The 2023 World Championship update is finally here, with League of Legends Patch 13.19 about to determine the pro play metagame for the next two months.
This League update—which we’ve obviously all had circled on the calendar since early January—includes 13 champion changes (10 buffs, three nerfs) as well as tweaks for just two items. Riot Games is trying to keep things on the smaller side, balance boss Matt Leung-Harrison has said, after weeks of massaging.
The trend for Patch 13.19 is relatively simple; there are a handful of characters the League devs are interested in seeing the game’s top stars pick up in South Korea once Worlds 2023 eventually begins in October.
These chosen favorites include Gangplank, Galio, Syndra, Pyke, Lee Sin, and Jhin, to name just a few.
The developers are only making item changes for similar reasons. They are worried the wrong characters may end up in the mid lane, Tristana especially, and want to turn the power of Randuin’s Omen against them.
Finally, Riot is bringing the traditions of Día de los Muertos to League this Halloween with six incredible La Ilusión skins.
Why is Patch 13.19 so important?
League Patch 13.19 is important because it’s the update the 2023 World Championship is being played on from the start of the Worlds Qualifying Series all the way up to the grand finals decider at the Gocheok Sky Dome.
Every year, Riot works toward the “19” update in September to make sure the pro play metagame is as strong as possible and—perhaps even more importantly—interesting to watch. Millions tune in specifically for Worlds and the League developers use it as a blockbuster showcase.
What’s in League Patch 13.19?
Pro play darlings get Worlds-timely buffs
At this stage, can any of us be surprised? The shopping list of pro play regulars getting buffs right before Worlds is always a little joke in the League community. But come September, they arrive all the same.
This time, it’s (and you probably could have guessed these) Syndra, Pyke, Lissandra, Lee Sin, Jhin, Gangplank, Galio, Twitch, Nunu, and Ziggs getting buffs. Only three characters are on the wrong end of the stick this patch, with Rek’Sai, Renekton, and Zeri deemed a little too powerful to be heading into the Worlds meta. Zeri in particular has been hit quite hard,
Leung-Harrison also flagged several champions they’re watching for rushed changes if need be, including Akali, Orianna, Gnar, Aatrox, Caitlyn, and Kai’Sa.
Randuin’s used to nerf Tristana
Riot is also buffing Randuin’s Omen quite heavily, Leung-Harrison said, in a bid to turn it into a “good answer to Tristana mid lane double crit carry comps.” The devs have had the health-heavy item tipped to do that for some time but haven’t been able to get its stats right to really impact the metagame yet.
La Ilusión skins bring Día de los Muertos to League
While most of the update is all about Worlds and the pro play battlefield, Riot can’t let its cosmetics fall by the wayside either, especially not when Halloween is just around the corner.
This time around, six League champions got La Ilusión skins. These draw inspiration from the Día de los Muertos, which is also known as the Day of the Dead. Each of the half-dozen skins sport skulls, marigold flowers, and all the usual designs of the now world-famous Mexican tradition.
Here are all the skins in this patch:
- La Ilusión Draven (1,350 RP)
- La Ilusión Gnar (1,350 RP)
- La Ilusión Nidalee (1,350 RP)
- La Ilusión Qiyana (1,350 RP)
- La Ilusión Renata Glasc (1,350 RP)
- Prestige La Ilusión Renata Glasc (125 Mythic Essence)
- La Ilusión Ziggs (1,350 RP)
These skins have gone live during the Patch 13.19 cycle.
Here are the official notes for League Patch 13.19.
League Patch 13.19 notes
Champions
Azir
- Q cooldown increased from 12-6 to 14-6.
Briar
- Base attack speed growth reduced from 2.5 percent to 2.3.
- Q now counts as attack reset for certain interactions.
- W fury bar added.
- W healing adjusted from 35-65 percent to 36-60 percent.
- W increased damage to minions and monsters reduced to 10 percent.
- W max percent missing HP damage to minions and monsters reduced to 400
- R pings now inform teammates which enemies are in range.
Galio
- R cooldown reduced from 200-160 to 180-140.
Gangplank
- R cooldown reduced from 180-140 to 170-130.
- Death’s Daughter slow increased from 60 percent for one second to 75 percent for one second.
- Raise Morale move speed increased from 30 percent for two seconds to 40 percent for two seconds.
Jhin
- R damage increased from 50-200 (plus 25 percent total attack damage) to 64-244 (plus 25 percent total attack damage).
LeBlanc
- Base attack speed ratio reduced from 0.625 to 0.4
- Base attack speed growth increased from 1.4 percent to 2.2.
- Base attack damage growth reduced from 3.5 to 2.7.
- Base mana growth reduced from 55 to 25.
- Base mana regeneration growth reduced from 1 to 0.8.
- W AP ratio increased from 60 percent AP to 65 percent.
- E AP ratio from initial cast increased from 30 percent AP to 35 percent.
Lee Sin
- Armor increased from 34 to 36.
- W Omnivamp changed from 5-27 to 10-26 percent.
- E magic damage decreased from 35-155 to 35-135.
Lissandra
- W root duration increased from 1.1-1.15 to 1.25-1.65.
Nunu
- E ability power ratio per hit increased from 10 to 15 percent (total ratio up to 135 percent).
Pyke
- Health growth increased from 104 to 110.
- W cooldown reduced from 12-10 to 12-8.
Rek’Sai
- Passive heal reduced from 15-125 (plus 2-12 percent max health) to 10 (plus 2-10 percent max health).
- Q damage reduced from 35-50 percent total attack damage to 30-50 percent total attack damage.
- Burrowed move speed reduced from 350-365 (levels 1-16) to 340-350 (levels 1-11).
- Unburrow damage increased from 50-110 (plus 80 percent bonus attack damage) to 50-190 (plus 80 percent bonus attack damage).
Renekton
- Base magic resistance reduced from 32 to 28.
Syndra
- Q base damage increased from 70-210 to 75-215.
Twitch
- R missile speed increased from 4,000 to 5,000.
Zeri
- Base movement speed reduced from 335 to 330.
Items
Randuin’s Omen
- Price reduced from 3,000 to 2,700.
Seeker’s Armguard
- Base armored increased from 15 to 20 (max armor up to 35).
Statikk Shiv
- Electroshock damage to minions decreased from 200 to 150.
General
- Toxic players with ranked restrictions must now play five game of a non-ranked mode to gain access to ranked play again. Game modes include Blind Pick, Draft Pick, ARAM, and RGMs.
- Pings on allied info will only appear for the pinger, in order to help curb toxicity through these forms of communication. These pings include: allied portrait, allied level, allied ultimate cooldown, allied primary and secondary rune trees, allied summoner spells, allied items, and allied trinkets. You may ping your own information for allies, and pings on neutral or enemy info will show up as normal to teammates.
- The new bot AI systems are available on PBE for testing. Riot is starting with intro bots first, before moving on to higher tier bots in the testing server.
Skins
La Ilusión Draven
La Ilusión Gnar
La Ilusión Nidalee
La Ilusión Qiyana
La Ilusión Renata Glasc
Prestige La Ilusión Renata Glasc
La Ilusión Ziggs
Update Sept. 24 11:51pm CT: Added skin details.
Update Sept. 20 3:07am CT: Added details on buffs and nerfs.
