TFT patch 17.4 notes

We’re following up 17.4 with a patch that aims to broaden strategies by nerfing the most dominant ones (Vex/Blitzcrank fast 9, Xayah, and Arbiter Leona/Zoe) and shipping buffs to a few units that have fallen out of the meta.

Xayah 1-cost · Elderwood Nerf

• Base AD 52→49

Ezreal 4-cost · Elderwood Buff

• Base AD 40→45

Morgana 4-cost · Coven Buff

• Mana 30/90→30/80

• Talon Ability Damage 430/645/1000 AD→400/600/1000 AD
• Zoe Ability Damage 73/110/180% AP→68/102/180 AP
• Aurelion Sol Mech Ability Damage 82/123 AP→86/130 AP
• Blitzcrank max Mana nerf 20/100→30/120
• Vex Ability Damage 30/45 AP→27/40 AP

Arbiter currently has some viable outputs, but the Trait’s far too conditional, often resulting in situations where you check your Arbiter options to see if you hit one of the few you can play and want to play before pivoting to a more general A-tier comp. At the end of the day, there will always be Arbiters you may not want to play—that’s just how a Trait with such high variability works—but we’re taking a huge pass on the Trait to guarantee you see a wider range of options each game while removing any dead Inputs/Outputs. In making this Trait less conditional, we’re guaranteeing you see one Input from our Consistent, Conditional, or Economy Based pools, and one Output from our Offense, Defense, or Economy Based pools. Past that, we’ve got a substantial balance pass for the Trait and a few new combinations for the Conditional Input to provide Defensive and Economy Based Outputs. Oh, and you also have the chance of getting two Leonas now if you exceed 100% Leona Output probability.

Leona 1-cost · Solar Buff

• Chance 50/100%→70/125%

• Adjusted Combinations Every 3 Attacks: Gain Ability Power: 5/8→6/9
• Gain Attack Speed 3/5%→4/6%
• Every 4 Seconds Gain Attack Speed: 11/17%→14/20%
• For each Interest you would gain Gain Resists: 12/18→14/22
• Shield Duration 4s→8s
• If you rerolled last combat Gain Ability Power: 30/45→25/40
• Gain Attack Speed 30/45%→35/55%
• Gold Chance 22%→30%
• Shield Duration 4s→8s
• For Each Arbiter Star Level Gain Attack Speed: 7/8%→8/9%
• Shield Duration 4s→8s

• Arbiter Inputs are now grouped into three categories; One input from each category will always be offered Consistent: Every 4 Seconds:
• For each Arbiter Star Level:
• Conditional: When an Arbiter Attacks 3 times
• When an Arbiter spends 50 Mana
• Economy Based: For each interest you would gain
• If you rerolled last turn
• Arbiter Outputs are now grouped into three categories; One output from each category will always be offered Offense: Gain Ability Power
• Gain Attack Speed
• Defense: Gain permanent max HP
• Gain a % Health Shield
• Gain Armor and Magic Resist
• Economy: % Chance to gain gold
• % Chance to gain a Leona
• When gaining Gold/Leona, if a player’s chance exceeds 100%, they will use any excess chance for a second roll at the rewards, with a maximum of 2 triggers. Ex: If a player ends combat with a 150% chance to gain a Leona, they will gain 1 Leona and then have a 50% chance at gaining a second Leona.
• New Combinations: Attack 3 Times + Gain 12/18 Resists
• Attack 3 Times + Gain 3/5% Gold Chance (max 2/3)
• Attack 3 Times + Gain 10/18% Leona Chance
• Removed Inputs: First time an Arbiter drops below 40% Health
• When an enemy dies
• When an Arbiter deals 10 instances of damage
• Removed Outputs: Arbiters gain Mana
• Gain a % chance of a Reroll

A board of only 1-cost three-stars shouldn’t be able to win the game, but with some extra power from perfect conditions (correct Augments, a few high rolls here and there, great itemization, enough tempo to get to higher levels), they should have a good chance at it. So for 17.4, we’re reverting our nerf to Twisted Fate from 17.3, which went too far in weakening the comp even when the stars align, while also adding an Aatrox buff that should be most felt at three-stars. Aatrox has been struggling for a while, so we’re looking forward to seeing him become worth the rolls and a serious threat in Stellar Combo (Champion Augment) lines.

• Aatrox Heal 300/375/575 AP→325/400/650 AP
• Twisted Fate Minimum Damage AP 180/270/405/690→190/285/430/730
• Twisted Fate Maximum Damage AP 360/540/810/1380→380/570/860/1460

As with our Twisted Fate revert, we also have a revert of our 17.3 Bel’Veth nerf. We never intend to completely remove a comp with a nerf, and the Primordian Queen’s absence has been missed. With nerfs to the comp in other ways (Briar, Marauder) remaining from 17.3, we don’t expect this comp to reign supreme as it once did in our mid-tier elos, but if you have the spot for it, enjoy! Here’s a weird change: Jax. Currently Jax’s flat damage reduction scales with AP, making items like Crownguard weirdly good on him, and VERY good at countering champions like Ezreal/Corki. We’re making this flat damage reduction a flat number that only scales with his star levels, so save your AP Jax for the Howling Abyss. With a substantial change to Arbiter we’re making it easier than ever to run Zoe as a carry, but even then she could use a little love. Between these two changes don’t be surprised seeing Arbiter Vanguard comps reappear!

Gnar 5-cost · Elderwood Buff

• Base AS 0.7→0.75

• Bel’Veth Spell Damage AD 18/27/41/69→20/30/45/77
• Gwen Resists 45→50
• Gwen Single Target Damage AP 145/220/380/650→145/220/410/700
• Jax Flat Damage Reduction 15/20/25 AP→20/25/30 (no AP scaling)
• Zoe Spell Damage 68/102/153% AP→73/110/180 AP

Even though she’s been seen in a few comps, she’s never had her time as the primary carry. Aurora’s buffs should add a bit more consistency to her reroll Voyager lines and potential outs with Anima cashouts alike! Rhaast’s Redeemer aura has been a much sought after backbone of many comps. We’re flattening the buff and nerfing it, so in those Emblem ensemble games when it seems like everyone is chasing Rhaast you won’t get the short end of the stick (err kayn?) with just a measly one-star. With Drone Uplink becoming a bit more flexible we’re able to give Viktor a light buff without the fear of him returning to his release prominence.

Ornn 1-cost · Elderwood Buff

• Base Health 850→950

• Aurora Split Damage AP 370/555/890 AP→400/600/960 AP
• Lulu Mountain Spell Stun Duration 0.5s→0.25s
• Miss Fortune (Replicator) Spell Damage 250/375/600 AD→275/415/660 AD
• Rhaast Redeemer Attack Speed 2/2.5/3%→2/2/2%
• Rhaast Redeemer Bonus Resists 2/2.5/3→2/2/2
• Viktor Spell Damage 185/275/475 AP→190/290/500 AP

Corki’s suffered from success, being fairly flexible (happy with a couple swords) and quite strong; he's on the most wanted list for far too many players in the lobby. Now that she’s a tank, it doesn’t make a ton of sense for Morgana to have two range, in fact, it may get in the way of her new job…tanking. Nami actually does a lot of damage, but much of it is often lost in overkill damage. We’re adjusting her ability to cast more often so even when she does lose a portion of her damage to overkill, she’s already closer to her next cast.

Xayah 1-cost · Elderwood Buff

• Base AD 50→52
• Spell Main Target Damage 10/15% AD→25/40% AD

Morgana 4-cost · Coven Mixed

• Range 2→1
• Shield HP Scalar 10%→15%

• Corki Missile Damage 30/44% AD→28/42% AD
• Corki Meeple Rocket Damage 120/180% AD→110/165% AD
• Nami Mana 25/70→20/65

Graves has one of the highest ceilings in TFT, but his base power is too low, resulting in him being so narrowly situational (you must have HP to sacrifice to upgrade him, you must have Graves items, you must hit him), that he’s rarely played. We’re giving him a solid base buff, while nerfing his most powerful upgrade in the hopes that he’ll be more clickable more often, and less punishing if selected later in the game. Shen’s getting his first cast off faster, while Zed is getting his first off later. Now this is lore-accurate game balance.

Shen 2-cost · Inferno Mixed

• Mana 10/70→20/70
• Spell Damage 20/30 AP→25/40 AP

• Fiora Spell True Damage 40/60 AD→37/56 AD
• Graves Base AS 0.7→0.75
• Graves Laser Ballistics Falloff Per Target 40%→60%
• Zed Clone Health % 33/40%→33/45%
• Zed Mana 50/100→40/100

With our Arbiter rework this patch, Leona generation jumped in its consistency due to the ability to create multiple copies a round, especially at (3) Arbiter, where our nerfs are primarily focused on. Space Groove as a vertical has been struggling for a couple patches despite a number of buffs to the units, and with a necessary nerf to their capstone units, we’re able to swing bigger with a buff to the power of the trait itself.

• Arbiter, Gain Leona, Every 3 Attacks 10/18%→8/12%
• Arbiter, Gain Leona, Spend 50 Mana 12/20%→10/15%
• Arbiter, Gain Leona, Every 4 Seconds 15/22%→14/18%
• Arbiter, Gain Leona, Each Interest 20/30%→20/25%
• Space Groove (3) Groove Duration 3s→4s
• Space Groove Heal Per Groovian 8.5% max HP→9.5% max HP
• Space Groove AS Per Groovian 11%→12%
• Stargazer Huntress Base AS 12%→15%
• Stargazer Medallion Base Damage Amp 12%→15%

A major area we can affect to boost comp diversity is through trait buffs and partial reworks (one of which, Arbiter, will have its own full section after this one). But even with buffs, we do have to bring a nerf to one trait that’s dominating with the help of a spare Spatula (Dark Star). When we see N.O.V.A. (5) being played it’s almost exclusively with the Emblem, and then occasionally Maokai. With buffs to Aatrox, Akali, and Kindred N.O.V.A. (5) strikes we hope to see these champions played as carries (primary or secondary) in their own comps. For Aatrox this is simply a buff to his Champion Augment comp. Meeple’s Emblem is only good on a few champions, which isn’t the goal with our Emblems. Plus, we think more champions should get to pursue their childhood dreams of becoming a Meeplenaut, so we’re shifting it to a more general HP and damage amp bonus. Let the peeps meep. Psionic items are becoming far more general in their stats so you can play more lines with them. The idea here is that they will have their best users, but they can be used on more than just one and adapt for that champion’s role. One call-out here is Target-Lock Optics, which is being completely reworked to be good on any AP or AD champion that switches targets. Imagine how fast this baby ramps with Fishbones… As an added note, the Biomatter Preserver (tank Psionic item) remains unchanged since it was already a more general tank option. Space Groove has been out of orbit from boards ever since their Emblem’s interaction with Riven was nerfed. The trait and comp can use a buff, as many of the Groovians struggle in less groovy comps too, so we’re going lighter here, with just a buff to Space Groove (7), leaving room to buff the individual units as well later on. Finally, we’re buffing our struggling Stargazer patterns so the trait is more of a "how can I play this pattern?" and less of a "is this pattern playable."

Akali 1-cost · Inferno Buff

• Bonus Bleed Per Shuriken 10%→12%
• Bleed Damage 10/14/18 AD→12/18/24 AD

• Challenger Attack Speed 15/22/40/55%→15/28/42/55%
• Dark Star (6) Bonus 85%→70%
• Dark Star (6) Mini Dark Hole HP 30% of Dark Star HP→25% of Dark Star HP
• N.O.V.A (5) NOVA Bonuses Aatrox Damage: 50% of spell damage→65% of spell damage
• Kindred Damage Amp 5%→10%
• Kindred Mark Timer 5s→4.5s
• Meeple Emblem Bonus 1 Mana Regen Per Meep→50 Health + 4% Damage Amp Per Meep
• Sniper Baseline Damage Amp 18/24/28%→18/25/35%
• Space Groove 7 Space Groove Bonus 10%→15%
• Stargazer Fountain Stargazer Healing 2.5%→3%
• Stargazer Fountain (5) Bonus AD/AP Per 2s 7%→9%
• Stargazer Huntress Teamwide Attack Speed 15%→12%
• Stargazer Huntress Stargazer Attack Speed 12/35/55%→15/45/70%
• Stargazer Huntress Mark Number 3/5/7→3/5/9
• Stargazer Serpent Magic Damage 25/40/60%→20/40/60%
• Stargazer Mountain Attack Speed 10%→8%
• Stargazer Mountain Durability 6%→5%

• Psionic (2) Drone Uplink Damage Amp: 15%
• Psionic (2) Malware Matrix: Damage Amp: 10%
• Attack Speed: 15%
• Omnivamp: 10%
• Attack Champion: Dealing physical damage to an enemy reduces the target's Armor by 2.
• Magic Champion:Dealing magic damage to an enemy reduces the target's Magic Resist by 2.
• Psionic (2) Sympathetic Implant: Damage Amp: 10%
• Attack Speed: 15%
• Mana Regen: 2
• Every 5 seconds, gain: Magic Champions: 1 Mana Regen, Attack Champions: 15% Attack Speed
• Psionic (2) Target-Lock Optics: AD: 10%
• AP: 10%
• AS: 20%
• When the holder damages each enemy for the first time each combat, gain: Attack Champions: 9% Attack Damage, Magic Champions: 7% Ability Power
• Psionic (4) Radiant Effects unchanged.
• Psionic (4) Radiant Drone Uplink Damage Amp: 20%
• Psionic (4) Radiant Malware Matrix: Damage Amp: 10%
• Attack Speed: 15%
• Omnivamp: 10%
• Psionic (4) Radiant Sympathetic Implant: Damage Amp: 10%
• Attack Speed: 20%
• Mana Regen: 4
• Every 5 seconds, gain: Magic Champions: 1 Mana Regen, Attack Champions: 15% Attack Speed
• Psionic (4) Radiant Target-Lock Optics: AD: 20%
• AP: 20%
• AS: 30%
• When the holder damages each enemy for the first time each combat, gain: Attack Champions: 9% Attack Damage, Magic Champions: 7% Ability Power

I’m sorry Lulu, but Radiant Nashor’s Tooth cannot turn you into a 6-cost.

Radiant Adaptive Helm Radiant item Mixed

• Non-Tank AD/AP 25→40
• Mana Regen 6→7

Radiant Dragon's Claw Radiant item Buff

• Percent Max Health 22%→28%

Radiant Guinsoo's Rageblade Radiant item Buff

• Attack Speed Per Second 14%→16%

Radiant Nashor's Tooth Radiant item Buff

• On-Crit Mana On Attack 8→6

• Radiant Gargoyle’s Stoneplate Resists Per Enemy 25→20

Blighting Jewel Artifact Buff

• MR Reduction 4→6

Luden's Tempest Artifact Buff

• AD/AP 55%→60%

• Ekko’s Patience Damage Amp 40%→45%
• Yasuo’s Bladework Attack Speed 10%→20%

Rogue Emblem has been our most powerful Emblem of 17.3 by a longshot, and that’s not even a Trait in this set. We’re nerfing that one and buffing Arbiter Emblem, which should be a lot more fun with our Arbiter rework.

• Arbiter Emblem Attack Speed 20%→30%
• Rogue Emblem Omnivamp 40%→25%

Misfits is a far less risky Augment to choose on 4-2, where you’ll know if you’re able to get to level 9 and swap to a mostly Legendary, trait-heavy, board.

• Misfits no longer offered on 4-2

Nerfs to our powerful combat Augments, and buffs to the fun ones that just haven’t been hitting. One buff to call out especially is Exalted Adventure, which is getting more gold as a reward, but also a lot stronger with a patch full of 2-cost buffs!

Booster Pack Gold augment Buff

• Total Value 10g→12g

Group Hug I Silver augment Nerf

• Resists 7→6

Group Hug II Gold augment Nerf

• Resists 10→9

Hard Commit Prismatic augment Nerf

• Gold Per Stage 4→3

Heart of Steel Gold augment Buff

• Health Per Growth 12→16

Heroic Grab Bag Gold augment Buff

• Gold 4→5

Hold the Line Prismatic augment Nerf

• Bonus AD 9%→8%

Luxury Subscription Prismatic augment Buff

• Gold Per Trigger 5→7

Sweet Treats Prismatic augment Nerf

• Health Per Item 20→16

• Shieldmaiden (Leona) Mana 10/40→20/50
• Self-Destruct (Gragas) Spell Damage AP 280/420/630 AP→250/375/600 AP
• Reach for the Stars (Jax) Spell Damage 170/250/450 AP→160/240/420 AP
• One Two Three Num 1-costs 1→2
• Charge Transfer I Damage Amp 5%→7%
• Charge Transfer II Damage Amp 8%→10%
• Climb the Ladder I Stats 3→3.5
• Climb the Ladder II Stats 5→6
• Heart of the Swarm Apex Primordian AS 0.6→0.9
• Heart of the Swarm Apex Primordian Mana 30/100→30/90
• Kahunahuna Bonus True Damage 125% AD→100% AD
• Timestream Health Per Reroll 2→7

• Exalted Adventure Rewards increased ~15%
• Heart of the Swarm Also grants 2 Tiny Duplicators
• Mace’s Will No longer offered on 2-1
• Sunfire Board No longer offered on 2-1

Only one God Boon to adjust this patch, as most of our changes are geared towards enabling new lines through champion/Trait buffs. But the change we do have is specific to the overperforming Anomaly Specialist role which performs exceptionally well in unintuitive situations. Due to its damage not scaling with other stats, the Anomaly is best slotted on a no item Gnar/Caitlyn since it doesn’t actually benefit from other stats like the HP might on the Tank role. It will likely still be a decent option this coming patch with the correct tech, but for now we are choosing to balance it around this tech.

• Ekko’s Boon Specialist Star Damage: 85→70

We’ve got four bug fixes as we head into the weekend. Our Arbiter fixes should be a decent nerf to the over-performing “Spam Leonas” strategy and return our Leona production to normal values. Ekko’s Patience was in some instances doing double the intended damage. Fixing the damage here and now is a riskier change, so we’re opting to disable it for the remainder of the patch allowing us to fix and more rigorously QA it.

• Fixed a bug where Arbiter could grant 2 triggers without Arbiter 3 active.
• Fixed a bug where Arbiter’s Economy triggered more often than intended.
• Ekko’s Patience (Artifact) has been temporarily disabled due to a bug.
• Fixed a bug where Varus’ Boon was granting the incorrect amount of health.

We’ve got four bug fixes as we head into the weekend. Our Arbiter fixes should be a decent nerf to the over-performing “Spam Leonas” strategy and return our Leona production to normal values. Ekko’s Patience was in some instances doing double the intended damage. Fixing the damage here and now is a lot riskier of a change than we’d want to do, so we’re opting to disable it for the remainder of the patch allowing us to fix and more rigorously QA it.

• Fixed a bug where Arbiter could grant 2 triggers without Arbiter 3 active.
• Fixed a bug where Arbiter’s Economy triggers triggered more often than intended.
• Ekko’s Patience (Artifact) has been temporarily disabled due to a bug.
• Fixed a bug where Varus’ Boon was granting the incorrect amount of health.

• Chest of Greed disabled due to a bug

Prismatics are a bit too easy to access with Choncc’s access to cookware.

• Star Guardian Prismatic Breakpoint 10→11
• Soul Fighter Prismatic Breakpoint 10→11

• Fixed a bug where if a Mighty Mech is killed at the beginning of combat by a 3-star 5-cost champion while the "And I’ll Form the Head!" Augment causes units to become invulnerable.
• Fixed a bug where reputation tracked by the "Crowd Favorite" augment does not progress when fielding the amount of Soul Fighters required for the prismatic Trait.
• Fixed a bug related to the "And I'll Form the Head" augment, where the Mighty Mech dying during transformation caused units to become invulnerable.

• He’s just sleeping: Fixed a bug where Nunu and Willump could rarely revive himself during combat
• Fixed a tooltip bug where Morgana was listed as a 5-cost in Pengu’s Blessing
• Fixed some instances where Master Yi’s dash would target the incorrect enemies
• Timebreaker’s Tooltip in Tocker’s Trials corrected
• Dark Star 6’s mini Black Holes no longer benefit from Exiles and Two Tanky
• Luden’s Tempest tooltip corrected
• Loot Singularity properly disabled in Tocker’s Trials
• Soraka’s Miracle functions properly when a champion is equipped with more than one
• Soraka’s Miracle’s champion heal will now wait until the current heal ends before triggering again
• Fixed a bug where Samira’s Passive could trigger more than intended against targets immune to Crowd Control
• Fixed some instances where the Double Up cannon would disappear after Realm of the Gods Rounds
• Level up and Upward Mobility are now mutually exclusive with Wise Spending
• It’s hard to count while concussed: Fixed a bug where Boxing Lessons’s HP would update incorrectly
• Steamroll+ properly grants 1 gold per win.