Riot is about to buff Annie and Brand in new patch 10.22

The first sneak peeks of LoL patch 10.22 were recently presented by lead gameplay designer Mark “Scuffy” Yetter, and will include adjustments to five champions including Annie and Brand. 

According to Scuffy, the adjustments will hopefully help some champions to climb back into the League of Legends meta. Annie and Brand especially are in focus, getting some adjustments that will open them up to be viable in more roles around the map. 

Annie will be more viable as support in patch 10.22

• E – Molten Shield, damage reduction 40-240 (+40% AP) shield for three seconds
• E – Molten Shield, can now be cast on self or ally within 800 range
• E – Montel Shield, mana cost 20 >> 40 mana

Annie has been out of the meta for quite some time, mainly because she doesn’t fit perfectly into any role as of right now. She was originally intended to be a mid laner, but has also seen some success as an off-meta support pick. 

Riot is clearly not against the idea of Annie being a support champion, as they will make her Molten Shield able to be cast on allies. This suddenly makes Annie more than just a mage support with some stuns, since she can provide shields for her allied carries as well. 

Brand becomes more than a team fight champion in patch 10.22

• P – Blaze, explosion damage 12-16% (1.5% per 100 AP) >> 10-14% (2% per 100 AP)
• E – Conflagration, always spreads to nearby enemies
• E – Conflagration, spread range lowered from 375 >> 300
• E – Conflagration, blaze (P) effect doubles spread range to 600
• R – Pyroclasm, can now bounce to Brand

Brand will get quite a few small tweaks on his abilities, mainly for his Conflagration (E) and Blaze passive. The changes will make Brand’s passive stronger while scaling, and will also make it easier for his Conflagration to spread to nearby enemies. Brand is known for his heavy AOE damage and these changes will only make it even scarier. 

Brand will also get a pretty important buff to his ultimate, even though it might not sound like it. Having his Pyroclasm bounce to himself means that Brand will suddenly become stronger in a one versus one scenario. This makes Brand more viable in the mid lane and also potentially as a jungler. With these changes, Brand won’t just have to wait for team fights to become relevant. 

Nasus, Ashe, and Jinx to receive small changes in patch 10.22

Riot will be looking to make small adjustments to Nasus, Ashe, and Jinx. The changes are not as big as the two previous champions, but will likely impact their place in the meta.

Nasus

• R – Fury of the Sands, bonus resists 15-55 >> 40-70
• R – Fury of the Sands, no longer gains 1-3 resistance per second

Ashe

• W – Volley, fired 9 >> 7-11 arrows by ranks

Jinx

• E – Flame Chompers!, traps deals full damage immediately instead of over 1.5 seconds

Patch 10.22 is expected to hit the live servers on October 28 and is likely to change during testing on the Public Beta Environment (PBE).