Patch Note Rundown: 5.3

By Helmight

Hey everyone! It's time for another patch note rundown. As always, I'll be tl;dr-ing the changes that came up this patch, giving brief insight as to why they happened, and picking out the highlights. 5.3 was relatively light in terms of actual balance changes, but there's still plenty to dig into. Keep reading to see the most important changes of patch 5.3!



Big Changes

Sona Bugs
Though it may look as though Sona was buffed in this most recent patch, it's actually just a bug with Riot's systems that caused her to revert her stats to a previous state. Instead of simply disabling Sona though, Riot has instead decided to let the changes stay until a later date. So, for the moment she's a tad stronger than she was before. Yay

• General
• Base Attack Damage: 50.04 ⇒ 52.04.

• Base Movement Speed: 325 ⇒ 330.

• Base Health: 482.36 ⇒ 497.6.

• Health Growth Stat: 77 ⇒ 70.

• Base Mana Regen: 9 mana per 5 seconds ⇒ 8.1 mana per 5 seconds.

• Mana Regen Growth Stat: 0.4 mana per 5 seconds ⇒ 0.65 mana per 5 seconds.

Ahri

Following the removal of DFG, Ahri got quite a few compensation buffs tossed her way to make up for it. However, these buffs turned Ahri into an insanely mobile, high-damage mage that was nigh-ungankable in the laning phase. The nerfs going out in this patch have reduced the range on Ahri's Fox Fire (W) and Spirit Rush (R), forcing her to play a little unsafer in order to get her guaranteed damage. Her Q also took a hit to its mana cost as a way to curb her mobility a little more. 

• Q - Orb of Deception: 
• Cost increased from 55/60/65/70/75 mana to 65/70/75/80/85 mana.
• W - Fox Fire: 
• Damage reduced from 50/80/110/140/170 to 40/65/90/115/140.
• Rotation speed increased by roughly 30%.
• Acquisition range decreased from 650 to 550.
•  R - Spirit Rush
• Acquisition range decreased from 700 to 600.

Azir

Though Azir is defined as a hyper carry, his laning phase is absolutely fantastic and the Emperor of the Sands can bully champions with impunity. These changes are meant to reduce the power of Azir during the early game to make him pay more for his insane lategame carry potential. He did however get a slight bump to his base AD to let him last hit more easily.

•  General
•  Base attack damage: 49.704 ⇒ 52
• Q - Conquering Sands:
•  Damage decreased from 75/105/135/165/195 to 65/85/105/125/145.
• W - Arise!:
• Soldier stab range decreased from roughly 400 to roughly 325.
• Tower bomb damage decreased from 90 + (15 x level) (0.7 ability power) to 50 + (10 x level) (0.4 ability power).

Gnar

The adorable yordle was always meant to be defined by his inconsistency, but his ubiquitous presence in professional play has signaled that he's actually very consistently strong. The changes in this patch are meant to curb Mega Gnar's rampages and make him a bit less overwhelming to play against. 

• Passive - Rage Gene
• "Tired" debuff duration increased from 13 seconds to 15 seconds.
• Mega Gnar duration decreased from 19 seconds to 15 seconds. 

Small Changes

Kennen

• W - Electrical Surge
• Now hits ALL enemies caught in Slicing Maelstrom, in addition to targets inflicted with Marks of the Storm
• R - Slicing Maelstrom
• Removed a bug where Slicing Maelstrom could hit a target every 0.25 seconds instead of every 0.5 seconds

Varus

• R - Chain of Corruption
• Missile width increased from 100 to 120

Gragas

• Q - Barrel Roll
• Base slow increased from 30/35/40/45/50% to 40/45/50/55/60%
• Maximum slow increased from 45/52.5/60/67.5/75%  to 60/67.5/75/82.5/90%

Diana

• Passive - Moonsilver Blade
• Now displays the number of stacks and the remaining duration
• W - Pale Cascade
• The orbs on this ability now rotate at approximately double the original speed

Other Changes

• Spellshields have been bugfixed so they no longer reduce damage when blocking a spell. This include's Sivir's Spell Shield, Nocturne's Shroud of Darkness, and Banshee's Veil.
• Fiddlesticks, Kennen, Mordekaiser, and Veigar have received texture updates!
• Farsight Orb now places a 60-second, 1-health ward at its epicenter when used. This ward can't be Teleported to.
• Greater Stealth Totem now operates on a charge system. It can store up to 2 charges with a 60-second cooldown.
• Spectre's Cowl has increased health regeneration, from 100% to 150%
• Nemesis Draft will be releasing later in patch 5.3 as the newest Featured Game Mode!
   

Skins

The following skins will be released throughout patch 5.3:

Sweetheart Annie (750 RP)\

Heartseeker Varus (975 RP)

 

  Warden Sivir and Warden Nautilus (750 RP each)\

 Marauder Ashe and Marauder Warwick (750 RP each)