Only one God Boon to adjust this patch, as most of our changes are geared towards enabling new lines through champion/Trait buffs. But the change we do have is specific to the overperforming Anomaly Specialist role which performs exceptionally well in unintuitive situations. Due to its damage not scaling with other stats, the Anomaly is best slotted on a no item Gnar/Caitlyn since it doesn’t actually benefit from other stats like the HP might on the Tank role. It will likely still be a decent option this coming patch with the correct tech, but for now we are choosing to balance it around this tech.

A major area we can affect to boost comp diversity is through trait buffs and partial reworks (one of which, Arbiter, will have its own full section after this one). But even with buffs, we do have to bring a nerf to one trait that’s dominating with the help of a spare Spatula (Dark Star).When we see N.O.V.A. (5) being played it’s almost exclusively with the Emblem, and then occasionally Maokai. With buffs to Aatrox, Akali, and Kindred N.O.V.A. (5) strikes we hope to see these champions played as carries (primary or secondary) in their own comps. For Aatrox this is simply a buff to his Champion Augment comp.Meeple’s Emblem is only good on a few champions, which isn’t the goal with our Emblems. Plus, we think more champions should get to pursue their childhood dreams of becoming a Meeplenaut, so we’re shifting it to a more general HP and damage amp bonus. Let the peeps meep.Psionic items are becoming far more general in their stats so you can play more lines with them. The idea here is that they will have their best users, but they can be used on more than just one and adapt for that champion’s role. One call-out here is Target-Lock Optics, which is being completely reworked to be good on any AP or AD champion that switches targets. Imagine how fast this baby ramps with Fishbones… As an added note, the Biomatter Preserver (tank Psionic item) remains unchanged since it was already a more general tank option.Space Groove has been out of orbit from boards ever since their Emblem’s interaction with Riven was nerfed. The trait and comp can use a buff, as many of the Groovians struggle in less groovy comps too, so we’re going lighter here, with just a buff to Space Groove (7), leaving room to buff the individual units as well later on.Finally, we’re buffing our struggling Stargazer patterns so the trait is more of a "how can I play this pattern?" and less of a "is this pattern playable."

Arbiter currently has some viable outputs, but the Trait’s far too conditional, often resulting in situations where you check your Arbiter options to see if you hit one of the few you can play and want to play before pivoting to a more general A-tier comp.At the end of the day, there will always be Arbiters you may not want to play—that’s just how a Trait with such high variability works—but we’re taking a huge pass on the Trait to guarantee you see a wider range of options each game while removing any dead Inputs/Outputs. In making this Trait less conditional, we’re guaranteeing you see one Input from our Consistent, Conditional, or Economy Based pools, and one Output from our Offense, Defense, or Economy Based pools.Past that, we’ve got a substantial balance pass for the Trait and a few new combinations for the Conditional Input to provide Defensive and Economy Based Outputs. Oh, and you also have the chance of getting two Leonas now if you exceed 100% Leona Output probability.

A board of only 1-cost three-stars shouldn’t be able to win the game, but with some extra power from perfect conditions (correct Augments, a few high rolls here and there, great itemization, enough tempo to get to higher levels), they should have a good chance at it. So for 17.4, we’re reverting our nerf to Twisted Fate from 17.3, which went too far in weakening the comp even when the stars align, while also adding an Aatrox buff that should be most felt at three-stars. Aatrox has been struggling for a while, so we’re looking forward to seeing him become worth the rolls and a serious threat in Stellar Combo (Champion Augment) lines.

As with our Twisted Fate revert, we also have a revert of our 17.3 Bel’Veth nerf. We never intend to completely remove a comp with a nerf, and the Primordian Queen’s absence has been missed. With nerfs to the comp in other ways (Briar, Marauder) remaining from 17.3, we don’t expect this comp to reign supreme as it once did in our mid-tier elos, but if you have the spot for it, enjoy!Here’s a weird change: Jax. Currently Jax’s flat damage reduction scales with AP, making items like Crownguard weirdly good on him, and VERY good at countering champions like Ezreal/Corki. We’re making this flat damage reduction a flat number that only scales with his star levels, so save your AP Jax for the Howling Abyss.With a substantial change to Arbiter we’re making it easier than ever to run Zoe as a carry, but even then she could use a little love. Between these two changes don’t be surprised seeing Arbiter Vanguard comps reappear!

Even though she’s been seen in a few comps, she’s never had her time as the primary carry. Aurora’s buffs should add a bit more consistency to her reroll Voyager lines and potential outs with Anima cashouts alike!Rhaast’s Redeemer aura has been a much sought after backbone of many comps. We’re flattening the buff and nerfing it, so in those Emblem ensemble games when it seems like everyone is chasing Rhaast you won’t get the short end of the stick (err kayn?) with just a measly one-star.With Drone Uplink becoming a bit more flexible we’re able to give Viktor a light buff without the fear of him returning to his release prominence.

Corki’s suffered from success, being fairly flexible (happy with a couple swords) and quite strong; he's on the most wanted list for far too many players in the lobby.Now that she’s a tank, it doesn’t make a ton of sense for Morgana to have two range, in fact, it may get in the way of her new job…tanking.Nami actually does a lot of damage, but much of it is often lost in overkill damage. We’re adjusting her ability to cast more often so even when she does lose a portion of her damage to overkill, she’s already closer to her next cast.

Graves has one of the highest ceilings in TFT, but his base power is too low, resulting in him being so narrowly situational (you must have HP to sacrifice to upgrade him, you must have Graves items, you must hit him), that he’s rarely played. We’re giving him a solid base buff, while nerfing his most powerful upgrade in the hopes that he’ll be more clickable more often, and less punishing if selected later in the game.Shen’s getting his first cast off faster, while Zed is getting his first off later. Now this is lore-accurate game balance.

Nerfs to our powerful combat Augments, and buffs to the fun ones that just haven’t been hitting. One buff to call out especially is Exalted Adventure, which is getting more gold as a reward, but also a lot stronger with a patch full of 2-cost buffs!

I’m sorry Lulu, but Radiant Nashor’s Tooth cannot turn you into a 6-cost.

Rogue Emblem has been our most powerful Emblem of 17.3 by a longshot, and that’s not even a Trait in this set. We’re nerfing that one and buffing Arbiter Emblem, which should be a lot more fun with our Arbiter rework.

Prismatics are a bit too easy to access with Choncc’s access to cookware.