Frequent updates can often confuse players, but timely patches draw applause. LoL updates are usually closer to the latter. They bring grand updates when things get loose to bring joy to the users. Of course, time is needed to adapt to all the new changes, but if the additions are worth the effort, updates are always welcome.

The 8.4 update is the first large scale update since the Rune system update. With this patch, the item build of all mid lane AP champions has changed. With the change to ‘Morellonomicon’, which was one of the first core items for magician champions, builds has been diversified.

The most notable change was ‘Archangel’s Staff’. Archangel’s Staff is used often by champions who make Tear of the Goddess early. As the build and the stats of Archangel’s Staff changed, Ryze and Cassiopeia’s tiers rose noticeably.

On the other hand, Zoe, who could deal unpredictably high damage and essentially delete DPS champions, was severely nerfed severely and stepped back from being an OP champion. In this column, we are taking a look at Ryze, Cassiopeia, and Zoe, who were the most-affected champions in the 8.4 update and asked some players about their thoughts on the update.

8.4 Update’s Biggest Beneficiary: Ryze

Ryze has strong CC and a teamfight-oriented skillset. He’s a champion that gets picked very often in many different competitions. Even after the Runes Reforged update, his synergy with Inspiration and Sorcery runes was outstanding.

In the 2018 LCK Spring Split, Ryze was picked/banned 92.5% of the games and had a 58.8% win rate. After the 8.3 patch, the stopwatch-ultimate evading sequence was blocked and his win rate fell a bit. However, most people still say that the champion itself is very strong.

With the new update, Ryze now has wings attached to his back. As Archangel’s Staff now has a 10% cooldown reduction, there is no need to buy another cooldown reduction item. With Archangel’s Staff alone, Ryze can have both cooldown reduction and mana.

Furthermore, if Ryze selects Archangel’s Staff as his first core item, the lack of damage in the early game can be solved, because ‘Lost Chapter’ was added in the build.

In the 8.5 PBE, the damage of Spell Flux has been reduced and the cooldown for Realm Warp has increased. However, in the 8.4 version which is soon to be implemented in competitions, Ryze seems to be a ‘must-ban’ pick from the red team.

※What do the pro gamers think about Ryze?

We asked the LCK mid laners about the 8.4 update. Most of them agreed that Ryze has become quite strong.

Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok: With Archangel’s Staff, Ryze became a lot better. I think there will be some change with the other champions as well.

Lee “Kuro” Seo-haeng: There are many new AP items now, so there are many choices to get cooldown reduction. As a mid laner, I’m really happy to have a wider selection in the item build.

Kang “Tempt” Myung-gu: Ryze became a better pick with this update.

An “Ian” Jun-hyeong: Ryze became a lot better in the update. He’s clearly a 1st-tier champion.

Strengthened by the item update and ‘Presence of Mind’ rune: Cassiopeia

Cassiopeia, the mid lane AP champion who uses Tear of Goddess, is also one of the beneficiaries of the 8.4 update. Cassiopeia wasn’t a meta champion due to her lacking mobility and passive champion nature. However, with the addition of many different AP items that go really well with Cassiopeia, we might be seeing her more often.

Like Ryze, if Cassiopeia uses Archangel’s Staff as her first core item, she gains increased damage, mana, and cooldown reduction. The remade ‘Liandry’s Torment’ amplifies Cassiopeia’s damage so it’s good as the second core item. Also, ‘Spellbinder’ helps her out with the extra AP and movement speed boost, so it has made Cassiopeia a lot more useful during teamfights.

Cassiopeia’s reputation has also improved thanks to the runes. The ‘Presence of Mind’ Rune wasn’t selected much because other runes were usually more enticing, but as people discovered that Presence of Mind is good for the champions who lack mana in the early game, it is being selected a lot more.

Cassiopeia regains the mana used if she kills an enemy with ‘Twin Fang’. If she kills the minions with Twin Fang while the Presence of Mind is activated, it’s really easy to regain all her mana. In other words, Cassiopeia can now play a lot more aggressively when she levels up.

Of course, one of her weaknesses is that she’s still very weak to ganks, but many say that she’s strong enough to overcome that weakness. That’s why we can predict that we’ll see her more often in the 8.4 update. Tempt and Faker both didn’t deny that Cassiopeia became better.

Tempt: Cassiopeia is now a pick that might appear in the competitions.

Faker: Because of Archangel’s Staff, Cassiopeia also became better.

The Smiles and Frowns of the big 4 of the mid lane, who will be the next big 4?

In the 8.3 version of LoL, the mid lane champions that were picked/banned the most were Ryze, Azir, Zoe and Galio. These champions go well with any team comp so they are called the ‘big 4’. However, with the 8.4 update, Zoe has fallen. As the damage of ‘Paddle Star’ was nerfed severely, it became impossible to nuke damage during teamfights.

Azir and Galio will probably stay in their spots. They avoided direct nerfs and weren’t affected much in item selection as well. The mid laners shared their thoughts about Zoe, Ryze, Galio and Azir.

Faker: All champions changed because of the item patch. I think Zoe won’t be used much anymore.

Kuro: I’ve played Zoe myself; I don’t think she’ll be used anymore.

Tempt: Azir and Galio weren’t affected much in the 8.4 update, so they’ll probably continue to appear, but I don’t think Zoe will be seen anymore because of the nerf.

Ian: Azir and Galio are still good champions. I think we won’t be able to play Zoe because she can’t even clear lanes anymore.

Then which champion will take Zoe’s place? There are many candidates, but the strongest one right now is Taliyah. She was 6W 1L in Round 2, having one of the best records in recent games. Sometimes, she’s was even selected before any of the big 4 champions.

Taliyah is a great roaming champion who can put heavy pressure on opponent DPS champions and can help take objectives more safely using her ultimate. She also has great lane pushing ability, so she can move before the opponent mid laner.

Other possible options are Corki, Malzahar, and Viktor, who are very strong in the late game. It will be very interesting to watch which champion will come out on top in the 8.4 update.