Moonstaff, the item combo of Moonstone Renewer and Staff of Flowing Water, will no longer be the same now that League of Legends patch 11.8 went live.
Analyst and T1 content creator Nick “LS” De Cesare described Moonstaff as “broken” upon release. While ranged supports haven’t been prominent in pro play, solo queue support players’ go-to build has been Moonstaff for months.
Riot’s goal in this update is to “expand their horizons and inventories” by encouraging item diversity. Specifically, “Moonstone for more heals and shields, and Shurelya’s for more nimble feet and aggressive plays.”
Moonstone Renewer
- Starlit grace heal adjusted from 50-100 (based on target’s level) to 60 (at all levels)
- Starlit grace heal amplification adjusted from [Each second spent in combat increases the base heal by 12.5%, stacking up to 4 times, up to 50%] to [Each second spent in combat increases your healing and shielding power by 4%, stacking up to 5 times, up to 20%]
- Mythic passive adjusted: Instead of empowering each of your other Legendary items with 5 ability haste, it now increases Starlit Grace’s heal by 10
Staff of Flowing Water
- Rapids changed from [Grants 15% bonus movement speed and 20-40 (based on target’s level) AP for 3 seconds] to [Grants 20 ability haste and 20-40 AP for 4 seconds]
- BeryL showcases his killer Heimerdinger in the 2021 LCK Spring Final
- Watch Xiaohu’s reaction to this insane 1v1 tower dive
Instead of heal stacking, Moonstone Renewer has been modified to include shielding power as well — up to a whopping 20%! This means that true enchanter supports that provide shields like Janna, Lulu, Karma, and Morgana are directly buffed.
“Being able to get 20% increased shield power onto a champion is probably going to outweigh the old heal,” said LS in his patch 11.8 rundown. “Moonstone Renewer is only viable on actual enchanters rather than being picked up occasionally by non-traditional champions.”
To balance this change, its base heal and Mythic passive have been adjusted. Instead of five ability haste, it now increases Starlit Grace’s heal by ten. Since the cost of Lucidity Boots went up by 50 gold this same patch, supports with low cooldown base shields will be optimal.
When it comes to Staff of Flowing Water, unfortunately, its bonus movement speed has been removed, and it’s getting offensive power instead.
“Ability haste is going to convert into a lot of extra damage, especially if you’re giving them more ability power and they get to cast most spells,” explained LS.
“Staff of Flowing water now is just going to convert into damage, but it’s still going to have that combo with Moonstone Renewer, so that is going to be really broken, but it’s going to be a lot more specific.”
Overall, this increases the value of buying a Serpent’s Fang when playing against enchanter supports.
Click here to read the full League of Legends patch 11.8 notes.
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