Pyke is getting nerfed this patch, which means we will likely not see this champion in the mid lane anymore for a while. But Pyke mid has been nerfed time and time again and it seems players will find him a way to main him in that position anyway.
But what else big happened in this patch? Of course, we cannot forget Taliyah and Olaf getting their huge mid-scope udpates this patch either, eh? So let's quickly summarize the biggest changes in League of Legends Patch 12.9.
Pyke Nerfed in the Mid Lane for Patch 12.9
Yes, we already mentioned this update, but Pyke will be getting nerfed in League of Legends Patch 12.9. Riot called it an 'adjustment' but let's be real. Mid lane Pyke is going to be a lot tougher to play after these changes. Our Riftfeed video editor is basically crying into his cereal at the sight of these changes.
Ability
Changes
Passive - Gift of the Drowned One
Damage Converted to Grey Health When Near Two or More Enemies: 40% (+0.5% per Lethality) ⇒ 45% (+0.5% per Lethality)
Q - Bone Skewer
[NEW] Bone App The Teeth: Bone Skewer now refunds mana upon hitting an enemy champion
Mana Cost: 50/55/60/65/70 ⇒ 74/78/82/86/90
Mana Refund: 50% ⇒ 75%
R - Death From Below
Cooldown: 120/100/80 seconds ⇒ 100/85/70 seconds
[REMOVE] Lighter Pockets: Pyke no longer receives “Your Cut” gold upon successfully executing enemy champions with his R (last assisting ally will still receive “Your Cut”)
[REMOVED] Bogo is a No Go: Pyke no longer receives additional “Your Cut” gold when allies kill enemies within Death From Below’s execution area
So, just take Pyke to the bot lane, because there at least his ADC will gain something from giving kills over to his support, right?
Mid-Scope Updates For Taliyah and Olaf in Patch 12.9
You guys are probably sick and tired of hearing about Taliyah and Olaf by this point, right? Well, we're going to shove them down your throat one last time to talk about their updates. We've got an overarching article, but a lot has changed since then, so let's go over the exact changes both champions will hit live servers with.
Taliyah Update
Taliyah's Abilities
Updates
Base Stats
Base Health 531 ⇒ 500
Base Health Regen 7 ⇒ 6.5
Health Regen Growth 0.7 ⇒ 0.65
Base Mana 425 ⇒ 470
Base Mana Regen 9.34 ⇒ 8
Mana Regen Growth 0.85 ⇒ 0.8
Base Armor 20 ⇒ 18
Move Speed 335 ⇒ 330
Passive - Rock Surfing
Out of Combar Bonus Move Speed: 20-45% (levels 1-18) ⇒ 10/20/35/55% (levels 1/9/12/15)
Passive Fall off Time when not near Terrain: 1 second ⇒ 2.5 seconds
Damage Reduction From Subsequent Steone Shards Against Monsters: 25% ⇒ 60%
[NEW] Super Effective: Each Stone Shard now deals an additional 30 (+10% AP) damage against monsters
[NEW] SCattered Stones: Stone Shards now deal damage in a 175 radius area of effect (approximately 1.6 Teemos)
[NEW] Rock Solid: Q - Threaded Volley will now continue to cast while Taliyah is in Stasis
[NEW] Not Just a Rock: Casting Q - Threaded Volley on Worked Ground now consumes the Worked Ground to fire a single Boulder that deals double damage [76/122/168/214/260 (+100% AP)] and slows all targets hit in a 225 AoE radius by 30/35/40/45/50% for 2 seconds
Mana Cost on Worked Ground: 1 ⇒ 20
Min Cooldown on Worked Ground: 1 second ⇒ 0.75 seconds
Worked Ground Duration: 25 seconds ⇒ 30 seconds
Worked Ground Radius: 300 ⇒ 400
Updated Level Grounds: The size of Worked Ground on Howling Abyss now matches Summoner’s Rift
[NEW] Skipping Stones: Q - Threaded Volley casts on Worked Ground now has new VFX, SFX, animation, and icon!
Delay between Casting adn Spawning First Row of Boulders: 0.1 seconds ⇒ 0 seconds
Delay between Spawning Rows of Boulders After the First Row: 0.1 seconds ⇒ 0.17 seconds
[UPDATED] Textonis Shifts: E - Unraveled Earth now spawns 6 rows of boulders extending outwards from Taliyah with 4 boulders per row (previously spawned 4 rows of boulders with 6 boulders per row)
[NEW] A Rock and a Hard Place: Boulders now stun enemies that dash through them for the duration of the dash + 0.6/0.7/0.8/0.9/1 seconds. (Note: the max stun duration is 2 seconds and monsters are always stunned for the max duration).
[REMOVED] It's Just a Boulder: E - Unraveled Earth no longer detonates to deal additional damage after 4 seconds
R - Weaver's Wall
Range: 3000/4500/6000 ⇒ 2500/4500/6500
Dash Range When Jumping Off Wall: 400 ⇒ 700
Dash Speed When Jumping Off Wall: 1000 ⇒ 1200
[UPDATED] Skipping Rocks: Moving Taliyah while she is riding the Weaver’s Wall now causes Taliyah to dash to the location clicked, up to the maximum dash range instead of dropping her perpendicular to the wall.
[UPDATED] Surfs Up: Dashing when jumping off of the wall is now more forgiving when trying to dash through terrain
[NEW] Not So Fast Little Sparrow: Damage from enemy champions or structures now prevents Taliyah from casting R - Weaver’s Wall for 3 seconds
[REMOVED] The Pioneers Used to Ride These For Miles: Taking damage no longer knocks Taliyah off her wall
Tables are fun, right? Well, don't worry, we've got some more tables coming your way, just keep on reading about Olaf and what Riot has decided to change on his kit.
Mac Attack Speed Granted 99% ⇒ 40-100% (levels 1-18)
[NEW] Fight On: Berserker’s Rage now provides 10-30% life steal (levels 1-18), based on Olaf’s missing health
[UPDATED] Mad Math: Bonuses max out at 0% Health ⇒ 30% Health
Q - Undertow
Cooldown: 7 seconds ⇒ 9 seconds
Damage: 80/125/170/215/260 ⇒ 60/110/160/210/260
Min Range: 300 ⇒ 425 units
Mana Cost: 60 at all ranks ⇒ 40/45/50/55/60
[NEW] Beatdown City, Population: You: Q - Undertow now shreds 20/22.5/25/27.5/30% armor for 4 seconds upon hitting an enemy champion. (Note: Subsequent axes will refresh the debuff duration.)
[UPDATED] Pro Axe Juggler: Picking up axes now fully refunds Q - Undertow's cooldown, but axes can only be thrown a maximum of once every 3 seconds. (Note: The 3 second limit scales with Ability Haste.)
[UPDATED] Coming Through: Included a quality of life buff to Olaf’s Q - Undertow so that it now grants ghosting more consistently to jungle monsters who he hits or are near him when Q is cast
W - Tough it Out
[UPDATED]Name Change: Vicious Strikes ⇒ Tough It Out
Cooldown: 16 seconds at all ranks ⇒ 16/14.5/13/11.5/10 seconds
Attack Speed: 50/60/70/80/90% ⇒ 40/50/60/70/80%
Ability Duration 6 seconds ⇒ 4 seconds
[NEW] Just: W now resets Olaf’s basic attack timer
[NEW] Tough: On activation Olaf now gains a 10/45/80/115/150 (+25% missing health, capped at 30% of his current HP) shield for 2.5 seconds
[REMOVED] It: No longer grants Life Steal
[REMOVED] Out: No longer amplifies Olaf’s healing based on missing health
[REMOVED] I am Untethered: R - Ragnarok's passive bonus resistances are no longer lost for the duration of the ability
[NEW] My Rage Knows no Bounds: Hitting a champion with a basic attack or E - Reckless Swing extends the duration of Ragnarok to 2.5 seconds. Olaf can refresh Ragnarok indefinitely.
Those are some pretty big changes, but will these help Olaf and Taliyah make it out of the dumps when it comes to popularity? Hopefully so. The Mid-Scope Update for Ahri has hit extremely well and while Swain needed a few adjustments he's also been pretty popular again in the mid lane and in the bot lane.
Introduction of Challenges in Patch 12.9
Riot has also launched challenges in League of Legends Patch 12.9. So, even if you aren't into playing ranked, you will be able to get a rank just by playing ARAM. You can also personalize yoru banner, as well as your profile thanks to the challenges.
In this patch, we're getting two sets of new skins. The 2021 World Champions EDG will have their skins released this patch, as well as the first half of the High Noon skins in League of Legends. So, if you want to spend some money, then this is the patch for you, with a total of 10 skins and a prestige being put on the live server.
EDG Worlds Skins
EDG Graves
EDG Viego
EDG Zoe
EDG Aphelios
EDG Yuumi
Ahead of the release of these skins, many thought that Lulu would be getting a skin, but it was Yuumi who has received Meiko's skin. But honestly, we're not mad, this skin is cute.
High Noon Skins
High Noon Leona
High Noon Katarina
High Noon Varus
High Noon Mordekaiser
High Noon Talon
High Noon Talon Prestige Edition
Leona is getting her second legendary skin and while she is getting all the love and attention from Riot, we can't even get mad, because the skin is amazing. Maybe Rell will get a skin eventually though...? Please?
So, enjoy this patch and the champion updates, because in the next patch everything on the rift is going to change with the durability update. And when exactly is Riot going to release Bel'Veth? That's probably the biggest mystery of 2022.