Legends of Runeterra Patch 3.6: Full notes and updates

Riot Games is celebrating the second anniversary of Legends of Runeterra with new spells, big balance changes, free gifts, rule changes, and Arcane skins.

LoR Patch 3.6 is scheduled to release on April 27. It’s an enormous update that will likely shake up the meta while treating players to sweet skins and emotes to celebrate the second anniversary of Legends of Runeterra. Similar to Patch 3.4, Riot has added three new spells to improve Udyr while also buffing the Elite and Reputation archetypes. Patch 3.6 also contains the Champions Adjustment update, including a total of 24 nerfs and buffs. Some major rule changes are taking place, too. 

From free Arcane skins to major LoR champion balance changes, here are the Legends of Runeterra notes and updates for Patch 3.6.

Free gifts

Riot is giving away seven amazing gifts to players from April 27 to May 11, celebrating the second anniversary of LoR. Players will need to log in seven times over the course of seven days to receive a Vi and Jinx Arcane skin, along with a City of Progress icon, a Vi emote, a turning two icon, and a special one-time card back. 

New spells

Patch 3.6 contains a total of three new LoR spells: Might of the Vanguard, Inner Beast, and For Glory! The purpose of these new spells is to continue to improve underperforming archetypes, like Elites and Reputation, while also improving various regions and their overall interactions. A full breakdown of the Freljord, Demacia, and Noxus spells can be found here. 

Balance changes

The Champions Adjustment update contains a total of 24 buffs and nerfs. Some of the changes are minor, impacting the Path of Champions mode only, while others have the potential to shift the LoR meta. A total of 14 champions were adjusted, along with 10 spells, followers, and Landmarks. 

Champion adjustments and buffs

• Ashe (level one): Level-up changed from “You Frostbite four-plus enemies” to “You decrease four-plus enemies’ power to zero.” 
• Darius (level one): Level-up changed from “I see the enemy Nexus has 10 health or less” to “I see the enemy Nexus has half of its starting health.”
• Galio (level two): Base stats increased from 0/9 to 0/10.
• Garen (level one and two): New effect—Round start: Rally. When I’m summoned, give other allies +1/+1 this round.
• Karma (level two): New effect—Create in hand a random spell from your regions. When you play a spell, cast it again on the same target.
• Katarina (level two): New effect—Play: Rally. Create a zero-cost Fleeting Blade’s Edge in hand. Strike: Recall me. 
• LeBlanc (level two): New effect—When I level up, and each time I see you deal 15-plus damage, create a Mirror Image in hand. If you already have one, reduce its cost by one instead. 
• Leona (level two): Added keyword Overwhelm. 
• Malphite (level one and two): New effect—Play: Stun an enemy.
• Nasus (level one): Added keyword Fearsome.
• Nocturne (level two): Text changed from “When you play a unit, give enemies -1/-0 this round” to “When you summon a unit, give enemies -1/-0 this round.”
• Sion: Base stat power buffed at all three levels
  • Level one: Changed from 1/6 to 2/6
  • Level two: Increased from 8/6 to 9/6 
  • Returned: Buffed from 8/4 to 9/4 
• Udyr (level one): Level-up changed from “You’ve damaged the enemy Nexus seven-plus times this game” to “You’ve played Stance Swap three-plus times this game.”
• Udyr (level one): Base stats buffed from 4/4 to 5/4. 
• Udyr (level two): Base stats buffed from 5/5 to 6/5.
• Vladimir (level one and two): Keyword Fearsome added at levels one and two, along with Regeneration at level two.  

Followers nerfs and buffs

• Ballistic Bot: Base stats nerfed from 1/3 to 0/3.
• Callous Bonecrusher: Reputation increased from “I cost two” to ” I cost three”.
• Callous Bonecrusher: Added the text “When I’m summoned, grant me Overwhelm.”
• Hyara Allseer: Text changed from Stance Swap costing zero this round to the first Stance you play each round costs zero. 
• Swiftwing Lancer: Type changed from none to Elite.
• Vanguard Squire: Cost reduced from four to three. 
• Shadow Apprentice: Text changed from “When I’m summoned, if an ally has Ephemeral, grant me +1/+1″ to When you summon an Ephemeral, give me +1/+0 this round.”

Spell and Landmark balance changes

• Ambush: Cost increased from two to three.
• Blood for Blood: Speed buffed from Fast to Burst.
• Yordles in Arms: Anthem nerfed from +4/+4 to +3/+3 if you’ve summoned or cast cards from four-plus regions. 
• The Bandle Tree: Cost reduced from five to four.
• The Bandle Tree: Text changed from “Win the game if you’ve summoned units from 10 regions” to “Win the game if I’ve seen units from 10 regions summoned.”
• Buried Sun Disc: Text changed from ” When an Ascended ally levels up, advance me 10 rounds” to “When an Ascended ally levels up, advance to nine rounds.”
• Dragon’s Protection: Spell speed changed from Slow to Focus.

Rule changes

Two major LoR rule changes are getting implemented via Patch 3.6, improving gameplay while opening up space for new mechanics. 

Burst/Pass

Since the launch of LoR, a player had the option of ending the round after the opponent had fully passed without taking an action. This will change in Patch 3.6 to “if your opponent passes after playing only a Burst or Focus spell, you may now end the round.”

The Burst/Pass changes are intended to create higher-stake decisions during the late game, consistency of gameplay flow, and reduce unnecessary passes from players, according to Riot. 

Merging of mechanics Cast and Play

A total of 61 LoR cards with the “Cast” mechanic will now synergize and merge with the “Play” mechanic. “Play” is when a card leaves a player’s hand to get put on the stack or in-play via the battlefield. Cards with “Cast” will now trigger, target, and activate when you “Play” a card. 

The change intends to improve gameplay with champions like Lux and Heimerdinger while making space for new mechanics. This adjustment will also increase the utility of Slow spells, according to Riot. 

Visual UX updates

The LoR team has added five UX updates within Patch 3.6 to improve the visual clarity of what is taking place during a match. 

• Stack clarity: If cards are on the stack, board visuals will clarify any unresolved actions and which player started the stack.
• Attacker and blocker indicators: Sword and Shield icons will indicate units that can attack or block.
• Turn gems and button naming: The “Ok” and “End turn” blue button is getting a workover. Two gems have been added to indicate turn status. If a gem is lit it means the player on that side has committed an action. If both gems are lit, actions will be resolved or the round ends. The button has also been relabeled to show the name of what is happening. 
• Attacker chevrons: If an attack will hit an opponent’s Nexus, it will have a red and pointy indicator. This disappears if the attacker gets blocked or has its power reduced to zero. 
• Clearer ghost blockers: A ghost blocker will appear as soon as it is placed to make it clear that the attack is getting blocked. 

Bug fixes

• Fixed an issue where tooltips would sometimes not show when hovering over some cards.
• Oracle’s Eye will now interact correctly with a level two Rumble.
• Fixed an issue where the visuals for Restored Sun Dic would remain after leaving Oracle’s Eye.
• Fixed an issue where Landmarks offered after playing Stoneweaving had incorrect costs.
• Fixed an issue where Blighted Caretaker was not correctly using optional targeting. 
• Spellshield will now correctly block Despair’s effect.
• Various text and grammar consistency fixes.

Updated April 26 5pm CT: LoR patch notes updated with last-minute changes from Riot.