Riot has confirmed that in patch 12.23, they will give some much-needed buffs to Sion, Kayn, Cho’Gath, Amumu, Maokai, Zac, and Malphite while mini-reworking Zeri and Tahm Kench.
The previous patch of League of Legends, patch 12.22, was the most anticipated preseason 2023 patch. This update has seen many new additions and changes to the game, the most notable being the jungle changes and the item adjustments.
With the jungle changes, smites don’t provide any healing anymore. So now, the only way to sustain in this new jungle is with the help of the new jungle pets. And for the new and adjusted items, Ravenous Hydra, Heartsteel, and Spear of Shojin are significantly over-tuned. And some champions like Zed are massively overperforming. So as it is the first preseason 2023 update, it is expected to be unbalanced.
Similarly, there are many champions and items which are significantly underperforming. And usually, Riot tries to balance most of the champions and items before the official ranked start of the season.
And this preseason is no exception. As it is the next major patch after the preseason update, we will see massive balance adjustments.
Riot Phroxzon has teased the preview for patch 12.23 on Twitter. In the preview, they would be buffing nine different champions. Moreover, two of them will receive a mini-rework.
Sion, Kayn, Cho’Gath, Amumu, Maokai, Zac, and Malphite are getting buffed, while Zeri and Tahm Kench are receiving a mini-rework in patch 12.23.
Read more: Riot Addresses Double Smite Meta in League of Legends 2023 Preseason.
Champion Buffs Patch 12.23
Zeri Buffs
Base Stats
- Movement Speed: 325 >>> 330.
- Base Attack Damage: 50 >>> 53.
- Base Armor: 20 >>> 24.
- Base Health: 600 >>> 630.
- Attack Speed Ratio: 0.568 >>> 0.625.
- HP per Level: 109 >>> 115
Basic Attack
- Fully Charged Damage: 90-200 (+90% AP)(+1-15% target maximum health) >>> 90-200 (110% AP)(+1-15% target maximum health).
Passive – Living Battery
- Innate: Gotta Zip!
- Shield Bonus: 10% multiplicative movement speed >>> 10% movement speed.
- Duration: 3 seconds >>> 2 seconds.
Q – Burst Fire
- Range: 825 >>> 750.
- Excess Attack Speed to Attack Damage Ratio: 60% >>> 70%.
- Base Damage: 8/11/14/17/20 >>> 15/18/21/24/27.
- AD Ratio: 100/105/110/115/120% >>> 104/108/112/116/120%.
W – Ultrashock Laser
- Damage Type: Magic >>> Physical
- Damage: 20/55/90/125/160 (+100% AD)(+40% AP) >>> 20/60/100/140/180 (+130% AD)(+0% AP).
- Cast Time: 2.5x Attack Time >>> 0.55 – 0.3 seconds (will be based on Attack Speed).
- Missile Speed: 2200 >>> 2500.
- Beam Cast Time: 0.75 seconds >>> 0.85 seconds.
E – Spark Surge
- Mana Cost: 80 >>> 90/85/80/75/70.
- Cooldown: 24/22.5/21/19.5/18 seconds >>> 22/21/20/19/18 seconds.
- [New Effect] Upon cast, Zeri’s Burst Fire will deal additional magic damage to the first enemy hit and pierce targets for the next five seconds.
- Bonus Magic Damage: 20/22/24/26/28 (+20% AP)(+12% bonus AD).
- [New] Deals up to 65% bonus damage based on Critical Strike Chance.
- Pierce Damage Falloff: 60/70/80/90/100% >>> 80/85/90/95/100%
- Spark Surge’s cooldown reduces by 0.5 seconds (1.5 seconds on a critical hit) when hitting a target with an ability or attack.
- Reveal Range Through Walls: 850 >>> 1500.
R – Lightning Crash
- [Removed] Bonus Magic Damage
- Chain Lightning Range: 450 >>> 650.
- On-Cast Magic Damage: 150/250/350 (+80% Ability Power)(+80% Attack Damage) >>> 175/275/375 (+110% Ability Power)(+100% Attack Damage).
- If Lightning Crash hits any enemy champion on the cast, Zeri gains 10% Movement Speed, 30% Attack Speed, and chain lightning shots for 5 seconds. Hitting champions refreshes the buff for 1.5 seconds (up to 5 seconds total).
- Overcharge: Hitting a champion gains Zeri one stack (three per critical hit) of Overcharge for 1.5 seconds. Zeri gains 0.5% Movement Speed for each stack of Overcharge (stacks infinitely).
Zeri will receive her much-needed rework in this patch. In early season 12, when Zeri was released, she was considered extremely overpowered, as she could play in all roles, not just ADC. Because of that, Riot nerfed her in subsequent patches to the point that Zeri currently has the lowest win rate in League of Legends.
Earlier this month, Riot announced all the changes they will make with Zeri. They showed that they would be adjusting all of her kits. This new change should encourage aggressive plays while it will be easier for the enemy players to take Zeri down.
Tahm Kench Buffs
Passive – An Acquired Taste
- Damage now scales with 2% AP per 100 bonus health.
Q – Tongue Lash
- AP Ratio: increased from 90% to 100%
W – Abyssal Dive
- AP Ratio: increased from 125% to 150%
R – Devour
- Shield now decays by 200 per second instead of lasting 2.5 seconds.
- Damage AP ratio increased from 5% per 100 AP to 7% per 100.
Even though Tahm Kench’s mini-rework isn’t as big as Zeri’s, it is Tahm Kench’s second mini-rework. Riot turned him from a top laner to a support champion in his first mini-rework. And now, it looks like Riot is trying to make Tahm Kench work as an AP bruiser, similar to Gwen.
Meaning now, Tahm Kench can now cause a significant amount of damage by buying AP items. However, Riot has nerfed his R’s shield. With this shield change, it will be difficult for him to protect his allies.
Sion Buffs
- Base Mana: 330 >>> 400
- Mana Growth: 42 >>> 52
- Q Base Damage: 30/50/90/110 >>> 40/60/80/100/120
Even before the preseason, Sion’s pick and win rates were incredibly mediocre. And after this preseason, his win rate especially has tanked. Not only that, even the new tank item that was released, Heartsteel, couldn’t save him from his lousy win rate.
He is currently the second least-picked top laner in the game, with a pick rate of 5.5%. Moreover, his win rate is a pitiful 46.19%. And that’s why he will be getting some buffs in patch 12.23.
Kayn (Blue Kayn/Shadow Kayn) Buffs
- Passive Damage: 8-30% >>> 13-40%
- E Heal Ratio: 35% bonus AD >>> 45% bonus AD
Since the durability update, Blue Kayn has not been part of the meta. Even though Rhaast (Red Kayn) was over-tuned thanks to Eclipse and other vamp items, Shadow Kayn was rarely picked in both ranked and pro play.
Even though it is hard to tell what they will buff about blue Kayn, they could buff his bonus magic damage on his passive, as that nerf in season 11 was the first nerf that made Shadow Kayn unviable on the pro play.
Cho’Gath Buffs
- Passive Mana Restore: 3.5-7.75 >>> 5-10
- W Base Damage: 75/125/175/225/275 >>> 60/135/190/145/300
- R Cooldown: 80 >>> 80/70/60
Cho’Gath is one of the oldest champions released in League of Legends. Unfortunately, even though he is an iconic champion, he is extremely dated. Not only that, but in the current patch, he is one of the least-played top laners in the game, similar to Sion.
Cho’Gath’s pick rate is 2.8%, with a win rate of 46.23%. And even though fans want to see Cho’Gath receive a VGU, it seems Riot will try to bring him to the spotlight by buffing him.
Amumu Buffs
- Health Growth: 89 >>> 100
- Q Mana Cost: 30/35/40/45/50 >>> 40/45/50/55/60
- E Base Damage: 85/110/135/160/185 >>> 80/110/140/170/200
- W Base Damage Per Second: 12/16/20/24/28(+1/1.15/1.3/1.45/1.6% of the target’s Max HP) >>> 12/16/20/24/28(+1/1.25/1.5/1.75/2% of targets Max HP)
Recently, Riot has been trying to bring Amumu back to the spotlight. In patch 12.22, Amumu’s base mana regeneration and mana regeneration growth were increased. Furthermore, in the hotfix of November 17, Amumu’s E-Tantrum’s base damage and cooldown reduction from damage were increased. And it seems Riot is not stopping.
With the changes mentioned earlier, even though Amumu’s win rate increased to 50.47%, his pick rate is still a low 3.8%. Therefore, because of this, Riot will give Amumu some buffs in patch 12.23.
Maokai Buffs
- Passive Healing: 4-34 + 4-10 max health (based on level) >>> 4-34 + 12%
- Q Bonus Monster Damage: 80/100/120/140/160 >>> 120/140/160/180/200
- Q Base Damage: 65/110/155/200/245 (+2/2.25/2.5/2.75/3% of the target’s max HP) >>> 70/120/170/220/270 (+2/2.25/2.5/2.75/3% of the target’s max HP)
Maokai was one of the last champions who received a mini-rework in patch 12.17. After that update, his win rate increased significantly. But he received massive nerfs in patches 12.18 and 12.20. But recently, Riot hotfix buffed him on November 17, similar to Amumu.
Maokai currently has a respectable 50.6% win rate but a pitiful 2.7% pick rate. Because of this, Riot will be buffing him in the upcoming patch.
Zac Buffs
- Passive Healing: 4/4.75/5.5/6.25% (Based on R rank) >>> 4/5/6/7%
- Q Cooldown: 15/13.5/12/10.5/9 >>> 14/12.5/11/9.5/8
- Q Base Damage: 40/55/70/85/100 (+2.5% of Zac’s Max HP) >>> 40/55/70/85/100 (+4% of Zac’s Max HP)
Currently, Zac is one of the worst junglers in the game. And besides the bug fixes, Riot did not adjust him recently. Because of that, he hasn’t been part of the meta. Even with the introduction of Jak’Sho, The Protean, the new tank item, Zac is still weaker than his peers.
Currently, his win rate is pitiful, 47.34%, and his pick rate is only 3.4%.
Malphite Buffs
- W On-hit Damage: 30/45/60/75/90 (+20% AP) (+10% Armor) >>> 30/45/60/75/90 (+20% AP) (+15% Armor)
- W Cone Damage: 15/25/35/45/55 (+30% AP) (+15% Armor) >>> 20/30/40/50/60 (+30% AP) (+25% Armor)
- E Damage: 60/95/130/165/200 (+60% AP) (+30% Armor) >>> 70/110/150/190/230 (+60% AP) (+40% Armor)
Malphite is one of the oldest champions released in League of Legends. Unfortunately, and similarly to Zac, his win and pick rates are extremely bad. The problem with Malphite is that he is a simple and outdated champion. If he gets over-tuned, it will create havoc in League of Legends. Because of that, it is hard to balance him.
His win rate is a horrendous 48.39%, and his pick rate is only 2.0% in the top lane.
Release Date
All the buffs mentioned above will hit live servers in patch 12.23, scheduled to release on December 7, 2022.
