Written in partnership with Gamer Sensei.
has partnered with Gamer Sensei to analyze the latest balance changes and patch notes for League of Legends Patch 12.5. This article will provide a breakdown of the major changes and offer insight on how these changes will impact the meta.
Gamer Sensei is a coaching service that provides remote coaching sessions for 18 different games, including League of Legends. Coaches Nicholas “NicoThePico” Korsgård, Michael “Veteran” Archer, Nikolay “Vethorm” Angelov, Justin “JalYt Justin” Robbins, and Tim “Coach Nalu” Hostnik have come together to discuss the changes in Patch 12.5.
Here are the notes for League Patch 12.5 for your reference.
Ahri
W – Fox-Fire
- Damage: 60/85/110/135/160 (+30% AP) > 50/75/100/125/150 (+30% AP)
- Mana cost: 25 > 30
E – Charm
- Mana cost: 50 > 60
The Ahri changes will slow her down and require players to be more careful when engaging, according to Vethorm. While her damage has been reduced, Ahri will still be viable for teamfights due to her pick-up ability and reset. Veteran, however, believes that these changes won’t have a significant impact on Ahri’s overall effectiveness. Coach Nalu adds that Ahri will still be a top-tier champion due to the development of a new AD build.
Gwen
Passive – Thousand Cuts
- Maximum damage against monsters: 10 (+25% AP) > 10 (+15% AP)
E – Skip ‘n Slash
- Bonus attack range: 100 > 50
The changes to Gwen are aimed at reducing her presence in pro play. JalYt Justin believes that these changes will curb Gwen’s pro play presence and impact her bonus attack range. Veteran adds that the changes could also affect Gwen’s matchups against champions like Shen and Renekton.
Kennen
W – Electrical Surge
- Basic attack bonus magic damage at full stacks: 20/30/40/50/60 (+60/70/80/90/100% bonus AD) (+25% AP) > 35/45/55/65/75 (+80/90/100/110/120% bonus AD) (+35% AP)
The changes to Kennen’s W will increase both his AP and AD, potentially leading to an AD Kennen revival. These changes will improve Kennen’s laning phase while still requiring him to stack his passive for maximum effectiveness.
Master Yi
Q – Alpha Strike
- Damage: 25/60/95/130/165 (+90% AD), reduced by 75% for subsequent hits on the same target > 30/60/90/120/150 (+60% AD), reduced by 75% for subsequent hits on the same target
- Bonus damage from critical strikes: 60% (+ bonus critical strike damage percent) > 50% (+ bonus critical strike damage percent)
- [New] Each mark of Q – Alpha Strike now applies on-hit effects including his E – Wuju Style (on-hit effects from subsequent hits are also reduced by 75%)
- [Update] Q – Alpha Strike’s cooldown reduction upon attacks now scales down with Ability Haste. For example, if Master Yi has 100 ability haste, each on-hit now reduces its cooldown by 0.5 seconds (instead of one)
- [Update] Q – Alpha Strike’s cast time no longer counts against his E – Wuju Style and R – Highlander active durations (similar to W – Meditate)
- [Update] Master Yi can now activate E – Wuju Style and R – Highlander during his Q – Alpha Strike
E – Wuju Style
- True damage: 30/40/50/60/70 (+35% bonus AD) > 30/38/46/54/62 (+35% bonus AD)
The changes to Master Yi shift his focus towards on-hit items and away from the lethality build. A revival of AD Master Yi is expected, making him more flexible in terms of itemization. These changes will make on-hit Master Yi extremely powerful.
Miss Fortune
W – Strut
- [Update] Miss Fortune now spawns with the maximum amount of movement speed granted by Strut’s passive
This small change will provide Miss Fortune with a small win rate boost, as players often forget to activate her W when leaving the base, according to Veteran.
Samira
- Health growth: 88 > 94
- Health at level 18: 2,026 > 2,128
- Armor growth: three > 3.5
- Armor at level 18: 77 > 85.5
R – Inferno Trigger
- Cooldown: eight seconds > five seconds
These changes will give Samira more staying power in fights and allow her to unleash multiple ultimates in a single teamfight. Good positioning and engage timing will be crucial for maximizing her impact in fights.
Seraphine
W – Surround Sound
- Mana cost: 50/70/90/110/130 > 50/60/70/80/90
- Cooldown: 26/25/24/23/22 seconds > 28/26/24/22/20 seconds
- Shield: 75 to 225 (levels one to 18) (+45% AP) > 60/80/100/120/140 (+40% AP)
- Ally Shields: 50 to 150 (levels one to 18) (+30% AP) > 60/80/100/120/140 (+40% AP) (Allies now receive the same shield amount as Seraphine)
- Healing (If already shielded): five percent (+1.125% per 100 AP) of missing health per ally in range > 5/5.5/6/6.5/7 percent (+0.75% per 100 AP) of missing health per ally in range
E – Beat Drop
- Cooldown: 13/12/11/10/9 seconds > 11/10.5/10/9.5/9 seconds
These changes will strengthen Seraphine’s support role and improve her effectiveness in skirmishes and teamfights. The reduced cooldowns and increased healing will make her more valuable as a heal support in the mid-late game. The nerf to her personal shield won’t have a significant impact on her mid lane presence.
Xin Zhao
E – Audacious Charge
- Cooldown: 11 seconds > 12 seconds
R – Crescent Guard
- Invulnerability duration: five seconds > four seconds
Xin Zhao has been long overdue for a nerf, and these changes will finally address his issues. The increased cooldown on Audacious Charge will impact his sticking power in teamfights, while the reduced invulnerability duration of Crescent Guard will require Xin Zhao players to be smarter about their ultimate usage.
Items
Hullbreaker
Passive – Boarding Party
- Bonus armor and magic resist: 20 to 60 (levels one to 18) > 20 to 60 (levels one to 18) for melee / 10 to 30 (levels one to 18) for ranged
- Siege and super minion bonus armor and magic resist: 60 to 180 (levels one 18) > 60 to 180 (levels one to 18) for melee / 30 to 90 (levels one to 18) for ranged
Hullbreaker has become a problematic item in the game, particularly for ranged top laners. This nerf reduces the bonuses for ranged champions while maintaining the item’s strength for melee users. It is expected to have an impact on both pro and amateur play.
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