LoL patch 10.8 brings big changes to the jungle, buffs solo kills

League of Legends patch 10.8 has arrived!

The most recent patch brings massive changes to the experience granted by kills and targets champions with the most presence in pro play. On the cosmetic side of the game, patch 10.8 adds Coven Morgana, Coven LeBlanc, Coven Zyra, and Coven Zyra Prestige Edition. All of the new skins will be available on April 16.

Buffed champions in patch 10.8

Patch 10.8 has something for everyone, starting with Ashe. In the current state of the game, only a handful of marksmen are viable. Adding significant bonus attack speed to Ashe’s Q will put her on the radar of bottom laners.

Ashe

• Q – Ranger’s Focus, Bonus Attack Speed 20/30/40/50/60%

In the jungle, Evelynn is getting extra power in the early game. Right now, Evelynn is in a weak spot with a 48% win rate and only a 3% pick rate. These changes are likely to push her pick rate in solo queue up.

Evelynn

• Q – Hate Spike, Base Spike Damage 30/35/40/45/50 (90/105/120/135/150 maximum damage)

Ryze is a safe pick in pro play, players can trust Ryze to scale in the late game and take over. Ryze is not as common in solo queue, but is definitely a champion worth learning after the buff in patch 10.8.

Ryze

• Health 575
• Armor 22
• Attack Damage 56
• Q – Overload, Bonus Movement Speed 28/32/36/40/44% when consuming 2 runes

Soraka is back for another round of buffs. Earlier in the season, Soraka was nerfed into oblivion in order to push her out of the top lane. The balance team realized that those nerfs were too harsh and Soraka is getting some of her power back.

Soraka

• Mana 425
• Q – Starcall, Cost 45/50/55/60/65 mana

Nerfed champions in patch 10.8

Patch 10.8 is nerfing some of the most popular champions in pro play: Aphelios, Kalista, Senna, and Sett.

Patch 10.8 removes Aphelios’ armor penetration and exchanges it for lethality. The scaling for base damage and cooldowns take more time and the damage ratio went up. The idea here is to reduce the overall power of the champion.

Aphelios

• Pasive, Aphelios now gains 2/4/6/8/10/12 lethality
• Q – Weapons Of The Faithful
• Base Damage and Cooldown Level Scaling Aphelios’ Weapons Actives’ Base Damage And Cooldowns Scale Over Levels 1-13
• Moonshot Damage Ad Ratio 0.42-0.6 (Levels 1-13) Bonus Attack Damage
• Onslaught Damage Ad Ratio 0.21-0.3 (Levels 1-13) Bonus Attack Damage
• Binding Eclipse Damage Ratio 0.26-0.35 (Levels 1-13) Bonus Attack Damage
• Duskwave Damage Ratio 0.56-0.8 (Levels 1-13) Bonus Attack Damage
• Sentry Damage Ratio 0.35-0.5 (levels 1-13) bonus attack damage

Kalista has one of the best early games in League of Legends, from level two she has crowd control and enough poke to bully the enemies out of lane. In pro play, we see her in the bottom lane usually paired up with Taric or as a top laner. Kalista can do well in both circumstances without being a dramatically overpowered pick. Patch 10.8 takes away some of her early game strength and makes her more vulnerable overall.

Kalista

• Armor 21
• E – Rend, Slow 10/18/26/34/42%

When developer Riot Games introduced Senna as a new support champion, players instead used her primarily as a marksman. Riot nerfed Senna, so players created the fasting Senna strategy. Riot is nerfing Senna one more time, hoping to end her reign in pro play. The change to Senna in patch 10.8 should be enough to discourage players from taking Senna as anything other than a support.

Senna

• Passive – Absolution, Mist Wraith Spawn Chance 22% on minions Senna doesn’t kill

The Boss proved to be a versatile individual. Sett can be flexed in the top lane, mid lane, the jungle, and as a support. That flexibility makes Sett a highly contested champion with a strong presence in the game. The nerf in patch 10.8 targets Sett’s early game as a solo laner and his ability to clear the waves fast.

Sett

• W – Haymaker, Base Damage 80/105/130/155/180

Experience changes in patch 10.8

Patch 10.8 will introduce two major changes that will affect every role in the game.

This starts with experience changes in the jungle. At level nine, junglers will get more experience from their camps. This way, junglers won’t be forced to be as active from level one. Another jungle change is the additional sustain now being offered, as jungler items will heal 50% more when the jungler is below 30% maximum health.

The second change affects the experience granted by kills. From level one to six, solo kills grant 20% more experience and assisted kills grant 20% less experience. At level seven the numbers are reduced to 10%. Champions that die will get a movement speed bonus that will allow them to go back to lane 2.5 seconds faster.

The changes to death experience will allegedly prevent the teams from snowballing early. While this my be true in the solo lanes, it only make things more difficult in the bottom lane where most of the kills tend to be assisted. The change discourages the jungler from ganking early as they don’t get as much experience as they do while farming.

Junglers could soon find themselves between a rock and a hard place when it comes to finding experience and leveling up.