Patch 25.21 Changed Early Trading and Several Champion Kits
League of Legends patch 25.21 changed starting-item sustain, adjusted Graves and Gwen, and revised Yunara's damage formulas. This is a historical reference to Riot's October 21, 2025 notes, focused on Summoner's Rift champion and laning changes. It is not a current-patch tier list.
The official patch notes also cover ARAM Mayhem, the pass, Practice Tool and other updates. For balance, the important distinction is between base stats, growth stats and ability ratios: a buff to one does not mean that every champion's late-game scaling changed in the same way.
Ezreal and Kalista Gained AD Growth; Yone Gained Base AD
- Ezreal: attack damage growth increased from 2.75 to 3.25.
- Kalista: attack damage growth increased from 4.25 to 4.75.
- Yone: base attack damage increased from 60 to 62. Riot described this as early-game compensation for sustain changes; it was not an AD-growth increase.
Yone should therefore not be grouped with the two marksmen as an identical scaling buff. These notes describe changes to inputs, not measured win-rate gains or a guaranteed ranked advantage.
Bard's W, Caretaker's Shrine, gained AP scaling: its minimum-heal ratio rose from 30% to 40% AP, maximum-heal ratio from 60% to 70% AP, and movement-speed scaling from 5% to 6% per 100 AP. Riot explicitly named Shurelya's as an AP option these changes supported. The base heal values did not change.
Yunara's W Changed Which Kind of AD It Uses
Yunara was another bot-lane recipient. Her revised W formulas combined higher base damage with a switch from total AD to bonus AD. Those terms are not interchangeable: the old ratios included base attack damage, while the new ratios do not.
| W form or component | Before 25.21 | In 25.21 |
|---|---|---|
| Arc of Judgment: initial damage | 5/30/55/80/105 + 85% total AD | 55/95/135/175/215 + 85% bonus AD |
| Arc of Judgment: damage per second | 5/20/35/50/65 + 40% total AD | 33/57/81/105/129 + 51% bonus AD |
| Arc of Ruin: Transcendent form | 50/200/350 + 175% total AD | 175/350/525 + 150% bonus AD |
Riot characterized the enhanced form as slightly nerfed while aligning the AD terms. The larger base numbers alone are not evidence of an unconditional damage increase at every stat value.
E, Kanmei's Steps, changed timing and cooldown. Its movement speed now began decaying after 1.5 seconds, instead of decaying over 1.5 seconds, while cooldown increased from 7.5 to 9 seconds. The normal speed values remained 30/35/40/45/50%, rising to 45/52.5/60/67.5/75% toward enemy champions. Riot also fixed retaining that enhanced speed without facing an enemy champion.
The Nerfs Targeted Different Problems
Diana's jungle modifier and Kog'Maw's lane trading were separate targets. Treating both as jungle-clear nerfs obscures what actually changed.
- Diana: monster damage
Her passive's monster-damage modifier fell from 300% to 280%, directly affecting the jungle-facing part of her kit.
- Kog'Maw: Q passive attack speed
The values fell from 10/15/20/25/30% to 5/10/15/20/25%. Riot's explanation targeted his early bot-lane trades: a reduction of five percentage points at each rank.
- Morgana: armor growth
Armor growth decreased from 5 to 4.2.
- Qiyana: health growth and Q ratio
Health growth decreased from 124 to 121, and Q's bonus-AD ratio from 90% to 85%.
- Quinn: Q and R damage
Q's bonus-AD ratio changed from 80/90/100/110/120% to 80/85/90/95/100%. R changed from 70% total AD to 60/90/120 + 35% bonus AD. Again, the type of AD in the formula matters.
These changes do not establish which champion lost the most win rate. That would require performance data with a defined population and period.
Mundo, Graves and Gwen Had Mixed Adjustments
Dr. Mundo gained armor growth, 3.7 to 4.5, while E's minimum active damage lost bonus-health scaling, 7% to 5% bonus HP. Its 5/15/25/35/45 base values stayed unchanged. More scaling armor and less health-based burst are different effects.
Graves lost baseline magic resistance: 32 to 30 base MR and 2.05 to 1.3 MR growth. Quickdraw's Grit stacks gained 2/3.5/5/6.5/8 MR per stack, up to 16/28/40/52/64 by ability rank. This is MR from Grit stacks, not a conversion of half of all armor purchased from items.
Gwen moved close to her patch 25.05 state, with updates across her stats, passive and Q/W/E/R. Riot retained two differences from that older version: slightly lower armor growth and weaker jungle levers. A near-reversion is not an exact restoration or proof of an optimal role; consult the linked notes for each ability's full values.
Starting Items and Second Wind: What the Lane Changes Actually Did
The systemic changes reduced some passive sustain while giving Doran's Ring an explicit champion-damage trigger.
- Doran's Blade
3% lifesteal was removed and replaced with 2.5% omnivamp. Area-of-effect and pet spells applied that healing at 33% effectiveness; 33% is not the item's omnivamp stat.
- Doran's Ring
Base mana regeneration fell from 1.25 to 1 per second, increasing to 2 per second for five seconds after damaging an enemy champion. Its health-regeneration rule changed from 0.55 per second to 45% of the mana-regeneration value.
- Doran's Shield
Maximum healing after damage fell from 45 to 40 for melee champions; the ranged maximum remained 30.
- Catalyst of Aeons
Health decreased from 350 to 300. This was an item durability change, not a new champion-specific modifier.
- Second Wind
Its healing changed from 3 + 4% missing health to 4% missing health after damage. The percentage term remained; the flat component was removed.
When reading an old build recommendation for this patch, check its damage formula, starting-item healing and role assumptions separately. A changed item does not by itself establish a new best buy order for every matchup.
Cover: Riot Games' official 25.21 highlights, showing the historical champion and system changes. Open the original graphic for the full-size labels.
