League of Legends patch 11.8 notes – New Champion Gwen, Dragonslayer, Blackfrost skins

Leave a Comment

What a week for League of Legends. The Space Groove event kicks off this week, bringing a new pass, skins, and more with the arrival of League of Legends patch 11.7 on live servers. And, we’ve got a brand-new champion on the way: Gwen, the Hallowed Seamstress, who will make her debut with the incoming patch 11.8. Speaking of which, League’s next big patch is now hitting the PBE, so let’s take a look at what’s coming.

First up, League’s newest face. Gwen is a former doll from The Shadow Isles, lovingly crafted by her maker, who is now gone. Brought to life by powerful magic and imbued with the essence of her creator, Gwen has taken up the tools used to make her – scissors, needles, and thread – which she transforms into spectral weapons using her powers to fight for those who need help across Runeterra. You can check out her abilities, stats, splash art, skins, and a gameplay preview in Gwen’s section of the notes below.

Alongside the multiplayer game’s latest addition, we’ve got several new skins coming with patch 11.8, too. Gwen’s Space Groove skin – which was revealed earlier this week – has hit the PBE, along with Blackfrost skins for Sion and Vel’Koz, and Dragonslayer skins for Galio, Kayle, and Twitch. You can get a look at all of these below.

Plus, as discussed by Riot recently, Rammus, the Armordillo, is getting a small update soon, and it’s up for testing on the PBE now. You can see what’s getting tweaked in the champion changes section below.

Without further ado, here are the tentative League of Legends patch 11.8 notes based on what’s on the PBE right now (cheers, Surrenderat20!):

LEAGUE OF LEGENDS PATCH 11.8 RELEASE DATE AND DOWNTIME

According to the League of Legends 2021 patch schedule, League of Legends patch 11.8 is due to go live on Wednesday, April 14, 2021. Maintenance times haven’t yet been confirmed, but they usually begin at 3am PT for NA servers, 5am UK time for EUW servers, and 3am CET for EUNE servers, and last for approximately three hours. We’ll post the exact times here when Riot confirms them closer to launch.

New Champion – Gwen

Gwen, the Hallowed Seamstress

GWEN – STATS


GWEN – ABILITIES 


PASSIVE – A THOUSAND CUTS

Q – SNIP SNIP!

Mana cost – 40
Cooldown – 6.5/5.75/5/4.25/3.5 seconds

  • “Passive: Gwen gains 1 stack when she hits an enemy with an attack (max 4, lasts 6 seconds).
  • Active: Consumes stacks. Gwen snips once for [8/10.75/13.5/16.25/19 +5% AP] magic damage, snips again for each ammo consumed, and then snips an final time for [40/53.75/67.5/81.25/95 +25% AP] magic damage.
  • The centre of each strikes deals true damage instead and applies A Thousand Cuts to enemies hit.

W – HALLOWED MIST

Mana cost – 60
Cooldown – 22/20/18/16/14 seconds

  • “Gwen summons the Hallowed Mist, making her untargetable to all enemies (except towers) outside of the zone for 5 seconds or until she leaves it. While in the Mist, Gwen gains [20 + 5% AP] Armor and Magic Resist.
  • Gwen can Recast this ability once to call the Mist to her. This will automatically Recast the first time Gwen attempts to leave the zone. “

E – SKIP N’ SLASH

Mana cost – 35
Cooldown – 13/12/11/10/9 seconds

  • “Gwen dashes and empowers her Attacks for 4 seconds.
    Empowered Attacks gain 40/50/60/70/80% Attack Speed, [10 +8% AP] on hit magic damage, 100 range, and the first one to hit an enemy refunds 50% of this Ability’s Cooldown.”

R – NEEDLEWORK

Mana cost – 100
Cooldown – 120/100/80 seconds

  • “First Cast: Hurl a needle that deals [30/55/80 +8% AP] magic damage, Slows by 40/50/60% for 1.5 seconds, and applies A Thousand Cuts to all enemies. If Gwen hits an enemy with an Attack or Ability within 6 seconds of casting this, she can Recast it (up to 2 additional times.)
  • Second Cast: Fire three needles to deal [60/150/240 +24% AP] magic damage
  • Third Cast: Fire five needles to deal [100/250/400 +40% AP] magic damage
  • Subsequent needle hits on the same unit slow by 15/20/25% instead.
  • Max damage: [180/450/720 +72% AP], plus [9x base damage + 9% +.072% AP]% max health damage from A Thousand Cuts.”

GWEN VO, LORE, AND GAMEPLAY

Here’s Gwen’s VO:

YouTube Thumbnail

And here’s a gameplay preview from Riot giving us a look at Gwen in action:

YouTube Thumbnail

LEAGUE OF LEGENDS PATCH 11.8 BALANCE CHANGES

Champion Changes

Darius – buffed

Hemorrhage (Passive):
Damage dealt to jungle monsters increased to 500% from 175%

Diana – buffed

Moonsilver Blade (Passive):
Damade dealt to monsters increased to 300% from 150%

Mordekaiser – buffed

Darkness Rise (Passive):
Cap on damage dealt to monsters increased to a flat 180 from [28-164]

Morgana – buffed

Tormented Shadow (W):
Damage dealt to monsters increased to 300% from 150%

Rammus – changed

Powerball (Q):
Damage dealt decreased to 100/130/160/190/220 from 100/135/170/205/240
Defensive Ball Curl (W):
New! This ability now adds: “Attacking and using Abilities increased the duration of this effect by 0.4 seconds each (max 4)”
Frenzying Taunt (E):
Duration of ability decreased to [1.2/1.4/1.6/1.8/2] from [1.25/1.5/1.75/2/2.25]
Soaring Slam (R):
Was previously named ‘Tremors’ – name now changed.
New! This ability’s effects have been changed:
Mana – 100
Cooldown – 130/110/90 seconds
“Hop into the air and slam down at a target location, dealing (100/175/250 +60% AP) magic damage and Slowing enemies by 15/17.5/20% for 1.5 seconds. Enemies near the centre take additional damage based on the distance travelled. If Soaring Slam is cast while Powerball is active, enemies near the centre are Knocked Up for 0.75 seconds.
Rammus creates aftershocks at the target location for 3.5 seconds that deal (20/30/40 +10% AP) magic damage and stack the original slow up to four times.
Max Impact Damage: (150/262.5/375 +90% AP)
Soaring Slam deals 200% damage to turrets.
Soaring Slam’s range increases based on Rammus’ Move Speed.“

Sett – changed (potentially)

Knuckle Down (Q):
The tooltip for Sett’s Q ability doesn’t appear to now mention the maximum of 400 damage dealt per punch against minions, though it still references monsters.

Yorick – changed

Shepherd of Souls (Passive):
Attack Damage from mist walkers decreased to [2-88 +25% AD] from [2-99 +30% AD] Health of mist walkers decreased to [99-184] from [100-185]
Mourning Mist (E):
Increased damage dealt to marked enemies changed to [40% increased damage for up to 8 attacks] from a flat 200%

Zed – buffed

Contempt for the Weak (Passive):
Additional damage dealt to jungle monsters increased to 500% from 200%
Maximum damage dealt to jungle monsters increased to 500/650/800 from 200/350/500

Item Changes

League of Legends patch 11.8 – New Champion Skins

New Champion Skins

SPACE GROOVE GWEN – 1350 RP – Gwen’s release skin! 

“It was pretty far out when Gwen applied to be Lux and Samira’s quartermaster—after all, no one else did. Cheerfully sewing good vibes into great clothes, she amplifies disco energy through her nifty threads. Though she’s new to this whole galactic hero gig, one thing’s for sure: no way Gwen lets her friends liberate the galaxy in less-than-stellar outfits.”

YouTube Thumbnail

Here’s the SPACE GROOVE GWEN splash art:

BLACKFROST SION – 1350 RP

“A fearsome jötunn who once led at the front of Lissandra’s vast armies, Sion fell in battle only for his master’s magic to weave itself beneath his massive frame, resurrecting him as a monster of rage and cold.”

YouTube Thumbnail

Here’s the BLACKFROST SION splash art:

BLACKFROST VEL’KOZ – 1350 RP

“Beneath the ice they slumber, trapped as two worlds pass them by. Watching, waiting, for the day they will rise again, and all will be buried in ice.”

YouTube Thumbnail

Here’s the BLACKFROST VEL’KOZ splash art:

DRAGON GUARDIAN GALIO* – 1350 RP

“A great dragon of old, who protected the ancestral nesting grounds of dragonkind from those who might do it harm. Tricked by the mad knight Kayle so she could destroy every clutch of eggs under his charge, he has followed her back to human society, so he might extract his vengeance personally.”

YouTube Thumbnail

Here’s the DRAGON GUARDIAN GALIO splash art:

*Note that this skin has been renamed from Dragonslayer Galio to Dragon Guardian Galio, as per the game’s skins QA lead Katey Anthony:

DRAGONSLAYER KAYLE – 1350 RP

“A famous dragonslayer who vanished into the distant mountains, obsessed with destroying the dragon lineage utterly. Many years later she has returned, so changed by the carnage that she has begun to resemble a dragon herself.”

YouTube Thumbnail

Here’s the DRAGONSLAYER KAYLE splash art:

DRAGONSLAYER TWITCH – 1530 RP

“A lesser dragon who has learned to blend in among human society… poorly. Twitch worships the true dragons and plans to one day become one himself, though he isn’t sure how just yet.”

YouTube Thumbnail

Here’s the DRAGONSLAYER TWITCH splash art:

Rammus VFX and Skins update

Rammus VFX and Skins update

 With his small update, Rammus is getting some VFX and gameplay tweaks – here’s a glimpse of them action:

MISCELLANEOUS CHANGES

ARAM CHANGES

  • Riot has posted previews of some VFX and other changes coming to ARAM with patch 11.8:

That’s it for the tentative League of Legends patch 11.8 notes for now, but keep checking back on them over the coming fortnight as the update’s two-week-long testing cycle will likely see plenty more changes hit the PBE, which we’ll keep this post updated with. Assuming you want to keep up with all the latest changes headed to League, that is? Of course you do.

We also have a handy rundown of the best League of Legends champions to play if you’re a beginner and wanting to get into League, while our sister site The Loadout has a League of Legends ranks guide if you’re looking for tips on how to work your way up those ladders.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *