League of Legends Patch 14.4 Notes: Vanguard Details, Porcelain Skins Release Day, Champions & Items Rebalance
Yuriy SheremetThe League of Legends received another major, planned patch. Patch 14.4 was released in League of Legends on February 22, replacing the big patch 14.3, which brought a lot of new content to the League, such as the first Battle Pass and the return of the URF mode.
The League of Legends 14.4 update cannot boast a large number of unique innovations, but as always, with its release, the game will change. This article gathers all the main highlights of the patch 14.4 release for LoL: champions & items rebalance, Porcelain Skins release, updated information regarding the Vanguard launch, and more.
Vanguard Release Details
One of the most significant changes in patch 14.4 is the postponement of the VANGUARD release. It was supposed to be fully released on February 22, but after tests on Riot's PBE servers, they decided to postpone its release until March 6, when patch 14.5 will be released. Moreover, Vanguard will initially only appear on the Philippine server.
The announcement of the anti-cheat system Vanguard, which is already operational in VALORANT, was one of the main shocks of the League in the 14th season. The main negative aspect of VANGUARD, apart from its ambiguous impact on PC performance, is the inability to use skin changers.
Patch 14.4 Porcelain Skins release day
Patch 14.4, like its predecessors 14.3 and 14.2, will be a good update for skin enthusiasts. A new series of Porcelain Skins was released in LoL, which will become one of the many lines of League of Legends skins to be released in 2024.
The Porcelain skins line includes 7 skins, including a prestigious skin for Kindred.
Patch 14.4 Ranked Changes
With patch 14.4, Riot is returning to the old LP accrual system. Instead of the previously introduced scheme of earning +28 LP for a win and -28 LP for a loss, +25 and -25 points respectively are coming back. This is done to avoid too rapid advancement in leagues below Emerald.
Patch 14.4 Champions Rebalance
Along with patch 14.4, Riot Games made numerous changes to champions. In total, attention was given to 20 champions: among them, 9 received nerfs, 8 buffs, and 3 underwent partial reworks.
Patch 14.4 nerfed champions
Aurelion Sol
Q Bonus Magic DPS decreased.
Q - Breath of Light
- Bonus Magic Damage per Second: 60/ 70/ 80/ 90/ 100 (+ 35% AP) (+ (3.1% Stardust)% of target's maximum health ⇒ 55/ 65/ 75/ 85/ 95 (+ 30% AP) (+ (3.1% Stardust)% of target's maximum health
Bard
Armor growth decreased, level 1 attack speed and attack speed ratio increased. Passive bonus damage increased. Q damage increased.
Base Stats
- Armor Growth: 5.2 ⇒ 5
- Level 1 Attack Speed: 0.625 ⇒ 0.658
- Attack Speed Ratio: 0.625 ⇒ 0.658
Passive - Traveler's Call
- Damage: 35 (+14 per 5 Chimes)(+30% AP) Bonus Magic Damage ⇒ 35 (+10 per 5 Chimes) (+40% AP) Bonus Magic Damage
Q - Cosmic Binding
- Damage: 80/125/170/215/260 (+65% AP) ⇒ 80/120/160/200/240 (+80% AP)
Fiora
W attack speed slow decreased.
W - Riposte
- Attack Speed Slow: 50% for 2 seconds ⇒ 25% for 2 seconds
Illaoi
Passive damage decreased.
Passive - Prophet of an Elder God
- Damage: 9-162 (based on level) (+115% Total AD) ⇒ 9-162 (based on level) (+100% Total AD)
Kalista
Passive bugfix. E damage decreased.
Passive - Martial Pose
- Bugfix: Kalista now properly gains dash distance with basic Boots of Speed.
E - Rend
- Physical Damage: 20/30/40/50/60 (+70% AD) (+20% AP) ⇒ 10/20/30/40/50 (+70% AD) (+20% AP) (Note: Per-stack damage unchanged.)
Maokai
Base armor decreased. Q damage decreased. R root duration decreased.
Base Stats
- Base Armor: 39 ⇒ 35
Q - Bramble Smash
- Magic Damage: 70/120/170/220/270 (+2/2.5/3/3.5/4% of the target's maximum health) (+40% AP) ⇒ 65/115/165/215/265 (+2/2.5/3/3.5/4% of the target's maximum health) (+40% AP)
R - Nature's Grasp
- Root Duration: 0.8-2.6 seconds (based on distance traveled capped at 1000 units) ⇒ 0.75-2.25 seconds (based on distance traveled capped at 1000 units)
Twisted Fate
Attack speed growth decreased. W blue card damage decreased. E damage decreased.
Base Stats
- Attack Speed Growth: 3% ⇒ 2.5%
W - Pick A Card
- Magic Damage: 40/60/80/100/120 (+100% AD) (+115% AP) ⇒ 40/60/80/100/120 (+100% AD) (+100% AP)
E - Stacked Deck
- Bonus Magic Damage: 65/90/115/140/165 (+75% bonus AD) (+50% AP) ⇒ 65/90/115/140/165 (+75% bonus AD) (+40% AP)
Varus
Base AD decreased.
Base Stats
- Base Attack Damage: 62 ⇒ 60
Zyra
Passive plant damage decreased, bonus damage to non-epic monsters increased.
Passive - Garden of Thorns
- Plant Magic Damage: 20-88 (based on level) (+18% AP) ⇒ 16-84 (based on level) (+18% AP)
- Bonus Damage to Non-Epic Monsters: 40-100 (based on level) ⇒ 60-100 (based on level)
Patch 14.4 buffed champions
Ahri
Health growth increased. Q damage increased.
Jayce
Base AD increased. W mana restoration increased and magic damage increased. E now roots enemies on initial cast.
Base Stats
- Attack Damage: 57 ⇒ 59
W - Lightning Field
- Mana Restore: 10/12/14/16/18/20 ⇒ 15/17/19/21/23/25
- Magic Damage per Second: 35/50/65/80/95/110 ⇒ 40/55/70/85/100/115
E - Thundering Blow
- Grounded in Science: Now roots enemies on initial cast. (Note: Similar to Lee Sin's R root.)
Kai'Sa
Ult range increased.
R - Killer Instinct
- Cast Range: 1500/2250/3000 ⇒ 2000/2500/3000
Lulu
Q second bolt damage increased. E magic damage and shield value increased. R bonus health increased.
Q - Glitterlance
- Second Bolt Damage: 25% of Primary Bolt damage ⇒ 50% of Primary Bolt damage
E - Help, Pix!
- Magic Damage: 80/120/160/200/240 (+50% AP) ⇒ 80/125/170/215/260 (+50% AP)
- Shield Value: 75/115/155/195/235 (+55% AP) ⇒ 80/125/170/215/260 (+55% AP)
R - Wild Growth
- Bonus Health: 275/525/575 (+45% AP) ⇒ 275/525/575 (+55% AP)
Renekton
Q champion healing increased. E cooldown decreased. R bonus health increased.
Q - Cull the Meek
- Champion Healing: 12/18/24/30/36 (+15% bonus AD) ⇒ 12/20/28/36/44 (+17% bonus AD)
E - Slice
- Cooldown: 16/15/14/13/12 seconds ⇒ 16/14.5/13/11.5/10 seconds
R - Dominus
- Bonus Health: 250/400/550 ⇒ 300/500/700
Soraka
Passive movement speed increased. Q heal increased. E bugfix. R cooldown decreased.
Passive - Salvation
- Bonus Movement Speed: 70% ⇒ 90%
Q - Starcall
- Total Heal: 50/65/80/95/110 (+30% AP) ⇒ 60/75/90/105/120 (+30% AP)
E - Equinox
- Bugfix: E now silences enemies in the area instantly rather than after a variable delay.
R - Wish
- Cooldown: 160/145/130 seconds ⇒ 150/135/120 seconds
Thresh
Base armor increased. E damage increased. R cooldown decreased.
Base Stats
- Base Armor: 28 ⇒ 31
E - Flay
- Magic Damage: 75/115/155/195/235 (+70% AP) ⇒ 75/120/165/210/255 (+70% AP)
R - The Box
- Cooldown: 140/120/100 seconds ⇒ 120/100/80 seconds
Volibear
Q bonus movement speed increased. E cooldown decreased. R turret disable duration decreased, cooldown decreased, crowd control resistances during leap adjusted.
Q - Thundering Smash
- Bonus Movement Speed: 8/12/16/20/24% ⇒ 12/16/20/24/28% (Note: this bonus is still doubled when moving towards an enemy champion.)
E - Sky Splitter
- Cooldown: 13 seconds ⇒ 12 seconds
R - Stormbringer
- Turret Disable Duration: 3/4/5 seconds ⇒ 2/3/4 seconds
- Cooldown: 160/140/120 seconds ⇒ 130/115/100 seconds
- Crowd Control Resistances during Leap: Crowd Control Immune ⇒ Unstoppable
Patch 14.4 adjusted champions
K'Sante
Base health and mana increased. Q no longer slows during All Out. W bonus armor and magic resist ratio increased, no longer reduces minimum channel and cooldowns. E dash speeds decreased.
Base Stats
- Base Health: 570 ⇒ 625
- Base Mana: 290 ⇒ 320
Q - Ntofo Strikes
- (removed) All Out of Slows: No longer slows during All Out
W - Path Maker
- Bonus Armor Ratio: 50% ⇒ 85%
- Bonus Magic Resist Ratio: 50% ⇒ 85%
- (removed) All Out Minimum Channel Time: All Out no longer reduces the minimum channel to 0.5 seconds
- (removed) All Out Cooldown Reduction: All Out no longer reduces the cooldown to 18/16.5/15/13.5/12 seconds
E - Footwork
- Dash Speed: 1500 ⇒ 900
- Ally Dash Speed: 1800 ⇒ 1100 + Movement Speed
- All Out Dash Speed: 2100 ⇒ 1450
Rek'Sai
All abilities adjusted.
Base Stats
- Base Movement Speed: 335 ⇒ 340
- Base Health Regeneration: 7.5 ⇒ 2.5
- Health Regeneration Growth: 0.65 ⇒ 0.5
Passive - Fury of the Xer'Sai
- Maximum Healing: 10 (+2-10% (based on level) maximum health) ⇒ 12-20% (based on level) maximum health
- (new) Fury Generation from Non-Champions: Attacks against minions, plants, and wards restore 50% less Fury.
Q - Queen's Wrath (Unburrowed)
- (new) Attack Type: Queen's Wrath now functions as a basic attack instead of a spell, meaning total attack time and time between attacks is based on Rek'Sai's actual attack speed.
- (new) Bonus Attack Speed: Queen's Wrath now grants 45% bonus attack speed for its 3 attacks. (Note: This results in a similar-feeling attack flow to the old spell-based version.)
Q - Prey Seeker (Burrowed)
- Cooldown: 12/11.5/11/10.5/10 seconds ⇒ 10 seconds at all ranks
- Damage: 60/95/130/165/200 (+50% bonus AD) (+70% AP) Physical Damage ⇒ 50/80/110/140/170 (+25% bonus AD) (+70% AP) Magic Damage
W - Burrow
- Bonus Movement Speed While Burrowed: 5/10/15 (levels 1/6/11) ⇒ 5/10/15/20/25 (based on rank)
- Vision Radius: 25% ⇒ 35%
W - Unburrow
- (new) Grouping is Scary: Unburrow now knocks up all champions for 1 second, not just the primary target.
- (removed) Run!: Unburrow no longer slows enemies by 40% for 0.5 seconds post-knockup.
- Damage: 50/85/120/155/190 (+80% bonus AD) Physical Damage ⇒ 50/75/100/125/150 (+80% AP) Magic Damage
E - Tunnel
- Cooldown: 26/24/22/20/18 seconds ⇒ 18/17/16/15/14 seconds
- Tunnel Reuse Cooldown: 10/8/6/4/2 seconds ⇒ 6/5/4/3/2 seconds
- Manual Cast Dash Speed: 550 + Movement Speed from Boots ⇒ 500 + Total Movement Speed (Note: Now matches right-click dash speed.)
- (removed) QoL Adjustment: Removed the 0.05 second hitch when manually casting Tunnel
- (new) QoL Adjustment: Rek'Sai begins taking already-placed tunnels roughly 20% faster (Note: Final dash speed unchanged.)
E - Furious Bite
- Physical Damage: 5/10/15/20/25 (+70% AD) ⇒ 100% of total AD
- 100 Fury Bonus: 2x Damage as True Damage ⇒ +6-14% (based on rank) of target's maximum health
- Cooldown: 12 seconds ⇒ 10 seconds
- newFlashy: E now displays a cosmetic critical strike when fully empowered.
R - Void Rush
- Physical Damage: 100/250/400 (+175% bonus AD) (+20/25/30% of target's missing health) ⇒ 100/250/400 (+100% bonus AD) (+20/25/30% of target's missing health)
Smolder
Q additional fireball scaling decreased, now stacks if a targeted minion dies while Q is mid-flight. W cooldown adjusted, initial damage decreased, explosion damage increased. R will continue to cast when Smolder dies.
Q - Super Scorcher Breath
- Fireballs at 125 Stacks: 2 (+1 per 100 Dragon Patience Stacks) ⇒ 1 (+1 per 67 Dragon Patience Stacks)
- QoL Update: If a minion dies while Smolder's Q is in flight towards it, Smolder will still receive a Dragon Patience stack.
W - Achooo!
- Cooldown: 13/12.5/12/11.5/11 seconds ⇒ 14/13/12/11/10 seconds
- Initial Physical Damage: 70/90/110/130/150 (+25% AD) (+35% AP) ⇒ 50/80/110/140/170 (+25% AD) (+20% AP)
- Explosion Physical Damage: 25/40/55/70/85 (+65% AP) ⇒ 25/40/55/70/85 (+25% bonus AD) (+80% AP)
R - MMOOOMMMM!
- Fiery Fury: Smolder's Mom will no longer stop if Smolder dies. But she will be VERY angry. Shame on you.
Patch 14.4 Items changes
BLACK CLEAVER
- Item Recipe: Phage + Kindlegem + Long Sword + 750 gold ⇒ Phage + Caulfield's Warhammer + Ruby Crystal + 400 gold
- Carve Armor Reduction per Stack: 4% ⇒ 5%
- Maximum Carve Stacks: 6 ⇒ 5
- Maximum Armor Reduction: 24% ⇒ 25%
- Fervor Bonus Movement Speed: 20 (melee)/ 10 (ranged) ⇒ 20 for all champions
- Fervor Proc Conditions: On dealing Physical Damage that bypasses shields/invulnerability ⇒ All physical damage, even if mitigated.
HULLBREAKER
Attack Adjustment: Hullbreaker is now an on-hit item instead of an on-attack item.
RAVENOUS HYDRA
Ravenous Hydra now applies Lifesteal to its Ravenous Crescent active at 150% effectiveness.
STRIDEBREAKER
Passive movement speed is applied as soon as you deal damage instead of after a short delay and now functions even if the damage is shielded.
Active movement speed now properly decays over the full duration of 3 seconds instead of decaying to 0 over 1.75 seconds.
Active movement speed now displays a buff icon for its duration.
TERMINUS
- Item Recipe: Recurve Bow + B.F. Sword + Dagger + 700 gold ⇒ Recurve Bow + B.F. Sword + Recurve Bow + 300 gold
- Juxtaposition Stack Cap: 5 each (10 total) ⇒ 3 each (6 total)
- Bonus Armor and MR per Stack: 3/4/5 (levels 1/11/14) ⇒ 6/7/8 (levels 1/11/14)
- Maximum Bonus Armor and MR: 15/20/25 (based on level) ⇒ 18/21/24 (based on level)
- Percent Armor and MR Penetration per Stack: 6% ⇒ 10%
- Maximum Percent Armor and MR Penetration: 30% (unchanged)
WORLD ATLAS
- Quest Charge Cooldown: 18 seconds ⇒ 20 seconds
- First Quest Charge Generated: 2:08 ⇒ 1:50 in-game time
- (removed) Buy Now!: World Atlas will no longer provide bonus stacks if purchased later in the game.
RUNIC COMPASS
- Quest Charge Cooldown: 18 seconds ⇒ 20 seconds
BOUNTY OF WORLDS
- Health: 100 ⇒ 200
- Health and Mana Regeneration: 50% ⇒ 75%
BLOODSONG
- Ranged Damage Amplification: 6% ⇒ 5%
SOLSTICE SLEIGH
- Going Sledding Heal: 120 health ⇒ 7% of user's maximum health
- Going Sledding Movement Speed: +90 flat move speed, decaying over 4 seconds ⇒ 30% bonus move speed, decaying over 3 seconds
ZAZ'ZAK'S REALMSPIKE
- Void Explosion Cooldown: 9-6 (based on level) ⇒ 8/7/6 (levels 1/11/16)
- Void Explosion Damage: 50 (+15% AP) (+3% of target's maximum health) ⇒ 20 (+20% AP) (+4% of target's maximum health)
ARCHANGEL'S STAFF/ SERAPH'S EMBRACE
- Ability Haste: 20 ⇒ 25
LUDEN'S COMPANION
- Ability Haste: 20 ⇒ 25
MALIGNANCE
- Ability Haste: 20 ⇒ 25
These are the main changes of patch 14.4 that we wanted to discuss. If you're looking for more content on League of Legends, I recommend visiting our blog about LoL.
Yuriy Sheremet – Expert in mobile gaming and esports among shooters and MOBA games.
At EGamersWorld, Yuriy, as in 2020 when he joined the portal, works with content, albeit with adjustments to his area of responsibility.