League of Legends 10.7 patch notes: Fiddlesticks VGU, Talon nerf, more

Alan Bernal

The League of Legends 10.7 patch will bring a new terror onto the Rift with the release of a revamped Fiddlesticks update, along with matchmaking improvements and crucial champion balances.

With rumors about new champions surfacing and the anticipated release of a new jungler on the horizon, Riot Games are making progress through their Champion Roadmap by unleashing their new, horrific version of Fiddlesticks.

However, developers will also be focusing on more than Summoners Rift in 10.7 by implementing what they hope to be improvements to supplemental modes One-For-All and All Random All Mid (ARAM).

Fiddlesticks, but actually frightening

The Fiddlesticks update is finally coming in the League of Legends 10.7 patch.

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The LoL devs will finally release the VGU for Fiddlesticks, complete with abilities and animations that should let it live up to its name of “The Ancient Fear.”

Along with more imposing fangs, Fiddlesticks will be packaged with a new kit that’s bound to make players think twice about going into an unwarded jungle.

It’ll be interesting to see what tactics players create with the character, now that it has even more potential to ambush a stray foe with buckets of magic damage.

Talon’s knives nerfed

The nerf won’t completely change Talon, but should reduce his ability to waveclear.

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Developers are going to make Talon a bit less damaging to opposing teams by reducing the damage that his W, Rake, can deal per use.

While the nerf shaves off a bit of damage from the knives, it’ll reduce the time Talon can clear waves – limiting the time he has for roams.

“We all know Talon holds his blades close to his heart, but he’s letting them go too often,” devs said. “This patch, we’re reducing his reliance on said blades so that he stays more in line (and in lane).”

Matchmaking balance changes

Riot are making improvements to Solo/Duo queue in regards to premade players.

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Riot is even fixing up the game outside of its three-laned arena by taking a look at how premade Duos affect the overall skill distribution of a game.

“With this follow-up change, we’ll be attempting to make sure that when one team in a Solo/Duo game has a duo, the other team should have one as well,” they explained.

The change will mostly be centered around Solo/Duo ranked games, but the company said they’ll be looking at large groups of queued players in Flex and Normal games at a later time.

There’s a ton to unpack in the 10.7 update, so make sure to check the patch notes below, courtesy of Riot Games.

 As we mentioned last patch, we’ve been working on some matchmaking improvements like Autofill Balance to make sure that each game of League feels as fair as possible. With this follow-up change, we’ll be attempting to make sure that when one team in a Solo/Duo game has a duo, the other team should have one as well.

This change will only be applying to Ranked Solo/Duo for right now. We’ll be looking into adding it to Flex and Normal games, but since premades can be of all different sizes in those modes, making them equivalent across teams can be much more complicated. Once we’ve had a chance to see these changes live, we’ll try to expand to queues with different group sizes.

UPDATED

FIDDLESTICKS

The Ancient Fear

 The spooky scarecrow is ripping out brains in 10.7. Now with 100% more oogie and boogie.

  • Fiddlesticks Biography
  • Fiddlesticks Gameplay Preview
  • Fiddlesticks Champion Theme
  • Fiddlesticks: Terror in Demacia Champion Update Trailer

 High-res versions of Fiddlesticks’ updated splashes are available on League Displays!

AKALI

R cooldown decreased.

 In an earlier patch, we adjusted Akali’s ultimate so that its targeting was a little less free to access, creating a huge cost for what was previously an easy-to-pop-off ability. But using her ultimate is an important part of her gameplay satisfaction, so we’re loosening the leash on it a bit now.

R – PERFECT EXECUTION

COOLDOWN 120/90/60 seconds  100/80/60 seconds

CORKI

W direct hit burn duration increased.

 Corki’s been having fun since our last buff, but can still afford another small one, so we’re back with round two—get ready for some package boogaloo.

W – SPECIAL DELIVERY

DIRECT HIT BURN DURATION 1.5 seconds  2 seconds

GALIO

R now grants a magic damage shield to all allies in the area.

 Galio’s been in a sad state, and we’ve been working on reigniting his essence as an anti-magic guardian. Our previous buffs didn’t seem to move the needle, so we’re trying something a bit more adventurous this time by giving him the ability to more effectively counter magic damage for both him and his team.

R – HERO’S ENTRANCE

NEWANTI-MAGIC BULWARK Now grants E – Shield of Durand‘s passive magic damage shield to all allied champions in the area he casted it at for 5 seconds.

GAREN

Passive cooldown increased. Q movement speed duration decreased early, scales more later.

 Our man of the Vanguard soldiered through his 10.6 nerfs and has continued to overperform, especially in the mid lane. Taking another stab at him by lowering his early utility.

PASSIVE – PERSEVERANCE

COOLDOWN 7 seconds  8 seconds

Q – DECISIVE STRIKE

MOVEMENT SPEED DURATION 1.5/2/2.5/3/3.5 seconds  1/1.65/2.3/2.95/3.6 seconds

IVERN

E base damage increased. R cooldown decreased.

 Ivern got the short end of the stick with some of the more recent jungle system changes, and we’re not brushing that off. We’re attempting to give him back that power, and then some.

E – TRIGGERSEED

BASE DAMAGE 60/80/100/120/140  70/95/120/145/170

R – DAISY!

COOLDOWN 160/140/120 seconds  140/130/120 seconds

KAI’SA

E cooldown decreased later.

 Supercharged, superfly. We’re giving Kai’Sa more opportunities for late-game outplaying while also maintaining her takedown potential.

E – SUPERCHARGE

COOLDOWN 16/15.5/15/14.5/14 seconds  16/15/14/13/12 seconds

NASUS

W target range increased. E target armor reduction ratio increased.

 We wanted to increase Nasus’ utility since that’s the quality that more experienced players value and can capitalize on.

W – WITHER

RANGE 600  700

E – SPIRIT FIRE

ARMOR REDUCTION 15/20/25/30/35%  25/30/35/40/45%

NOCTURNE

Base health regen and magic resist growth decreased.

 Midturne has gone from meme to nightmare and quite frankly, there’s enough spook with Fiddle in town. We’re cutting out some of Nocturne’s general power, focusing on letting his opponents attrition him out of lane and controlling his scale potential before going full on darkness.

BASE STATS

HEALTH REGEN 8.5  7
MAGIC RESIST GROWTH 1.25  0.75

RIVEN

Base health and health regen increased.

 Riven has been struggling in the laning phase so we’re hesitantly handing back a little power, as a treat, to give her a little more breathing room while farming.

BASE STATS

BASE HEALTH 555.48  560
HEALTH REGEN 7  8.5

TALON

W initial base damage decreased; return base damage decreased, damage ratio increased.

 We all know Talon holds his blades close to his heart, but he’s letting them go too often. We’re not taking them away from him, but he’s proving to be a menace in higher skilled play, where his early game waveclear allows him to roam far more and far earlier. This patch, we’re reducing his reliance on said blades so that he stays more in line (and in lane).

W – RAKE

INITIAL DAMAGE 50/65/80/95/110 (+0.4 bonus attack damage)  45/60/75/90/105 (+0.4 bonus attack damage)
RETURN DAMAGE 70/85/100/115/130 (+0.6 bonus attack damage)  45/65/85/105/125 (+0.7 bonus attack damage)

WUKONG

Passive bonus armor decreased later. E base damage decreased later; now allows W and R to be queued up during its dash.

 Wukong has been outperforming our expectations after his mini rework in 10.6 despite our success at bringing his multiple positions closer in power to each other. We will continue to fine tune him as players master the rework.

PASSIVE – STONE SKIN

BONUS ARMOR 5-11 (level 1-18)  5-9 (level 1-18)

E – NIMBUS STRIKE

BASE DAMAGE 80/120/160/200/240  80/110/140/170/200
ABILITY QUEUE Wukong’s W – Warrior Trickster and R – Cyclone can now be queued up during his dash

XIN ZHAO

Passive base heal increased later.

 We wanted to spruce up our warrior of Demacia by upping his durability and endurance through difficult fights.

PASSIVE – DETERMINATION

BASE HEAL 10-78 (levels 1-18)  10-112 (levels 1-18)

CONDITIONING

Activation time increased.

 Conditioning has been overperforming, particularly for tanks and fighters. It should be a little more costly to one’s early power for what it gives in the late-game. Not only is it a fine choice for anyone, it’s mandatory for tanks and fighters, where it stands head and shoulders above any other single rune.

ACTIVATION TIME 10:00  12:00

PHASE RUSH

Movement speed for melee champions increased.

 Phase Rush remains suboptimal on melee champions, even for those who traditionally have opted into this kind of Keystone. Looking to make it more tempting for those folks.

MOVEMENT SPEED 30-50% on melee champions  40-60% on melee champions

 We hope you have all been enjoying One-For-All as a part of our Galaxies event! Based on feedback and data from PBE, we’re making some balance changes that will hopefully make your One-For-Alls always a ball. This means general system changes as well as ARAM-style individual champion balance changes.

10.7 Buffs

AKALI +5% damage dealt
BARD +5% damage dealt & -7% damage taken
EVELYNN -5% damage taken
GANGPLANK +5% damage dealt
NUNU & WILLUMP +5% healing
SORAKA +5% healing
THRESH +5% damage dealt & -5% damage taken
YUUMI +5% damage dealt & -10% damage taken
ZOE +5% damage dealt

10.7 Nerfs

DARIUS +5% damage taken & -5% healing
VOLIBEAR +5% damage taken & -10% healing
WUKONG -5% damage dealt & +5% damage taken

System Changes

TURRET “BACKDOOR” DAMAGE REDUCTION 66%  90%
TURRET PLATES Turrets in OFA now have plates with URF-style health rules (scaling health rather than even increments). The plates fall off at 8:00 and give 50% of resistances compared to regular SR. They’ll also give 130% more gold than in regular SR.
HE’S ON THE RUN, HE’S #1 Players gain 40 movement speed out-of-combat
FLASH IN A PAN Players gain 40% CDR on summoner spells
STRUCTURE DAMAGE Players begin dealing increased damage to structures at 12:30, scaling up to +25% at 25:00
COOL KICKS Players will have a faster and longer-lasting Homeguard at the beginning of the game
24K MAGIC Players will start with 950g
MINION GOLD AND XP Minion gold and XP values are multiplied by roughly 130%
JUNGLE GOLD AND XP Jungle monsters give 15% bonus gold and experience
MONSTER MASH Non-champion units deal 25% increased damage to structures
BARON KILL Baron Nashor grants a Eye of the Herald on kill
RIFT HERALD SPAWN Rift Herald first spawns at 6:00 and has a 4:30 respawn time
BARON NASHOR SPAWN Baron Nashor spawns at 15:00 and has a 4:30 respawn time
DRAKES SPAWN Elemental Drakes spawn at 3:30 and have a 3:30 respawn time
ELDER DRAGON Elder Dragon has a 4:30 respawn time
CANNON MINIONS SPAWN Cannon minions begin spawning every other wave at 8:00 and then every wave at 19:00

 We’re updating the way free-to-play champions are chosen for ARAM. Before 10.7, the previous three Weekly Free Rotations were available to play in ARAM.

Going forward, we’re making the following 65 champions always free to play in ARAM: Aatrox, Ahri, Akali, Amumu, Annie, Ashe, Brand, Braum, Caitlyn, Cho’Gath, Darius, Draven, Ekko, Ezreal, Fiora, Fizz, Garen, Graves, Irelia, Janna, Jarvan IV, Jax, Jhin, Jinx, Karma, Karthus, Katarina, Kayle, Kha’Zix, LeBlanc, Lee Sin, Leona, Lucian, Lulu, Lux, Malphite, Maokai, Master Yi, Miss Fortune, Mordekaiser, Morgana, Nautilus, Nidalee, Pantheon, Pyke, Quinn, Renekton, Riven, Ryze, Sivir, Sona, Soraka, Thresh, Tristana, Tryndamere, Twisted Fate, Twitch, Varus, Vayne, Veigar, Vel’Koz, Vladimir, Wukong, Xayah, and Zed, in addition to the current Weekly Free Rotation.

Doing things this way allows us to give ARAM players a broader and more consistent set of champions to pull from, as well as making the free-to-play pool easier to understand for new players. We hope you enjoy, and we’ll catch you out on the Abyss!

10.7 Buffs

BARD +10% damage dealt & -15% damage taken  +15% damage dealt & -15% damage taken
REK’SAI +12% damage dealt & -10% damage taken  +12% damage dealt & -12% damage taken
FIDDLESTICKS -5% damage dealt  Normal (rework)

10.7 Nerfs

ALISTAR +5% damage taken  +5% damage taken & -10% healing
KASSADIN -10% damage taken  -5% damage taken
NAMI +5% damage taken & -10% healing  +5% damage taken & -15% healing
SETT Normal  -5% damage dealt & +5% damage taken
SONA -15% damage dealt, +15% damage taken, -18% healing & -18% Shielding  -15% damage dealt, +15% damage taken, -20% healing & -20% shielding
SYNDRA +5% damage dealt  Normal
TEEMO -10% damage dealt & +5% damage taken  -10% damage dealt & +7% damage taken
  • Casting Tristana’s Q – Rapid Fire, Miss Fortune’s W – Strut, Draven’s W – Blood Rush, or Master Yi’s R – Highlander no longer cancels the champion’s basic attack animation
  • Cleaned up the “Silence” bubble effect that appears over a unit when they are Silenced
  • Miss Fortune’s E – Make It Rain‘s damage ring indicator is now properly visible in Howling Abyss
  • Nimbus Cloak now properly procs immediately after performing Hexflash
  • Vi is no longer Unstoppable when her R – Assault and Battery is interrupted in any way

About The Author

Alan is a former staff writer for Dexerto based in Southern California who covered esports, internet culture, and the broader games/streaming industry. He is a CSUF Alum with a B.A. in Journalism. He's reported on sports medicine, emerging technology, and local community issues. Got a tip or want to talk?