The dominance of healing in the game is being addressed directly in League Patch 11.3.
League Patch 11.3 is aimed to solve the reality that many League of Legends champions continued to thrive at the start of season 11 with items to guarantee that they and their teammates are still alive and well-maintained after combats. With the new update, all of these items are seeing significant adjustments that are likely to reduce the presence of healing in the game.
Mark “Scruffy” Yetter, the League’s gameplay design director, has announced today that many of these items, among others, are getting nerfs, buffs, and other modifications that seek to reduce the popularity of items and champions that have exploited their power.
Goredrinker, Staff of Flowing Water, Ravenous Hydra, and Sterak’s Gage have become the staples of sustain in the League during Patch 11.2 and will be rebalanced so that their influence may not be as a make-or-break on the Rift.
Here are all the adjustments to the item that are tentatively set for Patch 11.3.
Item Nerfs
The utter superiority of Goredrinker among fighters in the top lane and jungle had been a hotly debated topic between fans and pros alike. Fights where the opponent that seems to be lost can be easily turned around with the easy activation of the item, returning an immense amount of HP to the user and enabling them to dive in the header again. Therefore, the suggested modification to this powerful Mythic item for League Patch 11.3 is that the active recovery it offers will be decreased from 12 per cent of lost health to 8 per cent.
Ravenous Hydra, another common item among these fighters, will also its Omnivamp passive modified in League Patch 11.3, from a fixed 15 percent to a champion-level-based from 8 to 16 percent. This may reduce the overall healing that auto-attacks and skills provide when the item is acquired early in the game and is likely to open new build pathways for many champions.
Many AP junglers have exploited Flowing Water Staff due to its low cost, improved AP, and passive healing of teammates, helping them to conquer the jungle early in the game. In order to offset the strength of the support-oriented item, the AP it gives will be reduced from 60 to 50. In a similar way, Sterak’s Gage has helped the top laners to obtain an extra layer of defense that allows almost any trade safe, so its shield will be reduced from 200 to 100 and will last for just four seconds.
Zhonya’s Hourglass, Ironspike Whip, and Deadman’s Plate fill out the list of subtle nerfs. Zhonya’s reliance is now going to cost 100 more gold, Ironspike Whip’s double damage to monsters and minions below 50 percent HP passive is being eliminated, and Deadman’s Plate gives 75 less health in League Patch 11.3.
Item Buffs
Many of the items that are buffered in League Patch 11.3 are expected to resolve the high level of healing and restoration in the League, with some additional bonuses to boost damage output as well.
The most popular buffs arriving with this patch are Chemtech Purtifer, Phantom Dancer, and Lord Dominik’s Regards—all the items that sunk into the darkness for the payoff of others. With these adjustments, however, the probability of them bouncing to the peak rate of use for a number of champions is high in League Patch 11.3.
The latest support item, Chemtech Putrifer, was a niche choice when items such as the Flowing Water Staff and the Moonstone Renewer are essential. As a result, the Ability Haste will be boosted from 15 to 20 and it will obtain a new passive that aimed at enchanter supports, which allowing allies who are healed or shielded to inflict 60 per cent of Grievous Wounds on opponents who have been damaged for three seconds.
Phantom Dancer used to be a staple item for the ADCs but has since fallen victim to the growth of other powerful items. In League Patch 11.3, the bonus AD will be added back from zero to 20. But to compensate for this, its attack speed will be reduced to 25%, its build-up will be modified in the early stages, and the overall stack attack speed will be reduced to 30%. These adjustments will allow the item to be considered again in the various ADC builds, but also ensure that it is not too strong in its synergy with other items.
Tanks have consistently been some of the best champions in the League in the 2021 preseason and the launch of season 11—and there are also very few options to cope with them. Now, Lord Dominick’s Regard is going to offer 35 percent armor penetration, which will help ADCs hold their own against the huge defenses of these champions.
Force of Nature has been a niche pick for many tanks, the main use of it is to benefit those wanting to engage while still increasing magic resistance. In order to make the item more valuable, its passive movement speed per stack is increased to eight, with a 40 maximum in League Patch 11.3.
Marksman Mythic items remained effective at the beginning of season 11, but Galeforce and Kraken Slayer took priority over the other choice, Immortal Shieldbow. To make it more appealing, the AD offered by Immortal Shieldbow will be increased from 50 to 60 and its attack speed will be increased from 15 to 20 percent.
Other items are subject to minor quality-of-life adjustments in League Patch 11.3 to make them more of an option for champions who may neglect them in favour of others. Frozen Heart would have reduced the cost from 2,700 gold to 2,500, but will have a reduction of 10 armor to accommodate for this.
The powerful Banshee’s Veil would have an increase of 85 AP, but its cost has also risen to 2,600 gold. Verdant Banner, which builds onto Banshee’s Veil, has been passively changed to give one magic resistance after killing any unit with a limit of 15, and its cost has been reduced to 1,000 gold. Another powerful AP item, Horizon’s Focus, is having a minor increase in AP to 115, but its passive spotting of enemies attacked from afar by its owner is lowered its distance to 700.
Item Adjustments
Other popular items are having changes where both the buff and the nerf of the item plan to reintroduce the items into the game in a different way in League Patch 11.3.
Eclipse, the favorite Mythic for most fighters and champions who dominate the fights without slowing down, has raised its shield to 180 for the melee champions and 90 for the ranged champions. The Omnivamp it offers will now scale, depending on the level, from 5% to 10%.
The new AP Mythic Riftmaker is also adjusted its Omnivamp, which now will scale from 8 percent to 16 percent based on champion level. The health given would also be increased from 150 to 250. One of its components, Leeching Leer, is seeing its Omnivamp set at 5%, as well as the same health boost.
All of these updates coming to the game in League Patch 11.3, as well as the announced adjustments to the multiple champions, are tentative and subject to adjustment prior to the final launch of the patch on Feb. 3. More specifics on these improvements are scheduled to be released tomorrow.