LoL Patch 12.9 All Buffs and Nerfs [Update]

The 2022 Mid-Season Invitational will be played on LoL Patch 12.8, so this patch will focus on solo queue once more. Which champions are going to be buffed and nerfed?

Pool Party Sett and Braum HD — Giving us them summer vibes a bit early, eh? | © Riot Games

Next week is the start of the second biggest esports event of the year for League of Legends fans. The Mid-Season Invitational will kick off on May 10, 2022, but just a day later, we're also getting a new patch with some interesting changes.

So, what can we expect from League of Legends Patch 12.9? We've talked about the mid-scope updates to Taliyah and Olaf, but what other champions are getting updates? Well, spoiler alert: Mid Pyke won't be the same after Patch 12.9.

All Champion Buffs in Patch 12.9

While Patch 12.8 had a multitude of champion buffs, this patch is going to slow down the buffing for a bit. Some champions that have been nerfed pretty heavily are getting some love, though. Hecarim was completely destroyed ahead of the 2022 Mid-Season Invitational, but now Riot has decided to buff him again. But who else joins him on the buff list?

Champion	Changes
Hecarim	Q - Rampage base AD Ratio 85% --> 90% W - Spirit of Dread Cooldown 18 --> 14
Varus	P - Living Vengeance Minion Attack Speed: 10/15/20 (+15% bonus Attack Speed) --> 10/15/20 (+20% bonus Attack Speed) Champion Attack speed: 40% (+30% bonus Attack Speed) --> 40% (+40% bonus Attack Speed) W - Blighted Quiver On-hit: 7-21 (+30%AP) --> 7-27 (+30%AP)
Braum	P - Concussive Blows Target cooldown: 8-6 --> 8-4 (level 1, 7, 13) E - Unbreakable Damage Reduction: 30-40% --> 35-45%
Thresh	P - Damnation AP and AR per soul: 0.75 --> 1 W - Dark Passage Shield: 60-180 (+1 per Soul) --> 60-180 (+2 per Soul)

Will tank supports become meta once more after these buffs? Leona is always in a decent spot, but Braum and Thresh have lost quite a bit of popularity in both pro play and solo queue, so them getting buffs feels great for anyone who likes to play tanky support champions.

RiotPhroxon also mentioned in a tweet that Renekton will be getting some adjustments to his scaling over time. He didn't specify whether this is a buff or nerf, but we do think that the croc is in desperate need of a buff, so we're adding him to the buff list for LoL Patch 12.9.

All Champion Nerfs in Patch 12.9

A few champions have been a bit too strong, so they're in need of nerfs — duh. One of those names is Rengar who has been a menace in the jungle and top lane lately. His rework has done him some good, catapulting him out of the F-tier and into the top tiers, but maybe he's been doing a bit too good, eh?

Champion	Changes
Rengar	W - Battle Roar Bonus Monster Damage: 85-150 --> 65-130
Master Yi	R - Highlander Bonus Attack Speed: 25-65% --> 25-45%
Nidalee	Base Stats Health: 570 --> 540
Ahri	E - Charm Cooldown: 12 --> 14 R - Spirit Rush Cooldown: 130-80 --> 140-90
Renata Glasc	Base Stats Armor: 29-27 P - Leverage Damage: 1-3.5% [lvl 1-13] (+1% per 100 AP) --> 1-2% [lvl 1-9] (+2% per 100 AP)
Sion	P - Glory in Death Zombie Structure Damage: 100% --> 40%

The Sion nerfs are directed at the recent trend of 'inting Sion'. This way players can die and continue to take towers with ease and push the lane, but with these changes, this play style won't be feasible anymore. Are you sad to see inting Sion go?

Champion Adjustments in Patch 12.9

This is where things get interesting this patch. Taliyah and Olaf are set to get pretty big mid-scope updates and will be almost unrecognizable come Patch 12.9. The changes to their kits seem to differ from day-to-day on the PBE server, but players are giving feedback and really making these two champions shine.

Champion	Changes
Olaf	See Olaf Article Notable Changes: W grants a shield R extended indefinitely with E/by attacking Jungle clear nerfed
Taliyah	See Taliyah Article Notable Changes: Q is AoE Q consumes Worked Ground to fire a big rock E range up and stuns units that dash through it Burst Damage down
Pyke (mid nerf)	Notable Changes: No longer gives Pyke "Your Cut" in addition to kill godl from successful executes (last assisting ally still gets "Your Cut") No longer gives Pyke an extra "Your Cut" from when allies kill enemy champions within X (Pyke still gets 1x "Your Cut") Buffed in Support focused ways
Renekton	Base Stats HP, AD Grwoth buffed W - Ruthless Predator Rank 1 nerfed Max buffed R - Dominus Damage Buffed

Unfortunately, Riot did not give clear information on the champion adjustments. These are constantly changing on PBE as the balance team is trying to figure out how to perfect these three champions for the live servers, so wrting down a set number would be obsolete in the long run.

Jinx EG Dashoboard Banner — Check out our LoL Dashboard! | © Riot Games/EarlyGame

System Nerfs in Patch 12.9

There is only one change to items this patch, which is going to be for Hullbreaker. This has been a key item on champions like Trundle and Yorick who love to split push, but it has been abused on ranged champions, which prompted Riot to nerf it a few patches ago, but it's still a great item to rush so more nerfs are coming.

Item	Changes
Hullbreaker (Rush)	Resists: 26-60 Linear --> 10-75 Backloaded Bonus Tower damage now only applied to attacks

Those are the main changes hitting the rift in Patch 12.9. Are you excited to play some Braum again in the bot lane? Hopefully Riot really does buff our boy Renekton, because this champion could be so much better. He's been suffering for a while, so him getting attention is truly necessary.

Now all we need is for Riot to officially announce Bel'Veth and give us that sweet Battle Boss skin, right? Then everything would be great, but we will likely have to wait for Patch 12.10 or even 12.11... patience is a virtue, eh?