With MSI 2022 just under a month away, the League of Legends community is extremely focused on the upcoming patches. With significant, game-changing adjustments, it could entirely impact the meta of the second-largest tournament of the year in the global League of Legends scene. Just a few hours ago, Riot Games released the official changes for patch 12.8, one of the major updates leading up to MSI 2022.
The most notable change in this update is the adjustments aimed at Kai’Sa in the Mid Lane position. As shared by Riot Games, the AP scaling of her W – Icathian Rain ability has been drastically reduced from 70% to 45%. This means that the damage output from the AP build for Kai’Sa will significantly decrease in the upcoming patch.
Furthermore, Riot’s buff to the AP scaling on her passive and ultimate will encourage a more aggressive playstyle focused on basic attacks. Naturally, this playstyle will be much riskier compared to “spamming” Icathian Rain from a distance, but it aligns more with how Riot designed Kai’Sa to be played. It’s highly likely that with this buff, Kai’Sa will revert to a build focused on attack effects, utilizing items like Nashor’s Tooth and Guinsoo’s Rageblade.
After these changes were announced, Faker was once again mentioned as the “Demon King” was the pioneer in bringing Kai’Sa to the Mid Lane and playing her as a Control Mage. Indeed, with her ability to clear waves without needing to target, alongside a long-range poke that is extremely potent, Kai’Sa has proven to be much stronger than many Mages. Therefore, it’s only natural that this champion received a nerf.
In addition to Kai’Sa, other notable changes include adjustments for Zoe, Sylas, Ezreal, and Jinx. The first three champions received crucial buffs to showcase their strength in the professional scene. Notably, Zoe’s significant reduction in ability energy cost will greatly enhance her wave clear and prolonged team fighting capabilities.
For Jinx, the reduction of 50 base health may seem minor, but it significantly impacts her laning phase. Remember, in the current meta, Support champions who initiate fights and engage early are still highly valued in professional tournaments. Therefore, being more susceptible to being taken down makes Jinx’s already mediocre laning phase even weaker. It’s very likely that Jinx will no longer be a strong enough pick to be a “first pick” at the upcoming MSI 2022.
