With patch 10.14 set to be released on the 8th (KST), the list of upcoming balance changes was released by the Lead Gameplay Designer at Riot Games, Mark Yetter. On the list, it foreshadowed nerfs to Volibear, Trundle, Varus, Ezreal, and Wukong, while Pyke (in the support role), Karthus (mid lane), Kha’zix, Sejuani, Zed, Alistar, and Riven, as well as the summoner spell, Ghost, and the Predator keystone rune.

Buffs

The most notable buff to a champion this patch is with Karthus. With his base health and movement speed increased, they’ve also increased the damage on his Q, Lay Waste, by 5 at all ranks and gave him an extra 5% AP ratio. Furthermore, the passive on his E, Defile, now always restores mana, with the tickrate on the ability changed from 1 to 4/second. While more ticks on the ability is definitely good news for the champion, the dps of the ability remains unchanged. Riot stated that their plan for Karthus is to enable him more as a mid laner, so the Q damage to monsters was reduced by 20%.

On the note of junglers, Sejuani’s E, Permafrost, is looking to get buffed in the areas of its damage, cooldown on target, and on the ally’s buff range of the ability. Alistar found some much needed buffs as well, as the cooldown on his Q, Pulverize, went down at all ranks.  Riven’s passive, Runic Blade saw some damage buffs as well, with its AD ratio going up from 25-50% to 30-60%. The summoner spell, Ghost, had its movement speed increased from 20-40% to 24-48%, and the Predator rune found buffs in its damage and reduced cooldown.

Assassin champions found some buffs to their kit as well. Kha’zix’s base health was slightly buffed, and the isolation multiplier on his Q, Taste Their Fear, was buffed from 100% to 120%. Zed has his W, Living Shadow, has its cooldown and missile speed buffed, where it’s now on a 20-14 cooldown (at ranks 1 to 5).

Speaking of assassins, Pyke saw some balance changes to his kit, as the cooldown, mana cost, and damage on his Q, Bone Skewer, was buffed. His E, Phantom Undertow, saw slight buffs to its damage, while the movement speed from his W, Ghostwater Dive, was reduced to 40% at all ranks, and his Armor and MR per level was reduced. Riot’s intent to these balance changes was to enable him more in the support role, while hoping to not make him overpowered in solo lanes.

Nerfs

Many champions that are used in competitive League of Legends are scheduled to be nerfed in the upcoming 10.14 patch. Varus’ Q, Piercing Arrow, had his AD ratios decreased, while his E, Hail of Arrows, had its base damage decreased. The knockup on Wukong’s R, Cyclone, had its knockup duration decreased from 0.75 seconds to 0.6, while the attack speed that Trundle gets from his W, Frozen Domain, was reduced from 30-100% to 20-100%, and Ezreal’s E, Arcane Shift, saw its cooldown increased by 3 seconds at all ranks.

The biggest nerf that is scheduled for 10.14 is with Volibear, where its base attack speed was reduced slightly, and the healing from Volibear’s W, Frenzied Maul, was reduced from 100% to 50% to monsters. With much needed buffs to champions that were underperforming and nerfs to champions that are widely used in competitive play, only time will tell if this patch will severly shake up the current meta.

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