Patch 9.18 to bring new changes aimed at solo queue champions

Mark “Scruffy” Yetter, lead gameplay designer for League of Legends, shared a preview of the changes coming up in Patch 9.18. This next update is scheduled to drop on September 11.

The next update brings changes and updates to 16 champions in the game. As previously reported, Aatrox and Akali will get significant nerfs in the upcoming update, and here’s the full explanation of those changes.

League of Legend’s most hated champion is getting a buff, and you can read all about Teemo’s new stats here.

Patch 9.18 targets solo queue champions

Aurelion Sol and Kayle received major changes in the previous patch. Riot Games is committed to making these champions relevant and added more changes to them in the next update. Aurelion Sol’s base HP will increase and Kayle will get more damage on her E.

Xayah will receive the most significant nerf in Patch 9.18. Her armor will decrease and the cooldown on her ultimate will go up. These two changes will affect Xayah’s priority in professional play. Pro players use Xayah’s ult to apply crowd control with a following stun or to escape from the enemy. The cooldown increase will make players think twice before they throw it down.

The new patch will buff popular champions in solo queue. Caitlyn, Jhin, and Miss Fortune are getting small buffs. Perhaps the strongest is the change to Miss Fortune’s E, as the slow in the ability’s first point is set to 40%.

Ekko is getting a buff on his W, as the mana cost will go down and the stun duration is increasing. Ekko was largely a solo queue champion until SK Telecom T1’s Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok brought it back during the 2019 LCK Summer playoffs. The pick is yet to reach other regions.

Former Team Liquid Academy mid laner Lyonel “Arcsecond” Pfaender has been spamming Ekko in the jungle. The experiment has proved mildly successful so far with a 59% win rate.

Developers previously hinted at plans to change Riven, Vayne, and Sylas, but those changes were pulled from Patch 9.18. The Sylas nerfs will come with Patch 9.19, since the developer “need more time to do the right changes”.