Well, LoL fans, following League of Legends patch 9.23, which brought Pulsefire Thresh, Victorious Aatrox, and a load of item and rune changes to the game, League of Legends patch 9.24 is at last live on the PBE – and there are some super sweet treats on the way. Plus, Riot has now set a round of balance changes live before the end of year as as League of Legends patch 9.24b, which you can check out below.
First up this patch, League of Legends’ newest champion Aphelios has arrived. The marksman – ‘The Weapon of the Faithful’ – has become “a conduit for the moon’s power,” guided by his twin Alune, who sees through his eyes, with “his blades now an arsenal of mystical weapons.” You can check out his Classic skin, splash art, and some of his moves below. Aphelios’ release skin is Nightbringer Aphelios – which you can also get a look at further down.
It also looks like a load of skins are the order of the day for LoL patch 9.24, starting with the Sugar Rush line of skins making a return. Originally a 2014 LoL event, the line sees champions kitted out in outfits inspired by the Candy Kingdom, and this time Braum, Evelynn, Ziggs, and Zilean all get their own Sugar Rush skins. In another line, Swain gets a Hextech skin.
Plus, it looks like that Dawn and Night event teased on the LoL client (launching December 12) brings new Dawnbringer and Nightbringer skins. Karma, Nidalee, and Soraka join the ranks of the Dawnbringers, with proceeds from Karma’s skin going to charity. Lee Sin, Vladimir, and Soraka (as well as Aphelios, of course) get Nightbringer skins, with lucky Lee Shin even getting a shiny Prestige Version. And yes, you read that right – Soraka gets one of each.
Last but certainly not least, champion Diana sees some significant balance changes in this testing cycle, with changes to gameplay, visual effects, and sound effects. See what’s in store for The Scorn of the Moon, and all of Riot’s changes to Champions and Runes, further below.
League of Legends Patch 9.24 release date and downtime
League of Legends patch 9.24 arrives tomorrow, December 11. Maintenance is expected to begin at 01:30 PT for NA servers, 03:30 GMT for EUW servers, and 1:30 CET for EUNE servers, and is expected to last around three hours.
LEAGUE OF LEGENDS PATCH 9.24 BALANCE CHANGES
Aphelios, The Weapon of the Faithful
Because of this, and the marksman’s complex weapon switching features, Aphelios is a little trickier to introduce than most champions. You can check out his kit primer here, but read on to find out more about how his abilities will work.
Abilities
Aphelios’ three buttons are Q, W, and R, but as he swaps between his main and off-hand weapons with W, in effect he really has two abilities – though it’s a little more complex than this indicates.
When equipped as the main weapon, the champion’s five weapons each have their own Q abilities, with each Q’s bonus effects and attacks based on what’s equipped as the off-hand weapon. Each Q has its own ammo and mana cost, plus a cooldown – though you can use a Q, switch weapons, then use the other Q ability straight away. The marksman learns Q at level 2 automatically, and it then develops as the game goes on, getting stronger over a period of time. Each Q is covered in the weapon sections below.
Aphelios’ ultimate ability is called Moonlight Vigil. This delivers a moon bomb that explodes when it hits the first enemy, and also deals damage to other nearby foes. The marksman’s main-hand weapon then launches follow up enhanced basic attacks to enemies impacted by the explosion. At level 6, Aphelios learns R automatically, with further level ups at 11 and 16 (also automatic).
Level ups: the champion’s 18 level up points are given as stats rather than abilities, given that he learns the Q and R automatically. Check them out as follows:
- Attack Damage [4/8/12/16/24]
- Attack Speed [6/12/18/24/30/36%]
- Bonus Armor Penetration [3/6/9/12/15/18%]
Calibrum – the Rifle
- Poke/harass weapon
- Basic attacks have [+100} extra range
- Calibrum abilities mark enemies hit for 4.5 seconds when they deal damage. Aphelios can deliver a follow up basic attack with his off-hand weapon by right-clicking marked enemies anywhere on the map. This sets off other marks nearby, dealing bonus damage to enemies marked [20/25/30/35/40 at 1/3/5/7/9 (+40% bAD)]
- Calibrum Q: Moonshot
- 9/8.25/7.5/6.75/6s Cooldown at 1/3/5/7/9
- 60 Mana
- 10 Ammo
- Fires a shot that marks and deals damage to the first unit it hits [60/85/110/135/160 at 1/3/5/7/9 (+60% bAD)(+100% AP)]
- Moonlight Vigil Calibrum Effect
- 120/110/100s Cooldown at 6/11/16
- 100 Mana
- Follow up attacks mark all enemies hit [125/175/225 at 6/11/16 (+20% bAD)(+100% AP)], with the marks dealing higher damage when consumed [+20/45/70 damage per mark]
Severum – the Scythe Pistol
- Sustain weapon
- Heals Aphelios for [8-25% based on level] of damage dealt
- Overhealing from the weapon converts to create a small shield [10/20/30/40/50/60/70/80/90/100/110/120/130/140 at 1/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18 (+6% health)]. This persists for 30 seconds.
- Severum Q: Onslaught
- 10/9/8s Cooldown 1/5/9
- 60 Mana
- 10 Ammo
- Gain [20% (+10% AP)] movement speed and fire both weapons (main-hand and off-hand) at the nearest enemy for 1.75 seconds. This prioritises champions.
- Onslaught shots behave very similarly to basic attacks, with deal less damage [60/90/120/150/180 (+90% bonus attack speed as damage) over 6 (+1 shot per 30% bonus attack speed) shots].
- Moonlight Vigil Severum Effect
- Grants Aphelios a heal [200/300/400 at 6/11/16]
Gravitum – the Cannon
- Utility weapon
- Applies a [30% slow, decaying over 3.5s]
- Gravitum Q: Eclipse
- 12/11.5/11/10.5/10s Cooldown at 1/3/5/7/9
- 60 Mana
- 10 Ammo
- Damage [50/65/80/95/110 (+35% bAD)(+70% AP)] and root all enemies [for 1 second] on the map affected by Gravitum’s slow effect.
- Doesn’t use Aphelios’ off-hand weapon.
- Moonlight Vigil Gravitum Effect
- Follow up attacks apply a hugely increased slow [increased to 99%]
Infernum – the Flamethrower
- Area of Effect/waveclear weapon
- Deals increased basic ability and attack damage [110% Damage]
- Creates cone of damage behind enemies hit with it [75/100% at levels 1/9 (34/45% for minions at levels 1/9)]
- Infernum Q: Duskwave
- 9/8/7/6s Cooldown at 1/3/7/9
- 60 Mana
- 10 Ammo
- Deliver a fiery wave, dealing damage to foes for [25/35/45/55/65 at 1/3/5/7/9 (+80% bAD)(+70% AP)], with a follow up basic attack on all enemies hit with your off-hand weapon.
- Moonlight Vigil Infernum Effect
- Follow up attacks deliver damage circles around hit enemies rather than the damage cones behind them [initial explosion deals +50/100/150 at 6/11/16 (+40% bAD)]
Crescendum – the Chakram
- Close-range DPS weapon (kind of like a boomerang)
- Once used, can’t be used again until it returns – but attack resets when it does return
- [Bounce return speed 600 (+750% of bonus Attack Speed)] Attack speed increases Crescendum’s travel speed. Aphelios can attack faster, the closer he is to his target as the weapon has less distance to travel back to him.
- Temporary [5 seconds] copies of the weapon are created when Crescendum’s abilities or follow up attacks do damage, for each enemy hit. These increase the weapon’s basic attack strength.
- [Bonus Damage starts at 30% total AD and diminishes with subsequent temporary Chakram hit (Min 5% Total AD damage)]
- Crescendum Q: Sentry
- 9/8.25/7.5/6.75/6s Cooldown at 1/3/5/7/9
- 60 Mana
- 10 Ammo
- Deploy a lunar Sentry [20s duration] that blasts the nearest target with Aphelios’ off-hand weapon [25/40/55/70/85 at 1/3/5/7/9 (+50% bAD)(+50% AP) over 4s].
- Moonlight Vigil Crescendum Effect
- When it hits fewer than three foes, follow up attacks continue to increase Crescendum’s basic attacks’ damage as if three or more enemies were hit.
Here’s Aphelios’ full VO:
And here are his special interactions:
Champion Changes
Akali – nerfed
- Five Point Strike (Q):
- Minion damage decreased to 25% bonus from 33% bonus
- Q hitbox behind Akali removed
Amumu – buffed
- Bandage Toss (Q):
- Cooldown decreased to 10/9.5/9/8.5/8 from 12/11/10/9/8
Braum – changed
- Stats:
- HP per level increased to 98 from 87
- HP regen increased to 8.5 from 8
- Stand Behind Me (W):
- Cooldown decreased to 12/11/10/9/8 seconds from 14/13/12/11/10 seconds
- Cost changed to 40 mana at all ranks from 50/55/60/65/70 mana
- Resistances to ally changed to 10/14/18/22/26 (+12% bonus resistances) from 10/14/18/22/26 (+10/11.5/13/14.5/16% bonus resistances)
- Resistances to self changed to 10/14/18/22/26 (+36% bonus resistances) from 10/14/18/22/26 (+10/11.5/13/14.5/16% bonus resistances)
- Glacial Fissure (R):
- Base AD changed to 150/300/450 from 150/250/350
- Target knockup changed to 1-1.5 seconds at all ranks based on distance from Braum for the first target hit in the fissure. Every other target hit or within close vicinity is knocked up for 0.25 seconds from 0.25 seconds for those hit in the fissure, general knock up for those in close vicinity
Garen – changed
- Jugdment (E):
- Spins changed to [7+1 per 25% Attack Speed] from from [7+1 per 20% Attack speed]
- Damage increase per level decreased to 6.6 from 8.2
Karma – buffed
- Inspire (E):
- Shield value increased to 80/110/140/170/200 from 70/95/120/145/170
Kassadin – nerfed
- Null Sphere (Q):
- Cooldown increased at all ranks to 11/10.5/10/9.5/9 from 9
- Nether Blade (W):
- Mana restore decreased to 4/4.5/5/5.5/6% from 4/5/6/7/8% missing mana
Rammus – changed
- Stats:
- HP per level increased to 95 from 86
- Frenzying Taunt (E):
- Cooldown changed to 12/11.5/11/10.5/10 from 12
Ryze – nerfed
- Overload (Q):
- Damage decreased to 65/90/115/140/165 from 80/105/130/155/180
Senna – changed
- Stats:
- HP per level decreased to 75 from 85
- Absolution (Passive):
- Soul drop rate on minions killed decreased to 1.67% from 5.55%
- Clones no longer drop souls
- Allied bards can no longer kill souls with Q
- Piercing Darkness (Q):
- Bonus AD ratio decreased to 40% from 50%
- Damage decreased to 40/70/100/130/160 (+40% bAD) from (50/80/110/140/170 (+50% bAD)]
- Last Embrace (W):
- Root duration changed to [1.25/1.5/1.75/2/2.25 seconds] from [1.45/1.65/1.85/2.05/2.25 seconds]
- Dawning Shadow (R):
- AP ratio damage increased to 50% from 40%
- Shield AP ratio increased to 50% from 40%
Sivir – buffed
- Stats:
- Base AD increased to 63 from 61
Diana – Changed
- Stats
- Mana increased from to 420 from 372
- Mana per level increased to 25 from 20
- Base AD increased to 57.04 from 53.04
- Moonsilver Blade (Passive) – New Effect
- Diana gains [10/15/20/25/30/35/40% at 1/3/6/9/12/15/18] bonus attack speed. After casting a spell, the bonus is tripled for 3 seconds.
- Every third strike cleaves nearby enemies for an additional 20/25/30/35/40/55/65/75/85/95/120/135/150/165/180/210/230/250 (+40% AP) magic damage
- Crescent Strike (Q)
- Mana cost decreased to 50 from 55
- Pale Cascade (W)
- Mana cost decreased to 40/45/50/55/60 from 40/55/70/85/100
- Shield changed to [30/45/60/75/90 (+30% AP)(+10% Bonus Health)] from [40/55/70/85/100 (+30% AP)]
- Lunar Rush (E)
- Swapped with Moonfall (R)
- 40/45/50/55/60 Mana
- 22/20/18/16/14s cooldown
- Becomes the living embodiment of the vengeful moon, dashing to an enemy and dealing 40/60/80/100/120 (+40% AP) magic damage, resetting its cooldown if the enemy is affected by Moonlight.
- Moonfall (R)
- Swapped with Lunar Rush (E)
- 100/90/80s Cooldown
- 100 Mana
- Reveals and draws in all nearby enemies and slows them by 40/50/60% for 2 seconds.
- If Diana pulls in one or more enemy champions, the moonlight crashes down onto her after 1 second, dealing 200/300/400 (+60% AP) magic damage in an area around her, increased by 35/60/85 (+15% AP) for each target beyond the first pulled.
Get a look at the Diana rework in action below:
Malzahar – Changed
- Void Swarm (W)
- Gathering Swarm name changed to Zz’Rot Swarm
Yuumi – changed
- Bop and Block (Passive):
- Shield increased to [50-390] from [50-300]. Full values are 50/60/70/85/100/115/130/150/170/190/210/230/250/270/300/330/360/390
- Now restores mana. Value: 50/56/63/69/76/82/89/95/102/108/115/121/128/134/141/147/154/160
- Prowling Projectile (Q):
- Mana increased to 85/90/95/100/105/110 from 75/80/85/90/95/100
- Damage AP ratio lowered from 45% to 30%
- Empowered damage increased to [50/95/140/185/230/275 (+40%)] from [50/85/120/155/190/225 (+65% AP)]
- Projectile duration decreased to 2 seconds from 3 seconds
- You and Me! (W):
- Flat adaptive force increased to 12/14/16/18/20 from 5/7/9/11/13
- Adaptive Force percentage increased to 12/14/16/18/20% from 4/7/10/13/16%
- New Rules: ‘Immobilising effects on Yuumi place You and Me! on a 5 second cooldown’
- ‘Yuumi will Unattach if her ally uses Teleport’
- Now has .2 seconds channel time and can be interrupted
- Zoomies (E):
- No longer has charges
- Cooldown: 12/11/10/9/8 seconds
- Cost increased to 100/115/130/145/160 from 30/40/50/60/70
- Duration increased to 3 seconds from 2 seconds
- Movement speed decreased to 15% from 25%
- Heal AP increased to 30% from 10%
- Minimum heal increased to 70/110/150/190/230 from 30/40/50/60/70
- Now gives attack speed 25/30/35/40/45%
Patch 9.24b Champion Changes
Alistar – buffed
- Stats:
- Base HP increased to 575 from 573.36
- Base damage increased to 62 from 61.1116
- AD per level increased to 3.75 from 3.62
- Triumphant Roar (Passive):
- Heal increased to 25-161 doubled to 50-322 for allies) from 20-139 (doubled to 40-278 for allies)
Aphelios – nerfed
- Calibrum:
- Mark damage AD decreased to 0.3 bAD from 0.4 bAD
- Moonlight Vigil:
- R Infernum Empowered Damage Ratio decreased to 0.3 bAD from 0.4 bAD
Ezreal – buffed
- Mystic Shot (Q):
- AD ratio increased to 120% from 110%
Garen – buffed
- Judgment (E):
- Damage from champion level increased to 0-8.2 from 0-6.6
Gnar – buffed
- Boulder Toss (Q):
- AD ratio increased to 140% tAD from 120% tAD
- Wallop (W):
- Damage increased to 25/55/85/115/145 from 25/45/65/85/105
Graves – buffed
- Quickdraw (E):
- Cooldown decreased to 16/15/14/13/12 from 18/17/16/15/14
Heimerdinger – changed
- Hextech Micro Rockets (W):
- Damage per rocket decreased to 50/80/110/140/170 from 60/90/120/150/180
- CH-3X Lightning Grenade (E upgrade):
- Damage changed to [100/200/300 (+60%)] from [150/250/350 (+75% AP)]
Shaco – nerfed
- Two-Shiv Poison (E):
- Mana cost increased to 65 at all ranks from 50/55/60/65/70
- AD ratio decreased to 70% bAD from 80% bAD
Rune Changes
Conqueror (Precision Keystone) – changed
- Effects:
- Ranged healing decreased to 8% from 15%
- Tooltip:
- ‘Basic attacks or spells that deal damage to an enemy champion grant 2 stacks of Conqueror for 8s, gaining 2-5 Adaptive Force per stack. Stacks up to 10 times. Ranged champions gain only 1 stack per basic attack. When fully stacked, heal for 15% of the damage you deal to champions (8% for ranged champions)’
Protoype: Omnistone – changed
- Warded:
- Now lets you know how much damage it’s dealt and how many buffs it’s given out. Buffs include: Lethal Tempo’s attack speed, Fleet Footwork’s Haste, Press the Attack’s Vulnerable, Conqueror’s Enrage, Hail of Blades’ attack speed, Predator’s Haste, Phase Rush’s Haste, Summon Aery’s shield, Aftershock’s resistances, or Glacial Augment’s slow
- Predator:
- You’re more likely to receive Predator when you’re not near enemy Champions, and less likely when in combat with them
- Dark Harvest:
- You’re more likely to receive Dark Harvest when you’re near low health enemy champions
- Hail of Blades:
- You’re more likely to receive Hail of Blades when you’re near low health, enemy champions, and building attack speed or attack damage
- Conqueror:
- You’re more likely to receive Conqueror when both you and enemies have high health (with an increased chance if you’re a melee-based champion)
- Fleet Footwork:
- You’re more likely to receive Fleet Footwork if you have low health and are below level 9
- Glacial Augment:
- You’re more likely to get Glacial Augment if you have a Glacial item off of cooldown
- Summon Aery:
- You’re more likely to receive Summon Aery when you have healing/shielding power and are near a low health ally who is in combat
Skins
Sugar Rush Evelynn – 1350
Here’s the (shared) splash for Sugar Rush Braum and Evelynn:
Here’s the splash:
Hextech Swain – 10 Gemstones
Here’s the splash:
Dawnbringer Karma – 1350 RP (all proceeds to go to charity)
Here’s the splash:
Dawnbringer Nidalee
Here’s the splash:
Dawnbringer Soraka – 1820 RP (Variant of Nightbringer Soroka skin – owning one discounts the other skin)
Here’s the splash:
Nightbringer Soraka – 1820 RP (Variant of Dawnbringer Soroka skin – owning one discounts the other skin)
Here’s the splash:
Plus, check out the Dawnbringer and Nightbringer Soraka interactions:
And their full VO:
Nightbringer Lee Sin – 1350 RP
Here’s the splash:
Nightbringer Lee Sin Prestige Edition – Event Tokens
Here’s the splash:
Nightbringer Vladimir – 1350 RP
Here’s the splash:
Night and Dawn Poro King
LEAGUE OF LEGENDS PATCH 9.24 LOGIN SCREEN
Every League of Legends patch has its own login screen. They’re usually fairly excellent, and patch 9.24’s is sure to be no exception. With all these new goodies, though, it’s not clear what it’ll be based on. My guess is that, with the Night and Dawn even on the near horizon, it’ll feature the Dawnbringer and Nightbringer theme.
That’s all we’ve got for League of Legends patch 9.24. You can stay up to date with the current version of the game via the League of Legends patch 9.23 notes, and make sure to check out the League of Legends patch 10.1 notes for the next round of changes – and another addition to the Champion roster.