Even in 2026, I still keep a snapshot of the Patch 12.1 notes on my second monitor. January 7, 2022 felt like a second New Year for me. Ranked Season 2022 went live a few hours after midnight in every local region, and I was awake, coffee in hand, waiting for the reset. The notes had already revealed upcoming nerfs to Sona and Rek'Sai, plus the exact release date and time for the ranked grind. Did I feel ready? Honestly, no. But I was excited.
Diana and Gangplank: The First Champions I Tested
I started my first games with Diana in the jungle because her passive buff looked huge for clear speed. Moonsilver Blade's AP ratio went from 40% to 50%, and the monster damage ratio jumped from 250% to 300%. That made her camp-to-camp pacing noticeably smoother, and I could contest scuttle with more confidence.
Gangplank also got some love. Parrrley's mana cost dropped from 60/55/50/45/40 to 55/50/45/40/35, and the cooldown went from 5 seconds to 4.5 seconds. In lane, that meant more poke, more silver serpents, and fewer awkward moments where I was out of mana right before a fight. Did I int a few barrel combos trying to force the new rhythm? Absolutely.
Rek'Sai and Sona: The Nerf Warnings
Patch 12.1 made it clear that Rek'Sai and Sona were on Riot's hit list. My saved notes didn't include every exact number for Rek'Sai's E - Furious Bite or E - Tunnel, nor for Sona's base stats or E - Song of Celerity. But as a jungler, I knew Rek'Sai's early tunnel access and burst were the obvious targets. For Sona, the base durability and speed aura were likely getting trimmed.
That was enough warning for me. I stopped blind-picking Sona into heavy poke lanes, and I treated Rek'Sai as a riskier early invade champion than before. Sometimes the threat of a nerf changes player behavior before the full tuning even lands.
Item Changes That Made Me Rethink Builds
Eclipse also appeared in the item notes, though my saved text didn't include the exact adjustment. I tested it anyway, but the bigger shifts came from the other items.
| Item | What Changed in Patch 12.1 |
|---|---|
| Force of Nature | Absorb stack duration 5s → 7s; Dissipate magic damage reduction 20% → 25% |
| Immortal Shieldbow | Attack damage 55 → 50; Lifeline shield 300-800 → 275-650 |
| Wit's End | Build path changed to Hearthbound Axe + Null-Magic Mantle + Pickaxe + 675 gold; total cost unchanged; magic resist 50 → 40 |
Force of Nature felt stronger into heavy magic damage, especially for tanks who could stay in fights longer. Shieldbow lost some raw offensive power and a chunk of its safety shield, so ADC players had to think twice before treating it as a get-out-of-jail-free card. Wit's End becoming more physical-damage oriented with Pickaxe in the build path changed how I itemized on hybrid fighters.
Teleport: The Biggest Shock
If one change rewired my macro play, it was Teleport. The cooldown went from 420-210 seconds based on level to a flat 360 seconds at all levels. Even more importantly, before 14 minutes it could only target allied towers. Once tower plating fell at 14 minutes, Teleport transformed into Unleashed Teleport, which could target allied towers, minions, wards, and certain allied constructs, just like Season 2021 Teleport. Unleashed Teleport had a 240-second cooldown.
Did I lose count of how many bot-lane flanks died because I could not teleport to a ward pre-14? Yes. The early game became more about lane control and less about instant cross-map rescue. That was a hard lesson.
Bug Fixes and Quality-of-Life I Actually Noticed
Some fixes were quiet but meaningful. Intentional Feeding Detection improved to evaluate more variables and went live in all regions. Objective Bounty targets now had different health bars, which helped me spot comeback gold faster.
A few champion bugs stood out:
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Caitlyn's W - Yordle Snap Trap and E - 90 Caliber Net no longer incorrectly granted Headshot stacks, and her extended Headshot range did not get canceled when trap and net hit at the same time.
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Axiom Arc's ultimate cooldown reduction passive scaled correctly with Ultimate Hunter.
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Kindred's R - Lamb's Respite no longer healed champions more than intended.
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Vi's Passive - Blast Shield activated properly on all structures.
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Pantheon's Q - Comet Spear cooldown and range indicator were fixed.
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Vex's R - Shadow Surge cooldown reset correctly if she died while casting a consecutive version.
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Talon's Q - Noxian Diplomacy could no longer hit untargetable enemy champions.
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Bard's Meeps were no longer targetable after Hexgates, and his R - Tempered Fate interacted correctly with Glacial Augment.
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Watchful Wardstone and Vigilant Wardstone tooltips showed the number of wards placed.
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Several Heimerdinger sound bugs were cleaned up.
Ranked Season 2022: Crests and Decay Changes
The ranked reset came with real relief for Apex players. Banked days increased from 10 to 14, decay rate dropped from 250 LP per day to 75 LP per day, and the decay floor moved from Diamond I to Diamond II.
| Apex Decay Change | Old | New |
|---|---|---|
| Banked days | 10 days | 14 days |
| Decay rate | 250 LP per day | 75 LP per day |
| Decay floor | Diamond I | Diamond II |
Visually, Ranked Armor transformed into Ranked Crests. I saw the fresh look in my profile, ranked page, game lobby, and friends list. There was even some ambient magic attached to the crests. Loading screen borders updated to match, and parts of the game lobby UI were rearranged for clarity.
By 2026, I still play with muscle memory from that patch. Teleport discipline, less early lane rescue roaming, and respect for Sona and Rek'Sai power spikes all trace back to January 2022. And yes, League of Legends was free on PC, which meant my grind did not cost anything except sleep.