League of Legends patch 10.12 has arrived with new elements on the map, buffs for Volibear, and new high noon skins.
High Noon Senna, High Noon Irelia, and Hextech Nocturne will be available on June 18. High Noon Senna is the first skin line the Redeemer shares with her husband, Lucian.
Buffs to champions in patch 10.12
The reworked Volibear arrived at the Summoner’s Rift with patch 10.11 and has been underperforming ever since. Volibear’s win rate is currently the lowest in League of Legends, so Riot Games decided to give him more power. Overall, Volibear should feel more fluid when it goes in for the kill, and its gameplay clarity has been significantly improved. Patch 10.12 increase Volibear’s mana and health growth, as well as the damage on its ultimate and the amount of time during which nearby towers are disabled.
While Volibear’s buffs are good, these are not the big highlight of the patch. In true Riot fashion, the developer is going back on certain nerfs it pushed in previous patches. It’s been proved, once again, that nerfing a champion into oblivion is not the solution to proper balance. These latest buffs are targeting Akali and Senna.
Riot never intended for Senna to be an AD carry, as she was supposed to be a support and nothing more than that. Because pro players abused Senna’s passive, Riot nerf it to the point where she was only useful as a support. Or so Riot thought.
One more recent strategy sees Senna assume the role of support early and becomes a carry once she completes the quest on her support item. Despite multiple changes and nerfs, pro players still prefer Senna over some other marksmen. Riot seems to have finally accepted Senna in the role, as patch 10.12 buffs ADC Senna through significantly increasing the available uses of her passive.
Senna
- Passive – Absolution, Mist Wraith Drop Chance 8.33% On Minions Senna Kills
In season nine, Akali was a go-to champion for pro players across the world. Akali is considered a flex pick, meaning that she can go to any solo lane and perform at a high level. Having that flexibility allowed teams to adapt their drafts based on the enemy’s picks. Riot decided to nerf Akali into oblivion and she disappeared from pro play in the spring. In patch 10.12, Riot is attempting to bring her back by buffing her Q damage.
Akali
- Q – Five Point Strike, Damage 30/55/80/105/130 (+0.65 Total Attack Damage) (+0.65 Ability Power)
Map changes in patch 10.12
In season 10, every game is different because of the elemental rift. Each dragon grants a different bonus. It could be regeneration, bonus damage, shielding, or ultimate cooldown. The priority for each dragon changes based on the needs of the team. Dragons also affect the map by adding or removing terrain, adding bushes, or increasing the movement speed.
Patch 10.12 adds new elements to the Infernal map and the Cloud map, making games with those elements a little more interesting.
Infernal Terrain
- New Blast Cones in the tri-bush near Gromp, in front of the base’s gates, alcoves, and Wolf camp.
Cloud Terrain
- New Scryer’s Bloom in front of each base’s gate and in front of each tri-bush in the river.
- Speed zone grants 35% movement speed.
