The recent 5.4 patch has had some significant impact on more than a few champions – some even being completely destroye- er, reconfigured. That’s right, on top of the usual buffs and nerfs, we’ve got a few new character configurations to play around with. We’ll start with worst – may as well get the bad news over with quick.
Veigar
The first major change I want to take a look at is Veigar, our favorite little mid-lane nuke. Some praise the innovations given to his skillset – others think it came at too great a cost. Personally, I believe this patch went and took Final Boss Veigar and made him a little more like Side Boss Veigar.
- [Q] Baleful Strike – Now has an increased range from 650 – 850. This means farther reach for his Q and more chances to farm that glorious free AP right? More than correct. It’s now been deemed a skillshot, one that goes through the first minion or champion hit and will hit anything right behind it – there’s your downside.
- [W] Dark Matter – Now costs less mana as you level it up, and the cooldown is no longer ten seconds. These are pretty normal changes, and the only thing on his kit they didn’t reconfigure completely.
- [E] Event Horizon – “Alright guys, let’s not get caught in Veigar’s circle of death, split up!”
‘But Lee Sin, they changed his kit, you can dodge it easy now!’
“Well what was I ever worried for then? Thanks for reminding me.”
Yeah, they completely destroyed this one, and there’s no way around seeing it for what it is – the biggest letdown of his update. It no longer appears immediately. There’s now a .75 second delay between your click and its appearance in the world. But don’t worry, they increased the range by 50 and lowered the cooldown times a little! - [R] Primordial Burst – Alright I’m on the fence with this one myself, because it’s got its ups and downs. The AP ratio is no longer 1.2, but 1.0. This means less damage – a lot less damage. But to make up for it they’ve given it a steady 125 mana across the board and faster cooldowns. Remember when I said I was on the fence? I lied. They have taken the mid-lane nuke and turned him into a Spongebob version of his previous self.
If we want to talk about the worst of the changes, that’s all. Besides a little tweak to Janna where she no longer recieves the benefit of her own Tailwind effect – but that’s just a normal nerf. (That’ll be reversed, right, Riot? Right? Please?)
Mordekaiser
This giant hunk of metal finally got some much-needed love this patch with a few updates to his kit and a few deductions. But one thing is for sure: this patch will forever be remembered as the champion killer – no more AD Mordekaiser. While he didn’t recieve a complete overhaul like the other two, he still got enough changes to make his play feel like he was a new champ. Also, his base health regeneration has gone from 8.37 to 3.37, a 5 health reduction per 5 seconds.
- [Q] Mace of Spades – Every Morde player has had that moment where the Q is ready to go, and that enemy champ is so close, but there’s a dastardly minion between you and your target. He’s playing Gandalf while you’re his Balrog. Never fear! This patch, Morde got a range update for his Q, with an extra 75 range to keep that Riven from getting away.
- [W] Creeping Death – Guess what? Now you don’t have to decide whether to cloak yourself or someone else, because you’re affected if you give it to a friendly! The damage has been reduced, and no, it won’t inflict double damage on an enemy. But really, most Morde players keep this one on a level-last basis.
- [R] Children of the Grave – So, there aren’t really going to be any more chances for an AD Morde to work. No longer does he get 25% of the attack damage from enslaved champions. Instead, he gets 30% of their health and 30% of their AP, buffing the damage for the AP Morde enthusiast. The ghost no longer gets 75% of his attack damage either – it’s been nerfed to 25/50/75 extra AD.
Overall, I think they did a really good job cleaning this rusted champion up a bit. A little more oil and Tin Man may make a brand new debut to the League of Legends community.
Zilean
The last of the big champion changes – and the absolute best one – go to our own little Time Lord, Zilean. His kit got a brand new remake and some regular changes, but overall this click-and-run champion has some challenging new skills for you old fans to play around with. He’s got an armor buff up to 19 at level one, and a nerf to his attack range from 600 to 550. His basic attacks have new particles, and he even got an icon update! He’s looking like our own dark Father Time now.
- [Q] Time Bomb – No more can Zil players be accused of picking a point-and-click champion. With this new update, his Q has been completely redone – the bombs even explode much quicker. Whenever you think of Zilean’s new Q, you need to imagine arching skillshots and perfectly timed land mines. From now on, his Q is thrown in an arch to land at its designated spot, regardless if there’s a champion/minion there or not. The range has increased to 900 from the original 700, allowing for more poke action altogether. Another major bonus added to this skill: if he lands a second bomb on the same enemy it will stun them for one second before the second bomb blows.
- [W] Rewind – In the first true nerf Zilean recieved in this update, his W no longer lowers the cooldown on his ult, only his Q and E. Makes it feel a little less important now, doesn’t it? While it does still have some major advantages against the enemy team, we will all miss the old “Is ult up, Zil?” – “Let me press W a little” conversations.
- [E] Time Warp – No longer increases in duration, it remains 2.5 seconds from rank 1 through 5. It’s also no longer a buff for friendly champions either. All that remains is the slow. But, it has become the new Nasus slow in exchange for the duration. At rank 5 it will now slow an enemy champion by 99% and remains that way for the full 2.5 seconds. No escaping from the Lord of Time after all, huh?
- [R] Chronoshift – Guess what? They nerfed this too. But they buffed it as well. It no longer lasts 7 seconds; that’s been taken down to 5 – but now the cooldown has gone from 180 to 120/90/60. This is to make up for the fact that Rewind no longer triggers it, so I guess it’s acceptable.
Overall, I think I had more fun playing the new Zilean than I did with the other two – and I’ve been an avid fan of Morde and Veigar since I began playing in Season 2. Morde got some love, but in today’s meta, it really just doesn’t always cut it. Veigar was destroyed. That’s really the only way to look at it. But Zilean, he became the one to pick when you’re looking to have some good old-fashioned fun in norms.
That wraps us up for best and worst changes, but you decide and let us know what you think!
