League of Legends patch 12.16 is almost out, so let’s take a look at the LoL 12.16 patch notes.
We are slowly nearing the Worlds 2022 in North America and the patch it will be played on, which will probably be 12.18. As the Riot’s Summoner’s Rift design teams said, the patches before this big event were planned to be on the lighter side so pro-play can find its rhythm. Also, leagues around the world started their post-seasons already and they will not be playing on any patch after 12.15. So, there is no surprise that we have a patch without too many changes.
Patch 12.16 changes
Patch 12.16 doesn’t have too many nerfs in it. Only four champs and all four of them are probably getting hit due to their presence in pro play. Draven and Yuumi nerfs won’t affect solo queue players too much and Poppy only got a nerf to his clear, which is not why she was very popular. If you are playing these three champions on your climb, there is no reason to stop.
On the other hand, Zeri once again received some nerfs. Ever since her release, the Spark of Zaun has been a pro play staple, which meant she was the focus of many other nerfs. But her prevalence in pro play does not mirror the solo queue at all, where she is one of the worst ADCs with a 46% win rate. At this rate, it looks like players should not expect her to be balanced around solo queue after the Worlds ends.
There are not many changes on the buff side either. Some quality-of-life adjustments are made to champs like Zoe and Zyra, which is good for players but it should not affect their win rate too much.
Three ADCs are also buffed, maybe with the hope of changing up the bot lane meta, but neither buffs seem too massive. Tristana buffs can be very helpful if you are playing her in the mid lane, and the Kai’Sa buffs are mainly for her hybrid build, which is not all too popular after the Guinsoo’s Rageblade changes.
There are also multiple ARAM and Ultimate Spellbook adjustments in patch 12.16. If you’d like to see a full list of these game mode changes, you can find it here.
Udyr VGU goes live
Maybe the biggest news in patch 12.16 is the long-awaited Visual and Gameplay Update for Udyr. Riot has already shown what can the players expect from the new Udyr, and he was available on PBE since early August. The community reception so far has been mainly positive about the changes made to the champion.
The most obvious changes were around the Udyr’s themes, where he was previously inspired by real-world animals, his abilities now take after the Freljordian demi-gods from League lore.
From a gameplay aspect, Udyr is mostly the same. He is still mainly a jungler, he still relies a lot on his passive auto attacks and his in-game play patterns are still the same. There is some more thought that needs to be put into when and which ability you should use Udyr’s new passive, Awaken, but it looks like he did not end up far from what he was before.
When does patch 12.16 go live?
Patch 12.16 will go live today, August 24.
The first region that the patch will drop is the Oceania servers at 10 AM AEDT. The rest of the servers will follow suit in the morning hours of their respective regions. Here are the timings for most servers:
- 3 AM PT (NA)
- 5 AM GMT (EUW)
- 3 AM CET (EUNE)
- 8 AM KST (Korea)
Patch 12.16 complete changes
Udyr VGU
- Passive – Bridge Between
- Awakened Spirit: Udyr has four basic abilities that swap between stances. He can periodically recast his active stance to Awaken it for bonus effects, with a shared cooldown between stances.
- Monk Training: Each time Udyr enters or Awakens a stance, his next two attacks gain attack speed and refund some of Awaken’s cooldown.
- Q – Wilding Claw
- Udyr gains a burst of attack speed and his next two attacks deal bonus physical damage.
- Awaken: Udyr gains even more attack speed, and his next two attacks chain lightning off the target, bouncing up to 6 times. Lightning can strike the same target multiple times, dealing heavy damage to isolated targets.
- W – Iron Mantle
- Udyr gains a shield and his next two attacks restore health.
- Awaken: Udyr gains a bigger shield, his next two attacks heal even more, and he restores a percentage of his max health over the next few seconds.
- E – Blazing Stampede
- Udyr gains a burst of move speed. His first attack against each target while in this stance lunges a short distance and stuns them (per-unit cooldown).
- Awaken: Udyr gains even more move speed and briefly becomes immune to crowd control.
- R – Wingborne Storm
- Udyr temporarily summons a storm around him that slows and damages nearby units. His next two attacks cause the storm to pulse, dealing bonus magic damage.
- Awaken: Udyr unleashes the storm, causing it to deal additional damage and chase after nearby enemies.
Champion Buffs
Caitlyn
- Passive – Headshot
- Attack Damage Ratio: 60/85/110 percent (based on level) > 60/90/120 percent (based on level)
- R – Ace in the Hole
- [New]: Damage is now increased by 0 to 25 percent based on current critical strike chance
Diana
- Passive – Moonsilver Blade
- Empowered cleave damage: 20 to 250 (based on level) (+50 percent AP) > 20 to 220 (based on level) (+50 percent AP)
- (Note: Base damage level comparisons: Level six: 55 > 45, Level 11: 120 > 95, Level 16: 210 > 170)
- E – Lunar Rush
- Magic damage: 50/70/90/110/130 (+45 percent AP) > 50/70/90/110/130 (+ 50 percent AP)
Irelia
- Base magic resist: 28 > 30
- Armor growth: 4.2 > 4.7
Jayce
- Q (Hammer Form) – To the Skies!
- Damage: 55/95/135/175/215/255 (+120 percent bonus AD) > 55/100/145/190/235/280 (+120 percent bonus AD)
- E (Hammer Form) – Thundering Blow
- Damage: 8/10.4/12.8/15.2/17.6/20 percent of target’s maximum health (100 percent bonus AD) > 8/10.8/13.6/16.4/19.2/22 percent of target’s maximum health (100 percent bonus AD)
Kai’Sa
- Passive – Second Skin
- Plasma on-hit base damage: four to 16 (based on level) > five to 23 (based on level)
- Caustic Wounds additional damage per Plasma stack before application: one to eight (based on level) > one to 12 (based on level)
- Q – Icathian Rain
- Damage per missile: 40/55/70/85/100 (+50 percent bonus AD) (+25 percent AP) > 40/55/70/85/100 (+ 50 percent bonus AD) (+30 percent AP)
- R – Killer Instinct
- Shield strength: 70/90/110 (+90/135/180% AD) (+ 90 percent AP) > 70/90/110 (+ 90/135/180 percent AD) (+ 120 percent AP)
Malphite
- Passive – Granite Shield
- Cooldown (levels 1/7/13): 10/8/6 seconds >>> 8/7/6 seconds
- W – Thunderclap
- Cooldown: 12 at all ranks > 12/11.5/11/10.5/10 seconds
Tristana
- Q – Rapid Fire
- Bonus attack speed: 50/65/80/95/110 percent > 65/80/95/110/125 percent
Zoe
- W – Spell Thief
- [New]: Minions killed by Allied champions will now also drop orbs while Zoe is within 1500 range
- E – Sleepy Trouble Bubble
- Magic damage: 60/100/140/180/220 (+40 percent AP) > 70/110/150/190/230 (+45 percent)
- Maximum pop damage: 60/100/140/180/220 (+40 percent AP) > 70/110/150/190/230 (+45 percent)
Zyra
- E – Grasping Roots
- Post-cast lockout: 0.15 to 0.4 seconds > 0.15 seconds
Champion nerfs
Draven
- Q – Spinning Axe
- Base damage: 45/50/55/60/65 > 40/45/50/55/60
Poppy
- Q – Hammer Shock
- Percent health damage minion/monster cap: 50/80/110/140/170 > 30/60/90/120/150
Yuumi
- E – Zoomies
- Bonus movement speed: 20 percent (+six percent per 100 AP) > 20 percent (+two percent per 100 AP)
- Cooldown: 12/11/10/9/8 seconds > 12/11.5/11/10.5/10 seconds
Zeri
- Q – Burst Fire
- Damage: 8/11/14/17/20 (+105/110/115/120/125% AD) (+60 percent AP) > 8/11/14/17/20 (+ 100/105/110/115/120 percent AD) (+60 percent AP)
- W – Ultrashock Laser
- Damage: 20/55/90/125/160 (+130 percent AD) (+ 60 percent AP) > 20/55/90/125/160 (+100 percent AD) (+ 40 percent AP)
Items
- Evenshroud
- Coruscation Duration: four seconds > five seconds
- Coruscation damage amplification: nine percent > 10 percent
