Cover-Credits:
Riot Games is kicking off the New Year with a new League of Legends patch. The first patch of this season, Patch 12.1 brings in a soft ranked reset, changes to the higher skill tier decays, some champion balances and item balances, and a game-changing update for the summoner spell Teleport. With all the host of changes, the cherry atop Patch 12.1 is where the game puts forth the one-time event Forge God Clash with new rewards.
It is time to buckle up, grind season 2022 starting 7th Jan 2022 and show off the new Ranked Crests.
League of Legends Patch 12.1’s Biggest Changes
Teleport and Unleashed Teleport
The patch introduces changes to Teleport (TP) which now restricts the number of teleporting options for top and mid laners. Now, players can TP only to allied towers as long as the tower plating stands. After minute 14, the spell will upgrade into Unleashed Teleport, allowing players to TP to allied towers, minions, wards and other constructs. This means there will not be any crazy four-man bot lane plays in the early to mid-game. Calling the spell influential, the balance team has decided to throw in a potential nerf, changing the pace of the game. TP’s cooldown will be capped at 360 seconds at all levels, and 240 seconds once it’s upgraded to Unleashed Teleport.
Patch 12. 1 Champion Buffs and Debuffs
Diana and Gangplank have received some slight yet significant buffs to aid their early game presence, while Sona and Rek’Sai have received significant nerfs. Diana, now deemed a jungler, received a power spike pushing her ability power ratio to 50% from 40%. Her damage ratio to jungle monsters has been pushed to a substantial 300% from the earlier 250%.
Gangplank’s Q - Parrrley cooldown and manacost have been reduced to help the saltwater scourge stay relevant in the laning phase.
Riot has also significantly nerfed Rek’Sai, aiming to reduce her impact when she maxes her E- Furious Bite/Tunnel.“Rek'Sai is a bit too strong in skilled play, especially when she maxes E first. We're targeting exactly that while leaving her normal Q max builds relatively unchanged,” read Patch 12.1’s notes.
As a result, E - Furious Bite’s damage has been reduced and the cooldowns of E - Tunnel have been increased.
Meanwhile, Sona’s armor growth has been reduced to 3 and the cooldown of E - Celerity has been increased to 14 seconds.
Item Buffs and Nerfs in Patch 12.1
Force of Nature was the only item to get a buff in Patch 12.1, making it a reliable magic resist item. Its magic damage reduction ratio has been increased to 25% and the item’s absorb stack duration has been pushed to 7 seconds.
As for the nerfs. Eclipse, Immortal Shieldbow, and Wit’s End have been considerably nerfed in Patch 12.1.
Eclipse was essentially overpowered in Patch 11.23 and it has now been reverted as the ability cooldown of the item has been increased to 8 seconds for melee champions.
Immortal Shieldbow’s attack damage (AD) has been reduced to 50 and lifeline shield will now be 275-650 (based on level). The Ornn’s upgrade to the item, Bloodward, will have an AD of 65 and will have the same shield levels.
Considering that Wit’s End is a strong early-game damage per second (DPS) item, the build path has been changed. It will now be Hearthbound Axe + Null-Magic Mantle + Pickaxe + 675 gold, without a change in the total cost. Further, the item’s magic resist has been pushed down to 40.
Patch 12.1: Ranked Reset and Split 1
The new ranked season begins on 7th Jan 2022 and all ranked accounts will face a soft reset of 5 tiers for initial seeding. The exclusive rewards for the split include Vex champion permanent, Vex emotes and summoner icon, and a series 1 Eternals capsule.
To improve the matchmaking and gaming experience in higher skill tiers of Master, Grandmaster, and Challenger tiers, the balance team has brought in new changes to decay rates and banked dates.
Apart from this, Patch 12.1 introduces visual updates in the form of Ranked Crests, instead of ranked armor, that look different in the lobby, loading screen, player profile, and friends list.
League of Legends Patch 12.1: Forge God Clash Event and New Skins
To commemorate the start of Season 2022, there will be a special Clash event with new rewards. Clash events allow players to form their own teams and showcase stellar teamwork, comms and skills while duking it out in an eight-team bracket for special rewards and Victory Points (VP).
VPs are rolled out to players for every game won in Clash which can be used to unlock banners and icons.
The Forge God Clash event will take place on 15th and 16th January, but will have no impact on the Clash VP. Elderwood Gnar and Elderwood Rek’Sai will be released in this patch along with an array of chromas.
Apart from these changes, many bug fixes and quality of life improvements have also been included as part of this patch. The dev team has updated the player behavioral system to identify and evaluate when a player runs it down mid-lane. Now, targets with objective bounties will sport different health bars to show bounty status.
Subscribe to AFK Gaming’s Newsletter
Get a weekly recap of all the latest developments in the global esports industry with our esports business insights newsletter: AFK Weekly
Subscribe for free to receive insights, analysis and opinions on the biggest developments in esports business, provided by our team of experienced journalists in collaboration with thought leaders across the industry.
