Patch Day: Season 3

The preseason is over, Season 3 has arrived. With it, we have new patch notes.

The new League System is perhaps the most notable change in all of the notes. Gone are the days of Elo Hell. Welcome to Division Hell, Tier Hell, Promotion Hell or whatever other catchy names players come up with to describe their inability to advance. The system is very reminiscent of the one used by StarCraft II, which has earned Riot's implementation both criticism and accolades. I don't have a firm opinion yet as I plan on running the system through its paces before I make any judgements.

Blitzcrank's mana and Rocket Grab's mana cost have been nerfed. This change doesn't really change Blitzcrank's effectiveness unless you're highly inaccurate or careless with your grabs.

Ezreal gets another round with the nerf bat. The lower duration on his passive will make landing every Mystic Shot critical, and is the largest of the changes. Reducing his movement speed, even by so small an amount, will make proper use of his Arcane Shift slightly more important. Overall these changes are less about the math and more about increasing Ezreal's difficulty.

Tank Katarina has been seeing a lot of play as of late, and the changes this patch are largely targeting that build. With less base damage, reduced duration on her damage reduction, and more incentive to build AP, AP Katarina's viability has significantly increased. However, the changes are likely too small to eliminate Tank Katarina as a build.

The scourge of all ARAMs has been dealt a severe blow. Master Yi will no longer be able to casually Meditate in the midst of an entire enemy team and get free pentakills by building AP. The build will still be potent and viable, it just won't be impossible to deal with if you're lacking in crowd control.

Nasus, Sion, and Veigar all got a special bonus on their stacking abilities. It's small if you aren't jungling or frequently taking jungle camps, but it's still a nice little boost.

Nunu's ability to just sit in a bush spamming W and winning lanes is gone. Many claim this has utterly killed his jungling, supporting, and many other things, but that seems a bit of an exaggeration. He's certainly worse off for losing 20% Attack Speed, but his buff still provides roughly 1425g worth of stats, not counting the Movement Speed. He still has one of the most spammable and effective Movement/Attack Speed slows in the game. Ultimately, he's still Nunu and he'll still be good, he just won't be as effective when played as a buff bot.

Olaf, my favorite bruiser to hate when I'm a squishy champion trying to hide behind a wall of crowd control, is a little less fearsome post-patch. His free damage sources from his W and ultimate were nerfed, and his slow's effectiveness will be much more dependent upon proximity and good aim/axe placement. He's still going to be extremely powerful and a pain in the neck.

If you think for a moment that the nerfs to Shaco are going to prevent your team from inexplicably feeding him, you're thinking wishfully.

Tristana and Tryndamere, a couple of carries lost to time, have both received a few minor buffs. These aren't completely game-changing, but they're enough to edge them toward being played more frequently.

I'm not a big fan of Seeker's Armguard. It will be a very strong item for AP champions, helping them to deal with the proliferation of bruisers, AD casters, and assassins. I don't like it because it allows players to be lazy; they could have been grabbing Cloth Armor guilt-free before anyway. The item represents Riot making decisions for their players instead of allowing the game to evolve naturally. Philosophy aside, you'd be pretty silly to ignore this item.

The removal of Mana Regeneration from Fiendish Codex is interesting for the effects it has on other items. It now allows champions building Deathfire Grasp to acquire Cooldown Reduction before finishing the item. It reduces the cost of Nashor's Tooth (over the years it's dropped from 2835g, now down to 2270g), maybe to the point where we'll see it on champions other than Kayle and Teemo. If nothing else, support champions might actually consider picking up the new, cheap Fiendish Codex.

Black Cleaver now takes longer to stack is provides less Health. It's been a one-stop shop for everything bruisers and AD casters could want, and while it remains so it will be less effective in this role.

While all Spirit Stone-based items are now cheaper, Spirit of the Spectral Wraith got the most significant reduction. It now costs a mere 2000g, and provides an insane amount of stats for that cost. Riot is obviously displeased with the lack of traction AP junglers are seeing, but they may have overcompensated here, as this value is in the range where lane champions are liable to pick it up.

Also, bots now talk at the start and end of Coop vs AI games. Obviously the most important change this patch.

Thought: Why Ezreal?

Despite hefty nerfs, Ezreal was still the premier carry at MLG Dallas. His continued popularity at the professional level isn't a coincidence, Ezreal has the best kit around for that level of play.

To understand what makes Ezreal so good competitively we'll have to cover a wide variety of topics. Hold on to your keyboards, because we're going to be diving through a whirlpool of mechanics, laning principles, and meta elements as we explore Ezreal's dominance.

That Ezreal is one of a limited set of AD carries with an repositioning ability is well known, but Ezreal is unique in that he is the only one with a blink. Blinks are nigh-instantaneous and mechanically different from the dashes and jumps that Graves, Corki, Tristana and Caitlyn all use. Dashes have a fatal flaw in that the champion's collision detection lags behind the dash, and jumps are even worse. The champion may look as though they have escaped the range of an ability, but in reality they are still hit and suffer the consequences. This makes using them to evade significantly more difficult. Blinks are not only faster than dashes, but can not be interrupted once they've begun. Even if a crowd control ability lands as you blink, the blink will still happen. Blinks also have far fewer issues when dealing with terrain. Because of all the advantages of blinks, Ezreal is a significantly safer pick.

Ezreal's security is further increased by Mystic Shot. Even when severely disadvantaged in lane, Ezreal can continue to farm from a great distance. This safety mechanism, combined with Ezreal's blink, makes zoning him nearly impossible if he plays his cards right. Mystic Shot also provides a tool for harass, skirmishing, and checking brush. That it also applies on-hit effects such as Sheen and Phage is icing on the cake. Ezreal is simply an extremely safe laning choice when put in the right hands.

The mid-game also happens to be both one of Ezreal's main strengths and the current focus of the professional meta. Essence Flux's use as a tower and objective pushing tool sets him above his peers. Trueshot Barrage is a powerful ability for clearing creep waves that either inhibit a tower push or pressure one of his own towers. Combined with Ezreal's safety, he's simply the best mid-game carry.

Normally I would predict that all of this would warrant further nerfs to Ezreal. However, with Season 3 on the way and vast revisions to masteries, items, and jungling, it's likely that Riot isn't going to nerf champions who happen to match the meta. For all his strengths Ezreal has poor creep clearing aside from his ultimate, and a relatively weak late game. In a different meta, such as the one which preceded what we have now, Ezreal could easily be the worst AD carry. If you're sick and tired of seeing Ezreal in every match, you'll have to wait until Season 3 begins in earnest.