Patch 3.16.0 Notes – Card Balance Updates

Patch 3.16.0 brings a wide variety of balance updates as previously announced, and there are a host of cards being rebalanced, a bunch of bug fixes, and a couple of cosmetics. Be sure to check out Raphterra’s analysis on the nerfs and the buffs, and the full patch note from Riot Games below!

The Return of Fiora, Daybreak, and Nightfall | Assessing All The Buffs In Patch 3.16!

Kennen and Evelynn Back To The Dumpster? | Assessing All The Nerfs In Patch 3.16!

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Patch 3.16.0 Notes

Card Updates

Here’s a look at each of the card updates coming in this patch:

Editor’s Note: A Small peek behind the curtains! Our designers are working until the last wire tuning things to ensure we hit the meta with the strongest swing possible, as such, sometimes they don’t make it on the image in time! TLDR: Illaoi and Ornn are on the buff list and Targon’s Peak is also on the nerf list.

Champions & Related Card Buffs

LEONA (LEVEL 1)

CHANGE: 4c → 5c Gains Keyword Challenger

With Daybreak getting a new look, we wanted to make sure Leona was still the bright star at the center of the deck. With more ability to control combat, Leona should be able to lead the Solari into the fray and leave your opponents in mourning.

LEONA (LEVEL 2)

CHANGE: Overwhelm → Challenger.
NEW: Daybreak or when you activate another Daybreak: Stun the strongest enemy and give me Barrier this round

SUN GUARDIAN

OLD: 6c 6|5
Daybreak: Give me +4|+4 this round.

NEW: 3c 2|3

Daybreak or when you activate another Daybreak: Grant me +1|+1

We wanted to take a new look at Daybreak and see if there was a way to bring the archetype back into the light. The old cards focused very heavily on temporary stats, making it hard for Daybreak to build a real advantage once each unit’s time in the sun was finished. By giving Daybreak a little more permanent power and some cards they don’t mind playing outside of Day, we hope the deck can really shine.

MORNING LIGHT

OLD: 5c +2|+2

Give allies +2|+2 this round.

Daybreak: Activate all ally Daybreak effects at once.

NEW: 3c

Give allies +1|+1 this round.

Activate an ally’s Daybreak effect.

SOLARI STELLACORN

OLD: 5c 4|6 Daybreak: Heal allies 3.

NEW: 4c 3|4 Daybreak: Give other allies +0|+2 this round.

SUNBURST

CHANGE: 6c→5c

NOCTURNE (LEVEL 1)

NEW: Attacking with Fearsome allies will now also count towards leveling

Deckbuilding with Nocturne has been a bit spooky without more in-region ways to level him up. By expanding his circle to include Fearsome units, we think he can scare up a few new decklists.

VILEMAW

NEW: Keyword: Fearsome
Other Fearsome allies have +1|0

Alongside Nocturne’s Fearsome new look, we’re hoping some upgrades to Vilemaw and his home in the Treeline will be enough to scare up some new deckbuilding angles for Nightfall and let all of us washed up summoners remember the glory days.

THE TWISTED TREELINE

NEW: Attacking with Nightfall allies will now also progress this landmark

TAHM KENCH

NEW: Tahm Kench will now create an Acquired Taste when summoned or Round Start

Finding Tahm Kench late in the game could leave you with an awful taste in your mouth, since he wouldn’t come to the table hungry. We’re hoping this change makes him a little more palatable, without turning his decks into the current flavor of the month.

TAHM KENCH (LEVEL 2)

NEW: Tahm Kench will now create an Acquired Taste when summoned or Round Start

MASTER YI

NEW: The spell reduction cost will now persist through turn end.

Yi has had some trouble getting into the Flow since coming to Runeterra, but we think that letting his wisdom persist between turns may take him to a higher plane of winrate. The Wuju swordsman’s play pattern can be a bit oppressive, so we’re taking a cautious approach to buffing him without letting him cut apart the meta.

MASTER YI (LEVEL 2)

NEW: The spell reduction cost will now persist through turn end.

FIORA

OLD: 3c 3|2

NEW: 4c 4|4

While nerfing Fiora’s health did succeed in knocking her off the podium, she’s had trouble even making it into the competition ever since. We’re hoping that moving her to a higher cost makes her less overbearing early, especially in strategies that try to go all-in on her win condition.

FIORA (LEVEL 2)

OLD: 3c 4|3

NEW: 4c 5|5

SWAIN

BASE STATS: 3|6→4|6

Swain’s tactics have been outmatched by a faster environment, and this change is aimed at letting his strategy actually close out a game once he’s leveled up.

SWAIN (LEVEL 2)

BASE STATS: 4|7→5|7

NEW: Overwhelm

ILLAOI

BASE STATS: 1|5→1|6

We knew we wanted to release some of Illaoi’s stranglehold on the meta, but the nerfs to her and Bard nudged her down a little further than we’d like. With Riptide Sermon getting toned down this patch, we’re pretty sure Illaoi needs to buff up again to be viable.

ILLAOI (LEVEL 2)

BASE STATS: 2|6→2|7

ORNN

OLD: Level Up: An ally has struck for 10+ damage

NEW: Level Up: An ally has struck for 8+ damage

Ornn’s level up condition is always on the border of being too late – if you’re hitting for 10, your game is generally going fine even without the Lava Elementals. By reducing that number a bit, we think Ornn can help turn games around more often and maybe hammer out a few more wins.

Nerfs

VIEGO

OLD: 5c 5|4

NEW: 6c 6|5

Viego has been a top tier champion for a while now, and while we have no interest in ruining the King, we’d like to give opponents another turn to prepare before they’ve mist their opportunity to win.

VIEGO (LEVEL 2)

OLD: 5c 6|5

NEW: 6c 7|6

HATE SPIKE

CHANGE: 1c → 2c

While both of these cards recently received buffs, they’ve also resulted in a number of decks skyrocketing to a dominant share of the metagame, crowding out new potential strategies. We want to disrupt the meta with our live patches and take big swings, but sometimes that means the healthiest overall choice is to revert a buff that may have shifted things too far in one direction.

MARK OF THE STORM

CHANGE: 3 Damage → 2 Damage

SAINEN THOUSAND-TAILED

BASE STATS: 3|5→3|3

Sainen found his way into about a thousand Ionian decks as both a huge value engine and a major board presence. By cutting back some of his tail-end, we think fighting the fox will be a fair bit more feasible.

RIPTIDE SERMON

CHANGE: Deal 4 to a unit, Deal 2 to Nexus → Deal 3 to a unit, Deal 1 to Nexus

While it’s great to see all these pirates spreading the Good Word of Nagakabouros, it’s probably a bit too in-your-face to be healthy in the long run.

DECIMATE

CHANGE: 5c → 6c

The Noxian burn package of strong one drops and solid face damage has been overperforming for a while now, in large part due to the redundancy of good options for reducing the enemy Nexus to 0. We don’t want to axe Decimate entirely, just cut back its hold on the current meta.

THE HARROWING

CHANGE: 9c → 10c

Gwen’s Camavoran party has been going strong for a while now, and the Harrowing has been a big part of making sure the dance never ends. We want the Harrowing to stay as a big splashy finisher, but we’re adding another step into the routine before you reach the finale.

RITE OF CALLING

CHANGE: 0c → 1c

Free Calling can be a frustrating experience to play against, letting decks access their champions consistently with limited drawbacks. Hopefully this puts some of Shurima’s mono-champion strategies on hold for a little longer while they wait for an extra mana.

TARGON’S PEAK

CHANGE: 5c → 6c

While Peak gameplay hasn’t been dominating, we’re worried about a deck with this much variance holding a notable share of the meta. With an extra mana on the Peak, you’ll have a little more time to execute your gameplan before the opponent reaches the mountaintop.

CONCURRENT TIMELINES

CHANGE: 1c → 2c

With the introduction of Weaponmasters, Timelines have split off into a meta defining group of decks. While we think the play pattern of this card is interesting, we want you to have to spend a little more tempo in order to open up an alternate reality of crazy value.

Variety Card Buffs

IULA

OLD: Play: Give an ally Spellshield and Overwhelm this roundNEW: Play: Grant an ally Spellshield or Overwhelm this round. If you don’t, grant it to me.

Iula’s potent buff was limited by its temporary nature, so we wanted to let her be a little more proactive at the cost of having to choose between her gifts.

PAPERTREE

OLD: When an ally with an attachment attacks, grant that ally +1|+0.

NEW: When an ally with an attachment attacks, grant that attachment +1|+0.

Even with the arrival of equipment, the Papertree just wasn’t making the cut in most decks. By buffing the attachment rather than the bearer, we think the Papertree can fold into some more strategies that like to use a lot of different attachments.

SHRIEKING SPINNER

OLD:
2|5
Attack: Grant Spider allies +1|+0.

NEW:
2|4
Attack: Give Spider allies +2|+0 this round.

With spiders mostly squashed down by other aggressive strategies, we think Shrieking Spinner can weave itself into a finisher for the 8-legged menace.

RITUAL OF RENEWAL

OLD:
7c Slow Spell
Heal 7 Draw 1

NEW:
4c Slow Spell
Heal 4 Draw 1

Ritual of Renewal is in a unique space as a Slow, Big Heal, but it’s a space that not many decks are interested in. By moving it down the curve, we think it can be a tech choice for when your opponents are trying to end the game too fast.

RIPPERS BAY

OLD: When allies attack, before triggering Lurk, obliterate the top card of your deck if it doesn’t have Lurk
NEW: When allies attack, before triggering Lurk, grant the top ally of your deck Lurk and it becomes a Lurker.

Ripper’s Bay has always wanted to let you invite some finless friends to your Lurker deck, but losing out on your cards kind of bites. Now the Bay can let everyone put on their shark costumes and get in on the fun!

LEVIATHAN

OLD: 8c 5|8 Overwhelm

When I’m summoned, draw Swain.

Round Start: Deal 1 to the enemy Nexus three times.

NEW: 7c 5|7 Overwhelm

When I’m summoned, draw Swain.

Round Start: Deal 1 to the enemy nexus twice.

Swain’s Boat has been in the harbor for a while now because of how slow it is. Moving it down the curve should get the Leviathan into open waters more often, at the cost of some of its firepower

MAGICAL JOURNEY

OLD: Plant a portal randomly in the top 4 cards of your deck and plant 3 chimes on random cards in your deck.

NEW: Plant a portal randomly in the top 4 cards of your deck and plant a chime on the top card of your deck.

Some of Norra’s supporting cards have looked a little lost since her release, so we wanted to open up a few more options for the portal decks, especially for more boon-centric strategies

REALM’S CARETAKER

BASE STATS: 4|4 → 4|5

GRUMPY ROCKBEAR

BASE STATS: 5|4 →5|5

These bears haven’t been rocking, so we’re knocking their health up a bit.

FUNSMITH

BASE STATS: 1|3 → 2|3

Funsmith has always been a bit of a bummer when it comes to combat, so we’re giving her a little more reason to enjoy being in the attack row

MAMMOTH SHAMAN

BASE STATS: 4|4 → 5|5

Mammoth Shaman has been practically extinct since the day he arrived, so he’s getting a bit BIGGER.

MAMMOTH RAGER

BASE STATS: 6|6 → 7|7

WINDSINGER

OLD: 4|3
NEW: 3|3 Elusive

Windsinger never quite hit the right notes as an expensive tempo unit, so we’re shifting her to more of a finisher role that harmonizes with the Recall strategy.

Personalization

Champion Skins

Corrupted Zoe

Alternate Art, Unique Level-Up Animation

Rugged Garen

Alternate Art, Unique Level-Up Animation

Editor’s Note: No Nudyr Skin? sadge.

Miscellaneous

• Mark of the Storm has escaped captivity, and will be live as of these patch notes with the rest of the balance changes dropping on Wednesday as normally scheduled.
• Leona’s Path of Champions level up reward has been updated in light of her changes.

Competitive

The Darkin Saga: Domination does not contain a Seasonal Tournament, instead worlds will be right around the corner. The Awakening Seasonal Tournament will be the last chance to qualify for Worlds, and invites will be extended to the Top 8! If you still haven’t nabbed your spot, start training now!

Additionally, many players are eager to hear more about Worlds. We will release an article within the upcoming weeks with the first wave of details!

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a crash caused when equipping a unit with Darkin Harpoon when that unit is already equipped
• Fixed a bug with Kayn’s origin
• Fixed a crash attributed to Previsualization
• Fixed an issue with Hidden Pathways’ cost reduction and choice cards
• Fixed an issue with choice cards being discounted twice in PoC
• Fixed a bug with Sharesies incorrectly referring to equipped allies instead of attachment
• Fixed a crash when attempting to buff a darkin unit in hand
• Fixed a bug with Greenglade Caretaker and Ki Guardian’s interaction
• Fixed an issue with glorious evolution and choice cards
• Fixed an issue with Darkness in mirror matchups incorrectly showing the amount of damage dealt
• Fixed an issue with Boomship and Sanctum Conservator’s interaction
• Fixed an issue with Evolve not counting for units taken from opponent
• Fixed an issue with Champions not gaining level up progress when overflowing
• Fixed multiple issues with activating effects for cards in overflow in backrow
• Fixed a bug with Attach units’ card fan
• Removed plunder from Powder Pandemonium
• Fixed an issue where playing 2 burst spells that create cards in a row would sometimes cause one of the created cards to not be played correctly
• Fixed a bug where certain cards were not allowed in decks for the Lab “Welcome to the Jungle.”