As the pro scene moves into the Playoffs in preperation for the World Championships, League of Legends' most recent patch 9.16 is a big one packed with balance changes and bug fixes.
With so much to look through, we've highlighted five of the most impactful changes coming into the game.
Pantheon
First off, we have to start with the new Pantheon rework as Riot Games have done a phenomenal job of modernising the spartan's kit while maintaining the essence that made the character so popular over the years.
Rather than give Pantheon an entirely new kit, he has kept most of his moves but with added twists such as his ultimate, Grand Starfall, now sends a wave of damage travelling through the lane before he lands.
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Azir and Corki nerfs
These two have dominated the mid-lane in pro play in recent times which is why we have grouped them together. Both picks are extremely safe while offering tons of damage throughout the game so Riot has stripped some of their power.
Azir is now slightly less effective in the late game with a higher cooldown on his Q, Conquering Sands, in the later stages of matches. Meanwhile, Corki has had his base damage and attack growth lowered (60 to 55 and 3 to 2.5).
Dr Mundo buffs
Dr Mundo has quietly been receiving buffs all year and he is being tipped to be an effective jungler in the Playoffs. The madman has already had four sets of smaller changes but Riot have not held back on patch 9.16, buffing the tenacity from his Burning Agony to 30% at all ranks and giving his E, Masochism, a decreasing cooldown instead of a flat 6 seconds at all ranks.
Sylas jungle nerf
While Dr Mundo might be joining the jungle, Sylas is almost certainly leaving it. Designed to be a mid-laner, Sylas ended up an extremely powerful jungler thanks to his built-in sustain and fantastic ganking potential with his ability to steal enemy ultimates.
However, Riot have decided to push him back into lanes by changing his Q, Chaining Lash, to do 45% less damage to monsters as well as minions. Though on the bright side for Sylas players, Riot have fixed the bug where he didn't get health back after stealing Karma's ultimate and empowering her W, Renewal.
Orianna indicator improvement
Finally we have this small quality of life change which fixes an extremely annoying problem with Orianna. Now, any ally she shields will be able to see the range indicator of her ball meaning you can avoid those awkward engages where you fly too far forward and don't get the combo with her Shockwave ultimate like you had hoped.
