Patch 13.18 is going to be the final patch before the worlds patch, meaning Riot will look into making key champion adjustments on a pro-level. A brand-new champion is also in the pipeline, so let's go over everything you need to know.
The 2023 League of Legends World Championship is just around the corner and just before the big tournament will kick off we're even getting a brand-new champion – Briar. So to say it's a big patch could be an understatement, eh?
Unfortunately, we know that Riot won't be making changes to K'Sante yet, but other big names that have dominated the last few patches will be nerfed, while forgotten champions are going to be buffed. Let's go over all the details right now.
LoL Patch 13.18 Hotfix: Briar And Bard Changes
Briar did not have the best start in League of Legends, so Riot is giving her some love with a quick hotfix, while Bard is getting some bug fixes to his newly adjusted abilities.
Also hotfixed a bug that was causing bard to lose a charge of his W if he cast it outside of range and cancelled the ability. https://t.co/804MK2ldqT
— etlios (@RiotEtlios) September 14, 2023
As you can see, Briar's base stats and her E – Chilling Scream will also be getting some buffs to help out Briar mains as they try to get a hang of their brand-new champion.
Bard had some adjustments made this patch and a small bug for his W has snuck into the mix which was also fixed with this League of Legends hotfix patch.
LoL Patch 13.18: Champion Adjustments
Champion Buffs
There are a few champions that have been struggling, especially in higher elos, which is why Riot will be buffing them for the 2023 League of Legends World Championship.
Irelia
R - Vanguard's Edge
- Cooldown: 140/120/100 seconds ⇒ 125/105/85 seconds
Gwen (Jungle)
In the League of Legends Patch 13.18 patch notes preview Lead Designer of the League Balance Team, Matt "Phroxzon" Leung-Harrison explained that they will be monitoring the Gwen adjustments closely, but that they hope to make her more viable in the jungle since she "adds value to the ecosystem as an AP".
Base Stats
- Health Growth: 109 ⇒ 115
Passive - Thousand Cuts
- Magic Damage to Monsters: 6 (+10% AP) ⇒ 10 (+15% AP)
Kennen
E - Lightning Rush
- Energy Cost: 100/95/90/85/80 ⇒ 80 at all ranks
R - Slicing Maelstrom
- Cooldown: 120 seconds at all ranks ⇒ 120/100/80 seconds
Senna
Passive - Absolution
- [REMOVED] Critical Strike Ratio Reduction: No longer reduces critical strike damage by 8.5%
W - Last Embrace
- Area of Effect Effect: Enemies hit with Last Embrace’s AoE snare are now afflicted with a stack of Mist from Senna’s passive.
Thresh
W - Dark Passage
- Shield Strength: 50/70/90/110/130 (+1.5 per soul) ⇒ 50/70/90/110/130 (+2 per soul)
Irelia, Thresh and Kennen are all champions that can be quite dangerous in the hands of pro players, so seeing them get buffed is quite exciting for the upcoming World Championship.
Champion Nerfs
Some champions have become way too strong after some buffs to items and abilities. So, Riot is going to backtrack on some of the changes in this League of Legends Patch. RIP Tryndamere's long arm.
Jarvan IV
With the recent buffs to Goredrinker and Spear of Shojin, Jarvan has become a pretty OP pick in the jungle. Instead of nerfing him right away, Riot waited to Patch 13.18 to see just which parts of his kit needed some readjustments.
Passive - Martial Cadence
- Additional Physical Damage on Basic Attacks: 8% of target’s current health ⇒ 6% of target’s current health
Kayn (Red)
Kayn might have received some nerfs recently, but with Goredrinker getting buffed, not much has changed for Red Kayn who prefers to purchase this item over his assassin counterpart.
Passive - Darkin Scythe
- Darkin Bonus: Rhaast - Healing: 20-30% (based on level) of physical damage dealt to champions ⇒ 25% of physical damage dealt to champions
R - Umbral Trespass
- Darkin Version Damage Dealt: 15% (+13% per 100 bonus AD) of target’s maximum health ⇒ 15% (+10% per 100 bonus AD) of target’s maximum health (Note: still heals for 65% of the tooltip damage)
Rell
Rell has been a menace, both in the jungle and in the support role, especially in pro play. Going into the League of Legends World Championship, Riot will be nerfing her mobility, which will impact her roaming in the upcoming patch.
E - Full Tilt
- Bonus Movement Speed (Away from Enemies): 15/17.5/20/22.5/25% ⇒ 12/14/16/18/20%
- Bonus Movement Speed (Towards Enemies): 30/35/40/45/50% ⇒ 24/28/32/36/40%
Tryndamere
This is probably one of the more controversial changes. In the previous patch, Riot buffed his attack range by 50, while lowering his attack damage. The slight nerf to his damage didn't stop Tryndamere from being OP though. Riot feel that Trynd should be balanced around this attack range buff and therefore won't revert it, instead making other adjustments to the champion.
Given his kit is still 80% about auto attacking, he will still be one of our more statchecky/binary champions (possibly still the most), but the goal of the changes is to move power budget out of his actual damage when attacking and more into using his spacing tools smartly.
Whether the changes to his base stats will allow for him to be more vulnerable in lane, especially early, is going to be seen when Patch 13.18 is released.
Base Stats
- Health Growth: 115 ⇒ 108
- Base Attack Damage: 68 ⇒ 66
Xayah
Xayah is one of the safest picks in the bot lane right now and throughout the playoffs of multiple League of Legends regions, we saw how valuable she can be. So, Riot is going to nerf her ahead of Worlds.
Base Stats
- Base Health: 660 ⇒ 630
- Health Growth: 102 ⇒ 107
E - Bladecaller
- Cooldown: 11/10.5/10/9.5/9 seconds ⇒ 13/12/11/10/9 seconds
Champion Adjustments
Bard
On Twitter, Riot Yelough revealed some interesting quality of life changes for none other than Bard. These changes are already on the Public Beta Environment (PBE) and ready for testing, so every single Bard main out there should hop onto the servers to see whether this is a good change.
P - Traveler's Call
- Out of combat movement speed from chime collection
- Stack Maximum: 5 >>> 10
- Stack Duration: 7 >>> 20
W - Caretaker's Shrine
- Spell now uses charges - 2 Max
- Cooldown / Ammo Time: 14 >>> 18
- Shrine Charge Time to Full Heal: 10 >>> 5
- Shrine Movement Speed: 30% decaying over 1.5 seconds >>> 20% +2.5% per rank
These changes will enable Bard to roam a lot more frequently. He's gaining more movement speed, as well as buffing the healing in his W, which is going to be key. He can leave some healing pods in lane for his ADC while he goes off on an adventure, which is what the champion is all about.
Caitlyn
Riot is going to be making some adjustments to Caitlyn's passive. While the numbers will differ, it won't mean that she is actually getting big changes, since the end result is literally the same as before.
P - Headshot
- Crit Ratio Formula: (62.5% crit damage x 130% crit chance) >>> (100% crit damage x 81.25% crit chance)
Kassadin
Riot is going to be making some adjustments to Kassadin after the team accidentally buffed his ultimate all the way back in Patch 13.15. Since then he's shot up in priority and his win rate has also increased drastically. It only took three patches to find this, eh?
R - Riftwalk
- Magic Damage: 70/90/110 (+40% AP) (+2% maximum mana) ⇒ 70/90/110 (+60% AP) (+2% maximum mana)
LoL Patch 13.18: System Changes And Adjustments
Full 13.18! Chatting about some of the changes: Trynd: +50 range (from last patch) was a big buff, but we think moves him in the right direction by putting as much skill expression in his spacing game as possible, rather than in being range restricted and stat checking you when... pic.twitter.com/ctJmMOehD7
— Matt Leung-Harrison (@RiotPhroxzon) September 7, 2023
Item Buffs
To add more variety to buys, Riot is going to be buffing Stormrazor. Most champions have been picking Statikk Shiv due to the good waveclear, but the balance team was more choices for bot laners, hence the buff.
Stormrazor
- Attack Damage: 50 ⇒ 55
Item Nerfs
Spear of Shojin got some big buffs in LoL Patch 13.18 that have helped catapult some champions into the top tiers of their roles. So, it's time to nerf it just a patch later. It's been fun, eh?
Spear of Shojin
- Attack Damage: 60 ⇒ 55
Item Adjustments
Riot is going to be making some adjustments to items in this League of Legends patch. With more and more players complaining about the state of mages currently, Riot is going to adjust one of their mythic items.
Crown of the Shattered Queen
- Ability Power: 70 ⇒ 85
- Safeguard: 75% damage reduction for 1.5 seconds ⇒ 40% damage reduction for 2.5 seconds
- [REMOVED] Poise Break: Crown will no longer provide 10-40 AP while the shield holds
With only pro players truly using the Poise passive of this item, Riot have decided to remove it completely from the game.
Statikk Shiv
- Attack Damage: 45 ⇒ 50
- Electroshock Minion Damage: 250-350 ⇒ 200
The balance team is still perfecting Statikk Shiv right now. It's been a bit too strong for waveclear, so they're nerfing it a little, but adding some more AD to make up for the waveclear nerf.
New LoL Champion Briar: Set To Release In LoL Patch 13.18
The newest addition to the League of Legends cast is none other than Briar, who will be the 165th champion in the game. Briar will be a jungle champion taking on the role of a diver, similar to champions like Jarvan IV or Vi. She is going to shake up the meta with some brand-new abilities that no other champions have had before.
So if you're curious about Briar it's time to check out her kit and what this jungle champ can actually do, right?
Briar Abilities
Briar has a brand new self-taunt ability. So, you know how Renata Glasc is able to cause enemy champions to go berserk? Well, Briar is able to do that as well... to herself. Once she is in such a berserk state, she will attack anyone or anything that gets in her way. Players are also unable to control who she will attack when she is in a frenzied berserk state.
This means that players will have to know when to go in with Briar. A key part of her kit is going to rely on the player's decision-making. Will you go in and engage with the almost global ultimate or will you wait for your team to join? Ah... decisions, decisions...
Passive - Crimson Curse
- Briar's attacks and abilities apply a staking bleed that heals her for a portion of the damage dealt
- Perpetually hungry, she gains increased healing based on her missing health, but lacks innate health regeneration
- She will also heal for any remaining bleed damage when a bleeding enemy dies
A key thing to note is that her abilities will cost health, similar to Dr. Mundo. The passive will also apply to minions and if you want to counter her healing you'll need some Grievous Wounds.
Q - Head Rush
- Briar leaps to a unit dealing damage, as well as stunning them and breaking their armor
- Briar will stop prioritizing enemy champions if she casts this ability on a minion or monster during the effect of W - Blood Frenzy
The Q can also be used to dash to allies and it's a point and click ability – something that we haven't seen in years, eh?
W - Blood Frenzy/Snack Attack
- Briar leaps forward and shatters her pillory entering a Blood Frenzy that causes her to relentlessly pursue the nearest enemy (prioritizing champions)
- While frenzied she gains increased attack speed and move speed and her attacks deal damage in an area around her target
- Briar can reactivate this ability while frenzied to take a chomp out of her target on the next attack, dealing additional damage based on their missing health and healing her based on the damage dealt
This is her main ability and the one you will want to max first. The dash range is around 300 and 400 units and if you use it over a wall you should flash over it, like using the summoner spell Flash as well. The ability cannot be cancelled by QSS either, so once you use it you're stuck.
E - Chilling Scream
- Briar refocuses her mind removing W - Blood Frenzy and channelling energy into a powerful scream that damages and slows enemies
- While charging she takes reduced damage and heals for a portion of her max health
- A fully charged scream knocks back dealing additional damage and stunning enemies that hit a wall
This ability has double the cooldown of W, meaning you will have to know when to utilize the Blood Frenzy and when to get out of it.
R - Certain Death
- Briar kicks a hemolith, marking the first champion hit as her prey
- She then belines straight to them, fearing other surrounding enemies on arrival and enters a state of complete hematomania
- She will pursue her prey until one of them dies, gaining the effects of Blood Frenzy as well as additional Armor, Magic Resist, Lifesteal and Move Speed
This ability is near global. You can ult from dragon to the opposite side of the map to Baron. The SFX is also global, meaning everyone can hear if it is used. E can also cancel the ultimate Blood Frenzy.
Using Zhonya's will make Briar target someone else until you get out of the Zhonya's state, which is when she will once again focus you.
New Mythic Content Coming In LoL Patch 13.18
Riot will also be adding a new rotation to the mythic shop in LoL Patch 13.18. Not only will we get new prestige skins in this patch, but Riot is also going to add in a brand-new mythic skin from the new mythic skin line. Crystalis Motus Leona has been in the shop for the last few weeks, but it's time to sat goodbye to the Leona skin and instead welcome Taliyah's skin.
- Crystalis Motus Taliyah
The skin is going to be available in the mythic shop for 100 Mythic Essence, as well as a ward, an icon and much more. This is the second Crystalis Motus skin, with the third already known to be Ashe who is going to be released later.
New Prestige Content In Mythic Shop
Along with the new Crystalis Motus Taliyah skin, Riot will also be adding some more champions to the mythic shop. The previous prestige skins will leave the shop to make soom for all these new skins:
- Prestige Star Guardian Ekko
- Prestige Pulsefire Lucian
- Prestige Spirit Blossom Teemo
- Prestige Battle Queen Diana
- Hextech Kog’Maw
- Hextech Swain
- Mythic Chroma Star Guardian Jinx
Riot is also adding the Star Guardian Jinx mythic chroma into the shop for 40 ME as well.
New Ability Icons For Multiple Champions
Fourteen champions are also receiving updated ability icons in this League of Legends patch. Some of the older champions are in dire need of upgrades and Riot is slowly rolling out mini updates like this to freshen up the game. Let's be real LoL has been around for a long time... so updates like this are needed.
Which fourteen champions are getting these small quality of life changes though? This is the list as revealed by Riot Pehrek on Twitter and have also been added to the offficial patch notes:
- Blitzcrank
- Graves
- Janna
- Jarvan IV
- Jayce
- Lee Sin
- Leona
- Malphite
- Nami
- Olaf
- Orianna
- Varus
- Vayne
- Zed
These ability icon changes were revealed about a month ago, with plans for other champions to follow in the future. Which champions need some ability icon updates as well? I think Tryndamere or Wukong are in dire need of some love as well.
New Street Demon Skins In LoL Patch 13.18
We are also going to be getting a brand-new skin line in LoL Patch 13.18. These are some fresh new urban skins with some demonic vibes as well. Overall, it's a pretty fun and colourful skin line. The skins are all epic skins and Dr. Mundo will finally receive a new skin after 1700 days (or however high the number was).
- Street Demon Dr. Mundo
- Street Demon Rengar
- Street Demon Brand
- Street Demon Neeko
- Street Demon Zyra
- Street Demon Briar
These are all the new skins coming in LoL Patch 13.18 along with a bunch of balance changes. Especially the update to Bard looks insane and super fun, with him becoming even more of a roaming machine. Hopefully these changes make him a great pick for Worlds 2023 as well.