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Riot Games
Riot Games dropped Patch 13.14 for Teamfight Tactics (TFT) on 19th July and just after a day’s time, it shipped a TFT 13.14b mid-patch update on 20th July, reverting some of the buffs that went out earlier. The 13.14 patch had numerous buffs including Taric and Soraka. TFT game designer Stephen “Mortdog” Mortimer called the Taric buff the biggest change in the entire patch in his Patch Rundown. While his mana and shield numbers were buffed initially, after a day of running, Taric’s kit has been toned down.
Here are all the changes in TFT 13.14b mid-patch update, according to game designer Kent Wu, who first posted them on Twitter.
Why the TFT 13.14b mid-patch?
Talking about the reason behind the mid-patch update, Riot Games said it initially thought Akshan needed compensation buffs in 13.14 due to nerfing the interaction between his ability and attack items like Guinsoo’s Rageblade, Runaan’s Hurricane, etc. "But our Runaan's/Deadeye interaction bugfix did a lot more for Akshan than we expected, resulting in an exceptionally high power ceiling from the extra Mana gained via Deadeye procs." Therefore, it reverted his previous AD (attack damage) ratio buff and nerfing his mana as well, while his ability will remain uninterruptible.
Likewise, the publisher acknowledged that Taric's story in TFT 13.14 patch was "from worst to first”, especially in the Invoker comp. It stated that Taric has been consistently underperforming in Set 9 Runeterra Reforged and hence, it took some bold steps to ensure his viability.
Riot accepted its mistake and said it went too overboard. "In the early game, Taric/Soraka would create an unkillable combo through healing and shielding, often resulting in one-sided fights and massive player damage if you couldn’t cut through their HP," it reasoned.
Riot Kent Wu also added that Soraka was a major contributor to Taric's sustain power and hence warranted the nerfs.
Here are the unit changes in 13.14b mid-patch update:
Akshan max Mana nerf: 30/90 ⇒ 30/110
Akshan Comeuppance Bullet AD Ratio: 130% ⇒ 125%
Karma Inner Flame Damage: 180/270/445 ⇒ 170/255/420
Soraka Astral Infusion Heal: 200/225/250 ⇒ 170/190/220
Soraka Astral Infusion Empowered Heal: 50% ⇒ 40%
Taric Mana nerf: 0/55 ⇒ 0/65
Taric Radiance Shield Duration: 6 ⇒ 4 seconds
TFT 13.14b Mid-Patch: Augment Changes
AUGMENTS
Caretaker’s Ally Unit Tier: 3 ⇒ 2
Caretaker’s Ally Unit Bugfix: Now correctly grants its units directly, rather than giving orbs
Think Fast has been disabled
Riot said the Caretaker's Ally change is to encourage more flexible usage of the augment. Players have a higher chance to hit another copy of the 2-cost unit in Stage 2, so they can get an upgraded 2-cost by level 5 which can be used for tempo.
Riot Games also mentioned that it needed to keep this mid-patch small and only target urgent fixes. However, it will continue monitoring the meta closely for the next patch.
