.5/12/10.5/9 seconds > 14/12.5/11/9.5/8 seconds
Base Damage: 40/55/70/85/100 (+2.5% of Zac’s maximum health) > 40/55/70/85/100 (+4% of Zac’s maximum health)
Move Speed: 325 > 330
Base Attack Damage: 50 > 53
Base Armor: 20 > 24
Base Health: 600 > 630
Attack Speed Ratio: 0.568 > 0.625
HP Growth: 109 > 115
Passive - Living Battery
Fully Charged Basic Attack Damage: 90-200 (based on level) (+90%AP) (+1-15% (based on level) target maximum HP) > 90-200 (based on level) (+110%AP) (+1-15% target maximum HP)
Gotta Zip Shield Bonus: 10% multiplicative Move Speed > 10% Move Speed (Note: this should make the shield stack less effectively with other move speed sources)
Bonus Move Speed Duration: 3 seconds > 2 seconds
Q - Burst Fire
Range: 825 > 750
Conversion of Excess Attack Speed to Bonus AD: 60% > 70%
Physical Damage: 8/11/14/17/20 (+ 100/105/110/115/120% AD) > 15/18/21/24/27 (+ 104/108/112/116/120% AD)
W - Ultrashock Laser
Damage Type: Magic > Physical
Physical Damage: 20/55/90/125/160 (+100% AD)(+40% AP) > 20/60/100/140/180 (+130% AD) (+25% AP)
Cast Time: 2.5x Attack Time > 0.55-0.3 seconds (based on Attack Speed)
Missile Speed: 2200 > 2500
Beam Cast Time: 0.75 seconds > 0.85 seconds
E - Spark Surge
Mana Cost: 80 > 90/85/80/75/70
Cooldown: 24/22.5/21/19.5/18 seconds > 22/21/20/19/18 seconds
[NEW] Lightning Rounds are Magic: For 5 seconds after using her E, Zeri gains Lightning Rounds and her Q - Burst Fire will deal additional magic damage to the first enemy hit.
[NEW] Bonus Magic Damage to First Target Hit with Lightning Rounds: 20/22/24/26/28 (+20% AP)(+12% bonus AD). . This damage is increased by up to 65% based on Zeri’s Critical Strike Chance.
Lightning Rounds Pierce Damage Fall Off after First Target Hit: 60/70/80/90/100% > 80/85/90/95/100%
Vision while Sliding on Terrain: 850 units > 1500 units
R - Lightning Crash
[REMOVED] Short Circuited: Zeri’s Overcharged attacks no longer deal 5/10/15(+15% AP) bonus magic damage on-hit
Chain Lightning Range: 450 > 650
On-Cast Magic Damage: 150/250/350 (+80% AP)(+80% bonus AD) > 175/275/375 (+110% AP)(+100% bonus AD)
Kerchow: If Zeri’s R hits at least one enemy champion, Zeri gains 10% move speed, 30% attack speed, and chaining shots for 5 seconds. Hitting champions with Q or auto attacks refreshes this buff by 1.5 seconds. (Note: this buff cannot be extended to be longer than its original duration.)
Boundless Energy: Hitting enemy champions grants Zeri 1 stack (3 stacks for critical strikes) of Overcharge for 1.5 seconds. Zeri gains 0.5% move speed for each stack of Overcharge, stacking infinitely.
Jungle Adjustments
Jungle Companions
Companion Attack Damage: 20 (+ 15% AD) (+ 10% AP) (+ 4% bonus health) > 16 (+ 15% AD) (+ 10% AP) (+ 3% bonus health) (+ 10% bonus Armor) (+ 10% bonus Magic Resist)
[NEW] Bigger Companions need More Treats: After their first evolution, jungle companions will consume 2 bonus treats on Large Monster kills and receive the associated benefits
Bonus Treat Gold: 50 gold > 35 gold
[REMOVED] Epic Monsters are Spooky: The 20% bonus damage provided by companions no longer works on Epic Monsters
Jungle Camps
Gromp Attack Range: 175 > 150
Crimson Raptor Attack Range: 300 > 200
Leashing Range: Leash range centers have been offset from Camp spawn location giving more space for champions to move and kite
Jungle Camp Experience Given Multiplier: 1/1/1.025/1.075/1.15/1.15/1.25/1.25/1.35 (levels 1-9) > 1/1/1.025/1.075/1.2/1.2/1.3/1.3/1.45 (levels 1-9)
Objective Planning
Scoreboard Voting Disabled: Clicking on the objective timer will no longer initiate objective votes and will instead just display the timer information in chat
Vote Timing: Adjusted the earliest time players can start voting for an objective from 90 seconds before an objective spawns to 75 seconds
Auto Vote Disabled: The vote to contest an objective will no longer automatically begin 30 seconds before an objective spawns
ARAM Clash
Registration for this special, for-fun Clash will begin on December 5 and the tournament days will be on December 10 and 11, 2022.
Players that participate will receive a limited-time, exclusive ARAM clash icon, so make sure to mark your calendars.
On a non-ARAM related note, Clash rewards for this year will roll out during patch 12.23, so keep an eye out!
Mythic Content
End of Year Mythic Shop Rotation
In this Mythic Shop rotation, we’ll have two Unvaulted Prestige skins, two Unvaulted Mythic skins, and a new Seasonal Mythic skin (with accessories). Similar to our End of Year Prestige Point shop, the Mythic Essence icons are returning alongside a couple of previously offered Grab bags.
Now Available
Leaving the Mythic Shop
Competitive
Rune Recommender
Added the Rune Recommender to champion select for all game modes. These recommendations are tailored for your champion, position, and come with optional summoner spell recommendations as well. Like in-game item recommendations, these will be updated each patch. All players have a free temporary rune page that the recommender will overwrite in each champion select. To permanently save a recommendation to your collection, you can add it in the post match screen.
The 5 preset rune pages have been removed.
Pick Order Swapping
In matchmade queues with drafting, during the declaration, ban, and pick phases, you can now press a button next to ally portraits to swap pick order with them. When there is 5 seconds left in a phase, in-progress order swap requests will be canceled. If your order swap request is declined, you cannot initiate another request with that player.
Champion swapping during the preparation phase is now initiated by clicking on the allied champion’s portrait instead of a button next to the portrait.
Miscellaneous champion select font and text changes for consistency.
Champ Select Anonymity
Ally 1 -> Ally 5 have been renamed to Gromp, Murk Wolf, Raptor, Krug, and Scuttle Crab for improved clarity around who is speaking in champion select chat.
Behavioral Systems
End of Season Honor rewards including the new Honor level 5 Malzahar skin reward will be granted according to your Honor level at the End of Season.
The ARAM AFK threshold has been changed to 120 seconds from 90 seconds.
Bugfixes & QoL Changes
Champ Select Favoriting Improvements
Improving usability around favoriting champions so that you can find them faster in champion select. As a reminder, you can right click champions in champion select to favorite them for a specific role!
In champion select, “Sort by Favorites” is the default sorting option. Note: The fallback option is “Sort by Name” so a player who does not have any favorites selected will still have the same experience.
A player’s selection for “Sort by” preference is saved between champion selects.
Ping Adjustments
QoL Updates
Upcoming Skins & Chromas
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