League of Legends Patch 14.15 may not bring new game modes or debutant champions like the last update, but its in-depth gameplay changes will alter the season 14 metagame for the backend of the year.
In this July update, the Riot Games developers are taking a closer look at boots—specifically the defensive variety—and why they’re being prioritized over core items. Elsewhere, more AD carry tweaks are coming after Patch 14.14 started the plan, with double marksman bot lanes and critical changes to items and runes both on their way.
The Swarm hype is also continuing with new Primordian and AnimaTech skins to celebrate the ongoing bullet-heaven game mode.
Here’s everything about League‘s Patch 14.15 update.
When will League Patch 14.15 go live?
League Patch 14.15 will go live on Wednesday, July 31, which aligns with the 2024 League Patch schedule. We can expect more nitty-gritty, in-depth patches as we draw closer to the year’s end and the 2024 World Championship. Right now, we’re waiting until the Patch 14.15 PBE testing is over before anything is set in stone.
Here are all the key patching times for Patch 14.15:
- 3pm CT (NA)
- 5am GMT (EU West)
- 3am CET (EU North East)
- 8am KR (Korea)
On update day, you can expect several hours of downtime. As always, matchmaking will be disabled across all League queues three hours before the update.
What’s in League Patch 14.15?
Mage build paths get diversity changes
Riot is trying to diversify mage build paths again, with everything from Stormsurge and Cosmic Drive to Void Staff and Hextech Rocketbelt getting changes. These are all getting little nudges up to make them more appealing for mid laners and AP junglers, with the focus mainly on “balancing around the tuning of Fated Ashes and Liandry’s/Blackfire Torch.”
Excluded from these plans are Liandry’s Torment and Blackfire Torch, both of which Riot is happy to leave for the time being despite their higher buy rates.
More changes to ADC ecosystem, bot lane
Riot is nerfing specific items and runes, such as Statikk Shiv, Kraken Slayer, and Fleet Footwork, particularly in the early game, to reduce the one-item power spike.
This item change drive actually started back in Patch 14.14 and is continuing as Riot fiddles around with more ideas. According to Matt “Riot Phroxzon” Leung-Harrison’s early patch preview, these changes should hit double-AD carry compositions that have been appearing in the bot lane. If you’ve been running a Jinx and Ashe, Varus and Senna, or any other ADC combo, Patch 14.15 isn’t going to be your update.
Boots won’t be your sole focus
Riot has noticed players are now opting for boots over item components to help better engage fights. On top of that, defensive boots have made mirror matches deathless, leading to more farming between the pair in lane.
To combat this and push League players to “more intuitive item decisions,” the developers are reducing the magic resistance stats on boots to make them weaker and increasing the health value on certain boots. Others will also be buffed slightly in a bid to balance the modern defense-heavy boot imbalances on the Rift right now.
Multi-declines in queue now have consequences
To combat queue sniping and disruptive behavior, the devs are changing how the decline queue button works—specifically, how many times you can decline in a row.
If you decline too many times after League Patch 14.15, you’ll be locked out, and if you’re a repeat offender, your lockout timer will be extended. These changes should make queue times more reasonable and make it easier to find lobbies.
More games needed for ranked eligibility
Speaking of queues, Riot is also making another big change to the ranked system by requiring all accounts to reach level 30, own 20 champions, and play 10 non-ranked Summoner’s Rift games to unlock the ranked queue.
By increasing the number of games needed to be played, Riot hopes real newcomers will be categorized correctly, while smurf accounts can be successfully seeded into similarly skilled games.
It should also make it a lot more of a hassle for people to create smurf accounts, especially with Riot building on its systems with Vanguard to detect and audit any accounts that might be used for boosting and account selling.
Yasuo gets buffed to make him a lane threat again
The devs have noticed Yasuo isn’t performing well on the Rift and are targeting the efficiency of his E’s rank one damage. With these changes, the devs expect Yasuo’s E plus stacks to do considerable damage and will monitor how this plays out when these charges are live. As Fleet Footwork and Kraken Slayer are being nerfed, more adjustments and buffs may be coming for Yasuo to compensate for this too.
Sylas set for more durability, damage buffs
Sylas is a hot contender among mid laners, specifically in pro play. By returning durability and pushing for more of the pro-style Q max build, the devs hope this will make him less squishy and give him more opportunities to control waves.
Swarm gets first set of balance changes
Swarm has been one of the most well-received game modes in League‘s recent history, boasting fun and challenging situations for you and your squad as you defend the last bastion of humanity against the Primordian horde. For Swarm’s first patch, Riot will be focusing on improving performance while smoothing out any major bugs that have been affecting the current experience.
The devs are also buffing multiple underperforming champions and various items while avoiding sweeping nerfs for any champions unless there’s an instance where a champion or item is severely affecting server or client performance. These should help bring less-popular champs back into the fray, giving players more variety with their team compositions.
The age of the Primordians has returned
With how popular the AnimaTech skins from Patch 14.14 are, it’s understandable that Riot is releasing more skins from this universe. Patch 14.15 brings two new Primordian skins for the Primordians who oppose Anima Squad and four new AnimaTech Battle skins. Here are all the new skins coming in this patch:
- Primordian Aatrox (1,820 RP)
- Primordian Briar (1,350 RP)
- Battle Bear Illaoi (1,350 RP)
- Battle Lion Leona (1,350 RP)
- Prestige Battle Lion Leona (2,000 AnimaTech Tokens)
- Battle Wolf Yasuo (1,350 RP)
These skins will go live during the Patch 14.15 cycle.
League Patch 14.15 patch notes
Here are the official notes for League Patch 14.15.
Champions
Akali
- R1 damage reduced from 80-360 to 110-330, R2 damage increased from 60-200 to 70-210.
- R cooldown increased from 100-60 to 120-60.
- W cooldown changed from 20 flat to 20-16.
Aurelion Sol
- Q mana cost per second increased from 30-50 to 35-55.
- W range changed from 1500-1900 to 1500.
- E mana cost changed from 80 to 90.
Aurora
- Passive base movement speed reduced from plus 0.25 percent per level to 0.2 percent per level.
- Passive bonus movement speed per spirit reduced from five percent to two percent plus 0.015 percent AP.
- Q recast cooldown reduced from 0.5 seconds to 0.1 seconds.
- W cooldown increased from 18-14 to 22-18.
- E dash speed changed from 800 speed to 150 plus two times movement speed.
- R damage reduced from 250-500 plus 65 percent AP to 200-450 plus 60 percent AP.
Cassiopeia
- Mana increased from 350 plus 60 to 400 plus 40.
- Q mana reduced from 50-90 to 50-70.
- W mana reduced from 70-110 to 70-90.
- E mana changed from 50-42 to 40 flat.
- Q ability power ratio reduced from 0.9 to 0.7.
- E bonus damage ability power ratio reduced from 60 to 55 percent.
Ezreal
- Q attack damage ratio reduced from 140 to 130 percent.
Irelia
- Health increased from 590 to 630.
- Health regeneration reduced from 8.5 to six.
Leona
- Passive damage reduced from 32-168 to 32-151.
- W damage reduced from 55-195 to 55-175.
Shyvana
- Base E damage 60-220 plus 40 percent total attack damage plus 90 percent ability power to 85-245 plus 50 percent bonus attack damage plus 80 percent ability power.
- R plus E bonus damage reduced from 75-135 plus 30 percent total attack damage plus 30 percent ability power to 75-135 plus 50 percent bonus attack damage plus 30 percent ability power.
- R plus E damage over time damage reduced from 240-480 plus 40 percent total attack damage plus 80 percent ability power to 240-480 plus 120 percent bonus attack damage plus 80 percent ability power.
Skarner
- Health growth increased from 105 to 110.
- Q mana reduced from 50 to 45, got quality of life changes around attacking after casting.
- E can no longer grab units behind Skarner.
Sylas
- Q cooldown reduced from 11-7 to 10-6.
- Q2 damage reduced from 70-290 plus 90 percent ability power to 60-280 plus 80 percent ability power.
- E2 ability power ratio reduced from 100 to 80 percent.
- W heal ratios changed from 35 percent ability power to 20 percent ability power plus five percent bonus health.
- W damage ability power ratio reduced from 80 to 70 percent.
Talon
- Q now always dashes towards his target. Short-range Q dashes less far.
Varus
- Base attack damage increased from 57 to 59.
- W on-hit damage reduced from 7-35 to 5-25.
- Minion passive changed from 10 percent attack speed to 10-20 percent attack speed at levels 1-13.
- Champion take down passive attack damage/ability power increased from 15 percent of attack speed to 25.
- Champion takedown passive attack speed cap increased from 2.76 to three.
Yasuo
- E damage increased from 60-100 to 70-130 (attack damage ratio unchanged).
- E stack scaling increased from 15-25 percent (level scaling) to 25 percent (max 60-100 percent to 100 percent flat).
- Base armor increased from 30 to 32.
Yone
- Q damage changed from 20-100 plus 105 percent total attack damage to 20-120 plus 105 percent total attack damage.
- R cooldown increased from 120-60 to 120-80.
Zed
- Q damage changed from 80-220 plus 110 percent bonus attack damage to 80-240 plus 100 percent bonus attack damage.
- R cooldown increased from 120-80 to 120-100.
Items
Cosmic Drive
- Health increased from 250 to 350.
- Spelldance movement speed changed from 25-60 (1-18) to 40-60 (8-18).
Hextech Rocketbelt
- Health increased from 300 to 400.
Death’s Dance
- Armor increased from 40 to 50.
Void Staff
- Ability power increased from 90 to 95.
Lord Dominik’s Regards
- Armor penetration reduced from 40 to 35 percent.
Mortal Reminder
- Attack damage reduced from 40 to 35.
Kraken Slayer
- Move speed reduced from seven to five percent.
- Bring It Down damage now 80 percent effective on ranged champions.
Statikk Shiv
- Move speed reduced from seven to five percent.
- Price increased from 2,800 to 2,900 gold.
Stormsurge
- Passive bonus movement speed increased from 25 to 35 percent.
- Ranged passive damage increased from 75 to 80 percent.
Null Magic Mantle
- Cost reduced from 450 to 400.
- Magic resist reduced from 25 to 20.
Mercury’s Treads
- Total price increased from 1100 to 1200.
- Magic resist reduced from 25 to 20.
Berserker’s Greaves
- Attack speed reduced from 35 percent to 30 percent.
Ionian Boots of Lucidity
- Total price increased from 900 to 1000.
- Summoner Haste decreased from 12 to 10.
Plated Steelcaps
- Total price increased from 1000 to 1200.
- Plating increased from eight percent to 10 percent.
Sorcerer’s Shoes
- Magic penetration reduced from 18 to 15.
Boots of Swiftness
- Total price increased from 900 to 1000.
Wit’s End
- Fray on-hit increased from 15-80 to 40-80.
Abyssal Mask
- Total price increased from 2300 to 2500.
- Unmake magic resist shred increased from 20 percent to 30 percent.
- Unmake aura radius increased from 600 to 700.
Runes
Dark Harvest
- Cooldown reduced from 40 to 35.
- On takedown reset timer reduced from 1.5 seconds to one.
Fleet Footwork
- Heal changed from 8-110 (linear) to 5-120 (stat progression multiplier).
Skins
Primordian Aatrox
Primordian Briar
Battle Bear Illaoi
Battle Lion Leona
Prestige Battle Lion Leona
Battle Wolf Yasuo
Update July 25, 6:57pm CT, by Hayley Andrews: Added in-depth details on the Yasuo and Sylas changes.
Update July 24, 1:13am CT, by Isaac McIntyre: Added the exact balance changes being tested on the League PBE for this cycle, as shared in Matt “Phroxzon” Leung Harrison’s official preview on X (formerly Twitter).
This article is being updated through the League patch cycle.
