League of Legends Patch 12.5b: Jinx and Zeri nerfed
Riot Games released a League of Legends a hotfix in Patch 12.5b on Thursday (10 March), focused mainly on balance changes around some of the most contested champions in pro play like Zeri, Jinx, and Aphelios, with the recently nerfed Master Yi getting some buffs as well.
While the list is relatively short, these changes will definitely impact both pro play and solo queue, so read on as we break them down.
Champion buffs
Most of the champion buffs were centered around AD Carries like Varus, Draven, Ashe, and Lucian, but the assassin Master Yi also received some, despite being recently nerfed in 12.5.
These changes should be interesting, especially since Varus and Draven aren’t as popular they used to be, so we might be seeing a bit of priority for these champions both in solo queue and in the esports arena.
Ashe
Many players were happy with the buffs that Ashe has received, since the Frost Archer’s performance hasn’t been very good this season.
Ashe’s current pick rate in solo queue is currently at a dismal 2.41% and the OG archer hasn’t made any appearance in Pro matches since the beginning of this year.
Two of the pain points of this champion are the mana cost of her W, and the long cooldown of her ultimate, which makes it hard to play her both in the laning phase and in team fights. As such, both buffs feel much needed.
Volley (W)
Mana Cost: 70 at all ranks > 75/70/65/60/55
Enchanted Crystal Arrow (R)
Cooldown: 100/80/60 seconds ⇒ 80/70/60 seconds
Draven
The Glorious Executioner is getting a boost in his AD for this minor patch. This should help him sustain more damage in skirmishes, and finish his kills in a chase.
Base AD: 60 > 62
Lucian
Lucian may have been one of AD carries that enjoyed some popularity in the fourth quarter of Season 11, especially after Worlds 2021.
But since the arrival of Zeri and a combination of buffs and nerfs, he slowly faded into the background, plummeting to a 2.3% pick/ban rate and failing to rack up a single win in pro play.
Buffs on our Sentinel of Light’s AD Growth and Passive will hopefully help players see the light in him this season.
AD Growth: 2.3 (101.1 at level 18) > 2.9 (111.3 at level 18)
Passive – Lightslinger
Vigilance Bonus Magic Damage on-hit: 14 (+10% AD) > 14 (+20% AD)
Master Yi
If Master Yi were an actual person, he would probably have vertigo by now from the roller coaster ride he’s been on.
The Wuju Bladesman received nerfs in 12.5, intended to push people to Yi’s traditional on-hit build, instead of his Lethality build.
But the changes on him swung the other way. His win rates jumped to 55% in Silver and 53% in Diamond ranks while his pick rate skyrocketed by 15%.
The devs then released a hotfix to nerf him again on 4 March, with a weaker Alpha Strike (Q), a decrease in base health, and nerfs to Wuju Style (E) and Highlander (R).
This, however, sent his win rate plummeting to just under 30% for Diamond and higher ranks, and 41% in Silver in a matter of days.
The developers have reverted some of the nerfs to his E, Wuju Style, while also reducing the cooldown of his ultimate at early ranks. We’ll see if these changes will make him balanced enough this time.
Wuju Style (E)
True Damage: 30/37/44/51/58 (+30% bonus AD) > 30/38/46/54/62 (+30% bonus AD) (base damage reverted only)
Highlander (R)
Cooldown: 100/90/80 seconds > 85 seconds at all ranks (reverted)
Varus
The Ancient Darkin is also another champion who used to be one of the best AD carries to play in the bot lane.
While the arrival of new champions and major shifts in the meta this season decreased his priority, any buffs on Varus are welcome.
Former C9 coach Nick "LS" De Cesare said in his stream recently that Varus was "probably on everyone’s radar to immediately come back because people were already trying to pick him anyway".
In 12.5, buffs on his W and R make these skills deal additional magic damage. If this, in combination with the rune and item changes that are being dropped, will make him stronger, we may see a comeback fairly soon.
Blighted Quiver (W)
Passive Bonus Magic Damage On-hit: 7/9/11/13/15 (+30% AP) > 7/10.5/14/17.5/21 (+30% AP)
Chain of Corruption (R)
Base Magic Damage: 150/200/250 > 150/250/350
Champion nerfs
The list of champions nerfed for 12.5b is also quite controversial, with Aphelios, Jinx, Ryze, and Zeri all being top picks in the pro scene for Season 2022.
Perhaps Riot wants to see a bit of variety in the pro meta, especially since both Jinx and Aphelios seem to dominate drafts, along with Zeri, who has been nerfed in all patches since her release.
Aphelios
This champion is one of the top picks in the bot lane at the 2022 League of Legends Korea Championship Spring Split, but he’s only a tier 5 champion on solo queue, with his pick and win rates leaning on the average side.
This makes me question if these nerfs are warranted, since he already seems more or less balanced. The dev team pulled back his base armor and base health to make it easier for enemies to take him down.
Good news for Zeri fans, very bad news for Aphelios mains.
Base Armor: 28 > 26
Base Health: 530 > 510
Jinx
The Loose Cannon made a huge comeback in the fourth quarter of last year, largely thanks to the release of Arcane, some buffs, and favorable item changes in Season 2022.
She was the top pick in the League of Legends European Championship, the Tencent League of Legends Pro League (China), and the League of Legends Championship Series (North America) before the arrival of Zeri, with a whopping 83% pick-ban rate in competitive play. She’s also the top pick among players in ranked games, with a 31.91% pick rate.
Riot took aim at, her Q, increasing its mana cost and its range, to keep her bombings at bay.
Switcheroo! (Q)
Mana Cost:
Range: 16/17/18/19/20 > 20 at all ranks
Range: 100/125/150/175/200 > 80/110/140/170/200
Ryze
The Rune Mage is one of the most popular champions in the mid and top lane, despite the rise of the enchanter mid and enchanter top meta.
He’s clocked 104 games in the LCK and 183 games in the LPL, but like Aphelios, he’s a tier 5 champion on ranked games, with a pick rate of only 7.32%
While his maximum mana increased, the damage on his Q has been reduced.
Passive: Arcane Mastery
Maximum Mana Increased: 5% per 100 AP > 10% per 100 AP
Overload (Q)
Damage - 75/100/125/150/175 (+40% AP) (+3% bonus mana) > 70/90/110/130/150 (+45% AP) (+3% bonus mana)
Zeri
We thought Zeri finally escaped the nerf curse in 12.5, but she’s still ended up getting one in 12.5b.
The Spark of Zaun is obviously broken, and she’s almost never missed a patch where she got nerfed (even in the Public Beta Environment).
This champion is too good at kiting, and the slow in her kit makes it very hard for her enemies to escape.
In the competitive scene, Zeri rose to be one of the top picks, despite being late to the party in the Spring Split of each region. She’s at 100% pick/ban rate in the Pacific Championship Series (Southeast Asia), and hovering at a 55-60% average pick/ban rate in all other major regions.
Will these changes be enough to finally pull back Zeri’s power?
Base Stats
Base Attack Damage: 58 > 50
HP: 500 + 85 per level > 480 + 90 per level
Armor: 23 + 3.5 per level > 20 + 3 per level
Burst Fire (Q)
Damage: 9 – 25 > 10 – 30
Charged right click % max health damage: 3 – 15% by level 18 >>> 1 – 10% by level 10
Spark Surge (E)
Cooldown: 23 – 19 > 23
Passthrough damage: 80 – 100% > 60 – 100%
Lightning Crash (R)
Movement speed per stack: 2% > 1.5 – 2%
Stacks per champion hit with the AoE explosion: 3 > 4
Items
Locket of the Iron Solari
The Locket of the Iron Solari was the only item to receive a change in this patch, with Riot improving its defensive capabilities by boosting its passive bonus armor and magic resist values, while making its active shield stronger. Hopefully, such changes can help the item become a more viable pickup.
Consecrate (Passive)
Bonus Armor and Magic Resist: 5>3
Devotion (Active)
Shield Amount: 230-385 (target's levels 1-18) > 200-365 (target's levels 1-18)
For more details on patch 12.5b, click here.
Anna is a freelance writer and photographer. She is a gamer who loves RPGs and platformers, and is a League of Legends geek. She's also a food enthusiast who loves a good cup of black coffee.
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