Revamped Vanguard System
In patch 11.4, the base appearance rate of Vanguard champions will increase from 33% to 50%. Additionally, the chance for a 1-cost Vanguard champion to appear at level 4 will rise from 60% to 80%. However, Riot has implemented significant nerfs to the Vanguard stats including health, attack damage, skill damage, and energy cost. This means Vanguard champions will be easier to acquire but their overall value will decrease.
This means Riot is encouraging players to adapt their team composition in the late game rather than going “all-in” on a single 1-cost Vanguard champion. You can now sell units like Yasuo, Fiora, Diana… at level 8 to look for stronger units like Kayle, Xayah, or Tryndamere, for instance. This seems to be a clever way for Riot to phase out the current hyper-roll meta.
Strong 1-Cost Champions Are Being Nerfed
One of the reasons hyper-rolling became too popular in patch 11.3 was due to the immense power of 1-cost 3-star champions. Nidalee being able to “one-shot” enemy champions with her spears, regardless of distance, is a prime example. Thus, Riot Games has heavily nerfed the 1-cost champion class, especially in their ability to scale to 3 stars.
The three champions hit hardest by the nerfs are Diana, Nidalee, and Yasuo. Diana will see reductions in both the shields generated and the damage from her orbs. Nidalee has been heavily nerfed in the base damage of her Javelin Toss, although her damage scaling based on distance has received a buff. It seems that the days of Nidalee “one-shotting” enemies even at close range are over. Meanwhile, Yasuo will experience significant nerfs to his ability damage.
Warrior Class Is Under Fire
Alongside Nidalee, another strong carry from the Warrior class, Katarina, is also facing heavy nerfs in the upcoming patch. Even the effects of the Warrior class have seen a significant reduction in stats, especially at the 6-champion threshold. This will greatly decrease the win rate of this class mid-game as both primary sources of damage are heavily nerfed.
Furthermore, even if you manage to achieve a win streak, the additional stats from the Warrior class are no longer as substantial as before. Therefore, in the upcoming patch, Warrior compositions will no longer dominate the Teamfight Tactics meta.
Changes to Items
The biggest update regarding items in patch 11.4 pertains to the Statikk Shiv as this item now provides additional magic resistance reduction. This promises to enhance the power of Mage compositions in the upcoming patch. Who knows, Aurelion Sol might find a new build path with Statikk Shiv, Archangel’s Staff, and Infinity Edge.
The changes to Quicksilver are also particularly notable as this item now blocks damage reduction effects from Morgana’s Dead Zone ability. This could be seen as a general buff from Riot to melee carries as they can deal damage more effectively with Quicksilver.