Mark “Riot Scruffy” Yetter has tweeted about expected upcoming changes for League of Legends patch 9.18. The patch aims to increase the champions played in the bot lane during League of Legends Worlds 2019. However, it also touches on some of the lesser-used champions in the jungle and mid lane.
9.18 preview with current changes. Major pivots – vayne/riven buffs removed, sylas nerf pushed to 9.19. Nothing 100% final but these are pretty close. pic.twitter.com/m5ICdA4JVy
— Mark Yetter (@MarkYetter) September 3, 2019
The key changes coming with patch 9.18 to Marksman
The changes that are likely to have the most impact are several of the nerfs that will happen this patch. An example of this is the nerf in attack speed from Kai’Sa. Kai’Sa is currently among the strongest marksmen at the competitive level. However, following nerfs to Ezreal and Sivir, the champion has become just a little too powerful. The other champion that is just a little too strong now is the other popular marksman, Xayah. Xayah will see her base armor reduced slightly and see a further increase in the cooldown on her ultimate in patch 9.18.
On the other side of the Marksman trait are Caitlyn, Jhin, and Miss Fortune. Each of these champions sees a small increase in strength in patch 9.18. However, besides the change to Caitlyn, it is highly unlikely these changes will impact the competitive meta.
Changes not shipping this patch
As important as the changes that did happen this patch are, the changes that didn’t might be more impactful for the competitive meta. The buffs to Riven and Vayne will be delayed for now and might not happen for Worlds 2019, which will be played on patch 9.19. The buff to Vayne being cut out of the patch could have a major impact on the overall meta of the 2019 Worlds, as the Chinese teams still play her quite frequently in their current meta. The nerf to Sylas, however, is still expected to be included in patch 9.19 according to the tweet of Riot Scruffy.
League of Legends patch 9.18 is expected to be released on Sept 11.
For more of League of Legends, be sure to check out the schedule and location of Worlds 2019.
