The leaves may be falling and sets may come and go, but patches keep rolling. Teamfight Tactics patch 18.5 is a smaller, more surgical update that primarily follows up on the sweeping changes from patch 18.4. According to Riot, some adjustments clean up changes that didn’t land as intended, while others ensure all AP lines feel viable—not just Azir and Kha’Zix. Here’s everything you need to know.

Trait Adjustments: Reining in Outliers

Several traits are getting tuned to curb overperformance. Blackthorn (6) and its base AP sacrifice are being reduced to weaken the super-charged Azir composition. Elderwood (9) is losing some summon bonus health, as it was nearly an auto-win with the right Emblems. Fae is receiving a more substantial buff this time—primarily to its heal—after last patch’s conservative approach, and later Golden Pixie breakpoints are being flattened for smoother econ transitions. Flora Fatalis healing is down slightly, which should also temper Rammus/Azir boards. Rapidfire’s vertical power is trimmed, and Riftbeast (7) gets a small nerf to keep it in line with other late-game strategies.

  • Blackthorn (6): Enhanced bonus 60% → 50%; base AP sacrifice 12% → 10% damage amp (mana regen unchanged).
  • Elderwood (9): Summon bonus health 140% → 125%.
  • Fae: Heal 2.5/4% → 3/5%; 4th Pixie threshold 30,000 → 25,000; 5th 70,000 → 60,000; 6th 110,000 → 100,000.
  • Flora Fatalis: Max health healing 8% → 7%.
  • Rapidfire: Attack speed per attack 3/5/8/12% → 3/5/7/10%.
  • Riftbeast (7): AD/AP 6% → 5%.

Unit Changes: Azir Takes Center Stage

Azir is hit with a direct damage nerf to his ability, complementing the trait adjustments above. Kha’Zix also sees reduced damage on both isolated and unisolated casts. Mama Beak receives a bug fix that reduces her mana lock duration by about one second, offset by slightly lower attack damage—netting a small buff. Master Yi gains a bit of starting AD in AD form and higher AP ratios in AP form. Tristana gets a notable buff to her mana and damage per attack, positioning her as a major threat once traits and items come online.

Among tier 4 units, Malphite’s shield is strengthened to compensate for the Flora Fatalis nerf, while Morgana gains more initial and bonus curse damage to help her cut through frontlines. Sentinel’s stun duration is halved but its shield and AP ratio increase, making it weaker without items but stronger with AP investment. Sett gets a small AP ratio buff that scales further in vertical Blossom. Soraka’s ability damage is up, potentially opening her up as a primary AP carry. Brambleback also sees minor buffs to heal and armor ignore.

At tier 5, Alune’s Moonshard damage and attack speed are up, but her Attuned durability passive is reduced to make room for itemized carry potential. Ashe’s damage over time is increased to reward AD items and synergize with Blossom’s bonus AD. Taric becomes tankier with higher resists and a significantly buffed AP ratio on his empowered attacks, aiming to fulfill a proper legendary tank fantasy.

Radiant Items and Augments

Radiant Adaptive Helm loses 1 mana regen and 5 AD/AP (non-tank/fighter), while Radiant Blue Buff’s base AD/AP drops from 30% to 25%. The augment system now includes behind-the-scenes tailoring: you’ll see fewer AP augments when leaning AD and vice versa. Several augments are adjusted—Consuming Flora effectiveness up to 70%, Dark Ritual AP values reduced at early tiers, Expected Unexpectedness gold and 5-cost rewards tweaked, and many more. New Pandora’s Items II+ and II++ variants appear at 3-2 and 4-2 respectively, and Pandora’s augments are now mutually exclusive.

Wisp Filtering and Balance

Riot is addressing Wisp filtering, which had become a heavy knowledge and APM check. While optimizing for Wisps is still possible, it’s now less optimal and less required, allowing players to focus on core mechanics—like missing your roll down. Wisps that filter by number of itemized champions now also include benched champions. Balance changes include Abandon Ship no longer being free to force and Hand of Baron being toned down.

Patch 18.5 may be smaller in scope, but it packs targeted changes that should shake up the meta while keeping the game feeling fresh. For the full details, check out the official patch notes.

Source: Riot Games — Teamfight Tactics Patch 18.5. For more information, visit the official patch notes at https://teamfighttactics.leagueoflegends.com/en-us/news/game-updates/teamfight-tactics-patch-18-5