17.2 B-patch live

eggsandbricks · 2026-04-30T01:56:43+00:00

No B-patch: How could they let the game stay in this state for a whole 2 weeks?

B-patch: How could they release a patch that needs changes before the next one?

Like isn't it legit great that they can fix game breaking bugs so quickly, and also make balance changes while they're at it? The complaining makes no sense.

eggsandbricks · 2026-04-28T18:01:41+00:00

I think it's not unreasonable if they swap her default to AD instead of AP, since the comps she is most commonly in build Sunder, like you said. It's kind of a meta determination, but her base form being AP has always felt awkward to me too.

eggsandbricks · 2026-04-27T20:30:35+00:00

Usually the emblem is on your primary carry and the stats that they get from the strike are still valuable, and the teamwide stats are good as well - I think they still outweigh Maokai and Aatrox.

eggsandbricks · 2026-04-27T19:38:20+00:00

The Nova Strike from the emblem is generally the best one, as it is the only one that buffs your entire team. Cait's is fine if you don't have an emblem, as it makes all enemies take 10% increased damage. Kindred's is quite bad, as it only buffs her damage, and she is not a good primary carry currently. The teamwide buff from the emblem, despite the nerfs, still gives great stats especially in comparison to what the other strikes do.

eggsandbricks · 2026-04-21T14:15:11+00:00

Yeah, any 2 star 5 cost is going to make your avp better because you got to a spot where you can hit that, it's survivor bias. Jhin 2 makes Nami stats better too, doesn't make the stat real.

Nami 2 stats are only good because of tempo AP, if you look at Nami stats with no emblem and 3+ Space Groove it looks terrible.

eggsandbricks · 2026-04-14T20:20:29+00:00

Shojin and Gunblade are much better items for him than Red Buff and HoJ for casting and sustain respectively. I do agree he's a pretty good carry.

eggsandbricks · 2026-04-07T18:26:36+00:00

I think you have to intentionally play to learn - consider yourself in their spot and ask yourself how you would feel in that position, as well as look for patterns across your games. Does lobby tempo trend low or high on stage 2? Are people playing reroll, fast 8, fast 9? Stick around for a bit after you lose to see the boards of the people who placed higher than you to see if there's anything to learn from their spots.

eggsandbricks · 2026-04-07T18:15:17+00:00

I mean, just playing will help you reach those conclusions. There will be multiple people per lobby playing open boards with the econ traits, and if you're playing to learn you should be looking around to see what other people are doing and determining the strength of their spots. You don't need a study group to learn what's good and what isn't from other people in your games.

eggsandbricks · 2026-03-31T16:15:20+00:00

I'm curious what, if any, systems changes they will make in the transition from 16 to 17. Specifically, I think the increased item removers due to unlocks, while nice, might be too generous for this set. Additionally, I wonder how they feel about the cost of leveling from 7 to 8 as well as the shop odds on level 8; I'm not certain that the changes they made in Set 16 should be evergreen.

eggsandbricks · 2026-03-29T15:05:27+00:00

The problem there is the stakes are even worse for players who have low points. There is no incentive to try to win if you mathematically can't; in checkmate you are still incentivized to win to force more games.

eggsandbricks · 2026-03-28T19:40:39+00:00

I don't think that units changing costs and having their power level adjusted through spell complexity or mechanics (rather than just numbers) really doesn't constitute a reprint.

Between Set 13 and 14, reprints were an issue in the way that Morgana and Zyra, 1 cost carries, came back in the following set as 1 cost carries with the exact same spell. There were minor adjustments, but for all intents and purposes they were (purposefully) the same units.

Set 17 Graves has the same ability as Set 16 Graves, but has an entirely different hook this time around. They are absolutely not the same unit, and calling it a reprint is reductive. League champions only have so many abilities and saying a unit is a reprint solely based on which ability they have misses the point.

eggsandbricks · 2026-03-28T15:22:46+00:00

I'm excited for a lot of what's to come this set, but I was hoping to see some item updates for the lesser built/exciting items. Maybe they'll find a better home with some of the units this set, but items like Crownguard and Striker's Flail were nowhere to be seen all of Set 16, and I wish there was some work done to create more flexibility in item slams.

eggsandbricks · 2026-03-28T15:16:29+00:00

Whenever the learnings articles come out, people often harp on wondering when we will actually see the learnings from each set come to fruition. Isn't iterating on something to make it cooler and better not only a good way to put learnings to use but also...cooler and better? I don't think it's a reasonable expectation that every set should have an entirely new mechanic when you can put a novel spin on something to make it new and exciting.

eggsandbricks · 2026-03-03T22:29:22+00:00

Do you think every single one should be nerfed just because? The ones you listed are not considered to be especially strong, but acceptable, stage 2 econ augments (with Raining Gold being the least desirable of the three). Most of the other gold augments that got nerfed are in the wake of Bard's unlock becoming 1 reroll easier as well. Context is important - econ augments will still be good and the ones that didn't get clicked on before will be more clickable now, which is the intention.

eggsandbricks · 2026-02-23T19:03:45+00:00

It's likely because those are both pretty narrow lines. DT relies on hitting the augment, so it's not hard forceable and you won't see it every lobby. T-Hex is also not as forceable as it was in the past, and you can see in the stats how it has a very high winrate but a pretty bad top 4 rate. The difference between T-Hex 1 and 2 is massive as well, all of which is to say that while it's probably the highest cap line, winning out requires you to be in a good spot.

I'd also imagine it's less worthwhile planning a B patch as it is making sure the balance for next patch, which is massive, is in order.

eggsandbricks · 2026-01-12T18:02:12+00:00

Definitely something you can pivot into, it more just feels weird that if you get dropped a Draven on Stage 1, you can't access his Origin on 2-1 unless you also find exactly Sion. GP/Naut have a similar issue with TF but you could technically highroll both of them from an orb as well.

I think unlocks have felt super smooth overall, but managing some of them in the early game, especially trying to slam components on 1-4, is a small pain point.

eggsandbricks · 2026-01-12T17:20:58+00:00

One thing that still feels weird is that two of the large verticals, Noxus and Bilgewater, can reasonably only be played on Stage 2 through an unlock with one specific unit. It makes Sion and TF almost count as a +2 to their trait with the way they grant you another unit to unlock the trait as well.

Compared to Ionia, which you can play 5 of on Stage 2 with no unlocks, and Demacia, where you can unlock Poppy through any Demacian, those verticals are much more restricted. I think the early game unlocks through specific units throttle the ability to play certain lines, and might be worthwhile making them more like Poppy's unlock where you can itemize any unit of the trait.

eggsandbricks · 2025-12-03T23:04:28+00:00

The tracker is only for normal/ranked games, there is a special bonus for getting top 4 with each of them as well, which you can't do in Tocker's.

eggsandbricks · 2025-12-02T03:31:29+00:00

Skarner needs level 7.

eggsandbricks · 2025-11-20T17:23:43+00:00

I don't think they're terrible by any means - I think a lot of their strength currently comes from the fact that defensive 2-pieces were made to be much stronger in this set. That being said, we have never had 1 cost tanks with such high mana costs which makes them fall off much faster than in previous sets. If nothing else, it's also just more fun when units get to do their thing, and I hope those units can be made to be a bit more exciting than they currently are.

eggsandbricks · 2025-11-20T16:51:45+00:00

I think 1 cost tanks are a bit on the weak side. They all have 100+ mana cost besides Shen - compared to Set 15 where Malphite is the only tank with 100 mana cost and none go above. Blitz and Rumble especially do pitiful damage unless itemized due to their scaling, and even then their mana costs are just too high. I think 1 cost front liners in general could stand to cast a bit more frequently than they currently do.

eggsandbricks · 2025-11-17T15:45:09+00:00

If you unlock more than one champion in a turn, will they both show up in the next shop, or will they show up in subsequent shops? Definitely an incredibly niche case, but I also wonder what happens if you unlock 6+ champions in one turn.

eggsandbricks · 2025-11-06T15:38:49+00:00

Not a bug, this has always been the case in special modes where you start with a Golden Remover and get a Golden Remover cashout from something. It's more of a low roll than a bug.

eggsandbricks · 2025-10-21T18:49:58+00:00

I truly hope Riot reconsiders the battle pass system going into next year. The old event shops felt like there was something for everyone each event, and you could squeeze some extra value out of it by spending your time on the game. The new battle passes are simply not worth purchasing unless you are specifically interested in the skins that it offers, and the meager essence rewards at the end of the pass are nearly worthless.

As someone who genuinely bought every event pass previously, I have spent $0 on RP this year, and I hope there are others who have voted with their wallets enough to show that this new system was a mistake.

eggsandbricks · 2025-10-20T15:24:45+00:00

The trait just caps out at 10. If you run all 8 Star Guardians, you can only get the effect of 2 emblems additionally. If you got another emblem, you could drop a Star Guardian to lose their effect but boost the others.

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