In anticipation of the second major League of Legends patch of the year, patch 14.2, Riot Games proactively addressed critical issues plaguing 3 champions—Karthus, Graves, and Twisted Fate—through a micropatch.
While the regular cadence of patches typically resolves most issues in the game, these particular bugs demanded immediate attention from the developers to maintain the integrity of gameplay.
League Patch 14.2 micropatch
- TF: Red Card didn’t slow the primary target
- Karthus: Weirdness with Wall of Pain resists
- Unflinching: Weird interactions with Graves’s Smoke Screen that gave people infinite stats
One of the identified issues pertained to Karthus and his W ability, Wall of Pain. An unintended interaction occurred when enemy players traversed through the wall, resulting in an abrupt and excessive increase in magic resist for the affected champions. This unintended behavior not only disrupted the balance of engagements but also nullified Karthus’s ability to inflict further damage on those affected.
Similarly, Graves faced a critical bug related to his W ability, Smoke Screen. This ability, designed to reduce the visibility of enemies, inadvertently provided an unintended near-infinite stat boost to players walking through the smoke.
Intriguingly, this exploit only manifested when players with the Unflinching rune entered the Smoke Screen, turning what was meant to be a powerful debuff into a game-changing buff. This interaction significantly compromised Graves’ strategic plans and gameplay effectiveness.
Twisted Fate, the third champion, encountered a specific issue with his W ability, Red Card. Prior to the fix, the ability failed to apply its intended slow effect to the primary target, affecting only those in the immediate vicinity.
This prompted Riot Games to swiftly implement a fix, ensuring that Twisted Fate’s Red Card now functions as intended, maintaining the balance of his abilities in the game. Notably, Twisted Fate has been a topic of extensive discussion within the League community due to ongoing changes tested on the PBE aimed at enhancing his critical strike build.
In conclusion, the developers’ proactive approach in deploying a micropatch ahead of the scheduled major patch reflects their commitment to addressing critical issues that could significantly impact the game’s balance.