League of Legends patch 14.17 preview: Graves buffs, Aurora nerfs, and more!

League of Legends' patch 14.17 is now set to be released and it will serve as the final patch to be released before the 'Worlds patch' (14.18). We've had a look, and the upcoming changes look as exciting as ever!

With a seemingly inevitable shift in winds in the jungle away from the AP junglers that have dominated all season long, the upcoming patch promises to bring fresh tidings into the game.

Several buffs to numerous mid lane mages also hint towards an even further move away from the AD carry domination in that position.

With the World Championship being played on patch 14.17, players and teams alike will have to be quick to figure out the meta if they want the best possible shot at the trophy.

This information about patch 14.17 came from an X (Twitter) post made by Matt "Phroxzon" Leung-Harrison, League of Legends' Lead Gameplay Designer.

"It's the final patch before Worlds.

Talked about the systems changes yesterday, talking about a few of the specific champion changes.

High level, we're looking to continue getting a few more mages into Mid lane, nerfing AD systemic options further, bringing a few more AD junglers up and systemically nerfing some of the overpowered Tank support items.

A combination of a lot of changes to various areas over the year have led to Ranged Supports being phased out of the meta game (mostly). Earlier in the year, they were propped up a bit by Bloodsong but after 14.10, death by a thousand cuts in the form of the +gank changes to red side bot lane earlier in the year, general sustain increases meaning their heals are less valuable, tank support buffs, etc. have made them less valuable. 

We're making some nerfs to items that Tank supports (especially the meta drivers) buy (disproportionate nerf to Supports rushing 1st item Warmogs) -> we also think Warmogs is generally too powerful even for income tanks."

Kindred will become one of the biggest beneficiaries of Riot's efforts to bring AD junglers back in patch 14.17. (Credit: Riot Games)

Champion Buffs (Patch 14.17)

"Looking to get a few AD junglers back into the meta here. Looking for relatively known buffs to their core damage abilities. Kindred in particular has been looking worse for wear after a Kraken nerf that was targeted at other champions (cough AD mids cough).

Some of the Mage oriented buffs this patch are aimed at furthering their particular niches; Liss as a more utility oriented Mage and lane presence.

Ryze as he's not seen play for a long while and is feeling a bit weak relative to the other mids present right now.

TF has lost some of his luster in recent times, and we're giving him a stable buff to his bread and butter with the hopes of seeing him more in meta."

Kindred

• [Q] Dance of Arrows base bonus Attack Speed increased 30% >>> 35%
• [E] Mounting Dread buffs:
  • Damage increased 80/100/120/140/160 (+80% bAD) (+5% (+0.5% per [P] Mark of the Kindred) target's missing HP) >>> 80/110/140/170/200 (+100% bAD) (+5% (+0.5% per [P] Mark of the Kindred) target's missing HP)
  • Cooldown reduced 14/13/12/11/10 >>> 14/12.5/11/9.5/8 seconds

Graves

• [Q] End of the Line buffs:
  • [Q1] Initial wave damage increased 45/60/75/90/105 >>> 45/65/85/105/125
  • Cooldown reduced 13/11.5/10/8.5/7 >>> 13/11.25/9.5/7.75/6 seconds

Lissandra

• [Q] Ice Shard base damage increased 80/110/140/170/200 >>> 80/115/150/185/220
• [R] Frozen Tomb slow increased 30/52.5/75% >>> 45/60/75%

Ryze

• [P] Overload base damage increased 70/90/110/130/150 >>> 75/95/115/135/155
• [R] Realm Warp cooldown reduced 210/180/150 >>> 180/160/140 seconds

Twisted Fate

• [Q] Wild Cards base damage increased 60/100/140/180/220 >>> 60/105/150/195/240

Caitlyn

"Caitlyn hasn't been present in the meta for a while.

We're giving her slightly better control on one of her skill skewed spells and better scaling that doesn't skew towards Lethality builds."

• Attack Speed ratio increased 0.594 >>> 0.610
• [W] Yordle Snap Trap cooldown reduced 30/24/19/15/12 >>> 26/22/18/14/10 seconds

Varus

• [Q] Piercing Arrow damage increased 15-235 (+1.25-1.45 tAD) >>> 90-370 (+1.5-1.9 bAD)
• [E] Hail of Arrows bonus AD ratio increased  90% >>> 110%

Champion Nerfs (Patch 14.17)

Aurora

"So far, Aurora has landed pretty reasonably after adjustments, but we'll tap her down a little more.

Now that her waveclear and damage are more in line, she's a little more mid skewed which is desirable. We want her to be stronger in Mid than Top generally.

We've also started some work internally on trying to make her Q and R visuals more clear, which we're hoping will help with her frustration.

We're also trying to find some changes that may lower her Elite skew.

We also expect Aurora to be a champion that gets weaker as time goes on as people learn her counterplay (dodge Q, be aware of/escape from R -> more awareness of her R angles)."

• [R] Between Worlds damage reduced 200/325/450 >>> 175/275/375

Will Aurora manage to find her place at the 2024 League of Legends World Championship all the same? Only time will tell. (Credit: Riot Games)

Ashe

• Base HP reduced 640 >>> 610

Brand

• [P-Ablaze] Blaze - Ablaze nerfs:
  • Non-epic monster damage-over-time cap per stack per tick reduced 80 >>> 30
  • Non-epic monster explosion damage cap added uncapped >>> 275-675 (based on levels 1-17, linear)

Ezreal

• Base AD reduced 62 >>> 60

Katarina

• [P] Voracity AP ratio reduced 70/80/90/100 >>> 60/70/80/90

Kennen

• [Q] Thundering Shuriken AP ratio reduced 85% >>> 75%

LeBlanc

• [Q] Sigil of Malice AP ratio reduced 45% >>> 40%
• [W] Distortion AP ratio reduced 75% >>> 70%

Lillia

• [P] Dream-Laden Bough non-epic monster damage-over-time cap per 3 seconds reduced 70-150 >>> 70-100 (based on levels 1-18, linear)

Pyke

• Base armor reduced 37 >>> 33

Rumble

• [P] Junkyard Titan max health damage reduced 6% >>> 5%

Senna (AP)

• [Q] Piercing Darkness healing reduced 40-120 (+80% AP) >>> 40-100 (+60% AP)
• [R] Dawning Shadow shield AP ratio reduced 70% >>> 50%

Enchanter Senna has been terrorizing solo queue. (Credit: Riot Games)

Seraphine

• [W] Surround Sound nerfs:
  • Base shield reduced 60-160 >>> 60-140
  • Cooldown increased 22-18 >>> 22 seconds

Sylas

• [W] Kingslayer AP damage ratio reduced 70% >>> 60%

System Nerfs (Patch 14.17)

ADC's

"Systems changes this patch are targeted at Absorb Life, Cut Down and Fleet Footwork.

A lot of the ADC's (especially) in Mid are continuing to use these runes to great success and a combination of all these smaller meta effects (runes, AP and ADC item changes, xp changes, etc.) are combining to make ADC's in solo lanes so powerful.

In 14.16, we see early signs that the nerfs to 1 item spike (BORK), individual champion nerfs (Corki, Lucian) are looking at least reasonably effective."

Absorb Life

• Heal on kill reduced
  • Level 1-5: 1-5 >>> 1-2
  • Level 6-10: 6-11 >>> 3-7
  • Level 11-18: 12-23 >>> 9-23

Cut Down

• Damage threshold increased 50% health >>> 60% health

Fleet Footwork

• Heal reduced 5-120 >>> 5-100
• Move speed reduced 20% for 1.25 >>> 15% for 1 second

Celestial Opposition

• Slow reduced 60% for 2 seconds >>> 50% for 1.5 seconds

Warmog's Armor

• Warmog's Heart bonus Move Speed reduced 10% >>> 5%
• Cost increased 3100 >>> 3300 gold

Patch 14.17 promises a lot of excitement for League of Legends. For professional play, more specifically, the patch looks to point away from the direction the meta has taken all season long.

Teams which heavily relied on AD carries in the mid lane or AP junglers to push their leads may need to adapt at lightning fast speed if they look to keep their current form come the World Championship.

Overall, the patch's fresh direction is likely to keep fans of the game satisfied, seeing as both for the player as much as for the viewer, patch 14.17 points towards a change in the League of Legends experience for several weeks to come.

For the latest League of Legends news, follow Strafe Esports. Also follow the Strafe YouTube channel for exclusive interviews with players and coaches.

Image source: Riot Games

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