Much to the delight of online multiplayer gamers around the globe, RIOT announced they will soon be releasing one of the biggest League of Legends patches in recent history – patch 7.1.

League of Legends has established itself as the leading light on the MOBA landscape, with more gamers choosing to play LoL than any of its market rivals. Their stranglehold on the professional gaming market is so tight, bookmakers BWIN reported that over 69% of bets placed on esports were laid on League of Legends tournaments – compared to the 10% share recorded by LoL’s main MOBA rival, DOTA 2.

As if the game wasn’t popular enough, the release of this new download has caused an exciting stir around the LoL universe. So, for the want to not wax lyrical about League of Legend’s popularity any longer, let’s get down to the bare bones and analyse some of the possible changes RIOT could implement in this new patch.

Poppy and Karma are two of the many champions to have been subjected to sizeable nerfs. Poppy’s Iron Ambassador Shield duration has decreased and her Keepers Verdict damage diminishes when uncharged. Karma’s Focus Resolve damage has been changed to three ticks from two, with her Mantra Bonus Shield value also getting a slight decrease. Lee Sin, Camille, Rengar, Ryze, Shaco and LeBlanc are also amongst the nerfed champions and have all received a slight reduction in their powers and abilities.

One of the few champions to receive a decent buffing is Azir, whose Soldier Stab damage is set to increase to levels 9-15, and Talon, whose Mana Regen powers and Noxian Diplomacy Healing levels have taken a significant hike. Lucian’s Lightslinger has increased to level 16, with his Piercing Light also seeing a modest increase.

Patch 7.1 is likely to introduce new Heartseeker and Warring Kingdom skins. There will also be major changes in True Sight, as well as changes to the Log In screen and various League Client Updates. Zz’Rot’s Portal duration and cooldown have also diminished slightly.

Full details and images surrounding the latest changes to be included in the patch can be found here, but one thing we know for sure is that RIOT are also looking at innovative changes to the Lunar Revel event. Although major advancements aren’t expected in this area until patch 7.2, gamers will be able to get a sneak peek at a few early developments in this exciting new patch.