Hello community and welcome to the first post of my Patch Notes from a Treeliner's Perspective. So, there are a few people on Youtube and other various places that do patch note analyses but there has not yet been one to my knowledge pertaining to the wonder that is the Twisted Treeline. I hope this is informative, helpful, and all that good stuff. Please let me know if this is something you all want to see or if I'm just derping super hard here.

In this series I hope to analyse live patch changes and their affect within the Treeline as opposed to the Rift. So let's get into it!

Rengar


So Rengar received a rework this patch. Rengar has been pretty low in most TT tier lists (usually trash tier) and I don't know if this will help him any. The kitty will probably need some more help before he can compete consistently :( However, the ult buff? will allow him to stick to targets a bit better as well as improved ferocity dynamics now actually giving you options :] He may just scooch on up to situational tier because of this. Moving on.


Gragas


This Rabble Rouser, once tier 1 and one of my favorite champs, has fallen victim to the rework bat. Thankfully, it happens to be one of the better reworks compared to the other two recent ones, giving him the tools to be a decent AP bruiser. Everyone who wishes to continue their Drunken Rage in the Treeline will need to change his ability sequencing, itemization, runes, masteries, etc. but it will be worth it. His W will also take some getting used to as its casting is a bit wonky but overall he's still good, just not a nuke mage with an identity crisis.

Kha' Zix


Not too bad of a change for the bug as you don't facetank towers nearly as much as you do in SR. This change will just make Kha players need to play a little safer during dives and slightly up the time for his stealth, simply meaning you need to think more when engaging. Not too bad if you know what you're doing.

Lee Sin


Another deserved nerf that won't hurt Lee players in the Treeline nearly as much as in SR. However, it will force you to be a bit safer with your gameplay. I don't feel like this change will drop him out of God Tier so buck up and get better. lol

Spoiler: Click to view


This change hits home for me because Lulu is my favorite champ in League. In Riot's crusade against Mid lane Lulu in 5's, they happened to smack her hard as a mage for 3's as well which will definitely drop her viability a bit. She still has ridiculous utility but will have quite a bit less harass potential as we can no longer EQQ people. :[

Wukong


This is quite a doosy for the Monkey King as it really hurts his amazing early game, especially in the jungle where he maxes Nimbus Strike first. I believe this will drop his viability quite a bit, kicking him out of the higher tiers.

Aether Wisp


This is a pretty neat addition to mid tier itemization. Not game breaking or anything but will be nice for certain assassins like Fizz and others as well. Pretty niche pickup though :[

Forbidden Idol


Another nifty addition for mages who pick up Nomicon as a Grail replacement.

Aegis of the Legion


An understandable change that will hone the item in as a pickup strictly for AoE magic damage mitigation, just like Riot wanted. This simply means that players will have to adapt a bit and Locket will strictly be a counter item rather than a catchall. One question though, why does a shield not provide armor? Interesting.

Armor Item Recipe Changes


These changes, believe it or not, are pretty big. First, Cloth Armor starts are now limited to mages and offtanks who want Gauntlet/FH for the most part. This is pretty sad for those of us that would start Doran's Blade and Cloth Armor just because it could be built into Randuin's Omen. I used to do this on quite a few champs who may eventually need the defense such as Riven, but no more. :[ However, Ruby Crystal can now be a nice buy for champs like Elise to take Cloth's place (quick Haunting Guise).

Boot Enchantments


To be honest, these changes aren't going to do nearly as much in the Treeline as on the Rift. Distortion is pretty nice but you won't be stacking spells at all so you don't get crazy profit from it. Alacrity is a very, very small buff. Captain might become a bit more useful as will Furor but in the long run, you usually pick up base items before enchantments in 3's. These changes may change that but I doubt it as none of them are incredibly crazy on this map due to the new changes. Hopefully we get a new enchantment specifically for smaller maps one day, but until then we will probably continue pursuing our builds instead.

Exhaust


Nice range buff for junglers who take it. This is also very nice for the current Blackfire Torch meta as it will cut more damage out of mages combos and hopefully save your teammates' lives.

Ignite


Very minor buff but can help in fights taking place in the jangle.

Barrier


Best buff ever. You will win all games due to this. Take it in all games! AT ALL TIMES! EVARR!

Rune Balance Changes


Excuse my laziness with this one in the spoiler. You can check the actual patch notes if it's unbearable. Anyways, these changes can spell change for certain specific setups, such as some swapping a few armor seals for flat health. scaling runes got buffed but still aren't amazing in the fast paced, early game oriented game mode. You all can tinker around with the buffed toys but I feel that most pages will remain the same or very similar.


I hope that this is something you all want more of. I am sorry for the tardiness of this post but U.R.F. has existed for the last 2 weeks so... Please leave some love in the comments section. Let me know what I can do to improve, what I do well, your favorite type of donut, whatever.

gl and hf summoners.