Teamfight Tactics patch 12.1 notes

Patch 12.1 brings lighter balance changes to traits and champs in addition to Augment tune ups!
Game Updates
Rodger “Riot Prism” Caudill

You know what they say: new year, new you!

Wait, I liked the old you just fine! But like patch 12.1, maybe some changes are for the better. That said, 12.1 is here, bringing quite a lot of changes for the new year—so what are you waiting for, let’s get into it!
Rodger "MinionsRpeople2" Caudill

Patch Highlights

Large Changes

Large like the goals of my New Year’s resolutions.

Augments

Along with the drastic changes we gave trait-linked Augments in patch 11.24, we have a few more quality of life improvements to add. Too busy to refresh yourself on the changes by clicking the link? I feel ya, so here’s what we did: We added more value to trait-linked traits by pairing them with a free champion, gold, or emblems to equip on champions. With this next go around, we’re making these augments more consistent, but also pulling our new balance lever on overperforming trait-linked augments such as Mutant Crest and Protector Heart.

Aside from our numerous changes to hearts and crests, we’re continuing to lessen the gap between the best and worst augments. Of note is our Lifelong Learning rework that should make Scholar comps more smarterer (like me) regardless of their grades in combat.
  • Arcanist Heart now also grants a Swain
  • Challenger Heart now also grants a Warwick ⇒ Quinn
  • Protector Heart no longer grants a Blitzcrank
  • Scholar Heart now also grants a Lissandra ⇒ Zyra
  • Scrap Heart now also grants an Ekko ⇒ Blitzcrank
  • Twinshot Heart now also grants a Graves ⇒ Kog’Maw
  • Assassin Crest now also grants a Ekko ⇒ Talon
  • Arcanist Crest now also grants a Twisted Fate ⇒ Swain
  • Challenger Crest now also grants a Warwick ⇒ Quinn
  • Chemtech Crest now also grants a Zac ⇒ Warwick
  • Imperial Crest now also grants a Talon ⇒ Swain
  • Mutant Crest no longer grants a Kog’Maw
  • Scrap Crest now also grants an Ekko ⇒ Blitzcrank
  • Ardent Censer (Enchanter) bonus Attack Speed: 40% ⇒ 50%
  • Ascension Damage amplification after 15 seconds: 65% ⇒ 50%
  • Cybernetic Implants bonus Health for equipped units: 200/300/400 ⇒ 150/250/350
  • Duet bonus Health: 500 ⇒ 400
  • Lifelong Learning (Scholar) REWORKED now guaranteed grants Scholars 2 Ability Power after each combat and an additional 2 Ability Power if they survive combat
  • Makeshift Armor bonus Armor & Magic Resist: 30/45/60 ⇒ 35/55/75
  • Portable Forge Armory option, Death’s Defiance now grants 20% Omnivamp
  • Spellblade empowered attack Ability Power scaling after casting: 200% ⇒ 225%
  • Stand United Attack Damage and Ability Power per active trait: 3/4/5 ⇒ 2/3/5
  • Sunfire Board max Health burn: 20% ⇒ 16%
  • Woodland Charm copy Health: 1500 ⇒ 1600

Traits

Imperial comps seek to load up a carry with items and then have them 1v9; but currently, the trait is falling short. Our Imperial buff takes the most powerful use case of the trait, amplifying the multiplicative stats on an item loaded carry, and amps it up even more.

Chemtech 3 is a powerful early game trait that’s almost never worth taking all the way to Chemtech 9. Since Chemtech 9 is so hard to achieve, we’re rearranging the power to make it more rewarding while also hitting the least visible part of the trait, damage reduction, to lessen its early game impact.

Socialite 2 granting the same mana regen as Scholar 4 for your most important Kaisa unit is giving this inexpensive (two unit, or an augment) trait too much power for how easy it is to hit.

Yordle 3 has performed fine early to mid-game as an econ trait, but Yordle 6 would leave you feeling like Your-dull for not transitioning—and with my love for Yordles, writing that line hurt me more than you think. To change this, we’re adjusting the Yordle spawn odds, making you more likely to hit 3-stars early, which alongside better mana reduction at Yordle (6), will allow you to save health in the hopes of hitting the elusive Yordle Lord!
  • Chemtech Damage Reduction percentage: 25 ⇒ 20
  • Chemtech max Health regen: 3/4/7/12 ⇒ 3/5/8/15%
  • Chemtech Attack Speed: 20/50/80/125% ⇒ 15/50/90/135%
  • Imperial Tyrant Bonus Damage: 75/125 ⇒ 80/150%
  • Imperial Units Bonus Damage: 0/75% ⇒ 0/80%
  • Innovator Mechanical Bear base Health: 750 ⇒ 850
  • Innovator Mechanical Bear Armor & Magic Resist: 60 ⇒ 70
  • Socialite 2 Mana regen per second: 5 ⇒ 3
  • Syndicate 7 bonus amplification: 33% ⇒ 50%
  • Yordle, 1-cost spawn odds: 60% ⇒ 70%
  • Yordle, 2-cost spawn odds: 25% ⇒ 20%
  • Yordle, 3-cost spawn odds: 15% ⇒ 10%
  • Yordle (6) Mana reduction: 20% ⇒ 25%

Champions: Tier 1

Maybe too excellent a shot (for a 1-cost).
  • Caitlyn Ace in the Hole Damage: 800/1400/2250 ⇒ 800/1400/2000

Champions: Tier 2

As our first place for weakest trait during patch 11.24, Imperial is in need of a number of buffs to push it into viability. With Swain already being weak, buffing him is an easy call.
  • Swain max Mana buff: 40/80 ⇒ 40/75
  • Swain Death’s Hand Healing per enemy hit: 200/230/300 ⇒ 225/250/350

Champions: Tier3

As the premiere carry for Yordle comps, Heimerdinger packs enough damage, but is often deleted or CC’d by a rogue ability due to the need to position him close to the fight, or his need to get in attack range by accidently waddling into a Sion’s axe. With the extra range, you should be able to try some more creative positioning.

Malzahar 3 should take you Malza-far, but the unit often gets stuck on tanks preventing him from sharing his Malefic Visions to the Maleficly blind. But as a one-star, Malzahar rips through lower health pools too easily.
  • Heimerdinger Attack Range: 3 ⇒ 4
  • Malzahar Spell Damage: 700/850/1000 ⇒ 650/850/1100

Champions: Tier 4

While not the strongest unit in patch 11.24, Seraphine is being inadvertently nerfed through our nerf to Socialite 2 and Morellonomicon (see Items below). So we’re shipping a larger buff here to account for these changes.

Our Urgot changes nerf his interactions with items like Guinsoo’s Rageblade, Runaan’s Hurricane, and Statikk Shiv that leave his foes feeling crabby.
  • Seraphine max Mana buff: 80/160 ⇒ 80/150
  • Seraphine Encore Damage & Healing: 250/400/1000 ⇒ 275/450/1200
  • Urgot Purge now counts as a basic attack every: 2nd shot ⇒ 3rd shot

Champions: Tier 5

With Kai’Sa’s dominance over the past couple weeks, these changes may look light, but our focus here is allow Kai’Sa to remain viable (yet much weaker), while nerfing multiple components of the powerful composition she found the bulk of her success in.

3-star Tahm Kench has been unbenched and is unquestionably unquenched.
  • Galio critical strike Slam Bonus Damage: 80/125/1999 ⇒ 70/100/1999
  • Galio Colossal Entrance base Stun Duration: 1.25/1.75/9.5 ⇒ 1.5/1.75/9.5 sec
  • Kai’Sa Health: 900 ⇒ 850
  • Kai’Sa Icathian Monsoon Damage per missile: 80/100/180 ⇒ 70/90/180
  • Kai’Sa starting Mana nerf: 90/150 ⇒ 75/150
  • Tahm Kench Devour Damage Reduction: 40% ⇒ 30%
  • Tahm Kench at 3-stars will now gain twenty times the usual stats when fed an allied unit.

Items

Guardian Angel is our most built item. It negates the weaknesses of many powerful units, largely due to its built-in aggro drop that allows the unit to heal back up upon revival. This change will give revived units a smaller window to heal back up and dish out the damage.

Morellonomicon’s power can make or break a champion. By weakening the item we have the opportunity to adjust some of our champions balanced around maximizing its value.
  • Guardian Angel Health on revive: 400 ⇒ 250
  • Morellonomicon True Damage burn: 2.5% a sec ⇒ 2% a sec
  • Rapid Firecannon total Attack Speed: 50% ⇒ 60%
  • Sunfire Cape Proc Rate: 2.5 sec ⇒ 2 sec
  • Sunfire Cape True Damage Burn: 2.5% a sec ⇒ 2% a sec
  • Zz’Rot Portal Health in stage 2: 1500 (unchanged)
  • Zz’Rot Portal Health in stage 3: 1700 ⇒ 1800
  • Zz’Rot Portal Health in stage 4: 1900 ⇒ 2100
  • Zz’Rot Portal Health in stage 5: 2250 ⇒ 2500

Small Changes

Small like the resolve to achieve my New Year’s resolutions.

Augments

Smoke Bomb gave Assassins damage reduction towards the instance of damage that took them past the stealth threshold as a way to make sure they wouldn’t get one-shot before the stealth activated. We’re adding that hidden (stealthed?) feature to the tooltip and using it as a balance lever to give this trait a very small nerf. TL;DR, Smoke Bomb is microscopicly worse now.
  • Shrug It Off max Health regen percentage: 2.5% ⇒ 3%
  • Smoke Bomb (Assassin) tooltip now properly reflects the damage reduction applied to the excess damage from the instance of damage that triggers the stealth
  • Smoke Bomb (Assassin) Damage Reduction: 100% ⇒ 80%
  • Sunfire Board and Weakspot are no longer mutually exclusive

Traits

  • Metamorphosis Attack Damage and Ability Power growth: 1/2 ⇒ 2/4

Champions: Tier 1

  • Garen Attack Damage: 60 ⇒ 70
  • Graves max Mana buff: 80/120 ⇒ 50/100
  • Illaoi Harsh Lesson Damage: 175/300/500 ⇒ 200/325/550
  • Illaoi Harsh Lesson Healing: 25/30/35% ⇒ 25/30/40%
  • Kassadin Null Sphere damage reduction: 30% ⇒ 25%
  • Kassadin Null Sphere damage reduction duration: 4 seconds ⇒ 5 seconds
  • Twisted Fate Wild Cards damage: 145/190/255 ⇒ 155/205/275

Champions: Tier 2

  • Kog'Maw BarrageDamage: 7/8/9% ⇒ 8/8/8%
  • Talon Attack Speed: 0.7 ⇒ 0.75
  • Zilean Time Bomb Slow Duration: 3 ⇒ 4 sec

Champions: Tier 3

A couple more Morellonomicon compensation buffs for champions who were dependent on the item for success.
  • Ekko Parallel Convergence Damage: 150/200/350 ⇒ 175/225/375
  • Lissandra Iron Maiden Damage: 225/300/500 ⇒ 250/325/550
  • Samira Health: 650 ⇒ 700
  • Vex Health: 800 ⇒ 850

Champions: Tier 4

  • Orianna max Mana buff: 50/140 ⇒ 50/130
  • Sion Decimating Smash Stun Duration: 2/3/6 ⇒ 2.5/3/6 sec
  • Sion Decimating Smash Damage: 100/200/500 ⇒ 125/200/500
  • Yone Health: 950 ⇒ 900

Champions: Tier 5

  • Viktor max Mana buff: 0/150 ⇒ 0/140

Items

  • Chalice of Power bonus Ability Power: 30% ⇒ 35%
  • Statikk Shiv bonus Attack Speed: 15% ⇒ 10%

Hyper Roll

Items

Do Voidlings dream of Void sheep when they Zz’?
  • Zz’Rot Portal Health in stage1 through 4: 1500 (unchanged)
  • Zz’Rot Portal Health in stage 5 through 7: 1900 ⇒ 2100
  • Zz’Rot Portal Health in stage 8+: 2250 ⇒ 2500

Bug Fixes

  • Eternal Winter no longer applies a temporary VFX below the unit when frozen
  • Fixed an issue where Garen with Blue Buff would stop gaining mana in rare situations
  • Frozen Heart generated by Scrap will now properly remove its Attack Speed slow when its holder dies
  • Caitlyn’s and Fiora’s abilities will now properly cast when targeting an invulnerable unit (e.g., Colossus with Armor Plating)
  • Double Up: There will now always be a winning team visible during the victory sequence, even if all teams were reduced to 0 health in the final battle.
  • Double Up: Players no longer continually take massive damage after surrendering.
  • Seraphine’s tooltip now specifies that she casts at the largest group of enemy units
  • Academy Heart’s tooltip now states that it grants a Katarina
  • Jinx no longer incorrectly burns enemies for 2.5% of their max Health instead of 2% at 1-star
  • Jinx’s tooltip now properly reflects that she burns 2/3/4% max health per second rather than 2/2.5/3%
  • In 11.24 we intended to nerf melee Jayce’s bonus Armor & MR (40 ⇒ 30) but it never went through. However we’re happy with the power level of 40 Bonus Armor & MR so we’re keeping this number