TFT Set 9.5 Overperformers Nilah & Bilgewater Trait Nerfed in Patch 13.18B

The last mid-set for Teamfight Tactics (TFT), Set 9.5 Horizonbound, was released on 13th September. However, after monitoring the mid-set for a couple of days, Riot Games noted that it certainly missed the mark with balance on Horizonbound's launch.

On 15th September, TFT Gameplay Director and Lead Designer Stephen "Mort" Mortimer wrote on X that the live team was working on a micropatch (Patch 13.18B) to ship as soon as possible and that it will hit over-dominating units, traits, and more.

He added, "We were too conservative coming off the back end of PBE (Public Beta Environment), and missed hitting things as hard as we should have. We're taking notes on clear improvement areas here."

As mentioned, Patch 13.18B went live later in the day, and it nerfed Nilah and the Bilgewater trait.

Bilgewater Trait Finally Nerfed in Patch 13.18B Hotfix

While the developers quickly realized Bilgewater trait and Nilah were too strong, players pointed out that they have been so even on the PBE. One Twitter user said, "Players have been expressing their opinions since the PBE launched, and for the past two weeks, no one on the dev team has cared about Nilah," adding, "Nilah was so strong from the first day it launched on PBE, and it still is."

Meanwhile, Senior Game Designer on TFT Kent "Kent" Wu said, "I hope you'll continue to trust us to react quickly when we make mistakes like this. We're also ensuring we learn and improve as the team grows and responsibilities change."

Let us now take a closer look at Patch 13.18B:

The two traits that received nerfs are Strategists and Bilgewater. Talking about the Bilgewater trait, Riot Games said it took over as one of the most dominant comps upon launch. "So we’re bringing down the power of their cannonfire across the board, as well as reducing the power of both frontline & backline bonuses for Strategist at later breakpoints," added the publisher.

• Bilgewater (3): 140 + 40% ⇒ 90 + 30%

• Bilgewater (5): 200 + 60% ⇒ 125 + 50%

• Bilgewater (7): 350 + 100% ⇒ 300 + 65%

• Strategist Shield: 250/400/600/900 ⇒ 250/400/575/850

• Strategist AP: 15/25/40/60 ⇒ 15/25/35/55

Before getting into the details of all other units, let us take a look at what nerfs were dished out to Nilah in Patch 13.18B:

• Attack Speed: 0/85 >> 0.8

• Cleave Damage: 75/75/100% >>65/65/100%

The other balance changes in this B-patch are as follows:

• Aatrox Bugfix: Darkin revive animation is now the intended shorter time

• Aatrox Bugfix: Is now invulnerable while reviving

• Azir Spell Damage: 100/150/500 ⇒ 95/140/500

• Cho’Gath Mana: 20/80 ⇒ 30/90

• Ekko Bugfix: Ekko will no longer try to Rogue dash while he’s casting, and will no longer try to cast while he’s Rogue dashing. This should address cases where Ekko casts on himself while Rogue dashing during his cast

• Ekko Spell Damage: 270/405/610 ⇒ 255/380/570

• Miss Fortune Mana: 10/50 ⇒ 10/60

• Poppy Demacia Radiant Item: Gargoyle Stoneplate ⇒ Protector’s Vow

• Qiyana Health: 700 ⇒ 650

• Qiyana Mana: 20/80 ⇒ 40/100

• Qiyana Spell Range: 3 ⇒ 2 hexes

Riot Games has also temporarily removed Shurima’s Legacy Augment due to a bug, and toning down the power on The Boss & What the Forge Augments.

• The Boss AS and AP per sit-up: 45 ⇒ 40

• Shurima’s Legacy: Temporarily disabled

• What the Forge Health: 160 ⇒ 110

As for items, the following have been nerfed:

• Rapid Firecannon Damage Amp: 12% ⇒ 8%

• Radiant Rapid Firecannon Damage Amp: 20% ⇒ 15%