League of Legends patch 12.9 notes: Olaf & Taliyah reworks, Pyke nerfs, more

League of Legends patch 12.9 is here, and Riot is ramping up the changes post-MSI. Two new “mid-scope updates” are launching for Olaf and Taliyah, as well as a support-centric change for Pyke. Another dozen champions are on the developer’s hit list ⁠— here’s the full patch notes.

After going easy on the balance changes, LoL patch 12.9 is Riot saying ‘we’re back.’

There are two reworks to look forward to, especially if you’re an Olaf and Taliyah main. Want some new supports to play? Braum and Thresh are getting buffs, and Riot is forcing Pyke back bot. Thebausffs fans should also lookout for the “inting Sion” changes too.

The changes won’t stop here either ⁠— Riot is promising big balancing updates as the second half of the year nears, starting with 12.10’s durability update. Those are for a fortnight away though.

And, as always, there’s a selection of new skins coming, including the Edward Gaming Worlds 2021 picks and new cosmetics for the High Noon line.

Here’s what you need to know about LoL patch 12.9.

What’s changed in League of Legends patch 12.9?

Olaf & Taliyah reworks to ship following MSI

Riot held back on the release of Olaf and Taliyah’s reworks until after MSI to stop the meta from changing too much, but now that time has come. With the international event to be played on the previous patch, both champions will receive their “mid-scope updates” on LoL patch 12.9.

Olaf’s changes are adding “significant excitement to his kit” by making him live up to his juggernaut identity. His jungle clear will be slightly worse due to Q and W changes, but he can now indefinitely have his ultimate, Ragnarok, active as long as he’s wailing away on enemies.

• Read More: What we know about League’s Pride of Nazumah

For Taliyah, the Stoneweaver is being pushed back into the mid lane with more DPS and utility, but a trade-off of lower burst damage. Her Worked Ground mechanic will now be less intrusive, and she’s getting plenty of waveclear back with the return of her AOE Q after nearly four years.

Riot pushes forward with Pyke mid nerfs despite criticism

League developers are moving forward with nerfs to mid lane Pyke in LoL patch 12.9 despite community criticism. While Riot are scaling back the “very experimental” update that saw him get an infinitely stacking execute threshold on his ultimate, there’s still some changes inbound.

Pyke won’t get additional gold from the “Your Cut” passive if he gets the kill, or if an enemy dies before the cast finishes. However, he is being buffed in “support-focused ways” to try and drag him back to the bot lane.

• Read More: Riot eyeing big Rell changes in League of Legends

There are also nerfs in tow for the recently-reworked Rengar and Ahri, while the “inting Sion” strategy is being targeted too. Swain has avoided any major changes after his mid-patch hotfix.

Bot lane buffs freshen up support meta

With the Pyke mid changes, as well as further nerfs to Renata Glasc, coming in LoL patch 12.9, the support meta might see a shake up. Those two changes in isolation aren’t enough, but decent buffs to Braum and Thresh will start swinging the tide as the durability update approaches.

For Braum, his passive is getting a shorter cooldown later in the game, making his stuns more effective in team fights. His E will now stop more damage too.

Thresh will also be getting some extra resistances with bonus armor and ability power on his souls — now back up to a flat 1 of each per soul — and bonus shielding based on souls on his W.

Plus, if you want a new AD carry to play, Riot are giving on-hit Varus some love after the Lethality build took over with the burst damage meta. It’s another change to watch as we approach the durability update, where burst builds will be nerfed and on-hit AD carries are expected to rise.

New High Noon, Edward Gaming Worlds 2021 skins coming

Riot is dropping not one but two skin lines across LoL patch 12.9. Both the new release of High Noon and the commemorative Edward Gaming Worlds 2021 cosmetics are due to release in the May update.

The former reigns supreme as one of League’s most popular cosmetics, with five new entries.

• High Noon Katarina
• High Noon Leona
• High Noon Mordekaiser
• High Noon Talon
  • High Noon Talon Prestige Edition
• High Noon Varus

The High Noon skins will contain eight chromas a piece across all colorways.

As for the Edward Gaming skins, players will be able to buy them in a bundle or individually, with each skin getting a player’s signature mark to commemorate their Worlds 2021 victory.

• EDG Aphelios
• EDG Graves
• EDG Viego
• EDG Yuumi
• EDG Zoe

There’ll be one chroma for each Edward Gaming Worlds 2021 skin, Dexerto has confirmed.

You can find the full League of Legends patch 12.9 notes below, courtesy of Riot.

League of Legends patch 12.9 notes

Champions

Ahri

E: Charm

• Cooldown: 12 seconds ⇒ 14 seconds

R: Spirit Rush

• Cooldown: 130/105/80 seconds ⇒ 140/115/90 seconds

Braum

Passive: Concussive Blows

• Per-Target Cooldown: 8/7/6 seconds ⇒ 8/6/4 seconds

E: Unbreakable

• Damage Reduction: 30/32.5/35/37/40% ⇒ 35/40/45/50/55%

Hecarim

Q: Rampage

• Physical Damage: 60/90/120/150/180 (+85% bonus AD) ⇒ 60/90/120/150/180 (+90% bonus AD)

W: Spirit of Dread

• Cooldown: 18 seconds ⇒ 14 seconds

Master Yi

R: Highlander

• Bonus Attack Speed: 25/45/65% ⇒ 25/35/45%

Nidalee

Base stats

• Base Health: 570 ⇒ 540

Olaf

Base stats

• AD Growth :: 3.5 >>> 4.7
  • AD at level 18 :: 127.5 >>> 148
• Health Growth :: 100 >>> 105
• Mana Growth :: 42 >>> 50

Passive: Berserker Rage

• Maximum Attack Speed Granted: 99% >>> 40-100% (levels 1-18)
• [NEW] Berserker’s Rage now provides 10-30% life steal (levels 1-18), based on Olaf’s missing health
• [UPDATED] 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
• Minimum Range: 300 >>> 425 units
• Mana Cost: 60 at all ranks >>> 40/45/50/55/60
• [UPDATED] Picking up axes now fully refunds Undertow’s cooldown, but axes can only be thrown a maximum of once every 3 seconds.
  • The 3 second limit scales with Ability Haste.
• [UPDATED] Included a quality of life buff to Olaf’s 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] W now resets Olaf’s basic attack timer
• [NEW] 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] No longer grants Life Steal
• [REMOVED] No longer amplifies Olaf’s healing based on missing health

R: Ragnarok

• Bonus Attack Damage: 15/20/25 (+30% AD) ⇒ 10/20/30 (+25% AD)
• Duration: 6 seconds ⇒ 3 seconds
• Passive Resists: 20/30/40 ⇒ 10/25/40
  [REMOVED] Ragnarok’s passive bonus resistances are no longer lost for the duration of the ability
• [NEW] Hitting a champion with a basic attack or Reckless Swing extends the duration of Ragnarok to 2.5 seconds. Olaf can refresh Ragnarok indefinitely

Pyke

Passive: Gift of the Drowned Ones

• 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 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
• [REMOVED] Pyke no longer receives “Your Cut” gold upon successfully executing enemy champions with his R (last assisting ally will still receive “Your Cut”)
• [REMOVED] Pyke no longer receives additional “Your Cut” gold when allies kill enemies within Death From Below’s execution area

Renata Glasc

Base stats

• Base Armor: 29 ⇒ 27

Passive: Leverage

• Additional Magic Damage Against Marked Targets: 1-3.5% (levels 1-13) (+1% per 100 AP) ⇒ 1-2% (levels 1-9) (+2% per 100 AP)
  • Damage against unmarked targets unchanged

Renekton

Base Stats

• Health Growth: 92 ⇒ 97
• AD Growth: 3.75 ⇒ 4.15
  • AD at Level 18: 132.75 ⇒ 139.55

W: Ruthless Predator

• Cooldown: 13/12/11/10/9 seconds ⇒ 16/14/12/10/8 seconds
• Total Physical Damage: 10/30/50/70/90 (+75% AD) ⇒ 10/40/70/100/130 (+75% AD)
• Total Physical Damage when Empowered: 15/45/75/105/135 (+75% AD) ⇒ 15/60/105/150/195 (+75% AD)

R: Dominus

• Magic Damage per Second: 40/80/120 (+10% AP) ⇒ 50/100/150 (+10% AP)

Rengar

W: Battle Roar

• Damage to Monsters: 85-150 (levels 1-18) ⇒ 65-130 (levels 1-18)

Shyvana

W: Burnout

• Damage Tick Rate: 1 second ⇒ 0.5 seconds

E: Flame Breath

• [NEW] The area of effect zone from Shyvana’s E – Flame Breath now applies marks to enemies that enter the zone.

Sion

Passive: Glory in Death

• [NEW] Sion now does 40% reduced damage to structures while in his reanimated frenzy form (includes runes and items)

Taliyah

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 Combat 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

Q: Threaded Volley

• Mana Cost: 50/60/70/80/90 ⇒ 60/65/70/75/80
• Cooldown: 7/6/5/4/3 seconds ⇒ 6.5/5.5/4.5/3.5/2.5 seconds
• 1-Rock Damage: 70/95/120/145/170 (+45% AP) ⇒ 38/61/84/107/130 (+50% AP)
• Damage Reduction from Subsequent Stone Shards: 50% ⇒ 60%
• 5-Rock Damage: 210/285/360/435/510 (+135% AP) ⇒ 98.8/158.6/218.4/278.2/338 (+130% AP)
• Damage Reduction from Subsequent Stone Shards Against Monsters: 25% ⇒ 60%
• [NEW] Each Stone Shard now deals an additional 30 (+10% AP) damage against monsters
  [NEW] Stone Shards now deal damage in a 175 radius area of effect (approximately 1.6 Teemos)
• [NEW] Threaded Volley will now continue to cast while Taliyah is in Stasis
• [NEW] Casting 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
• Minimum Cooldown on Worked Ground: 1 second ⇒ 0.75 seconds
• Worked Ground Duration: 25 seconds ⇒ 30 seconds
• Worked Ground Radius: 300 ⇒ 400
• [UPDATED] The size of Worked Ground< on Howling Abyss now matches Summoner’s Rift
• [NEW] Threaded Volley casts on Worked Ground now has new VFX, SFX, animation, and icon!

W: Seismic Shove

• Mana Cost: 70/80/90/100/110 ⇒ 40/30/20/10/0
• Cooldown: 16/15/14/13/12 seconds ⇒ 14/12.5/11/9.5/8 seconds
• Knock Up Radius: 200 ⇒ 225
• Time Delay before Knock Up: 0.8 seconds ⇒ 0.75 seconds
• [REMOVED] Seismic Shove no longer deals damage

E: Unraveled Earth

• Cooldown: 16/14/12/10/8 seconds ⇒ 16/15/14/13/12 seconds
• Damage on Initial Cast: 50/75/100/125/150 (+40% AP) ⇒ 60/105/150/195/240 (+60% AP)
• Slow Strength: 20% (+4% AP) ⇒ 20/22/24/26/28% (AP ratio removed)
• Boulder Detonation Damage: 50/60/70/80/90 (+30% AP) ⇒ 25/45/65/85/105 (+30% AP)
• Damage Reduction per Subsequent Boulder Hit: 15% ⇒ 25%
• Maximum Boulder Detonation Damage: 155/186/217/248/279 (+93% AP) ⇒ 62.5/112.5/162.5/212.5/262.5 (+75% AP)
• Delay Between Casting and 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] 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] 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] 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] 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] Dashing when jumping off of the wall is now more forgiving when trying to dash through terrain
• [NEW] Damage from enemy champions or structures now prevents Taliyah from casting R – Weaver’s Wall for 3 seconds
• [REMOVED] Taking damage no longer knocks Taliyah off her wall

Thresh

Passive: Damnation

• Ability Power and Bonus Armor per Soul: 0.75 ⇒ 1

W: Dark Passage

• Shield Strength: 60/90/120/150/180 (+1 per Soul) ⇒ 60/90/120/150/180 (+2 per Soul)

Varus

Passive: Living Vengeance

• Bonus Attack Speed on Non-Champion Kills: 10/15/20% (+15% bonus Attack Speed) ⇒ 10/15/20% (+20% bonus Attack Speed)
• Bonus Attack Speed on Champion Kills: 40% (+30% bonus Attack Speed) ⇒ 40% (+40% bonus Attack Speed)

W: Blighted Quiver

• Bonus Magic Damage On-Hit: 7/10.5/14/17.5/21 (+30% AP) ⇒ 7/12/17/22/27 (+30% AP)

Items

Hullbreaker

• Champion Bonus Resists While Hunting Alone (Melee): 20-60 (levels 1-18) ⇒ 10 (levels 1-11), then 20/35/43/51/59/67/75 (levels 12-18)
• Champion Bonus Resists While Hunting Alone (Ranged): 10-30 (levels 1-18) ⇒ 5 (levels 1-11), then 10/17.5/21.5/25.5/29.5/33.5/37.5 (levels 12-18)
• [UPDATED] Deal 20% bonus damage from all sources against structures ⇒ Only attacks deal 20% bonus damage against structures

Systems

Challenges

• Challenges track your overall progress within League across a ton of categories. Build your legacy through over 300 unique Challenges that celebrate the champs you’ve mained, modes you’ve conquered, plays you’ve made, stuff you’ve collected, and more.
• Show off the Challenges you’re most proud of with Titles and Token. You can see how you measure up in your region with regional leaderboards — now you can finally hit Challenger in something.

Bug fixes

• Fixed a bug where Swain’s old ability descriptions were displaying in the Champion Details Page
• Fixed a bug where Swain could reactivate his Nevermove to pull enemies closer to him even if they had cleansed the Root effect
• Fixed a bug where Rengar could still deal damage with his Savagery when blinded by Teemo’s Blinding Dart
• Fixed a bug where Chaos (Red) side inhibitors would display blue icons when selected
• Fixed a bug where Kayle’s movement and attack VO lines were not playing correctly while Ascended
• Fixed a bug where Elise’s Volatile Spiderling was ignoring Baron and not exploding
• Fixed a bug where Nocturne’s Paranoia VO line would play louder than intended if players had visibility of more than 1 champion affected by nearsightedness
• Fixed a bug where Black Belt Udyr’s Bear Stance was not displaying the correct visual textures
• Fixed a bug where Irelia would only receive stacks of her Passive – Ionian Fervor for Champions hit when hitting Champions and minions/monsters simultaneously
• Fixed a bug where Lillia was not receiving the correct among of healing from her Passive – Laden Bough
• Fixed a bug where the sound effects for Ashe’s Volley would stop playing if it was leveled up to Rank 2 on-cast
• Fixed a bug where Gangplank’s Cannon Barrage would cancel allies’ auto attacks if it was upgraded with Raise Morale
• Fixed a bug where Ekko’s Timewinder tooltip was displaying the incorrect AP ratio
• Fixed a bug where the damage from Janna’s Howling Gale was not correctly factoring in the ability’s base AP ratio
• Fixed a bug where Wukong’s Nimbus Strike into Crushing Blow combo would fail to stack Conqueror
• Fixed a bug where Turrets would prioritize and target enemies damaged by Kog’Maw’s Icathian Surprise
• Fixed a bug where Master Yi’s Alpha Strike sound effects would sometimes be audible to the enemy team in the Fog of War
• Fixed a bug where Shaco’s Backstab was sometimes audible to the enemy team from the Fog of War
• Fixed a bug where Aphelios’ gun swapping and ability sound effects would sometimes be audible from the Fog of War
• Fixed a bug where the sound of Scuttle’s shield breaking would play through the Fog of War

Skins

EDG Aphelios

“Honoring Viper’s winning performance as Aphelios during the 2021 World Championship.”

EDG Graves

“Honoring Flandre’s winning performance as Graves during the 2021 World Championship.”

EDG Viego

“Honoring Jiejie’s winning performance as Viego during the 2021 World Championship.”

EDG Yuumi

“Honoring Meiko’s winning performance as Yuumi during the 2021 World Championship.”

EDG Zoe

“Honoring Scout’s winning performance as Zoe during the 2021 World Championship.”

High Noon Katarina

“My people got swindled. I aim to collect what we’re owed,” the Outsider says, pinning her dagger in a wanted poster of the Mechanical Devil. Her eyes burn like stoked coal as she fixes each dusty traveler in her gaze, “And I hear y’all plan on jumpin’ the Sulfur Rail, Harbingers. If you’re gonna take this devil down, I want in.”

High Noon Leona

“The Lady of House Solari lifts her chin against the scorching wind. Ahead lies her family’s salvation: the Sulfur Rail, carrying the stolen family fortune, churning across the desert. The only thing that stands in her way is the Mechanical Devil himself. Her sword hums like cicadas in the gloaming. The butterflies gather. Time for the Harbingers to ride.”

High Noon Mordekaiser

“Few meet the Mechanical Devil and live to tell the tale. They describe a behemoth: all steel and gears, fueled by hellfire and fierce enough to scare a man’s soul from his skin. He is the King of the Sulfur Rail, reigning over the train to Hell from a throne of stolen gold and infernal iron. Eternal, and unassailable.”

High Noon Talon

“Fate is catchin’ up to you, old friend,” Talon says, leaning back in his chair, predator’s eyes gleaming under the shadows of his hat. He still moves like a demon, even warped and corrupted by angel blood as he is. His smile, rueful and knowing, has too many teeth: “The end is comin’ for us all.”

High Noon Talon Prestige Edition

“Devilishly handsome and wearing the latest in Western chic, Talon is equally ready to rock the runway or ride the open road. Those boots are made for walking, and he’ll walk all over anyone standing in his way.”

High Noon Varus

“Ain’t nothin’ for a dead angel to do but resign himself to grief. Varus was content to allow Mordekaiser to take him past the infernal gates themselves… Until a ragtag gang of thieves interrupted his mourning. Varus now picks up his bow once more, riding as a Harbinger. It’s high time he got revenge for the massacre of Heaven.”