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League of Legends patch 12.8 notes: Swain rework, Jinx & Xayah nerfs, Eclipse skins

Complete guide to LoL patch 12.8 with champion changes, Swain rework, and new Eclipse skins

  • 8c77a5 Published on 2026-03-31
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Complete guide to LoL patch 12.8 with champion changes, Swain rework, and new Eclipse skins

Patch Overview: Pre-MSI Balance Changes

League of Legends patch 12.8 arrives as the final major update before the Mid-Season Invitational 2022, bringing targeted adjustments to competitive picks and significant champion reworks.

This crucial League update focuses on reigning in dominant AD carries while refreshing Swain’s kit and introducing stunning Eclipse-themed cosmetics.

Riot’s balancing team has been particularly active with professional champion selections recently, and patch 12.8 continues this trend with precision changes aimed at the upcoming international tournament.

The spotlight falls heavily on bot lane marksmen Jinx and Xayah, who receive calculated nerfs to reduce their overwhelming presence. Simultaneously, Swain enthusiasts finally receive his long-anticipated mid-scope update—essentially a mini-rework that fundamentally alters his gameplay patterns.

Visual enhancements accompany the gameplay changes with standalone skins for Gangplank and Yasuo, plus an extensive new Eclipse collection featuring both Solar and Lunar variants across multiple champions.

With numerous systemic adjustments and champion-specific tweaks, patch 12.8 represents one of the most substantial updates of Season 12, potentially reshaping multiple lane dynamics before competitive play resumes at MSI.

Bot Lane Nerfs: Jinx & Xayah Adjustments

Meta-defining League picks Jinx and Xayah face targeted nerfs designed to create more diversity in the bot lane ahead of major competitions.

Xayah’s lane dominance through poke damage receives significant reduction at higher ability levels. Her Deadly Plumage (W) now deals substantially less damage while also suffering from extended cooldown periods, forcing players to be more selective with ability usage.

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    • Jinx undergoes more fundamental durability adjustments with her base health pool dropping from 610 to 560. This substantial reduction makes early game aggression significantly riskier and requires players to position more carefully during laning phase. The health reduction particularly impacts her ability to trade effectively against supports with engage potential.

    Strategic Implications: These changes force AD carry players to reconsider their champion selections and playstyles. Xayah mains must now maximize feather placement and root opportunities rather than relying on raw damage output, while Jinx players need to prioritize survival over aggressive positioning in early skirmishes.

    Common Mistakes to Avoid: Don’t overestimate your durability as Jinx in early levels—the health reduction means you can be burst down much faster. With Xayah, avoid using Deadly Plumage for simple poke; save it for all-in engagements where the attack speed steroid provides maximum value.

    Swain Mid-Scope Update: Return to Solo Lanes

    Swain enthusiasts have awaited changes to the Noxian Grand General for months, and patch 12.8 delivers a comprehensive mid-scope update that repositions him toward top and mid lanes.

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    The primary objective of this substantial rework is to transition Swain away from his current support role back toward his original identity as a drain tank in solo lanes. Developers have heavily invested in reinforcing his sustain-focused combat pattern while reducing his utility in setting up kills for allies.

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    • Riot has comprehensively overhauled his damage profiles and sustainability mechanics, with the trade-off being reduced effectiveness at locking down priority targets. The changes represent a fundamental shift in how players should approach teamfights and lane management with the champion.

    Key Ability Changes: Swain loses his ability to pull crowd-controlled enemies, and his pull no longer deals damage. However, he gains significantly enhanced healing from his passive at higher levels and receives substantial mana cost reductions across multiple abilities. His ultimate now features a new Demon Power resource system that rewards maintaining combat engagement.

    Optimization Tips: Max Q first for wave clear and sustained damage in lane. Use the reduced mana costs to apply consistent pressure against opponents. In teamfights, prioritize positioning that allows you to drain multiple champions simultaneously to maintain your Demon Power resource.

    Top Lane & Jungle Meta Shifts

    The top lane meta throughout most of League Season 12 has largely stabilized around split pushers and Hullbreaker enthusiasts, but patch 12.8 introduces changes that could disrupt this equilibrium.

    Several champions who migrated to the jungle—including Mordekaiser, Poppy, and more recently Wukong—receive buffs intended to draw them back toward the top side of Summoner’s Rift. Enhancements to the first two particularly signal Riot’s intention to diversify top lane selections.

    Vladimir also receives assistance through increased base armor, improving his sustainability during laning phase against physical damage opponents. Combined with Swain’s comprehensive rework and targeted buffs to Sylas, the top lane champion hierarchy could experience significant fluctuation following this update.

    Champion-Specific Adjustments: Mordekaiser gains enhanced missing health damage on his ultimate, Poppy receives cooldown reductions on her defensive abilities, and Vladimir’s added armor makes him more resilient against AD matchups. These changes collectively encourage more varied champion selections in both ranked and competitive play.

    Strategic Impact: The buffs to traditional top laners may reduce the dominance of split-push strategies by providing more teamfight-oriented alternatives. Players should prepare for increased variety in lane matchups and adjust their pick/ban strategies accordingly.

    Eclipse Skin Collection & New Cosmetics

    The eternal struggle between celestial light and darkness arrives on the Rift through the new Lunar Eclipse and Solar Eclipse skin lines, accompanied by standalone cosmetics for Yasuo and Gangplank.

    This thematic skin series features spectacular lighting effects that enhance ability animations, giving champions additional visual flair during combat encounters. The contrast between the Solar Eclipse’s golden radiance and Lunar Eclipse’s cool luminescence creates striking in-game presence.

    League’s expanding Eclipse universe transforms six champions with completely new aesthetics, including a prestigious variant for one popular marksman:

  • Solar Eclipse Sejuani
  • Lunar Eclipse Senna
    • Lunar Eclipse Prestige Senna
  • Lunar Eclipse Prestige Senna

    • Each champion in this release also receives Chroma variants, with eight color options available for most skins and five specifically for Sivir. These additional customizations allow players to further personalize their favorite champions’ appearances.

    This patch is a big one so buckle in! 👀

    Solar Eclipse Kayle, Sivir & Sejuani! 🌞

    Lunar Eclipse Aatrox, Senna & Prestige Senna! 🌚

    Sea Dog Yasuo & Gangplank the Betrayer! ⚓️ pic.twitter.com/7zWCOIAAqA

    — League of Legends // UK, IE & Nordics (@LoLUKN) April 12, 2022

    Skin Lore Highlights: The Eclipse knights narrative introduces compelling backstories, including Kayle as the sun-eater who consumed the primordial sun, Aatrox as her monstrous shadow, and Senna as an ancient knight resurrected to combat the Coven threat.

    Visual Design Analysis: Solar Eclipse skins feature warm gold and orange color palettes with bright particle effects, while Lunar Eclipse variants utilize cool blues and silvers with ethereal glow effects. The Prestige edition for Senna offers exclusive white and gold aesthetics fitting for the prestigious theme.

    Complete Champion Balance Changes

    Take a look at the full LoL patch 12.8 notes below, courtesy of Riot.

    Passive: Traveler’s Call

  • 30 (+12 per 5 chimes) (+30% AP) ⇒ 35 (+14 per 5 chimes) (+30% AP)

    • W: Caretaker’s Shrine

  • 55/95/135/175/215 (+60% AP) ⇒ 60/105/150/195/240 (+60% AP)
  • 120 seconds at all ranks ⇒ 120/105/90 seconds
  • Healing against champions: 30/35/40/45/50% ⇒ 30/40/50/60/70% (still always 15% against minions)
  • CC duration increased: 1/1.25/1.5/1.75/2 seconds ⇒ 1.25/1.5/1.75/2/2.25 seconds
  • Damage against monsters no longer reduced by 25% (damage against minions and summons unchanged)
  • First Lotus Trap damage no longer reduced by 35% against monsters and summons (damage against minions and summons unchanged)
  • Trap recharge rate: 28/25/22/19/16 seconds ⇒ 24/21.5/19/16.5/14 seconds
  • Health lowered: 610 ⇒ 560
  • Missing health damage ratio increased: 15% (+2.5% per 100 AP) ⇒ 15% (+5% per 100 AP) of target’s missing health
  • AP ratio reduced: 30/55/80/105/130 (+ 130% AD) (+70% AP) ⇒ 30/55/80/105/130 (+130% AD) (+45% AP)
  • AP ratio increased: 75/100/125 (+100/150/200% AD) (+75% AP) ⇒ 75/100/125 (+100/150/200% AD) (+100% AP)
  • Shield increased: 40/70/100/130/160 (+30% AP) ⇒ 60/90/120/150/180 (+40% AP)
  • Magic damage: 80/105/130/155/180 (+80% AP) ⇒ 80/105/130/155/180 (+85% AP)

    • Passive: Darkness Rise

  • Movement Speed changed: 3% at all levels ⇒ 3/6/9% at levels 1/6/11

    • W: Steadfast Presence

  • Cooldown: 24/22/20/18/16 seconds ⇒ 20/18/16/14/12 seconds
  • Press knockup duration increased: 0.75 seconds ⇒ 1 second
  • Hold missile speed increased: 2000 ⇒ 2500
  • Hold knockback distance increased: 2400 ⇒ 3400
  • Channel refund reduced: 30 seconds ⇒ 15 seconds

    • Passive: Fury of the North

  • Cooldown changed: Sejuani receives Frost Armor after 12 seconds ⇒ 12-6 seconds (levels 1-18) of not taking damage from enemy champions or monsters
  • Heal lowered: 100/135/170/205/240 (+70% AP) ⇒ 100/130/160/190/220 (+65% AP)

    • Passive: Ravenous Flock

  • Swain can no longer pull crowd-controlled enemies.
  • Swain’s pull no longer deals damage.
  • Healing: 4/5.5/7% (levels 1/6/11) maximum health >>> 4/5.5/7%/9% (levels 1/6/11/16) maximum health
  • Health Per Soul Fragment: 5 >>> 12
  • Mana cost lowered from 65-85 to 45-65
  • Cooldown lowered from 9-3s to 7-3s
  • Damage increased from 55-135 (+40% AP) to 60-140 (+40% AP)
  • Additional Bolt Damage changed from 15-35% to 12-52 (+10% AP)
    • Previous Equivalent Damage: 8.25-47.25 (+6-14% AP)
  • Previous Equivalent Damage: 8.25-47.25 (+6-14% AP)
  • Maximum Damage changed from 88-324 (+64-96% AP) to 108-348 (+80% AP)
  • Mana cost lowered from 70-110 to 60-80
  • Pings now display enemies in range similar to Twisted Fate R and Nocturne R
  • Can now be reactivated to pull all champions rooted by Nevermove.
  • Cooldown is reduced by 20% during Demonic Ascension

    • R1: Demonic Ascension

  • Cooldown lowered from 120s to 100-60s
  • Drain Damage per Second changed from 35/50/65 (+14% AP) to 20/45/70 (+10% AP)
  • No longer grants 125/200/275 health.
  • Rather than lasting 12s, upon casting Demonic Ascension Swain gains 50 Demon Power, which drains at a rate of 10 per second. While draining an enemy champion, Swain gains 20 Demon Power per second. Upon running out, Demonic Ascension ends and Swain returns to normal. After 5 seconds, Demon Power drain rate is increased to 15 per second. After 3 seconds, Swain can cast Demonflare (R2)
  • Damage increased from 100-200 (+50% AP) to 150-300 (+60% AP)
  • Demonflare now slows enemies by 60%, decaying over 1.5 seconds.
  • On casting Demonic Ascension, Swain can cast Demonflare 1 time. This does not end Demonic Ascension
  • Demonflare no longer charges up based on health drained, up to double damage.
  • Cooldown: 100/70/40 seconds ⇒ 80/55/30 seconds
  • AD at level 18: 115.1 ⇒ 121.9
  • AP ratio increased: 80/120/160/200/240 (+80% AP) ⇒ 80/120/160/200/240 (+90% AP)
  • Initial damage AP ratio increased: 30/50/70/90/110 (+15% AP) ⇒ 30/50/70/90/110 (+20% AP)
  • Armor changed: 23 ⇒ 27
  • Damage lowered: 45/65/85/105/125 (+50% bonus AD) ⇒ 45/60/75/90/105 (+50% bonus AD)
  • Cooldown increased: 10/9/8/7/6 seconds ⇒ 10/9.5/9/8.5/8 seconds
  • Stun duration increased: 0.5-2 seconds (based on distance) ⇒ 0.75-2.25 seconds (based on distance)
  • Mana cost lowered: 50/55/60/65/70 ⇒ 40/45/50/55/60
  • Mana cost lowered:50 ⇒ 40

    • Balance Change Analysis: These comprehensive adjustments reflect Riot’s ongoing effort to fine-tune champion performance across different skill levels and playstyles. The changes to Bard, Ivern, and other supports indicate a continued focus on improving jungle and support versatility.

    Bug Fixes & Quality of Life Improvements

  • Golden Hour: Stopwatch will no longer be purchasable if you already own Guardian Angel or Zhonya’s Hourglass
  • Nexus turrets with active Objective Bounties will now correctly have bounty healthbar indicators and display bounty information in chat when pinged
  • Fixed the bug where Nexus hitboxes were unintentionally larger than they appeared
  • Fixed a rare bug that would permanently reduce a turret’s resistances if certain conditions were met when plating fell
  • Being in an enemy turret’s range with an enemy Sion, Kog’Maw, or Karthus passive zombie as it dies will no longer make that turret’s aggro switch to you
  • Ghost Poros have been restored and will once again grant normal vision, NOT true sight
  • UPDATED – QoL Change: Illaoi’s E – Test of Spirit will now grant assist credit, even if the Vessel does not take any damage
  • Fixed a bug where, if you casted Illaoi’s Q – Tentacle Smash during her E – Test of Spirit animation or while she was locked out of her abilities (e.g. in stasis), she would instantly change direction to face your cursor
  • Fixed a bug where Vessels spawned from Illaoi’s E – Test of Spirit would be invisible if the tethered champion was camouflaged and being revealed by a control ward
  • Fixed some strange Vessel interactions that would sometimes benefit Illaoi’s enemies upon expiring, like healing them if they had Omnivamp… :3
  • Fixed a bug where Illaoi’s W – Harsh Lesson-empowered basic attacks would not trigger nearby Tentacles to slam her target if she had an active spell shield
  • Fixed the bug where Taliyah would not be able to use her Passive – Rock Surfing for the rest of the game if someone broke her Banshee’s Veil spell shield while she was Rock Surfing again
  • Fixed a bug where, if an enemy champion got DUNKED by Sett’s R – The Show Stopper into Tahm Kench’s R – Devour, they would first reappear at the original Devour point before quickly sliding to the actual Regurgitate destination
  • Fixed an uncommon bug where Viego could become permanently attached to an ally champion if he possessed Yuumi under certain conditions
  • Sona will no longer be able to reset her basic attacks against wards by casting an ability when she has full stacks of Passive – Power Chord
  • Fixed a bug where, if Elise casted E – Rappel on herself while an enemy champion was right next to her, she would ascend and immediately descend upon on them despite not having recasted the ability
  • Fixed a bug where, if you spammed Pantheon’s Q – Comet Spear or Sett’s E – Facebreaker while the ability was on cooldown, it would sometimes cancel your attacks and movements
  • Black Cleaver’s passive interactions have been fixed so that you will correctly gain only one stack of Carve per basic attack, even if you purchased Titanic Hydra first
  • Lulu’s interactions with Spellthief’s Edge and Spectral Sickle have been fixed so she will once again receive a stack of Tribute whenever Passive – Help, Pix! damages an enemy champion, too
  • Rengar will no longer receive a Navori Quickblades stack upon hitting a plant with a Q – Savagery-empowered basic attack
  • Axiom Arc’s passive has been fixed and will correctly grant Tahm Kench partial refunds on his R – Devour for scoring takedowns
  • Fixed a bug where Teemo couldn’t gain Manamune stacks if he had ranked up E – Toxic Shot at least once. Unfortunately, this bug did not make Teemo players any less toxic.
  • Fixed a bug where the Ornn Masterwork items Caesura and Eternal Winter did not grant the correct amounts of AP
  • Fixed a bug where certain skillshots would not play their hit confirmation SFX if they hit a target in Fog of War (e.g. Ahri’s Q – Orb of Deception passthrough sound)
  • Nocturne’s R – Paranoia VO volume has been fixed and is no longer much louder than intended
  • Ivern and his friends are on speaking terms again (his jungle camp VO lines have been restored)

    • Bug Fix Impact: These corrections address numerous gameplay inconsistencies that have affected champion performance and item interactions. The Illaoi fixes particularly improve her reliability in competitive settings, while the item interaction corrections ensure consistent performance across various build paths.

    Quality of Life Assessment: The Stopwatch purchasing restriction prevents wasted gold in late game scenarios, and the Ghost Poro restoration returns strategic vision options to players. These systemic improvements contribute to smoother gameplay experiences across all skill levels.

    No reproduction without permission：SeeYouSoon Game Club » League of Legends patch 12.8 notes: Swain rework, Jinx & Xayah nerfs, Eclipse skins Complete guide to LoL patch 12.8 with champion changes, Swain rework, and new Eclipse skins

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