LoL Patch 12.21: Everything you need to know

League of Legends updates at a frequent rate, and many LoL patches have come and gone—so is Patch 12.21, the first one of many during the preseason. After releasing tidbits of information ahead of the patch, they released the full patch notes on Nov. 1.

Jaxon followed Riot Games’ endeavors in the lead-up to Patch 12.21, from its initial reveals to the final release. Expect this page to receive updates if bugs emerge.

Patch 12.21 – Quick Digest

Riot Games has released the patch notes for Patch 12.21, and there’s quite a lot of ground to cover. However, those looking for a TL;DR version can stay here for more details:

Buffs:

• Ahri’s Q-Orb of Deceeption deals 5% more ability power damage and costs 5 fewer mana points at all levels.
• Malzahar’s E-Malefic Visions execute minions below 15-45 health (levels 1 to 11, caps at level 11).
• Miss Fortune’s Ability Power (mage) build is receiving a bit more love. ARAM spammers, take note:
  • W-Make It Rain deals 20% more ability power damage and slows for 2% more AP.
  • R-Bullet Time deals 5% more AP damage.
• Xin Zhao‘s place in the meta might not be fully back, but the Passive-Determination‘s buffs will matter: third hits will deal more bonus damage later in the game.
  • From 15/25/35/45% bonus AD ratio to 15/30/45/60%. A nice increase if he gets there.

Unimpactful changes:

• Corki is a little more resilient as he gains 4 more base health points, and as his attack damage grows by 0.3 points more per level than previously.

Nerfs:

• Bel’Veth‘s pushing power is a little lower: her R-Endless Banquet’s minions spawn with 10% less health at all ranks. As for the cooldown on her E-Royal Maelstrom being 2 seconds longer at all ranks, that’s a placebo nerf.
• Blitzcrank’s defensive stats are lower, and his W-Overdrive gives 10% less attack speed than it used to, a clear jungle nerf.

Important bug fixes:

• Darius’s R-Noxian Guillotine properly resets its cooldown if the target dies before its application. The bug had dire consequences on G2 Esports’ Worlds 2022 chances.
• Rakan’s R+W combo now properly works: it fully prevents opponents from taking action, significantly buffing him.
• A bunch of other less important bits, including Syndra’s E having spaghetti code moments.

Players can “Remake” games much earlier now

In arguably the biggest change of Patch 12.21, players can remake games much earlier than previously and in all game modes (including ARAM), as early as one minute and 30 seconds into the game if a teammate fails to connect.

Instead of being forced to wait till the 3-minute mark, players can force a remake at 1:30 at the earliest. They will have 30 seconds until it would be “too late” to vote on said remake.

Riot’s patch notes read as follows:

If the remake conditions are met between game start and 3:00 minutes, teams will have from 1:30 to 3:00 to start a remake vote by typing “/remake”. You’ll always have a minimum of 30 seconds to type /remake from the conditions being met, so if the conditions are met at 2:59, you’ll have until 3:29 to start a vote.

Lilu “Riot Riru” Cabreros, via the patch notes.

Preview time for Patch 12.21: Phroxzon reveals initial details

As is tradition, Lead Designer Matt “RiotPhroxzon” Leung-Harrison has initiated the reveal process for the upcoming patch. Patch 12.21’s changes have yet to introduce upcoming mechanics like the Jungle pets and the return of Chemtech Drake in the reveal, but the Summoner’s Rift balance team considers it as the first of the preseason.

By the look of it, League of Legends’ Patch 12.21 is set to affect the mid lane the most as Ahri and Corki may receive buffs. After tearing through competitive League of Legends during the spring split, the two champions gradually faded from view, and they have not seen any action at Worlds 2022.

As for Blitzcrank, Miss Fortune, and Bel’Veth, the nerfs may derail their ability to dominate the playing field in solo queue.

In particular, Bel’Veth has emerged as an extremely powerful jungle champion at all levels, particularly at lower levels (partly due to game duration) and at higher levels (as players leverage her skillset to the fullest). The same applies to Blitzcrank in the support role, after Riot Games removed some of his potency in the jungle.

Meanwhile, Miss Fortune seems to excel at all levels, but her success becomes moderate in the Challenger tier.

At a glance