This patch sets the stage for Season 2, which is expected to launch on May 9
The League of Legends 25.9 Patch Notes are out. According to Riot’s official schedule, Patch 25.9 is expected to drop on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. The patch brings several changes in preparation for the arrival of Season 2. As a reminder, the year is now divided into three themed seasons, each focusing on a different region from the League of Legends lore. This second season highlights Ionia, along with its set of changes, which we previously summarized.
In-game, the patch also aims to shake up the meta a bit, especially in the toplane and support roles. Champions that have been a bit too dominant in pro play, like Gwen and Naafiri, will be nerfed, while K’Sante will receive a slight damage buff to his W. At the same time, Leona and Morgana are also being buffed to encourage their return to the meta. Annie, who underwent a major rework in the previous patch, is also being strengthened again.
Buffs:
- Champions: Annie, Ashe, K'Sante, Leona, Morgana, Orianna, Shen
- Summoner's Spell: Ignite
- Runes: Unflinching
Nerfs:
- Champions: Gwen, Kalista, Naafiri, Yorick
- Item: Rod of Ages, Boots of Swiftness
Adjustments:
- Runes: Biscuits
- System: Feat Boots
- Item: Symbiotic Soles
Riot's Reasoning behind these changes
Read more about League of Legends changes on the X account of Matt "Phroxzon" Leung-Harrison.
Rod of Ages
- ROA has grown a lot more popular and given mages (in particular) an option to go against double assassin mid/jg in particular
- At the same time, it's just a tad too strong generically and doesn't pay enough of an immediate tradeoff for its scaling nature
- If champs want to opt into the nice double ruby crystal path, they should probably pay an immediate damage tradeoff for it on ROA completion
Shen
- Our changes for Shen missed last patch, resulting in very minimal impact; we're giving him a bit more of a boost to hit that mark
- Simply, Shen is a champ (like Braum) who makes the game better when he is reasonably powerful; he adds a bit more nuance to the "see champ, kill champ" gameplay that soloQ is rife with, has windows to be personally powerful while also lowering lethality in the game
Orianna
- Orianna is strictly worse than several of her contemporaries (Syndra, Viktor, etc.) while being rather team reliant and is still not picked in Pro, where she would otherwise be strong given these characteristics
- With ROA nerf, she's also getting weaker - Given that she's not really been particularly present in either environment, we're giving her a buff up
- Given 2-3 pts W is her strongest max order currently, it's a small nerf early, but a buff from level 8 onwards
K'Sante
- K'Sante has mostly fallen out of the pro meta (partially due to Gwen prio), we're putting more power in his most fair ability (W)
Ashe
- While it's true she's viable in Pro, Ashe is pretty weak in solo Q with a pretty shallow mastery curve (ie. doesn't gain much winrate with games played)
- We're not as worried with having her go up in priority given Fearless and want to put her in a better spot for her regular players
Leona and Morgana
- Leona and Morgana have dropped out of viability a lot and so we're giving them both a bump up
- Morgana has turned into a very reactive support and doesn't have a lot of reasons to go forward; so we're balancing that out a bit better
- Leona is just strictly worse than a lot of other CC oriented supports right now, like Alistar, Rell, etc.
Gwen, Naafiri, Yorick
- Some follow ups to Gwen, Naafiri, Yorick to get their follow ups in the right spot - They landed well shape and power budget wise, but need some fine tunings to get in the right spots
- Naafiri is targeted at W uptime to reduce frustration
- Gwen is targeted at making jungle weaker as she has less counterplay there
- Yorick jungle is just still too strong, especially in lower skill play
Header Photo Credit: Riot Games
- Clément Chocat -
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