League of Legends Patch 13.23: Buffs and Nerfs to Look Forward To
The highly anticipated League of Legends Patch 13.23 is scheduled for release on Nov. 21. This patch brings a range of buffs and nerfs to champions, including Janna, Vel’Koz, Trundle, Riven, K’Sante, Briar, Ziggs, Naafiri, and Jarvan IV.
With the penultimate patch of season 13 just around the corner, players are eager to learn about the much-needed buffs, desired nerfs, and long-awaited adjustments. The preview for Patch 13.23, posted by Matt “Phroxzon” Leung-Harrison on Nov. 13, may seem minimal, but it holds the potential for significant impact.
In the patch preview, four champions receive buffs:
- Janna: Following her mini rework in the current patch, Janna has had a rough time and needs some improvements. Her passive ability, Tailwind, now deals 30% bonus magic damage at all levels, providing a slight boost to her early game. Additionally, her ability W, Zephyr, has had its cooldown reduced by a full second, and her ultimate will have a significantly reduced cooldown as well.
- Riven: Riven has been weak for quite some time, so the developers have decided to give her a buff. Her Q (Broken Wings) will now deal slightly more damage, and her ultimate will provide an extra 5% bonus attack damage. The developers had previously acknowledged that Riven was a problem but were unsure how to address it. It seems they have found a solution.
- Vel’koz: Vel’koz is not performing well in either the mid lane or as a support. To address this, his passive ability will receive a buff to both base damage and extra ability power (AP), aiming to improve his utility in both roles.
- Trundle: In the current meta, Trundle is underpowered and needs a buff to become a viable tank threat in the top lane. His ability Q (Chomp) will now have a reduced mana cost, and his attack damage (AD) growth will increase from 3 to 4.
On the other hand, five champions will undergo nerfs: Jarvan IV, Naafiri, Ziggs, Briar, and K’Sante. Ziggs’ nerf is necessary as he currently boasts a win rate of 53.48%, according to the League stat tracker U.GG. The nerfs to Jarvan IV and Briar will aim to slow them down and prevent them from being too dominant from the start.
In terms of specific changes, Ziggs’ Q (Bouncing Bomb) will have slightly reduced damage at all levels, and the cooldown for his ability W (Satchel Charge) will increase by 4 seconds at level one (scaling up to 12 seconds by level five).
As for Jarvan IV, the maximum cooldown for his Q (Dragon Strike) will increase from 6 seconds to 8 seconds, resulting in fewer Qs during team fights. Briar will experience a slight nerf to her base health and reduced damage with her ability W (Vicious Strike), with both the bonus AD and missing health damage dropping by around 10 to 20 percent.
It’s worth noting that Phroxzon acknowledged that K’Sante and Naafiri are currently overpowered and require nerfs. Since K’Sante’s rework in Patch 13.21, he has become excessively powerful, and Naafiri has been dominating the game since her introduction in Patch 13.14. To balance them, K’Sante’s Q (Silver Arrow) will have a significantly increased mana cost at level one, gradually decreasing by level five. His ability E (Shield of Antiquity) will provide a slightly higher base shield but only 10% of his bonus health, resulting in a 35% nerf. Furthermore, K’Sante’s ultimate passive will now scale by level from 30% to 78%, as opposed to the previous 45% to 75%. For Naafiri, there will be minor reductions to both her base damage with passive and damage from her ability E (Wave of Shadows).
While Patch 13.23 may not be the most extensive patch of the year, it introduces changes that could significantly impact the Rift.
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