Akshan's abilities currently scale crit in three different ways and we're making that more consistent here. His passive auto, being functionally a true basic attack, will crit for 100% value. Meanwhile, the crit scaling on E and R are going down as compensation. We're also doing some discretionary adjustments to allow Q-max and E-max to perform at similar levels of power by adjusting their rank-up incentives.

Akshan was one of the clear winners from the recent changes to early game sustain, so this patch we’re back to balance things out by tapping down his early game threat and vulnerability.

Our last Akshan nerfs didn't move him as much as we wanted, and now he's even stronger due to the new Kraken Slayer. We're taking a much more direct approach to nerfs this time around by taking down the early-game damage his passive and E provide.

Akshan has long had two problems: First, he’s been a fairly frustrating top and mid laner to face, staying just out of reach from his melee opposition while also having incredible roam power. Second, his baseline reliability is quite low, making him incredibly hard to approach in lower-skilled play. We expect Akshan to require a lot of practice to get the most out of him, but we think we can still bring up his baseline. Due to how fair his R is (minions and turrets can block shots, in addition to champions), we think this ability could use some strong buffs that won't compromise the ability’s counter-play. These R buffs should result in up to 50% more ultimate damage in the most extreme cases late-game, but will typically be closer to 10% against low-health opponents.

Akshan has been doing a bit too well in skilled and Elite brackets of solo queue and could use some toning down. In this patch we're targeting his early game as it tends to be more Elite skewed. He's currently too dominant in lane, and since we just buffed his late game functionality in 13.17, we'll be reducing his early Q movement speed and E base damage which are most utilized by high skill Akshan players. These nerfs are intended to make it more possible for opponents to trade with him while still retaining his passive and early game strength.

Overall champion durability, especially for squishies, has fallen somewhat over the past year. While still higher than 12.9 (right before the Durability Update last year), we've lost about half of the gains from that patch on marksmen specifically. Not all champions have been affected, but some felt this durability loss much more than others. Akshan, Quinn, and Samira have changes this patch to help remedy this, while Yasuo and Yone had them earlier this year. Akshan's builds have moved away from the slightly tankier on-hit builds that included Wit's End and Shieldbow. He's found new successful builds to use, which is fine, but his combats now resolve very quickly. We're looking to slow down these fights just a little bit, so both him and his opponents have some breathing room. The changes here are pretty small. Ultimately, less base AD gives him fewer crit multipliers, which raises the relative value of on-hit damage like Blade of the Ruined King and Wit's End.

Akshan is the first of a few champions who fit two criteria: He might buy Guinsoo’s Rageblade (which now has AP on it) and he has no AP ratios. These shiny new AP ratios should make Akshan feel like he’s getting useful benefits when he’s picking up Guinsoo’s so that the AP isn’t entirely lost on him.

Haven’t you always wanted to swing around a tower forever? Well now you can. WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Akshan's been quite strong everywhere (especially in top lane), so we're hitting his early passive power to make his harass on melee enemies a bit less dirty.

Akshan's been steadily creeping up since swinging into release. We're tapping down on his signature move's damage to make the choice between maxing Q or E first a bit more strategic.

Players are still figuring out Akshan, so we're being cautious with any changes to this charismatic rogue. We're also cleaning up some pesky bugs and making his E-max a little less overpowered. This'll make his AD builds more appealing while also making up for the damage loss in Q-max builds. Finally, the change to his W should give opponents a way to stop Akshan from reviving all his allies—in other words, kill him first!

Akshan swings into battle against Ruination on July 22nd!