Riot Games has already stepped in to calm down the Teamfight Tactics Patch 18.2 meta.
The new 18.2 mid-patch update increases the XP required to reach Levels 9 and 10, partially reversing one of the biggest economy buffs introduced with the original patch. Riot says the changes had made Fast 9 strategies too easy, especially when combined with cheaper Wisps and several powerful late-game units.
Camille, LeBlanc, Teemo, Draven and Maokai are also among the major targets, while Riot has temporarily disabled Nesting Dolls because of a bug.
What You Need to Know
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Level 8 → 9 now requires 68 XP instead of 64.
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Level 9 → 10 also increases from 64 to 68 XP.
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Riot is not completely reverting the Patch 18.2 economy changes.
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Level 7 → 8 remains four XP cheaper than before.
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Camille, LeBlanc and Teemo are nerfed.
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Draven’s Bounty Hunter rewards now take longer to earn.
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Maokai needs more mana to cast.
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Nesting Dolls has temporarily been disabled.
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Expected Unexpectedness is active again.
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Riot says Fast 9 became too dominant after the original 18.2 changes.
Riot Made Fast 9 Too Easy
Patch 18.2 was supposed to create more space for expensive late-game boards after reroll compositions dominated the previous meta.
Riot lowered leveling costs and reduced the price of Wisps, giving players more gold to push toward Levels 8, 9 and 10.
The effect was stronger than intended.
According to Riot, the XP changes alone reduced the total cost of reaching Level 10 by 12 gold. Players were potentially saving another 5 to 15 gold through cheaper Wisps, creating considerably more room to rush high levels while still having enough economy left for a major rolldown.
Riot described the resulting boards as “Legendary-soup variations” that quickly took over the top end of the meta.
The B-patch now walks part of that back.
Level 9 and 10 Are More Expensive Again
The biggest systemic change is simple:
| Leveling Step | Before B-Patch | After B-Patch |
|---|---|---|
| Level 8 → 9 | 64 XP | 68 XP |
| Level 9 → 10 | 64 XP | 68 XP |
That means reaching Level 10 now costs another eight gold compared with the initial 18.2 values.
Riot deliberately stopped short of a complete revert.
The Level 7 → 8 reduction remains in place, so reaching Level 8 is still cheaper than it was before Patch 18.2.
In practical terms, Riot appears happy with easier access to four-cost carries.
It just doesn’t want entire lobbies reaching the legendary-unit stage with enough money left over to comfortably build capped Level 9 and 10 boards.
Camille Gets Hit Across Every Star Level
Camille was one of the clearest winners from the new set and has become a major reroll carry.
Riot is cutting her ability damage at every rank:
| Camille Ability Damage | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| 1-star | 160% AD | 150% AD |
| 2-star | 240% AD | 225% AD |
| 3-star | 410% AD | 375% AD |
| 4-star | 700% AD | 640% AD |
The three-star nerf is particularly relevant for reroll compositions built around Camille as the primary carry.
Riot specifically noted that she remained one of the strongest reroll options even while the rest of the meta shifted toward Fast 9.
LeBlanc and Teemo Also Lose Power
Camille isn’t the only reroll unit taking a hit.
LeBlanc
Her clone chance at three stars falls from:
40% → 30%
Her one- and two-star values remain unchanged.
Riot’s issue here isn’t necessarily LeBlanc as a standard carry. The developer says she has frequently been used as a “reroll printer,” allowing players to generate additional champions too reliably at three stars.
Teemo
Teemo’s small mushroom damage changes from:
60/90/135% AP → 55/82/130% AP
It’s not a catastrophic nerf, but it reduces another of the set’s stronger reroll options.
Draven’s Free Stuff Isn’t Quite So Free Anymore
Draven receives one of the largest collections of targeted changes.
His Bounty Hunter mechanic remains intact, but multiple reward thresholds are harder to reach.
| Draven Reward | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Casts for 4-cost unit | 5 | 6 |
| Reward after 8 casts | 10 rerolls | 6 rerolls |
| Attacks for 5-cost unit | 50 | 60 |
| Damage for 7 gold | 8,000 | 10,000 |
| Kills for 12 gold | 6 | 8 |
The goal is straightforward: players can still gain substantial value from Draven, but he should no longer accelerate expensive boards quite as aggressively.
That matters even more now that Level 8 remains cheaper than before.
Maokai Will Cast Less Often
Maokai’s mana changes from:
30/90 → 30/100
That additional ten maximum mana should reduce how frequently he casts during longer fights.
Riot says easier access to Level 8 was allowing players to bring Maokai online earlier and stack enormous health totals while repeatedly healing through his casts. The studio wants to preserve the giant-tank fantasy without allowing him to recycle his ability quite so frequently.
Ashe Is More Complicated Than a Straight Nerf
Ashe receives two changes:
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Trail duration: 4 seconds → 3 seconds
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Damage per second: 5/8% AD → 9/14% AD
That means the effect lasts for less time but deals considerably more damage each second.
So while this appears alongside the B-patch’s broader balancing pass, calling it a straightforward Ashe nerf would be misleading.
Her damage is being compressed into a shorter window.
Brambleback Gets Fixed and Adjusted
Brambleback receives both balance changes and bug fixes.
His Armor Ignore moves from:
15 + 30% AP → 20 + 25% AP
Riot also fixed two issues:
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His baseline Armor Ignore was higher than intended.
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Armor Ignore could incorrectly decrease as Ability Power increased.
That makes this more of a mechanical cleanup than a simple nerf.
One Augment Is Back — Another Is Gone
Expected Unexpectedness has been re-enabled.
Nesting Dolls, meanwhile, has been temporarily disabled because Riot discovered a new bug.
The amusing timing isn’t lost on Riot, which explicitly noted the irony of an “unexpected” bug appearing as Expected Unexpectedness returned.
Is Fast 9 Dead?
Probably not.
Riot itself isn’t reverting every economy change from Patch 18.2.
Level 8 remains cheaper. Wisps remain cheaper. And many powerful four-cost champions escaped the B-patch untouched.
What changes is the amount of punishment attached to greed.
Players who aggressively push Level 9 without enough health or economy should now arrive with less gold available for their final rolldown.
That could push more games toward Fast 8 boards built around strong four-cost carries rather than every player trying to assemble the same collection of legendary units.
Champions such as Ahri, Aphelios, Nidalee and Sivir therefore become especially interesting if the meta slows down at Level 8.
TFT 18.2’s Meta Is Already Changing Again
The speed of Riot’s response shows how dramatically Patch 18.2 changed Enchanted Wilds.
The original patch intentionally pushed players away from reroll-heavy games and toward expensive boards. Within days, Riot concluded that it had pushed the economy too far in the opposite direction.
The B-patch is essentially an attempt to find the middle.
Level 8 remains accessible.
Fast 9 remains possible.
But getting there should once again require a healthier economy rather than feeling like the default endgame for half the lobby.
For players who spent the opening days of Patch 18.2 watching everyone rush legendary boards, that’s probably the most important change of all.
