league of legends: League of Legends patch 8.16: Nexus Blitz and Cosmic Skins

League of Legends' next big content patch is 8.16, introducing Nexus Blitz. Patch 8.16 is a slightly smaller update, part of Riot's bi-monthly alternating patch schedule, but there are still plenty of balance changes to contend with. Most of these are based around utility tanks, with changes to Leona, Nautilus, and Tahm Kench, among others. There's also a brand-new "experimental game mode," part of a new scheme, separate from the current Rotating Game Modes.

Nexus Blitz is a brand new League of Legends game mode. It's still early in development, so could be subject to a lot of change, but at the moment it seems that it's a fast-paced mode that promotes aggressive play around important in-game events (and the rewards they offer).

This patch also contains five brand-new skins. There's the Cosmic line, with Ashe, Lulu, and Xin Zhao all looking to the heavens, but also a new Mecha skin for Aurelion Sol (that looks a lot like Pokémon's Rayquaza). Elsewhere, Braum goes bad, with a new Mafia skin. Have a look below for all the information we've got, straight from the PBE.

LoL Patch 8.16 Release date and downtime

We don't know the exact release date for patch 8.16 yet, but the schedule is bi-weekly so expect it on Wednesday, August 15. We'll update when Riot do, but keep an eye on the server maintenance page for the latest updates.

LOL PATCH 8.16 BALANCE CHANGES

That out of the way, let's start with the really important bit, shall we? What you need to remember is that stuff on the PBE like this is neither guaranteed to happen, nor to be in the next patch even if it does. This is what the folks over at Riot are thinking about doing. We've got the numbers on what's changing, and a general guideline on which way each champion, item, mastery, summoner spell or rune is moving.

Patch 8.16 Champion Changes

Amumu – changed

Tantrum (E):: Passive physical damage reduction gains additional benfit equal to 3% of Amumu's bonus armor and MR

League of Legends Nexus Blitz

Patch 8.16 introduces Nexus Blitz, a new "experimental" game mode, which has been added to the game with patch 8.16 but is in a very 'early access' state. It should be around for a while if people enjoy it, but will be subject to "aggressive patching" as Riot attempt to iron out its kinks.

Nexus Blitz is played on a new map, and will require teams to take two junglers to secure objectives. The game mode also features events – "map-wide murder-encouraging objectives that bestow glorious rewards on the victors." It's still not quite clear what this actually means, but it seems like Riot has a lot of ideas to try out.

There are a whole bunch of changes, with a new jungle, altered items, and gold sharing to contend with, and frankly it's all subject to an awful lot of change. Expect to see Nexus Blitz pop up in future patch posts as Riot settle on a more cohesive theme.

Patch 8.16 Skins

Second most important: cosmetics. Lovely, gorgeous cosmetics. Bit more of a visual medium this, so we've grabbed the best videos of each skin, as well as a lovely pic or two. Some are relatively simple changes, while others are total reworks of every part of the champion outside the gameplay numbers – new VO, new animations, new particles and the rest. It's generally defined by how much they cost, so we've detailed that as well.