Patch Note Rundown: 5.6

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. Patch 5.6 can be best described as "Buff Barge 2: Electric Boogaloo." A whole slew of champions picked up buffs in this patch, though a few outliers got kicked off the barge and back into the Nerf Seas. Keep reading to take a look at the most important changes!



Big Changes

Bard
Our newest champion has been underperforming quite a bit after his release last week. Part of this is due to his unique roaming playstyle, but some of it is in his kit as well. Though Riot held off on buffing him hugely, they did throw the Wandering Caretaker a bit of love to tide him over.

• General
• Bard's recommended items have been updated to reflect his supportive playstyle (so no more Lich Bane).
• Cosmic Binding (Q)
• Damage increased from 75/100/145/180/215 to 80/120/160/200/240.
• Cosmic Binding can no longer tether to unusual objects like Jarvan IV's flag, Syndra's spheres, Jayce's acceleration gate, or wards. 
• Magical Journey (E)
• Cooldown reduced from 26/24/22/20/18 seconds to 20/19/18/17/16 seconds.
• Clicking on Magical Journey is more forgiving now.
• Champion pets like Shaco's clone and Mordekaiser's ghosts can now be ordered to take a Magical Journey.
• Allies that travel through Magical Journey will grant Bard assists for any kills they score for a short time afterwards.
• Tempered Fate (R)
• Fixed a bug where jungle monsters regained all their health after being put in stasis. 

Sejuani
Everyone's favorite boar-rider has been the recipient of more than a few buffs in recent memory, but the addition of Cinderhulk has given the Winter's Wrath too much power. These nerfs are intended to reduce Sejuani's midgame power spike to prevent her from facerolling enemies with her combination of high damage and lockdown. The changes to her R meanwhile are to separate the good Sejuanis from the great.

• Flail of the Northern Winds (W)
• Initial damage reduced from 4/6/8/10/12% of the target's maximum health to 4/5.5/7/8.5/10%.
• Glacial Prison (R)
• Slow percentage reduced from 90% to 30%.

Evelynn
Not too long ago, Evelynn was one of my most hated champions. Now she's a shadow of her former self, struggling both to clear the new jungle and to make a meaningful impact in teamfights. These buffs are intended to give Evelynn players more tactical flexibility by reducing the cooldown on her passive later in the game, letting her be a constant invisible menace rather than a visible, somewhat less threatening menace.

• Shadow Walk (Passive)
• Cooldown on entering stealth reduced from 6 seconds at all ranks to 6/5/4/3 seconds at levels 1/6/11/16.
• Dark Frenzy (W)
• Spell hits no longer grant a stacking movement speed bonus.
• Spell hits now lower the cooldown of Dark Frenzy by 1 second.

Small Changes

Aatrox

• Massacre (R) now grants 20% of his maximum Blood Well for every enemy hit

Elise

• Human form movement speed lowered, while Spider form movement speed increased.
• Elise can now descend from Rappel (E) by right-clicking.
• Cocoon (E) missile speed increased.

Katarina

• Health per level reduced.
• Base health reduced.
• Base health regen reduced.

LeBlanc

• Mimic: Sigil of Malice's AP ratio has been reduced.
• Mimic: Distortion's AP ratio has been reduced.
• Mimic: Ethereal Chains's AP ratio has been reduced.

Quinn and Valor

• Vault (E) now resets Quinn's attack timer on landing.
• Fixed a bug where Harrier (passive) was not always applying on targets of Vault.
• Fixed a bug where Quinn could sometimes end up outside of her attack range when Vaulting off of close-up enemies.
• Vaulting off an enemy to pass through terrain is now easier.

Sion

• Decimating Smash (Q) now deals less damage to monsters.
• Roar of the Slayer (E)'s passthrough damage bonus decreased.

Veigar

• Equilibrium (Passive) mana regen increased.
• Baleful Strike (Q)'s range increased.
• Veigar Bot has been taught how to use his new Q.

Other Changes

• Kayle, Lee Sin, Pantheon, Rumble, and Ryze have all received texture rebalances!
• Chalice of Harmony is cheaper and Athene's Unholy Grail has had its mana regen buffed.
• Rift Scuttler's vision range reduced (it was bugged previously)
• Jungle XP has been increased.
• New champion select music has been added for Summoner's Rift queues :(
• Rammus and Twisted Fate have received new ability icons.

Skin Releases
This patch we'll have... no skins released? That's weird... or is it?

What did you guys think of the Buff Barge's second coming? Did Sejuani really need to be nerfed? Can the Veigar mains stop crying now? Let us know in the comments below!