The Mid-Season Invitational (MSI 2023) patch is here. However, it’s definitely not as big as players expected.
League of Legends patch 13.8, in content creator and analyst Nick “LS” De Cesare’s words, is a “placebo” update, which does not change the meta for the game’s first big international tournament of the year.
Out of the nine champions that got buffed, Kog’Maw received the most significant change to two of his abilities and passive.
“We think Kog’Maw has more to offer than being a one-button pony, so we’re buffing up his other abilities so that he’s a bit more free to use his spells meaningfully before he focuses on solely auto-attacking late-game,” Riot Games explained in their patch notes.
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Kog’Maw’s passive receives buff for the first time since release, but if you’re using it you’re probably not playing him right
Passive – Icathian Surprise
- (New) Run Kog, Run!: Kog’Maw is now Ghosted while in his passive form
- True Damage increased from 125-550 (based on level) to 140-650 (based on level)
Q – Caustic Spittle
- Cooldown decreased from 8 seconds to 7 seconds
E – Void Ooze
- Mana cost decreased from 60/70/80/90/100 to 40/55/70/85/100
- Slow increased from 20/28/36/44/52% to 30/35/40/45/50%
Believe it or not, Kog’Maw’s passive hasn’t changed since patch 1.0. Due to the nature of the ability, Icathian Surprise had a ton of bug fixes, but no real changes have been made in terms of numbers or effects.
13 years later, it finally got buffed: Kog will get more movement speed from Ghost, and deal more true damage upon explosion, which practically guarantees a one-for-one trade upon death.
However, AD carries aren’t supposed to die that easily. If they do, they’re not dishing out damage in team fights, at objectives, or to structures, which ultimately loses the game. In a pro setting, the marksman is even more so protected and kept alive at all costs, so in reality, his upgraded passive won’t really have an effect.
What’s more, Caustic Spittle and Void Ooze aren’t the abilities that make Kog’Maw a late-game auto-attacking beast. Caustic Spittle reduces a target’s armor and magic penetration, while Void Ooze scales with AP, which isn’t included at all in his current build. Bio-Arcane Barrage (W), which empowers his basic attacks, is where the meat is at, but it did not get buffed.
So, are we in agreement about this placebo effect?
Read the full patch 13.8 notes here.
