Riot Games launched Patch 9.9 for League of Legends bringing with it another set of new changes. Two champions underwent major changes along with a neutral monster.
One big change that is sure to impact gameplay is the tweak on the Rift Scuttler. The Rift Scuttler is a neutral monster that can be found on the Summoner’s Rift. According to the developers, there has been “a lot of frustration between junglers and laners due to an expectation for the laner to help the jungler secure Rift Scuttler when it first spawns.” What happens is that when the monster spawns, it results in forced conflict between players, most of which are barely even level two.
In order to give players more time to assess and plan out, the initial spawn time is now set at 3:15 instead of 2:00. This does not nerf the monster, since its level is based on the average level of the game. This means that for players, the monster now offers more experience and gold when killed.
In terms of champions, the first that underwent a major change is Aatrox. Since the last update, Aatrox has become a one-shot playstyle champion mainly due to his revive. However, rather than nerfing the revive, the developers instead decided to change the mechanics across the board in order to even the scales.
For base stats, the health regen of Aatrox has been lowered from eight to three.
The Mutilation for the Passive - Deathbringer Stance has been removed, which means that champion can not lower healing and shielding on champions. Instead “I Need Healing” has been added, which heals Aatrox for bonus physical damage dealt. The bonus damage has been changed as well, and is now 5-10% of the target’s maximum health.
Cooldown for Aatrox's Darkin Blade skill has been lowered with damage increased.
As mentioned, the Freevive of World Ender has been removed. This skill allowed Aatrox to revive over 3.25 seconds when it takes lethal damage. The new skill is called “Got the Reset,” wherein takedowns extend World Ender by seconds, refresh the movement speed of Aatrox, and revive him when taking lethal damage as long as World Ender is active. Friendly Fear is removed and has been replaced with Stayin’ Alive, which gives Aatrox 40/55/70% increased healing during World Ender.
Overall the change makes Aatrox into a champion with a drain-tanky playstyle.
The second champion to get a major update is Tahm Kench.
According to the developers, Devour is simply too much given that it is a basic ability. This has resulted in the champion being generally picked by pros no matter what the state of the rest of his kit may be. Thus, for base stats, health is increased to 600 with movement speed now at 345. Health growth was reduced to 100.
For the Passive - An Acquired Taste, the bonus damage is no longer scaled and is now set at 1.5% of Tahm Kench's maximum health at all levels. For Devour/Regurgitate, there is now Ally Devour which grounds and slows Tahm Kench by 95%. Mana Refund is set at 50% when Tahm Kench devours an enemy champion. While cooldown of the skill is now 20 seconds at all ranks, the cost has been increased to 100 mana.
Thick Skin is now free and no longer costs any mana. Both Heal and Shield effects have been increased.
Looking at the changes, there is no doubt that the abilities that make him picked by the pros have been restricted.
A full list of the patch notes can be viewed here.
