Red Post Collection: Kai'Sa Hotfix, 8.6 Duskblade and Related Changes, Ask Riot & More

Posted on at 11:56 AM by Aznbeat
[8:30 pm PT Update: Added details on Mid-Patch update pushed to live, Ask Riot, & God of Ip-LoL video on Kai'Sa from Riot KR!]

Today's red post collection includes a Kai'Sa hotfix that went out, Your Shop returning, Riot Repertoir on Duskblade and waveclear changes testing on the PBE, a new Patch Chat for patch 8.5, Ask Riot, and more!
Continue reading for more information!



Table of Contents


Mid-Patch Update

A mid-patch update, including a Kai'sa hotfix and Support item changes was pushed to live earlier this evening! Here's the details form the Patch Notes:
"3/8 Support Item Update 
Bandit passive removed. Targon's passive gold increased. Frostfang's Tribute gold increased. Nomad's Medallion gold coin reward increased. 
"We're still seeing non-supports use gold items to ramp up their gold generation, and the key culprit here is the Bandit passive. We're removing it and adding more gold into the existing sources within each item line. 
NOTE: we'd considered holding this change for 8.6, but data from the start of 8.5 shows that it's still quite necessary, so we're putting it in now."
All Support Items
  • REMOVED BANDIT: No longer grants gold when nearby enemy minions are killed by allies or when attacking enemy champions
Targon's Brace and Remnant of the Aspect
  • PASSIVE GOLD GENERATION: 2 gold per 10 seconds ⇒ 4 gold per 10 seconds
Spellthief's Edge, Frostfang, and Eye of the Watchers
  • UPDATED LOCKOUT: The penalty for killing a minion or non-epic monster now pauses gold per 10 generation in addition to Tribute stack generation
  • UPDATED QUEST COMPLETION: Lockout clears upon quest completion, rather than upon upgrading to Remnant of the Watchers
  • SPELLTHIEF'S EDGE TRIBUTE GOLD: 10 gold (unchanged)
  • FROSTFANG & EYE OF THE WATCHERS TRIBUTE GOLD: 15 gold ⇒ 20 gold
Nomad's Medallion and Remnant of the Ascended
  • GOLD COIN REWARD: 40 gold ⇒ 45 gold
3/8 Kai'Sa Balance Update 
Base attack damage increased. Q cooldown and mana cost decreased. 
"New champions always take some time for players to pick up. However, Kai'Sa is currently leaving the laning phase too far behind, which isn't giving players the opportunity to learn where she shines and how to play around that. For now, we're buffing up her early laning phase and cooldowns to give players better opportunities to master her kit."
Kai'sa
  • BASE ATTACK DAMAGE 62.46 ⇒ 65
  • Q - Icathian Rain
    • COOLDOWN: 10/9/8/7/6 seconds ⇒ 8/7.5/7/6.5/6 seconds
    • COST: 55 mana ⇒ 45 mana"

Your Shop Returns


Here's Bilby with the announcement of the return on Your Shop:
"Your Shop returns! 
Discountbot has been begging us nonstop for another chance to make custom deals for you, and we finally broke down and said yes. 
If you’re not familiar with Your Shop: 
  • The thoughtful Discountbot selects six skins that it thinks you’ll like and offers them at varying discounts
  • These discounts may include Legacy skins not currently available in the store
  • If you receive a skin discount on a champion you don’t own, the same discount will also be applied to the champ
  • Ultimate, Legendary, Limited, Gemstone, and relatively new skins (released in the last 3 months) will not be featured in Your Shop 
Your Shop is now open for business, and we’ll be here in your client until March 26, 2018, at 11:59 PM PT. Go take a look and let us know how it goes! If you don’t like what you get, I will personally walk over to the sweet little robot and yell at it for you."

8.6 Duskblade and related changes

Riot Repertoir provided a changelist and context for Duskblade changes and champions getting compensation changes:
"Hi everyone, 
This is a thread to discuss the upcoming Duskblade changes we have aimed for 8.6 and some associated champion tweaks we have coming alongside them. Keep in mind this is all tentative and subject to change, but I'm trying out using threads like this to make some upcoming change and our iterative process more visible. For those unaware, here are the current Duskblade changes: 
  • Melee Damage :: 60 / x / 320 >>> 30 / x / 200
  • Ranged Damage :: 45 / x / 300 >>> 30 / x / 200
  • NEW :: Melee basic attacks instantly kill traps and wards disabled by Black Out
  • NEW :: Black Out won't be triggered if the owner is using a Red Sweeper (so you can't waste it)
The above changes are a large damage nerf to the item. We think the other additions are powerful and good additions to the item, but several champions have been crutching on the high powered damage tuning of Duskblade, and we're looking to inject that power lost back in. I think these changes are pretty generous, but that's pretty subjective, so let me hear it if that's way off. The champions we've chosen are who we identify as the most core users; if we thought they could easily swap to a different build and be just as effective on 8.6 as they currently are on 8.5, they probably aren't on the list. If you don't see a certain champion, that's probably why. Feel free to ask either way. It's possible I've forgotten an important user. Below is the list of champions and changes we're looking at helping out: 
Kayn
Kayn's adjustments are pretty straightforward damage buffs. They may not fill the damage void left by Duskblade entirely, but W's damage especially is more broadly applicable than Duskblade's was. Also, Zenon (Kayn's creator) has some passive tweaks going on that may also make it into the patch. Those are aimed at flattening his passive's charging experience and helping out lane Kayn, but he'd have better context on that than I do. 
  • W Bonus AD Ratio :: 120% >>> 130%
  • R Bonus AD Ratio :: 150% >>> 175% 
Kha'Zix
Kha'Zix is looking at a significant Bonus AD ratio bump to his Q. We've chosen this to help fill the damage void left by Duskblade in a way that is also in line with effective isolation play (rather than passive damage, for example). The damage bump to Q is so significant because we've also removed his W's bonus damage to monsters. Mechanics like these enforce that he could basically only jungle, and we may as well bridge the gap between jungle and solo lane play a bit where possible; for what it's worth, I don't expect this to make him a primary laner by any means. 
  • Q Bonus AD Ratio :: 120% >>> 150%
  • REMOVED :: W 20% bonus damage to monsters 
Miss Fortune
Miss Fortune's buff is a very straightforward AD growth buff, which is also probably the smallest on the list. The reason for that is that of the list here, she seems closest to being able to effectively transition to other builds without significant cost to performance.
  • Attack Damage Growth :: 1 >>> 2 
Shaco
Of the stuff here, I'd say Shaco's is most experimental. These changes reflect my understanding (which, admittedly, could be off) that Shaco players feel pretty crappy about their early game because they feel forced into putting points in a Q that yields them literally no damage on rankup. These changes hope to be power neutral alongside the Duskblade changes, but an increase in satisfaction. By flattening Q's invis duration to 3 seconds and removing the CD return mechanic, he should be able to put early points in his E while feeling like Q is still fulfilling its purpose. If he gets to max E, he gets more early game damage and has more control over the outcome of the early game. You'll notice that Shaco has the most significant changes, and that although his damage numbers are not being outright increased like others, his kit's damage should come online sooner and give him needed agency over the outcome over the game rather than relying on Duskblade 1-shots in the later parts. The E slow nerf is to offset some of the increased power of his very early ganks provided by a meaningfully longer invis duration. 3 seems like a reasonable maximum duration for his invis given that it used to be 3.5 pre-rework, and that was at a time when dropping a pink ward when he was around was much more effective than options against his current invis. 
  • REMOVED :: Reduced cooldown on basic attacking after casting Q
  • Q CD :: 16/15.5/15/14.5/14 >>> 16/14.5/13/11.5/10
  • Q Duration :: 1.5/2.25/3/3.75/4.5 >>> 3
  • E Slow :: 20/22.5/25/27.5/30% >>> 10/15/20/25/30%  
Talon
Talon's a pretty simple case of filling in some of his lost damage in a way that we believe will be functional and satisfying to players that enjoy him. His passive damage will continue to scale past level 11 up through level 18, and his R Bonus AD ratio is increased. 
  • Passive Damage :: 75 / x / 175 (levels 1-11) >>> 75 / x / 245 (levels 1-18)
  • R Bonus AD Ratio :: 80% >>> 100% 
Wukong
Wukong is similarly getting some damage buffs, most notably to his Q, which tentatively now increases its AD ratio with rank.
  • Attack Damage Growth :: 3.2 >>> 4
  • Q Bonus AD Ratio :: 10% >>> 10/20/30/40/50% 
Zed
More damage bumps. Giving Zed some Base AS to make his attacks come out a bit more quickly and increase his dueling threat, as well as some ratio bumps on his base kit. 
  • Base Attack Speed :: 0.651 >>> 0.658
  • Q Bonus AD Ratio :: 0.9 >>> 1.1
  • E Bonus AD Ratio :: 0.8 >>> 0.9 
Editing this in since I forgot: Quinn also has some stuff coming from Xenogenic, and August has some stuff for Rengar, so that's why they're not mentioned here. 
That's it for now! This stuff should appear on PBE tomorrow. If you have questions, let me know!"

What asked about Shaco, Riot Repertoir commented:
"Quote:
Do you have anything in the works if Shaco feels too weak after the Duskblade changes?
We'll have to have a careful watch on ALL of these champs if we go forward with lists like these because they seem pretty aggressive to me, but we want to give a real shot at them being equally viable next patch as they are now rather than just "good enough."
Definitely agree with weak rankup sentiment for Shaco, and it's something to consider if he needs that follow-up for sure. Unsure exactly what that ought to look like, which means if we get the chance, most reasonable paths should be on the table."

On Wukong and why he was receiving compensation changes, Riot Repertoir noted:
"Quote:
I'm just curious, why is Wukong getting buffs because of Duskblade nerfs? Isn't he supposed to be a bruiser?
Wukong is definitely more bruiser than these other guys, but the data suggests he relies heavily on Duskblade to achieve his current level of performance, and we're trying to honor that over enforcing a particular vision of the champion."


On Talon, Riot Repertoir commented:
"Quote:
Assassins are early game champions. How is increasing Talon's damage after level 11 supposed to offset the loss of damage from his first item? That seems a bit ridiculous, don't you think?
We're trying to compensate mostly for Duskblade's absence, which would usually be picked up as core users ended their early game and began their mid game. Level 11 seems like a pretty good time to make up that damage. Plus, Talon has ult ratio buffs in there as well.
I think Shaco needs way more work than this.
He does, but I won't begin to pretend I can rework him in a week."

Waveclear work for 8.6 or later 

Here's Riot Repertoir with a thread on waveclear changes now testing on the PBE:
Hello! 
It's been noticed that there are some changes to minions on the PBE, and those haven't been socialized at all, so here's a place to discuss those things. 
Basic Idea 
The changes are primarily aimed at making it more difficult to easily clear minion waves. I think that some version of that is good primarily because it means you'll have to spend more time in your lane actively managing the wave, resulting in increased time for you and your opponent to interact with each other. The more opportunities you have to interact with your opponent, the more you can demonstrate your own skill over them, and League could use a more opportunities to demonstrate skill over your opponent that don't necessarily manifest as "push and roam" strategies or other map-influencing strategies. This aims to improve the ability for players to beat their opponent in lane. There will certainly be balance outliers created on the top end as a result of this work, and they will need to be addressed if we move forward. 
There are additional changes to minion gold value that concentrate it into cannons without meaningfully altering the amount of gold gained from minions (especially pre 20 minutes). This is another tactic to create regular conflict between lane opponents. 
Straight up, I do NOT expect these changes to be immediately popular. Still, I could see doing them if I thought they increased the quality of the game over the long term especially. Both those things said, I'm not necessarily convinced this is the perfect list to get the best results. It's on the PBE regardless so that there can be conversation around it before things are finalized. 
Here are the changes: 
"Upgrades" occur every 3 waves, so using the melee minion example below, they go from gaining 18 Health (plus 0.3 per upgrade) every 3 waves to ganing 21 Health every 3 waves.
  • Melee Minions
    • Base HP :: 473 >>> 480
    • HP Growth :: 18 +0.3/upgrade >>> 21
    • Gold Value :: 20 >>> 21
    • Gold Value Growth :: 0.125 >>> 0
  • Caster Minions
    • Base HP :: 296 >>> 320
    • HP Growth :: 6 >>> 14
    • Gold Value :: 17 >>> 14
    • Gold Value Growth :: 0.125 >>> 0
  • Cannon Minions
    • Base HP :: 828 >>> 900
    • HP Growth :: 23 +0.3/upgrade >>> 50
    • Gold Value :: 45 >>> 60
    • Gold Value Growth :: 0.35 >>> 3
Thanks in advance for any input."

 Riot Repertoir discussed the changes further:
"Yeah, this is a delicate topic for sure, and players are reacting to these changes accordingly. It's a difficult situation because "breaking" the game here is kinda intended; these changes will absolutely break the norm for what we hope is a return to more emphasis on pvp lane success as an avenue toward victory in the game."

He went on:
"Quote:
You haven’t explain the “why now” - why not save these changes for next Preseason? Why do this in the middle of the season, potentially breaking various champs and even potentially full classes, when there is other work just as big already planned for mid season?
The main reason that we could do it now is because we believe the way the lane patterns are optimized isn't conducive to producing the most enjoyable version of the game. If we think the game could quickly be more enjoyable, then that's a good reason not to wait until the end of a season."

Patch Chat with the Playtest Team - 8.5

Here's Riot Novalas with the latest Patch Chat with the Playtest team for Patch 8.5:
"Hey everyone and welcome to Patch 8.5. We're entering the breach. Welcome to the Kai'Sa patch. 
I’m Riot Novalas & I’m a QA Analyst on Riot’s Playtest Team, a group of high elo players who work on Core Gameplay playing new champions, reworks, balance tweaks, items, and map updates before they’re released. It’s our job to test the changes that our designers come up with and ensure that we’re introducing positive changes to League in terms of both balance and fun. 
Patch Chat serves as an opportunity for us to talk about the patches that come out every two weeks.
You can find information on the most recent patch by following this link:
https://na.leagueoflegends.com/en/news/game-updates/patch/patch-85-notes 
Our newest friend on the rift is the daughter of the Void, Kai'Sa! With multiple buildpaths and different play patterns, Kai'Sa is one of the more diverse champions that have been introduced in recent memory. The primary playtesters for Kai'Sa were Madness Heroo & ROBERTxLEE. Feel free to ask any and all (gameplay) void-related questions and we'll be happy to give you insight! 
Aside from Kai'Sa, we've got some buffs and nerfs to various champions; Nocturne, Swain, Rengar, and Zoe got some love. Azir, Galio, and Volibear took some nerfs. 
Ask us ANYTHING about 8.5. We're here to answer questions about your favorite champions, inquiries about runes, or maybe how often we execute to jungle camps! Let's talk bot lane matchups or maybe discuss shifts in the jungle! We're also down to just chat, though. 
Disclaimer: We have no insight on upcoming/future skins. 
  • Chris “Auberaun” Roberts
  • Christy “Riot Ender L” Frierson
  • Nick “Riot Endstep” Frijia
  • Sigmundur “GangIeri” Helgason
  • Arnor “Riot Hjarta” Halldorsson
  • Rob “Riot King Cobra” Rosa
  • Miktat “Riot Koyuncu” Koyuncu
  • Brian “Riot Madness Heroo” Pressoir
  • Nabi “Riot Novalas” Barak
  • Dan “Riot penguin” Hardison
  • Robert “ROBERTxLEE” Lee"


Ask Riot: Clash Update & Keys 


Here's this week's Ask Riot, covering Rotating Game Modes, key drops, and Clash:
"Do you have any updates on Clash?

So far, we’ve run a few regional tests (in Vietnam, EUW, EUNE and Turkey) and we’re now spending time iterating on Clash based on your feedback. While we knew the beta tests so far haven’t been feature complete, we’re busy making adjustments, such as improving the team creation flow, adding more information about what you can expect from each day’s play, and making significant changes to the ticket system to lower the price for entry. We’re also tracking down a bug that prevents players from getting into champ select right now on PBE. 
The downside is that this has added extra time to the dev process, but we’re eager to start up more regional tests in the coming weeks. 
Comms Strategist, Metagame Systems  
Do key drops for players increase as your honor level increases?

Key fragments work just the same at each level: They drop every now and then, and have a cap of around 12 per month. Honor Orbs and Capsules, however, do improve as you move up the Honor ranks. All the details on Honor rewards are consistently updated over on the Honor website. 
RIOT NAKYLE
Comms, Player Behavior 
I’ve noticed recently there’s no rotating game modes on the weekend. What happened to them?

We’ve decided to move away from running a rotating game mode every weekend and instead will be running RGMs more sporadically, often alongside League events like Lunar Revel (Hunt of the Blood Moon), or last year’s Star Guardian: A New Horizon (Invasion). That said, we’ll still be running the most popular modes, like ARURF and the soon-to-be-returning One For All, from time to time too! 
Why’d we make this change? Since League changes so rapidly, we often have to spend a bunch of time and effort updating classic modes so they work with the new and recently changed champions, items, and runes, while also adapting to other under the hood tech changes. For instance, we’ve been making our way through One For All’s bugs for over a month now. 
And while playing the classic rotating game modes can be a ton of fun, some of these modes have grown stale and repetitive since they’ve been staple parts of the queue since its launch back in 2016. This combined with the awesome player response we saw for many of the 2017 modes, has led us to want to spend more of our time and effort crafting new game mode experiences that will surprise you, let you experiment, and deliver on memorable gameplay that makes you want to queue up for one. more. game. 
RIOT AEON
Product Lead, Maps and Modes Team

Thanks for reading this week’s Ask Riot. Have a question? 
Head over to Ask Riot and sign into your League account. Check out the Pro Tips, then ask away. 
We promise to read every question, but we can’t guarantee they’ll all get answers. Some questions may already be answered elsewhere, and some won’t be right for Ask Riot. This isn’t the best place to announce new features, for example, and we might skip conversations on issues we’ve talked about in depth before (though we can clarify individual points). 
We are listening, though, so keep asking. We’ll make sure your questions are heard by the Rioters working on the stuff you’re curious about."

Quick Hits


"Hey folks - a big part of the 8.5 patch was an under the hood upgrade to the audio engine. We'll be monitoring your feedback and bug reports very closely over the next few patches while we iron out some kinks in the system. 
We absolutely hear your concerns, and rest assured we are working hard to remedy these issues."
"I'll be thinking about the champion only stacking component tonight. Not sure how I feel about it, but understand the concerns. The gameplay being stricter in teamfights is definitely intended, and in fact I do like that part. It feeling entirely bad in PvE scenarios, I'm less confident in. 
Also going to be considering going away from the phantom hit thing. Unsure if that's right yet, however."
  
  • Efflam Mercier sharing more on what went into the Swain champion teaser - Check out the artstation for a full gallery!
"Teaser for the VGU ( visual game-play update) of Swain ( League of Legends) 
This project took 2 months ( 1 month of preparation, 1 month for production). It was really intense, fun and challenging. I always joked around that I'm "a CG generalist who happens to draw", but this was an opportunity to actually proof it out. I was involved from the story pitches, to working on VO with the actors, all the way to the final delivery to the editor for localisation into all the 19 languages. 
This took a lot of effort to establish a hybrid style where the stylized 3D model would blend well with PBR shaders and raytracing, while not clashing against 2.5D effects and hand-painted matte paintings. ( If anyone is interested, I might go more into detail about this on my blog ). 
Shout out to everyone involved in the project ! Couldn't have done this without everyone's support. Credit goes to the champ team for creating the character of Swain and original model."

Reminders 

To round out this red post collection, here are a few reminders on current promotions or limited time events!

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