With League of Legends patch 13.22 bringing quality-of-life changes to mage auto attack speed, adjustments to Janna’s kit to allow more skill expression, and sweeping buffs and nerfs based on 13.21 stats, Riot Games is showing no sign of slowing down any time soon.
While this patch may not be the longest in League of Legends history, it will definitely leave a lasting impression in many players’ minds. The mage auto attack speed adjustments have been crowned Riot’s biggest change this patch, as many players have been too focused on Janna’s “patchwork” to care. With all of the small changes being made to this top-tier MOBA game, let’s start by running down which champions will be affected by the auto-attack speed change.
League of Legends patch 13.22 mage auto attack speed increase
Lead Game Designer ‘Phreak’ explains that the mage auto attack speed increase has come about after discovering mage players were taking attack speed runes when their champions have no direct attack speed synergy, and examples of this would be Ahri and LeBlanc.
So to allow these players the room to take AP (Adaptive Force) runes and not feel pigeonholed into taking AS runes, chosen mage champions have had their attack frames, missile speed, and attack speed changed. The champions affected are: Ahri, Anivia, Annie, Cassiopeia, Heimerdinger, Ivern, Karthus, LeBlanc, Lissandra, Neeko, Orianna, Rumble, Ryze, Singed, Syndra, Taliyah, Teemo, Twisted Fate, Veigar, Vel’Koz, Xerath, Zilean, and Zoe.
League of Legends 13.22 Janna adjustments
Janna is a unique enchanter support, and having one of the longest-duration shields in her class has set her well above other shield enchanters, only if you have the skill to use it. But with these unforeseen changes coming in, Riot Games hopes to take her away from shielding duty and into her more traditional role. Phreak explained in his 13.22 patch preview that they were adjusting Janna’s kit to bring back a more enjoyable version of the champion, that being the Q and W spam from 2017.
To do this, Janna’s W cooldown and cost have been reduced. Your passive now provides on-hit damage while your E shield decay has been removed, but it’s not all buffs. Cooldown, cost, and the damage on your Q have all been nerfed. Self-haste has been removed from your passive and your E duration has been decreased. These sweeping changes will definitely change the playstyle from slow planned gameplay, and push her more into a Q and W spamming nightmare. Depending on how these changes are received, I would expect to see a change in her already high playrate.
For an in-depth preview of the changes coming in patch 13.22. Riot Phreak has you covered:
League of Legends 13.22 skins
In addition to the changes coming to this patch, our one and only Heartsteel heartthrobs will finally make their debut on the rift. Skins include HEARTSTEEL Kayn, HEARTSTEEL K’Sante, HEARTSTEEL Ezreal, HEARTSTEEL Sett, HEARTSTEEL Aphelios, and HEARTSTEEL Yone. The band’s main producer Yone will also be receiving this patch’s prestige skin with Prestige HEARTSTEEL Yone. We will also see the return of Mythic Chromas with the release of Breakout True Damage Ekko. This patch is definitely a rhythmic one that’s for sure.
HEARTSTEEL Kayn, HEARTSTEEL K’Sante, HEARTSTEEL Ezreal, HEARTSTEEL Sett, HEARTSTEEL Aphelios, HEARTSTEEL Yone, Prestige HEARTSTEEL Yone, and Breakout True Damage Ekko will be available on Wednesday, November 8, 2023 at 12pm PT, 3pm ET, and 8pm GMT.
Several other champions have been buffed and nerfed in this patch, other than impregnator Gragas being made impossible now with his ability haste adjustment, we don’t expect to see much change in win rates.
As I dive head first into ranked with 13.22 now live, I’ll be using our Tier list to give me the competitive edge I definitely need. Camile rightly said, “Extremes are easy, it’s the balance that is difficult.” and it’s hard to think she wasn’t talking about balancing League of Legends when she said it. What I find most difficult though, is not buying a new skin every time I open the league client, so I’ll be keeping a close eye on the Skin Sale to keep me from going bankrupt.