League of Legends Patch 14.17, scheduled to go live on Aug. 28, has unveiled some changes to the Arena gamemode, including nerfs to control mages and assassins.
Riot Games developer Mike “RogueFool” Breese released a preview of the patch on X (formerly Twitter), and the patch nerfs champions like Master Yi, Orianna, Talon, Veigar, and Ziggs. The LoL patch also brings some meager buffs to the timekeeper Zilean, and adjustments to items and augments.
As Riot continues to push Arena as a sustainable gamemode in the LoL ecosystem, patches are necessary to deal with overperforming items, augments, and champions. Unfortunately, RogueFool didn’t share any insights alongside the release of the patch preview, meaning this is likely a smaller update while the developers focus on new ways to improve the gamemode.
The patch will bring nerfs to champions like Ziggs, Veigar, and Orianna, ranged mages that deal devastating damage and lock down areas of the map. Each of these champions received a nerf to their AP ratios, and Ziggs and Orianna’s ultimate have been slapped with much longer cooldowns.
Master Yi and Talon are the two assassins nerfed in this patch, with the developers reducing Talon’s AD ratios and curbing the true damage on Master Yi’s empowered basic attacks. Furthermore, the items Axiom Arc, Guardian’s Dirk, and The Collector have all had their lethality reduced, meaning all assassins will be dealing less damage.
On top of any champion adjustments, there are some smaller buffs and nerfs to augments found throughout the gamemode. For example, the Dual Wield augment’s on-hit damage has been slightly increased, while the Light Warden and Fan the Hammer augments deal less damage and have longer cooldowns, respectively. Finally, Pyromancer’s Cloak and Black Hole Gauntlet have both received some sizeable buffs, making them extremely viable for tanks and bruisers.
Patch 14.17 comes at a strange time for LoL Arena, as the gamemode is only available until Sept. 10, when it’s benched for the foreseeable future. If you are a fan of this gladiator deathmatch, then get your games in before the mode disappears.
