LoL Patch 10.3 to feature more Aphelios nerfs, Sett, Akali changes

Andrew Amos

League of Legends Patch 10.3 is on the way, with more Aphelios nerfs expected, changes to Miss Fortune, Senna, Akali, Sett, and a much-needed buff to jungle XP.

After the first week of pro play in most regions, Riot has taken a step back and looked at who’s performing and who’s struggling to curate their changes for Patch 10.3.

Lead gameplay designer Mark ‘Scruffy’ Yetter announced a rough list of champions getting hit by the February 5 patch on January 27, before coming out with more specific changes on January 28.

True Damage Senna Prestige Skin for LoL
Senna’s True Damage Prestige skin will be released in Patch 10.3, alongside a host of new nerfs for the AD carry-support hybrid.

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Aphelios once again headlines the patch rundown, with more nerfs expected for the dominant ADC. While his win rate has dropped below 50% after his Patch 10.2 changes, he has one of the highest pick-and-ban rates in pro play at 85%, trailing behind Akali and Rumble.

Recent nerfs have touched his Calibrum, Infernum, and Crescendum weapons as well as most of his abilities. His Calibrum has once again gone under the microscope, with marks made by the sniper now given a maximum range of 2000, instead of infinite.

“We intend to keep it as a very long range poke effect, but bring it in line with other similar mechanics like Caitlyn or Xerath,” he said, detailing the changes back on January 24.

Aphelios isn’t the only AD carry on Riot’s hit-list for Patch 10.3. Miss Fortune is losing some scaling attack speed per level, while Senna’s soul drop rate on cannons she kills is being cut from a guaranteed 100% to just 2%. Ezreal is receiving a mana per level and attack speed buff though, so it’s not all bad news for the bot lane.

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The Akali changes pitched before the Patch 10.3 PBE cycle are expected to be shipped with the February 5 balance changes. The energy cost of her Q is being increased by a flat 20 across all ranks, which will force Akali mains to be more selective when using the ability.

The movement speed on her shroud is also being tweaked to be an initial burst on cast, while her ultimate will now be a point-and-click targeted spell on its first cast.

The newly-released Sett and recently-reworked Diana are on the chopping block alongside Akali. Sett’s W, Haymaker, is being targeted, with the big-hitting ability getting a major cooldown increase to make him more vulnerable.

As for Diana, she is losing around 50 base mana and a bit of damage off of her W, Pale Cascade. This will force Diana players to be a bit more selective in spamming her abilities in lane, or might even force a new build path focusing around mana items like Lost Chapter.

Blood Moon Akali skin for LoL
Major changes to Akali will be shipped in Patch 10.3 after being teased earlier in January.

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Ekko, Rumble, Leona, and Sona are on the nerf list as well, with Galio, Sejuani, Yuumi, and Azir expected to receive buffs on Patch 10.3.

Outside of champions, the jungle is getting some love after a massive overhaul for Season 10 took away catch-up XP and left junglers struggling. Overall jungle XP will be buffed in the early game before falling off later.

However, junglers will still be punished for funnel strategies, with the minion farm penalty still hanging around for the foreseeable future.

League of Legends Patch 10.3 is expected to drop on February 5.

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About The Author

Hailing from Perth, Andrew was formerly Dexerto's Australian Managing Editor. They love telling stories across all games and esports, but they have a soft spot for League of Legends and Rainbow Six. Oh, and they're also fascinated by the rise of VTubers.