LoL Patch 13.16 Preview: Everything That’s Changing In The Next Update

LoL Patch 13.16 Preview shows us all the changes Riot Games plans for the next update – which are of course, subject to change.

While League of Legends’ current update, Patch 13.15 is still live for almost a week, Riot Games have already teased Patch 13.16, which has hit the PBE. There are some interesting changes, like the Milio buff, the buffs to Wukong toplane and yet another nerf to Rek’Sai, which one of the developers, Riot Proxzon posted about yesterday. We collected all of the changes for you while giving insight to how they might impact the meta and each champion and item that was changed. While everything on the PBE server is subject to change – so don’t take anything for permanent as of yet – these changes are great indicators of what the players can expect!

LoL Patch 13.16 Preview

Champion Buffs

Milio:
- His Q’s Base Damage has been adjusted, it now deals 80-320 + 120% AP instead of 90-270 + 90% AP
- His E also shields for more from 60-140 + 25% AP to 60-160 + 30% AP
- This means that Milio wont hit as hard in the early game, but The Gentle Flame will scale better into the lategame. While Riot doesn’t seem to want to bring Enchanters back into the Meta, the Ixtalan champion should stay strong – presumably until Worlds.

Lucian:
- His Passive deals 15 damage instead of 10, which should make him more popular again, as he has been out of the meta since his breakup with Nami.
Lulu:
- Her Health per Level has been increased to 92, her Q’s AP Ratio has been increased from 40% to 50%, same as her E’s scaling,
- It’s good to see that Riot wants to address weak champions, as Lulu has been struggling since the end of the Enchanter – Hypercarry meta. It’s also good to see that Riot isn’t buffing her shielding power and Ultimate as well, trying to bring her back into the meta in different ways.
Karma:
- Her Q’s AP Ratio has been increased by 10%, both for the Base Damage and the Mantra-empowered version’s detonation damage, while her Ultimate has lower cooldowns later in the game,
- Karma has been a niche pick for forever, finding success with dive comps, but Riot Games is trying to make her a midlaner with the scaling buffs – or at least a more efficient poke and lane bully support.
Caitlyn:
- She only needs 5 shots to stack her Passive, Headshot. While this is a minor buff, it should help Caitlyn a bit to be more efficient in all stages of the game.
Wukong:
- These changes are aimed at the toplane specifically, as after Riot removed his bonus damage to monsters, Wukong has fallen out of the meta, but they would like him to return:
- His Mana Regen Growth per has been increased to .8, his Q’s mana cost has been halved, and his W’s mana cost has been decreased to 60-40 from 80-40, which should help him in the early game.
Brand:
- His Passive restores more mana, 30-50 depending on level, his Q’s AP Ratio has been increased by 10%, while his E’s has been bumped up by 5%.
- Brand has been on the fringes of the meta for years, only working as a support where it doesn’t really matter if he dies a lot – which he must, as he has to get close to land his combo, but doesn’t have any spells to disengage. The community has started to joke about giving Kog’Maw’s passive to the Blazing Mage to make his deaths more meaningful – honestly, I hope Riot takes their advice.
Akali:
- Her Q’s Energy cost has been reduced early, from 130-70 to 110-70, while it’s damage has been increased from 40-140 to 45-145.
- These buffs are welcome, but Akali has inherent problems thanks to her overloaded kit, so Riot must keep her week in order to keep her from taking over the meta. More meaningful changes have to happen to the Rogue Ninja’s kit before she can be buffed safely.
Ekko:
- His Q’s damage has been increased from 60-120 to 70-130 when thrown, while it’s slow is more potent in the early levels. His W’s shield has been increased from 70-150 to 100-180, which helps his jungling as well as his midlane diving potential.
- Ekko has seen better days in terms of competitive, but he has been a potent SoloQ pick for a while now – maybe these buffs will help players realize that, as his playrate is very low.

Champion Nerfs

Rek’Sai:
- Her Unburrowed Q’s scaling has been nerfed from 50% Bonus AD to 34-50% total AD, which is a nerf until level 13 – but after that, and with the right build, this might even be a buff. Rek’Sai is not going anywhere (please play her), the only question is how much will this nerf improve her win rate?
Shaco:
- His mana regen has been decreased to 6 from 7.15, while his W’s mana cost has been increased to 70 at all ranks – maybe Riot Games thought that Shaco support was too much of a problem, or are they trying to push him back into the jungle and towards AP builds?

Naafiri:
- Even though Riot promised that they won’t nerf Naafiri, they have to, as the latest Darkin (and her packmates) have been wreaking havoc in three lanes. They decreased her Base Armour to 30, her Base AD to 55 and her Base Attack Speed to .663.
- These changes don’t seem meaningful, but Base Stat changes are always dangerous, and Base Armour nerfs make her more vulnerable to junglers – and even minions.
Shyvana:
- Shyvana got some significant buffs in 13.14, and even though she was nerfed in 13.15, Riot feels the need to hit her again. Her W’s Damage per second has been brought down both in terms of base damage and scaling, while her W Damage per Hit also received the same treatment. The nerfs are pretty harsh, so this might be the end for AD Shyvana’s rampage.
Tristana:
- Tristana mid has been one of the most prominent picks of the Summer Splits, as well as becoming a strong choice in the SoloQ. Riot decreased her Base Health to 640 from 67, while her Magic Resist and Armour also took a hit, so she wont be as safe in the midlane as before – but her pushing potential is still the same, so Trist wont disappear just yet.

Apologies for the late preview! Simple buffs to underperforming Lethality items. Upping Lucian P to bind him a little harder to bot. We don't intend to make Enchanters his best pairing with this change, but a little better than they are on Live. pic.twitter.com/dSMv7unvaT

— Matt Leung-Harrison (@RiotPhroxzon) August 10, 2023

System Buffs

Axiom Arc:
- The forgotten lethality item which is not really good on anyone received a buff, it now refunds 10% + 40% Lethality’s amount of Ultimate Cooldown – but I don’t think it will be enough to bring it into the game.
Serpents Fang:
- The anti-shield items Lethality has been increased to 15, so it might get picked up more, especially if champions like Lulu, Milio and Karma become strong again.
Prowler’s Claw:
- The Passive’s cooldown has been halved, now you get extra damage after dashing every 5 seconds, while the damage’s scaling has been increased to 55/35% bonus AD.
- While Prowlers wasn’t the strongest item, it saw some plays on Assassins such as Talon and Zed, and even on bruisers like Renekton or Aatrox. This buff makes it much, much better, so expect to see more of this item in the game.
Umbral Glaive:
- It’s Lethality has been increased from 10 to 13. These Assassin item changes should help some picks such as Zed and Talon mentioned above, and even the nerfed Naafiri will be able to deal more damage – maybe Riot is testing the waters before Worlds, where they want to bring Assassins back?

System Nerfs

Duskblade of Draktharr:
- The Big Bad of the Lethality Mythics, Duskblade has been nerfed, as it only deals 18% Missing Health damage, and the Passive’s cooldown has been increased to 30,
- Ever since the item’s rework, it has been a problem as the untargetability makes it really hard to retaliate against Assassins diving the backline – but if they can’t do it as frequently, there’s a bigger window to find answers. Still, I’d expect Riot Games to nerf this item even more.

These are all the changes that happened in the PBE server under the 13.16 Patch notes. There are some fairly meaningful changes, such as the Enchanter and Lethality item buffs, while the Wukong changes are welcome as well – great to see Riot trying to bring champion back into the meta which have been nerfed out of it.

Don’t forget that all of the changes can be changed or reverted, as nothing is set in stone until it drops on the live servers. Keep an eye on ESTNN for the latest League of Legends news!