Official Patch 7.21 Notes Released!

Introduction

Hey folks, Patch 7.21 is available, and will be the final one before preseason starts up (aka when our heads explode from all the new changes again). Meanwhile, things are staying calm as we enter the final leg of the season, with plenty of buffs to underloved champions and a long-overdue nerf to Ardent Censer.

Check out the full notes below!

Summary

Buffs: Ekko, Evelynn, Galio, Gangplank, Udyr, Urgot

Nerfs: Azir, Sejuani, Ardent Censer

Tweaks: Rammus

Patch 7.21 notes

BY AETHER, GENTLEMAN GUSTAF, LUQIZILLA

Greetings, Summoners,

Welcome to patch 7.21, the last one before preseason starts in earnest. We’ve got a lot a big changes coming down the pipeline that will shake up the game, so this patch is a bit on the smaller side. That being said, we’re hitting a few outliers and looking to make playstyle changes to a few champions.

A few tanks - Galio, Sejuani, and Rammus - are sitting at far too much baseline effectiveness. We’re bringing that down, and in Galio’s case, giving him a bit more scaling to play with. We’re also taking a look at two juggernauts - Udyr and Urgot - and looking to give them a more reliable late game. Finally, we’re tweaking some items that have either dominated the landscape (hey there, Ardent Censer) or been underwhelming for awhile.

Next patch brings Runes Reforged, and with it will come a ton of change, but for now get out there and enjoy the last patch of Season 7!

Cheers,

 Paul "Aether" Perscheid Mattias "Gentleman Gustaf" Lehman Lucas "Luqizilla" Moutinho

Patch Highlights

If you’re following our Facebook page, this video should look familiar. We figured we’d see what happens if we put it in the Patch Notes, too!

Champions

Azir

Q damage reduced at later ranks. Soldier damage reduced at later levels.

We’re happy seeing Azir succeed across a wider skill range than “only the best,” but now that everyone’s had time to acclimate to the Emperor’s new moves, it’s apparent his damage is a bit high.

Q - Conquering Sands

DAMAGE70/100/130/160/190 ⇒ 70/95/120/145/170

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W - Arise!

Soldier damage unchanged from levels 1-5, reduced by 5 thereafter.

SOLDIER DAMAGE60/62/64/66/68/75/80/85/95/105/115/125/135/145 /155/165/175/185 ⇒60/62/64/66/68/70/75/80/90/100/110/120/130/140 /150/160/170/180

Ekko

Passive damage to monsters increased.

We’re okay with Ekko going jungle when he does so in a healthy way (read: as an assassin, not a tank). However, when we last changed his passive we made it a tad harder for AP Ekko to succeed in the jungle. This change comes to make Ekko a bit more viable in that role with as little risk as possible to his solo laning characteristics.

Passive - Z-Drive Resonance

DAMAGE TO MONSTERS100% ⇒ 200%

Evelynn

E percent health minimum damage set.

Because Whiplash doesn’t kill a mini krug. We’re still tracking Evelynn’s performance post-update and may need to make more substantial changes, but this one felt pretty simple.

E - Whiplash

MINIMUM DAMAGE FROM PERCENT HEALTH0 ⇒ 25

Galio

Q and E base damage decreased. Passive, Q, W, E ability power ratios increased. W physical damage reduction decreased.

We’d like to give more room for Galio to play aggressively and be rewarded for high impact plays. After all, we’re talking about a gargoyle who leaps across the map and justice punches his opponents. Upping the AP ratios on his abilities gives daring Galio players more room to show off their skills, but in exchange we’re trimming some of his baseline effectiveness. With less base damage and lower durability against physical damage, he might not be the priority pick we’ve seen in pro play, but he’ll have a clear niche in solo queue.

Passive - Colossal Smash

RATIO0.4 ability power ⇒ 0.7 ability power

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Q - Winds of War

BASE DAMAGE60/95/130/165/200 ⇒ 50/80/110/140/170

RATIO0.75 ability power ⇒ 0.9 ability power

% MAXIMUM HEALTH DAMAGE OVER TIME2% target’s maximum health per half-second ⇒ 3% target’s maximum health per 100 ability power, per half-second

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W - Shield of Durand

MAGICAL DAMAGE REDUCTION20/25/30/35/40% (+8% per 100 bonus magic resist) ⇒ 20/25/30/35/40% (+8% per 100 bonus magic resist) (+5% per 100 ability power)

PHYSICAL DAMAGE REDUCTIONsame as magical damage reduction ⇒ half of magical damage reduction

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E - Justice Punch

BASE DAMAGE100/140/180/220/260 ⇒ 100/130/160/190/220

RATIO0.7 ability power ⇒ 0.9 ability power

Gangplank

Q gold on kill increased.

The scaling pirate isn’t grabbing the gold he needs to get ahead, so we’re pushing a few more doubloons at him.

Q - Parrrley

GOLD ON KILL2/3/4/5/6 ⇒ 3/4/5/6/7

Rammus

W % armor bonus increased at later ranks. W flat magic resist and % decreased.

Rammus was shaping up to be a tank of all trades, so we’re resharpening his identity to be more oriented against teams that rely heavily on physical damage—as originally intended.

W - Defensive Ball Curl

ARMOR BONUS50/55/60/65/70% ⇒ 50/60/70/80/90%

MAGIC RESIST BONUS20 ⇒ 10

MAGIC RESIST BONUS50/55/60/65/70% ⇒ 25/30/35/40/45%

Sejuani

Innate armor and magic resist reduced but passive grants more at later levels. Passive shield duration and cooldown better early, worse late. E base damage reduced.

Sejuani’s a bit too hard to kill, even when her frost armor’s down. She’s… a tank, so we’re not looking to make her squishy, but a few adjustments to Sej’s base stats and Fury of the North are in order. She’ll be roughly as durable as ever while armored up, but easier to take down after her passive’s fallen off. We’ve also standardized the duration and cooldown of her shield to make it easier for opponents to reliably play around Fury of the North’s protection.

Beyond durability, we’re also lowering the damage Permafrost deals. Most of Sejuani’s damage against frozen targets comes from attacking them after they’re iced, so the freeze damage itself doesn’t need to be quite as chunky.

Base stats

BASE ARMOR27 ⇒ 22

ARMOR GROWTH4 ⇒ 3

BASE MAGIC RESIST32.1 ⇒ 27.1

MAGIC RESIST GROWTH1.25 ⇒ 0.75

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Passive - Fury of the North

FLAT BONUS RESISTANCES20/60/100 ⇒ 20/70/120

SHIELD LINGER DURATION1/2/3 seconds ⇒ 2 seconds at all ranks

COOLDOWN15/12/9 seconds ⇒ 12 seconds at all ranks

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E - Permafrost

DID YOU KNOWTooltip now mentions Permafrost’s displacement effect

FREEZE DAMAGE40/60/80/100/120 ⇒ 20/30/40/50/60

SHATTER DAMAGE10/15/20% target’s maximum health (Unchanged. Also technically part of Fury of the North.)

Udyr

Attack damage per level increased. Tiger strike scaling total attack damage ratio increased. Phoenix strike ability power ratio increased.

Udyr is pretty far away from where we’d like to see him, both as a champion and as a juggernaut. We don’t think this solves his problems completely, but we want to do something so that picking Udyr doesn’t always feel like the wrong decision. Dialing up his late game damage scaling should help Udyr feel worthwhile when he does manage to get on—and stick to—the right targets.

Base stats

ATTACK DAMAGE GROWTH STAT3.2 ⇒ 5

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Q - Tiger Stance

TIGER STRIKE RATIO120/130/140/150/160% total attack damage ⇒120/135/150/165/180% total attack damage

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R - Phoenix Stance

PHOENIX STRIKE RATIO0.45 ability power ⇒ 0.6 ability power

Urgot

Passive damage decreased at early ranks but cooldown decreased at later ranks. Q detonates more quickly.

When Urgot succeeds, we feel like he’s in a pretty nice spot, but he’s not hitting that mark often enough. A lack of reliability on Corrosive Charge and Fear Beyond Death is putting too much burden on Urgot players and not enough on his opponents, so we’re sharpening those mechanics. We’re also giving his legs shorter cooldowns in the late game but less damage early on to shift some of his power out of lane and into teamfights.

Passive - Echoing Flames

LEG COOLDOWN30/25/20/15/10 (at levels 1/6/9/11/13) ⇒30/20/10/5/2.5 (at levels 1/6/9/11/13). No longer scales off of cooldown reduction from items.

DAMAGE PER LEG4.5/5.25/6/7/8% target’s maximum health (at levels 1/6/9/13/15) ⇒ 2/3/4/6/8% target’s maximum health (at levels 1/6/9/11/13)

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Q - Corrosive Charge

MANA CAST35/40/45/50/55 ⇒ 50 at all ranks

TIME BEFORE DETONATION0.85 seconds ⇒ 0.5 seconds

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R - Fear Beyond Death

MISSILE SPEED2100 ⇒ 3200

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Bugfixes

SORRY, URGOTSterak’s Gage is no longer listed in Urgot’s recommended items (since it’s now melee only)

Xin Zhao

Xin Zhao’s been faring well since his recent ability update. We’re sprucing up his recommended items to better advise aspiring Seneschals.

HERE’S A TIPXin Zhao’s recommended items have been updated!

Items

Ardent Censer

Attack speed and on-hit damage reduced.

Ardent Censer has been making waves (and winds) in bot lane for some time. For enchanters’ purchasing decisions—and as a result, the support landscape—to remain robust, this item needs more clear points of weakness. These changes make Ardent Censer weaker early on, so rushing Ardent Censer won’t always be the best choice for enchanters.

ATTACK SPEED BUFF20-35% ⇒ 10-30%

ON-HIT MAGIC DAMAGE BUFF20-35 ⇒ 5-20

Frozen Heart

Armor increased.

Frozen Heart has been outshined by other tank items, with Thornmail, Randuin’s Omen, and Iceborn Gauntlet all occupying nearby niches and crowding it out. We’re honing in on its strength as the pure armor item to give tanks more reasons to opt into it.

ARMOR90 ⇒ 100

Tear of the Goddess

Stacking effect can now occur up to three times every 12 seconds.

Stacking Tear often incentivizes odd behaviors, such as using abilities while simply walking down the lane or standing still at the base. We want to make it easier for Tear to be stacked when you’d already be casting abilities, such as lane trades, teamfights, farming, and so on.

Editor’s Note: I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Mystic Shots fired at the shoulders of Ornn. I watched Overloads glitter in the dark near the Base Gates. All those abilities were lost in time, like Tears in rain. Time to stack.

LESS QQCan gain up to two stacks every 8 seconds ⇒ Can gain up to three stacks every 12 seconds

THE OTHERSThis change also impacts Seraph’s Embrace and Manamune

Manamune

Mana per stack increased.

Read Tear of the Goddess context!

MORE PEW PEW+4 mana per stack ⇒ +5 mana per stack

Item Pings

We’re adding some useful information to a few item pings!

Tear of the Goddess, Manamune, Archangel's Staff

TEAR (NOT) FULLY STACKEDPinging Tear of the Goddess, Manamune, or Archangel’s Staff will now display how many charges you have

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Duskblade of Draktharr

SEE THAT I AM UNSEENPinging Duskblade of Draktharr now tells your team whether you’re currently unseen or not

Rotating Game Mode

Doom Bots of Doom

Team up to overcome the cursed Doom Bots of Doom and their evil overlord before everything you love and cherish is doomed. Doom Bots is available from 10/26/17 at 12:00 p.m. PT - 11/7/17 at 04:00 a.m. PT.

TL;DR:

• Overcome the Doom Bots’ EVIIIIIIIIL curses—stasis, warping, windwalls (and more), oh my!
• Survive and defeat the devilish little horror behind it all. Hut, two, three, four...

Client Settings

We’ve turned off the ability to turn off the client while in-game. The gains from that setting have been made redundant elsewhere (LCU), and the increased time in client booting up after a game is resulting in players missing honor voting and the end of game chat.

Upcoming Event

Death Sworn Skins

Death will not let them rest. Death Sworn Viktor, Katarina, and Zed join Tales from the Rift 2017. They’ll be available in store until 11/26/17 and then go into the Legacy vault.

Deathsworn Katarina

Deathsworn Viktor

Deathsworn Zed

Legacy Bundles

Seven Legacy bundles return from the vault, and the new Death Sworn Set is also available from 10/26/17 to 11/1/17. You can also buy these skins and chromas individually.

New Missions, Rewards, and Emotes

Play through two new missions during the event and earn the Death Sworn Icon and Ward Skin Shard. Don’t forget to also check out the three limited-time emotes haunting the store until 11/1/17: Vamporo, Minionstein, and Spook O’ Lantern.

Bugfixes

• Nami and all her skins properly play the correct SFX for auto-attacks empowered by E - Tidecaller’s Blessing (the audio has actually been tweaked and made more apparent as well)
• Battlecast Alpha Skarner no longer incorrectly plays classic VO lines in addition to the correct ones
• Primetime Draven no longer incorrectly plays classic VO lines
• Star Guardian Miss Fortune is no longer missing a light beam particle during her recall
• Headhunter Rengar no longer incorrectly plays classic “Predator” SFX when he activates R - Thrill of the Hunt
• Pulsefire Caitlyn and all Lulu skins no longer get stuck with a blue overlay when W - Whimsy is used on them while they are in combat or affected by W - Yordle Snap Trap
• Championship Thresh now properly plays the lantern-landing SFX when using W - Dark Passage
• Cho’Gath’s R - Feast stacks now correctly count spawned Rift Heralds as epic monsters

Upcoming Chromas

The following chromas will be released in patch 7.21:

Battlecast Urgot (Ruby)

Battlecast Urgot (Sapphire)

Battlecast Urgot (Pearl)

Battlecast Urgot (Tanzanite)

Battlecast Urgot (Obsidian)