Legends of Runeterra patch 2.18.0 release: Live balance philosophy and card changes; Nami, Draven nerfed

Legends of Runeterra's latest patch, 2.18.0, has dropped and brought gameplay changes, card nerfs, and buffs for the first time since the "Beyond the Bandlewood" expansion.

Legends of Runeterra's new season, Between Worlds, begins with the latest patch. While the last patch was geared towards Battle Academia skins and cosmetics, patch 2.18.0 solely focuses on card balance and gameplay. Players will be excited to know that Riot Games has taken note of the feedback surrounding the meta and has responded accordingly via this patch.

The most significant focus for the patch has gone towards Live Balance Updates. This feature will now be a regular part of the game to ensure that the meta does not become stale for too long. This is also the final patch to which players will enjoy the fan-favorite Lab modes until November 10.

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Legends of Runeterra: Live balance philosophy, lab updates, and more in patch 2.18.0

The immediate and considerable change in Legends of Runeterra's 2.18.0 patch has to update the game's live balance philosophy. Although the Bandlewood season has enjoyed a highly diverse meta, many players complained that there were hardly any card updates.

The lack of card updates makes the meta very stale and boring. Unfortunately, this was precisely the case with the Bandlewood season, and to prevent such things from repeating, Riot Games have decided to make live balance a regularity from now onwards.

Earlier, players would have to depend on significant expansions to cause a change in the meta. Since new additions take time to develop and release, the meta in Legends of Runeterra will remain the same for weeks. Changes in the live balance philosophy will ensure that metas change quicker, irrespective of card expansions.

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How will changes show up in the new live balance system?

Under the new system, players can expect balance changes once every month. This will primarily be done via nerfs and buffs for all cards that require the change. It's not entirely new, but Riot Games is changing the rate and consistency of these changes.

The winter roadmap will keep the monthly life balance changes from 2022 only (Image via Riot Games)

Starting 2022, Legends of Runeterra will be getting monthly card balance updates to make the gameplay more flexible and diverse. This is due to the already scheduled items prepared for release in the next two months. These items include both PVE modes and card expansions.

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Other changes

Patch 2.18.0 also sees other miscellaneous changes to improve gameplay and remove bugs. Previous issues with round-start effects have been resolved that were present before this patch. Cleaner keyword descriptions and better overall descriptions of cards have been added. Specific bugs in Legends of Runeterra with spell card effects have also been fixed.