League of Legends Patch 12.7: Wukong buffed, Zeri gets another big nerf, and more

Time flies really fast these days and before you know it, it's time for another League of Legends (LoL) update.

Patch 12.7 was released on Tuesday (12 April), and is stacked with balance changes to champions, including nerfs to the overpowered Zeri, and some pretty neat changes on Wukong.

We'll go through the changes here and how they may affect the champion's gameplay, so here’s what to expect in League of Legends Patch 12.7:

Champion Buffs

Gangplank

It's been a bit since we've seen an update to the Saltwater Scourge, so it's no surprise he's gaining some significant upgrades.

His passive's damage is negligible early on, but now increases dramatically as he levels up in the late game. A reduction to Remove Scurvy's mana cost also makes him harder to kill.

Those on solo queue better watch out, skilled Gangplank players coming your way will be hard to counter.

Trial by Fire (Passive)

Damage: 55-225 > 55-310

Remove Scurvy (W)

Mana Cost: 80-120 > 60-100

Gwen

The Hallowed Seamstress is getting buffs to her E and her ultimate (R), which are both getting shorter cooldowns. This will help her close more fights instead of having to back off as she waits for her cooldowns.

While the cooldown decrease may aid Gwen in the laning phase, she will still be weaker than she used to be due to her previous nerf.

Skip ’n Slash (E)

Cooldown Refund: 50% > 60%

Needlework (R)

Cooldown: 120-80 > 100-80

Kalista

The Spear of Vengeance gets boosts to the amount of mana, base movement speed, and attack speed she gains per level.

The added movement speed can enable her to better cut divers and chase down foes while the attack speed per level can help her keep up late game.

While these are all welcome changes, other champions like Lucian and Draven can still outperform Kalista.

Base Stats

Base Mana: 250 > 300

Base Movement Speed: 325 > 330

Attack Speed/Level: 4 > 5

Karthus

It seems like Riot wants to establish the Deathsinger in the Jungle, with his Q’s monster mod getting some buffs.

LoL streamer Nick "LS" De Cesare reacted to this change in a video by exclaiming, “This can’t be real!”

LS explained that in a recent LCS game this season, Cloud9’s Robert “Blaber” Huang used Karthus in the Jungle in a match against Team Liquid where he already had “the fastest competitive Karthus jungle clears ever”.

Karthus is already one of the strongest in that position, LS said, adding that the champion was now "turbo broken" and that it didn't make any sense why he was "getting love".

Well, if we think Master Yi’s jungle clear is a problem, this Karthus buff is definitely way too overpowered.

Lay Waste (Q)

Monster Mod: 85% > 95%

Lillia

Given the hefty buffs to her, we're likely to see the Frolicking Fawn frolic more on the Rift.

The healing buff will help her sustain in teamfights and her W's damage may help her clear the jungle faster.

With her damage in teamfights now looking to be more obvious, the new patch may make Lillia more viable than she already is.

Dream-Laden Bough (Passive)

Healing Ratio: 12% AP > 20% AP

Watch Out! Eep!

70-150 > 80-160

Neeko

The curious Chameleon is getting significant buffs on her W, which gets increased damage and movement speed.

This could bring back the on-hit Neeko build, a great counter pick to the tanks that are now dominating the top lane.

With her Shapesplitter's improved movement speed, she may effortlessly block enemy skills. Heavy AP Neeko builds will also benefit from this as the additional movement speed can come in clutch in teamfights.

Shapesplitter (W)

Damage: 50-130 > 50- 170

Movement Speed: 10-30% > 10-40%

Pantheon

Pantheon's Spear's increased reach gives the champion additional range, but it may now be tougher to strike opponents at close range.

The mobility enhancement on Aegis Assault and Grand Starfall will also help him get into teamfights on time and surprise enemies with a flank.

Still, we hope Riot will address his lack of damage next time around so he can better compete with other champions.

Base Stats

Health per 5::9 > 7.5

Comet Spear (Q)

Tap Q Length: 550 > 600

Tap Q Width: 150 > 120

Aegis Assault (E)

No longer slows Pantheon when moving backwards

Grand Starfall (R)

Now falls 0.25 seconds faster

Wukong

The Monkey King will have more tricks up his sleeve with some neat changes on his kit.

He can now jump over barriers with his W (honestly, we don’t need more champs like this honestly), which is great for Jungler Wukong.

His AP Ratio has also been boosted.

At the moment, an AP Wukong isn't particularly viable, but we suspect that some players may explore it after 12.7.

Crushing Blow (Q)

Cooldown: 9-7 > 8-6

Warrior Trickster (W)

Cooldown: 20-16 > 20-12 (can go over walls)

Nimbus Strike (E)

Monster Mod: 150% > 180%

AP Ratio: 80% >100%

Yasuo

The most-hated champion is getting a buff... again.

Yasuo's base HP has been boosted and his ultimate's cooldown has been lowered. The extra health might help Yasuo stay in a duel or teamfight longer.

This also helps him to play more aggressively early and maybe gain a lead, as certain players love to use his ult. Additionally, his ult's cooldown will be reduced to under a minute, encouraging this playstyle.

0/11 Yasuo spike out, 11/0 Yasuo in? Yikes.

Base Stats

Base HP: 490 > 520

Last Breath (R)

Cooldown: 80-30 > 70-30

Yone

Yasuo's older brother also receives a buff to his ultimate, with his ult's cooldown lowering at max rank.

This makes his ult ready in under a minute for practically every teamfight.

Still, this buff is less significant because, his ultimate isn't necessarily a dealbreaker and Yone can help in other ways.

Fate Sealed (R)

Cooldown: 120-80 > 120-60

Champion Nerfs

Zeri

No one can pity Zeri even though she's been nerfed so many times since PBE testing and her release onto public servers (she's only missed her usual nerf dose in Patch 12.6).

However, the previous nerfs didn't address Zeri's greatest strengths, leaving her still dominant in the Rift.

So dominant that LoL Lead Champion Designer August Browning mentioned in a tweet that “Zeri the carry is still very… strong in pro play".

In fact, it’s one of the reasons why she keeps getting nerfed.

However, August mentioned in the preview tweet that this nerf will hit all builds, especially the bruiser build. No more multiple stacks, thank goodness!

Stats

AD: 53 +2/level > 50 +1.5/level

Armor 22 > 20

HP/level: 90 > 95

Burst Fire (Q)

Damage: 10-30 (+1.1 TAD) > 7-15 (+1.1-1.2 TAD)

Now only applies on-hits once per cast (can currently apply multiple on-hits if you hit multiple targets)

Now only stacks R and reduces E cooldown once per cast (could previously stack multiple times for each champion hit)

Critical strikes add an extra R stack and reduce E CD an additional time

Ultrashock Laser (W)

Damage: 40-180 (+1.0 TAD)(+.6AP) > 10-150 (+1.2 TAD) (+.7 AP)

Spark Surge (E)

Cooldown: 23 > 28-22

Lightning Crash (R)

Cooldown 100-80 > 120-70

Ryze

The nerfs on the Rune Mage seem to be quite unwarranted for us.

While he’s popular in pro play, he’s the bottom pick on Solo Queue.

Nerfs on his Q Mana Ratio will particularly hurt this mage and will damage his already poor performance on regular games.

Overload (Q)

Mana Ratio: 3% bonus > 2% bonus

AP Ratio: 45% > 50%

Lee Sin

The Blind Monk’s quite popular in both solo queue and pro play, given his ability to isolate enemy champions and his powerful ganks.

The nerfs will affect multiple areas Lee Sin is strong at, including his jungle clear speed, ganks, and how he affects teamfights overall.

Base AD: 68 > 66

Sonic Wave (Q1)/ Resonating Strike (Q2)

Damage: 55-155 > 50-150

Jayce

The Defender of Tomorrow's base HP and armour are seriously impacted, especially early in the game, which is important for Jayce.

Aggressive laners will be able to push against him, while mobile champions will have an easier time picking up kills in teamfights.

Base HP: 560 +90/level > 520 +95/level

Base Armor: 27 +3.5/level > 22+ 3.8/level

Champion Adjustments

Rengar

The Pridestalker’s rework had recently been released in Patch 12.6, and Riot is following up with some tweaks to keep him in tow.

While there are some adjustments to his bonus turret damage, his jungle clear speed will increase thanks to adjustments on his W.

Savagery (Q)

Bonus Damage reduced by 40% on structures

Battle Roar (W)

Bonus Monster Damage: 65-130 > 85-150

More changes are included in patch 12.7, specifically some item buffs and nerfs. Read here for the full list of changes.

Anna is a freelance writer and photographer. She is a gamer who loves RPGs and platformers, and is a League of Legends geek. She's also a food enthusiast who loves a good cup of black coffee.

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