The Lethal Tempo rune is returning to League of Legends after a rework, but fans are concerned if the rune is OP or has been hit with a major nerf.
When Lethal Tempo debuted in League of Legends, players immediately noticed how broken it was. In its original form, the rune passively granted bonus attack speed and extra range so oppressive that it changed the game’s entire meta. Champions with typically slow early games would become monstrous early on, such as Yasuo and Kayle.
Left with no other choice, Riot Games eventually removed the overpowered rune in patch 14.10 in May 2024. Players who wanted to focus on attack speed had to return to the likes of Hail of Blades, though it wasn’t quite the same. Lethal Tempo will now return soon, but with some necessary changes.
After its rework, Lethal Tempo still stacks attack speed when attacking enemy champions, but it no longer scales up with level. Instead, the rune now grants bonus damage on-hit with max stacks, and scales with level and bonus attack speed. The most oppressive element of Lethal Tempo, and arguably the core of its strength, came from the absurd speed and range it could stack in the early game. With this change, players must rely on items to enhance their attack speed even further.
Reactions to the rework have been rather split thus far. Some players bemoaned the loss of scaling attack speed but acknowledged it as a necessity. Others felt the rework was too lenient, as the early-game attack speed increase could remain a potential issue.
Many players also pointed out its similarities to Irelia’s passive. That could make the effects particularly strong for Yone and Yasuo, given the straightforward upgrades to attack speed and damage. Until Lethal Tempo’s return in patch 14.19, players won’t have a good grasp of how powerful the reworked version will really be.
Lethal Tempo returns to LoL in patch 14.19 on September 25, 2024. The reworked rune arrives alongside patch 14.19, a significant World Championship update that includes the 2024 Worlds Viego skin. The rework is part of Riot’s attempt to slow down the game and prevent snowballing.
Other significant changes include removing 5-15% of stat efficiency from almost every Legendary item. Overall, these are some potentially exciting changes, though fans hope nothing too overpowered reveals itself.
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