Riot finally locks in Tahm Kench rework’s LoL release date

Tahm Kench is finally set to have his ‘acquired taste’ adjusted in Season 11 — the River King will be receiving a rework for his Devour and Abyssal Voyage, Riot devs have revealed, and it looks like it’s time to unbench the Kench again.

Riot has confirmed the Tahm Kench rework is “full steam ahead.”

Their idea to “carefully balance” the River King, game designer Kevin ‘Captain’ Huang explained, was to target his two most iconic abilities: his deep-diving ultimate, and his ‘Devour’ mechanic.

“It’s no secret [Tahm Kench] is one of the champions most famous for being weak for a vast majority of players because his kit is strong for pros,” Huang said. “Tahm has a lot of power that requires the highest degree of coordinated play.”

Riot wants to keep his “high skill cap,” while also balancing him.

Kench’s ultimate, Abyssal Voyage, will be switched to his ‘W’ ability, while Devour/Regurgitate will now be the River King’s ultimate heading into Season 11.

Abyssal Voyage, Devour being reworked

There’s a few smaller tweaks the devs have already tabled for these two abilities.

Kench’s Abyssal Voyage would become the support’s “new engage tool,” would be “faster” and have a “shorter-range”. It would also deal damage, and knock up enemies on arrival.

His Devour ability, which would be headed to the premiere “R” slot, would come with damage (for enemies) or a shield (for allies) depending on targets. On top of that, its cooldown would be stretched and, obviously, it would be locked behind a Level 6 experience barrier.

“With a longer cooldown and no access to the ability before [level] 6, opponents should also be able to capitalize on its downtimes [in better ways],” Huang said.

River King gets more self-healing

Finally, Tahm Kench may be getting a bit more self-healing in his reworked kit, with his Q ability Tongue Lash giving the River King a little health top-up.

The last time Tahm Kench was handed an update outside of bug fixes was in LoL patch 9.19, two seasons ago. His Thick Skin passive had its ‘Grey Health’ bonus changed from 30-100% (based on levels) to 75% at all levels.

When will Tahm Kench’s rework be released?

Originally, Riot said the River King’s ability update would arrive “after the Worlds patch [10.19].” That expected release date has rolled up in the distance, arrived, and now is months in the rearview mirror; Season 11 is now in full flight.

Riot then pointed to LoL patch 11.10 as a potential release date, before revealing they’re going to have to delay the update again.

Now, finally, the River King will be released in LoL patch 11.13.

Riot has yet to officially confirm this is their plan, but considering Tahm Kench has been loaded onto the testing server, it’s all but confirmed his League of Legends re-debut is just around the corner; once champs hit PBE staging, they’re not far from release.

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Tahm Kench fans may have to wait a few days after the patch drops on Wednesday, June 23, but we will definitely see the reworked tank by the end of the month.

The TK rework will spend two weeks on PBE now that it’s finally locked.

Here’s all the updated changes — courtesy of Surrender@20 — for Tongue Lash, Abyssal Voyage, and Devour, the last of which will be his new ultimate.

Tahm Kench rework: LoL patch 11.13 update

Tongue Lash (P)

• New effects:
  • Now applies a stack of “An Acquired Taste”.
  • Can now Devour (R) enemy champions while being cast.
  • Now heals for X.

Abyssal Voyage (W)

• Swapped with Devour (R).
• New effect: Now deals X damage and knocks up enemies for X seconds on arrival.
• Removed: Allies can no longer join him.

Devour (R)

• Swapped with Abyssal Voyage (W).
• New effect: Now shields devoured allies for X.