League of Legends Patch 12.6: Rengar rework, Illaoi bugfixes, and more

Some important updates were released in the League of Legends (LoL) Patch 12.6, with Rengar finally receiving a rework, while Illaoi's kit got some much-needed adjustments and bug fixes.

Of course, plenty of other champions also received buffs and nerfs.

Let's dive into all the champion changes in Patch 12.6, so you’ll know how to take advantage of them on the Summoner’s Rift.

Rengar’s rework released

Our resident big kitty has been one of LoL developer Riot Game’s loyal rework customers, and he’s getting yet another one this year.

Season 2022 has been quite rough for Rengar, so a rework on his skillset is a bit overdue as we head into the second quarter of the year.

Rengar’s passive has changed once again, so if you’d like to try your hand on playing the Pridestalker on the Summoner’s Rift, study the changes to his skill well.

Since the season started, Rengar’s Q has been useless in the bushes, and this has been excruciating for seasoned players who rely on this mechanic to optimize Ferocity stacks.

While the team attempted some fixes on this a month ago, it barely helped to relieve the big kitty’s plight.

However, they believed that fixing this part wasn’t healthy to support, so that power was moved to “more accessible parts of his kit".

”Our goals were to smooth out Rengar's gameplay, keep his current playstyle, and clarify his builds,” the developers said.

It’s also good to note that Rengar’s vision in the jungle has vastly improved from Bola Strike and Thrill of the Hunt. These will be useful in setting up ganks in the jungle, or near the Baron or Dragon pits. Savagery being on perma-crit will also make these ganks very painful for enemies.

With these changes, let's hope Rengar will once again ferociously stalk through the jungle and pounce on his prey with ease — that is if players will take the time to master his updated kit.

Perhaps, soon enough, the Pridestalker will once again dominate in the jungle.

Unseen Predator (Passive)

[Updated] - Rengar’s next leap will grant one Ferocity only if he has zero Ferocity > upon losing all Ferocity stacks (no matter how much Ferocity he gains before his next leap)

[Updated] - Rengar will be able to leap after 0.35 seconds in brush or camouflage (or Senna’s E – Curse of the Black Mist camouflage) consistently, rather than based on a 0.3 to 0.45-second timer (Leap range has been slightly increased to offset variability)

[New] - Rengar now has a Ferocity resource bar that indicates how much Ferocity he currently has (stacks generate

d by leaps will have a different colour so you’ll know if you’ll gain Ferocity on your next leap)

All Ferocity stacks fall off after eight seconds > 10 seconds out of combat

Bonetooth Necklace takedown timer: Within 1.5 seconds > three seconds of damaging an enemy champion

Savagery (Q)

[New]: Rengar’s next basic attack after casting Q – Savagery will now always be a critical strike. Each one percent critical strike chance increases the attack’s damage by 0.66 percent

[Updated]: Q – Savagery now also applies to basic attacks against towers

[Updated]: Q – Savagery no longer applies to basic attacks against plants

Bola Strike (E)

[Updated]: Rengar can now throw his E – Bola Strike > instantly (with zero cast time) during leaps

[New]: Now grants true sight and normal vision 150 units around that enemy for two seconds

Thrill of the Hunt (R)

[Update]: Now grants not only true sight but also normal vision 100 units around the nearest enemy

Illaoi bugfixes

We really loved the Kraken Priestess in Riot Forge’s Ruined King: A League of Legends Story, so seeing the devs finally put a bit of focus on her in LoL is quite refreshing.

There have been too many bugs plaguing Illaoi, which discourage players from choosing her in the top lane.

One of the most important quality of life changes is the delay removal of the tentacles, meaning she can now execute some faster combos as well.

Leap of Faith (R)

[Update]:  Leap of Faith now casts with Illaoi facing toward your cursor, allowing for more favourable Tentacle spawn locations

Bug fixes

When Illaoi attacks a Vessel while empowered by W – Harsh Lesson, nearby inactive Tentacles will now slam her target as soon as they become active (short delay removed) Spell queueing has been added to

W - Harsh Lesson and R – Leap of Faith, so you can now buffer other spells while casting them

W – Harsh Lesson’s visual indicators have been fixed and will show the correct range of her empowered basic attacks

Tentacles can no longer spawn on either team’s base gates on Summoner’s Rift

Vessels no longer contribute to Illaoi’s creep score when they expire or are destroyed

Q – Tentacle Smash and E – Test of Spirit will now be visible to nearby enemy champions when cast from Fog of War

Champion buffs

There aren’t a lot of champions receiving buffs, with only four champions getting a dose of strength into their kits.

Azir, Darius, Jax, and Nidalee are all getting some minor changes which will hopefully make them stronger after this patch.

Azir

The Emperor of Sands hasn’t been a popular pick in general lately, and his win rate is just under 50%, at 49.28%.

Devs have buffed Azir’s Health Growth and Health level, in the hopes that Azir players win more games across levels, and the champion be picked during pro matches.

We think there’s more that can be done so he can stomp enemies once again in the mid lane, though.

Base Stats

Health Growth: 92 > 105

Health at Level 18: 2116 > 2337

Darius

The Hand of Noxus has not been as strong in the top lane due to the item changes. While he’s currently the number one pick in the top lane according to op.gg, he’s not a favourite in Pro-play, and it seems that Riot wants to change that. The minimum true damage from his Noxian Guillotine has been bumped up.

Noxian Guillotine (R)

Minimum True Damage: 100/200/300 (+75% bonus AD) > 125/250/375 (+75% bonus AD)

Jax

Jax is a scaling carry, a late-game raid boss. He has been nerfed a couple of times in previous patches, and with changes to other items, he’s gotten weaker to the point where he’s losing the early game too much.

It becomes a point of frustration for most Jax players because they can't scale this top laner at all, so some adjustments were done to help the Grandmaster at Arms keep up in the laning phase.

Direct increases to health and damage can help Jax defend the lane better and keep him from falling behind in the laning phase.

Base Stats:

Base health: 593 > 615

Empower (W)

Magic damage : 40/75/110/145/180 (+60 percent AP) > 50/85/120/155/190 (+60 percent AP)

Nidalee

We’re pretty glad the Bestial Hunter’s finally getting some attention from the devs, with multiple changes to her kit, since it’s been forever since she got updates.

Nidalee is getting improvements with the mana cost of her W and E decreasing, and in Cougar form, her pounce’s AoE damage radius was also given a sweet upgrade. This will help her flourish more in the jungle or the mid lane without running out of mana too fast.

Bushwhack (W)

Mana cost: 40/45/50/55/60 > 30/35/40/45/50

Primal Surge (E)

Mana cost: 50/60/70/89/90 > 50/55/60/65/70

Cast range: 600 > 900 (now matches W – Bushwhack)

Cougar Form

Pounce (W)

AoE damage radius: 225 > 250

Champion nerfs

Hecarim

Hecarim is still way too overpowered, in pro play at least, so the devs have decided to nerf his base damage.

It's yet to be seen though if these changes will amount to anything significant, but we should find out soon.

Rampage (Q)

Base damage: 60/97/134/171/208 (+85 percent bonus AD) > 60/90/120/150/180 (+85 percent bonus AD)

Devastating Charge (E)

Minimum total damage: 30/50/70/90/110 (+55 percent bonus AD) > 30/45/60/75/90 (+55 percent bonus AD)

Maximum total damage: 60/100/140/180/220 (+110 percent bonus AD) > 60/90/120/150/180 (+110 percent bonus AD)

Tryndamere

Devs want to pull back the Barbarian King’s power, especially since some players have a habit of endless skill spamming.

To make his gameplay a bit more strategic, especially at higher levels, some nerfs to his E and R were given.

It won’t be too painful of a nerf though, so if you’re a Trynda stan, don’t worry. You just need to do less button mashing and time his skills to continue winning.

Spinning Slash (E)

Cooldown reduction per critical strike: one second (two seconds against champions) > 0.75 seconds (1.5 seconds against champions)

Undying Rage (R)

Cooldown: 110/100/90 seconds > 130/110/90 seconds

What do you think about Rengar’s improved kit and which champion changes did you like the most?

For more information on the notes on Patch 12.6m 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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