K’Sante has had multiple, rework-level nerfs that have removed entire parts of his kit and changed the way he functions. And now, on League of Legends patch 14.4, he’s getting even more parts of his kit entirely removed.
K’Sante has been nothing short of a balance nightmare since he was released in League of Legends. Though his win rate has always lagged behind a bit in lower levels of play, he’s a huge problem in both high-level ranked games and pro play.
As Showmaker’s now-legendary K’Sante rant would tell you, this champion sort of does everything. He’s tanky, he’s got dashes, he’s got CC, he’s got shielding, he’s got burst damage; he does almost everything you’d need, and he does it all well.
However, some various nerfs on patch 14.4 aren’t just toning down his numbers: He’s having entire portions of his kit removed. Again.
K’Sante getting targeted with even more LoL nerfs on 14.4
K’Sante’s balance history is a bit of a novel, and it’s filled with a mix of buffs and nerfs. Getting him into a decent spot has been a real challenge for Riot, and his adjustments have sent his win rate swinging wildly. At least, when it comes to lower MMR. He’s always been strong in pro play.
From removing certain damage ratios and scaling from some of his abilities, nerfing his ultimate and the way it scales, increasing his mana costs, restricting when he can use flash & more, his numbers have been constantly adjusted since his release.
The latest set of nerfs are, amongst other things, removing parts of his kit. Here’s what was revealed in the early patch 14.4 notes:
Base Stats
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
- Base health increased: 570 >>> 610
- Base mana increased: 290 >>> 320
Q: N’tofo Strikes
- No longer slows during All Out
W: Path Maker
- Damage resist ratios increased: 50% >>> 70%
- All Out minimum charge time increased: 0.5 seconds >>> 0.75 seconds
- Cooldown no longer reduced to 18-12 seconds during All Out
E: Footwork
- Dash speed reduced: 1700 >>> 900
- Ally dash speed reduced: 1800 >>> 1500
- All Out dash speed reduced: 2100 >>> 1450
The two big things to pay attention to here are that his Q no longer slows in All-Out, and that his W won’t have its cooldown reduced in ult either. Once you use that first W in ult, that’s likely to be the only one you get unless the fight goes for a long time.
Additionally, his mobility is getting hit across the board. His W will require him to stay still much longer in ult, and his dash speed on E is getting significantly nerfed. It’ll be much harder for him to dodge abilities now.
While these nerfs come with a few buffs, a reduction in his ability to move around massively hits his survivability. It remains to be seen if this is the nail in the coffin that’ll keep him from continuing his reign of terror in high level play.