Riot prepares for Worlds 2019 with patch 9.19 buffs and nerfs

Syed Mujtaba Naqvi Published 26/09/2019

League of Legends patch 9.19 is live and has brought balance changes to a number of champions, along with new skins, chromas, and some bug fixes.

The most important patch of the season and the patch League of Legends 2019 World Championship will be played on is now live across all servers. With Riot Games not wanting to negatively impact Worlds participants with impulsive changes, this patch includes a long list of slightly buffed champions and a few nerfs.

Buffs for Akali, Aatrox, other champions in patch 9.19

The most notable buff of the patch is Heimerdinger’s, as he’s considered one of the weaker champions in the game with his unique kit. H-28G Evolution Turret (Q)’s and H28Q Apex Turret’s (R) ratios have been increased to 35% AP, and CH-2 Electron Storm Grenade’s (E) stun duration has been increased to 1.5.

Due to a slight overnerf in the patch 9.18, Aatrox’s Darkin Blade (Q) minion damage reduction has been lowered to 45% to give him back some wave clear. Akali and Annie were also readjusted, so Akali’s Perfect Execution (R2) maximum damage has been reverted to 255/450/645, while Annie’s Molten Shield (E) cooldown now decreases with levels and movement speed increases.

Ashe’s passive now slows more, and her Ranger’s Focus (Q) resets auto attacks. These changes to Ashe make her a more favorable pick with stronger laning utility. Players should have more initiative to pick Blitzcrank too, as his Rocket Grab (Q) now has a higher range, and Static Field (R) charges up to three stacks.

To have Fiora be as strong later in the game as she is in early, Riot has decided to grant turret hits to Lunge (Q) and add bonus damage to turrets from Bladework’s (E) second attack. This will enhance the top lane champion’s tower pushing power.

Rek’Sai’s unborrowed Queen’s Wrath (Q) also now works on turrets, and her base armor has been slightly increased. Graves received a minor buff to damage, health, mana, and mana regen stats.

Mordekiser received a slight shield buff, Pantheon got a damage buff to Shield Vault (W), and Orianna’s crowd-controlling ultimate now deals 200/275/350 damage with higher AP scaling.

With the belief that Sion’s this buff will help bring him to a higher-level play, Riot decided to buff Soul Furnance’s (W) shield, especially at earlier levels, to 50/75/100/125/150.

Vayne got more damage to Final Hour (R), and Veigar’s Event Horizon (E) now has a lower cooldown on higher levels. In the jungle Xin Zhao’s early game power has been buffed with a higher passive healing, and higher damage on Three Talon Strike (Q), while Zac’s Let’s Bounce bloblets now restore an additional 1/2/3% maximum health to balance his late-game scaling.

Patch 9.19 brings needed nerfs to Karma, Sylas, more

Karma is considered one of the strongest blind picks as she can be played in multiple roles. To balance that, Riot is nerfing her non-support damage by lowering Inner Flame’s (Q) damage ratio to 40% AP. Another versatile champion, Sylas, has also been made less effective.

With Gragas being one of the top-tier meta champions, his clear speed has now been nerfed. Drunken Rage (W) now has a higher cooldown and deals less of the target’s maximum health as damage.

Also in the jungle, Sejuani has taken a hit to her damage output, with the damage she passively deals based on the target’s maximum health now been capped at its lowest level of 10%.

Tahm Kench received another nerf and is more vulnerable to poke with Thick Skin’s (E) heal now scaling with levels.

Yuumi has been showing a bit too strong in the competitive scene, so the patch has nerfed her Prowling Projectile (Q) by capping its slow and lowering its duration, but removing the decay over time.

New skins and chromas in patch 9.19

With patch 9.19 comes the announcement of new skins available beginning September 26. The skins joining the vault include Hextech Amumu, Championship Ryze, Valiant Sword Riven and its Prestige edition, Majestic Empress Morgana, and Splendid Staff Nami. Chromas will be available for the new Morgana, Nami, and Ryze’s skins.

The patch also implemented a number of bug fixes and performance adjustments. Full patch notes are available here.

Read Also

League of Legends

Solary vs DN Soopers Challengers WSCI Semi-Finals: Bets and Predictions Ben Boland Solary goes up against DN Soopers Challengers in the semi-finals of the World Star Challengers Invitational 2026, the inaugural edition of the tier 2 World Championship. Europe and Korea have been dominating the tournament, and only those two regions remain in the semi-finals. This is the first time that secondary leagues face off internationally, making this the first true test of those regions’ strengths. Is the LFL the best tier ...

League of Legends

LYON vs Shopify Rebellion LCS playoffs lower bracket: Best bets and predictions Ben Boland LYON faces Shopify Rebellion in the lower bracket of the LCS Summer Playoffs 2026. The winner of this match claims North America’s final spot at the 2026 League of Legends World Championship, while the loser ends their season in fourth place. Neither team should have been in this spot. LYON entered the playoffs as the favorite and they’re now in the loser’s bracket, and SR was expected to lose much ...

League of Legends

Team Liquid vs Cloud9 LCS Playoffs Upper Bracket Finals: Bets and Predictions Ben Boland The LCS Upper Bracket finals are one many would not have predicted. Team Liquid takes on Cloud9 to see which team will lock in their spot in the Worlds 2026 Swiss stage and the LCS Summer Grand Finals. League of Legends bettors are in for a treat in this best-of-five, with many good bets available. Let’s take a look at some of the best bets for the Cloud9 vs. Team ...

League of Legends

The LEC’s Viewership Is Down 20% From Summer 2025 Ben Boland As the Summer Split has concluded, the results are out — and the LEC’s viewership keeps declining for the second year in a row. Even though Europe has achieved strong results this year, fewer viewers follow these teams regionally afterwards. According to Escharts, the LoL European league has recorded 173,989 average viewers in Summer 2026, and 438,821 peak viewers. In 2025, the LEC had an average viewership of 213,292 with ...

League of Legends

Is Voice Chat Coming to League of Legends in 2026? Ben Boland After a decade of being opposed to it, Riot has finally taken steps to implement voice chat in League of Legends. However, the launch of voice chat in LoL has been delayed as the feature is experiencing setbacks. Here’s a rundown of the situation. Earlier this year, players discovered voice chat-related files on the LoL Player Beta Environment (PBE). Following them, Riot communicated on March 13 that they were now ...

League of Legends

LoL: Europe Shines Against Korea in 2026 As NA Struggles To Keep Pace Ben Boland In 2026, Europe has had its best results against the East in LoL Esports history. While their losses to North America may overshadow their achievements, EU has a winning record against South Korea this year. Meanwhile, NA has the LEC’s number but has its worst head-to-head against the East since 2023 — here I will break down the key statistics that show this. After years of Europe being a shell ...

League of Legends

Which League of Legends Region Will Win 2026 Worlds? Hannan Mundia The League of Legends World Championship is easily the game’s most important annual tournament. The top teams from every major region compete for a chance to win the substantial cash prize and etch their names in League of Legends history. This year will be no different, with the 2026 Worlds coming  beginning on October 15. Teams from multiple regions have already qualified for the tournament, though their performances throughout the ...