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League of Legends Patch 12.12b nerfs Bel’veth and Zeri again

Bel'veth, Katarina, Caitlyn, and Zeri are all getting buffs and nerfs in 12.12b (Photo: Riot Games)
Bel'veth, Katarina, Caitlyn, and Zeri are all getting buffs and nerfs in 12.12b (Photo: Riot Games)

League of Legends (LoL) developer Riot Games has released the 12.12b micropatch to deal with “outliers” by implementing changes on champions that were too strong or were hit too hard in the most recent patch.

Matt "Phroxon" Leung-Harrison, Lead Designer for Game Balance & Preseason for the Summoner's Rift, gave a preview on what changes to expect in a tweet he posted on 29 June.

With Patch 12.13 delayed to 13 July, the micropatch aims to put balance back into the meta. Here’s what you need to know about Patch 12.12b:

Champion Buffs

Among the outliers who struggled after 12.12 were Caitlyn, Katarina, Leona, and Shaco, who all received buffs in 12.12b. (Photo: Riot Games)
Among the outliers who struggled after 12.12 were Caitlyn, Katarina, Leona, and Shaco, who all received buffs in 12.12b. (Photo: Riot Games)

Caitlyn

One of the hardest-hit champions from Patch 12.12 was Caitlyn, who struggled with nerfs to some item changes related to her build.

She plummeted to Tier 4 with a poor 47.74% win rate. A slight buff to her passive, Headshot, will help her close out more kills in the bot lane.

To make sure she doesn’t stomp everyone else though, her W’s damage has been pulled back a little.

Headshot (Passive)

50 to 100% total AD > 60 to 110% total AD

Yordle Snap Trap (W)

Bonus headshot damage: 60 to 240 (+40 to 120 percent bonus AD) > 40 to 220 (+40 to 80 bonus AD)

Katarina

This red-headed assassin is supposed to be able to keep up with her counterparts like Akali, Zed, and others.

But since 12.12, Katarina also dropped to tier 4, struggling with a 48.27% win rate. It seems like Kat mains had a hard time adjusting with the on-hit build that Riot is pushing for.

Her passive's AP ratio scaling, her Q’s scaling damage, as well as AD ratio per dagger and On-hit ratio were all increased.

This should help her keep her damage output up in the late game, instead of struggling terribly against tankier bruisers with enough damage to outplay her.

Voracity (Passive)

Dagger AP ratio: 55/66/77/88% > 65/75/85/85/95%

Bouncing Blade (Q)

Damage: 75/105/135/165/190 (+30 percent AP) > 80/110/140/170/200 (+35 percent AP)

AD ratio per dagger: 16 percent (+16 percent per 70 percent bonus AS) > 18 percent (18 percent per 60 percent bonus AS)

On-hit ratio: 28/33/38 percent > 30/35/40 percent

Leona

Leona used to be one of the premium picks as a support, but the durability updates and the last few patches have hit her hard.

As a result, she started becoming irrelevant in the meta with a 47.69% win rate. A pretty significant adjustment to her passive has been given.

Sunlight (Passive)

Damage: 25 + seven per level > 32 + eight per level

Shaco

The Demon Jester couldn’t pull out any pranks in the jungle — falling behind the likes of Wukong, Bel’Veth, and many others — and ended up with a 49.02% win rate, especially since his nerf in 12.12.

A 10% increase to his passive’s and Q’s AD ratio was needed, and his W’s cooldown has been decreased a bit and given a 5% AP ratio buff.

Backstab (Passive)

AD ratio: 15 percent > 25 percent

Deceive (Q)

AD ratio: 40 percent > 50 percent

Jack in the Box (W)

Cooldown: 16 seconds > 15 seconds

Duration AP ratio: Five percent > 10 percent

Champion Nerfs

These seven champions have been too dominant since the last patch, so Riot is nerfing them. Among the list is Bel'veth, Senna, Seraphine, Tahm Kench, Wukong, Yuumi, and Zeri. (Photo: Riot Games)
These seven champions have been too dominant since the last patch, so Riot is nerfing them. Among the list is Bel'veth, Senna, Seraphine, Tahm Kench, Wukong, Yuumi, and Zeri. (Photo: Riot Games)

Bel’veth

We're not surprised why Bel’Veth is still on the list, despite the nerfs she received in 12.12.

The Void Empress continued to terrorize everyone on the Summoner’s Rift (and probably rightfully so), aiming for everyone to join the Sea of Lavender.

Her win rate is still at a high 52.15% and this made her ban rates skyrocket to 62% because her Endless Banquet’s been too… endless.

The AD growth and Health growth from her base stats have been pulled back.

On top of that, her E’s cooldown has been increased in the late game, so it’s not as accessible as it was before. Lifesteal from her E no longer scales as well, so her late game won’t be too OP.

Finally, her ultimate’s bonus health ratio has been cut by a lot to prevent her from overextending in team fights and skirmishes, as well as allow for counterplay.

Base stats

AD growth: 2 > 1.7

Health growth 105 > 99

Royal Maelstrom (E)

Cooldown: 22 to 14 > 22 to 16

Lifesteal: 20 to 26 percent > 20 percent all ranks

Endless Banquet (R)

Bonus health ratio: 165% bonus AD > 120%t bonus AD

Senna

We’re kind of glad that Riot devs are finally acknowledging that Senna is still too strong in this current meta, and that she’ll live with a few more nerfs.

Her base health has been reduced, while her early game damage from Q is pulled back by 10 points, but her late-game damage increased by 10 too. Finally, her W’s root duration has been decreased by .25.

We're not sure why there was a need to still buff her Q’s late game, because her win rate is sitting on a high 53.02%. Perhaps Riot is afraid to make her fall behind at any point and would want to keep her in the meta.

Base stats

Base health: 560 > 530

Piercing Darkness (Q)

Base damage: 40 to 160 > 30 to 170

Last Embrace (W)

Root duration: 1.25 to 2.25 seconds > 1-2 seconds

Seraphine

While we said in the last patch update that the buffs for the Starry-eyed Songstress won’t affect her much...

We were wrong.

It made her way too strong, making her win rate shoot up to 52.25% because she’s just too powerful in the late game due to her E’s accessibility.

Her passive’s AP Ratio has been decreased to 7% flat and her E’s CC duration has been increased slightly.

Stage Presence (Passive)

AP ratio: six to nine percent > 7%

Beat Drop (E)

CC duration: 1.15 seconds > 1.25 seconds

Tahm Kench

Tahm Kench’s rework was released earlier this year, and since then, his popularity in solo queue and pro play has soared.

In fact, he is one of T1 Ryu “Keria” Minseok’s signature picks that are pretty hard to counter in the bot lane. And with the durability updates powering him up some more, his nerfs are probably a bit overdue.

An Acquired Taste (Passive)

Bonus mage damage ratio 4% bonus health > 3% bonus health

Health growth: 109 > 103

Wukong

The Monkey God is another champion that has been ruling in the jungle and the baron lane, and he’s also been quite a popular pick since the 2022 Mid-Season Invitational.

We’re not surprised, since his win rate has been climbing steadily since 12.10.

As a result, his Nimbus Strike gets a significant 40% decrease in damage, and accessibility to his ultimate in the early game has been decreased, so he doesn’t get an unfair advantage in the early stages of the game.

Nimbus Strike (E)

Deals 160% damage to monsters > deals 120% damage to monsters

Cyclone (R)

Cooldown: 120 to 90 > 130 to 90

Yuumi

Looks like the adjustments to Yuumi in the last patch didn’t pan out as expected, and powered up the magical cat even more.

Her Bop ‘n’ Block’s Bonus Range has been removed so she and her ranged allies won’t be able to poke too safely at a distance.

Bop ‘n’ Block (Passive)

Bonus range: 50 > zero

Zeri

It’s already almost July and Riot still isn’t done with trying to balance poor Zeri, who’s been in and out of the meta in just half a year.

It’s either she’s too fast, too weak, or too dominant.

Zeri’s on the downward part of her roller coaster ride, with a slight adjustment to her ultimate Lightning Crash’s Bonus Magic resistance.

Lightning Crash (R)

Bonus magic resistance: 1% > 0.5%

12.12b is scheduled to be uploaded on Thursday evening (30 June). Patch 12.13 will also be delayed and will be released on 13 July.

Anna is a freelance writer and photographer. She is a gamer who loves RPGs and platformers, and is a League of Legends geek. She's also a food enthusiast who loves a good cup of black coffee.

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