Winners, Losers, and a Brand New Jinna: Your Guide to the May 21 Patch

Another patch, another round of meta shifts to sort through before you queue. The May 21 update is not the most sweeping patch we have seen, but it hits some very relevant heroes in ways you will feel in ranked. Here is who came out ahead, who got hit, and what is worth picking up right now.

Biggest winners

Krizzix, The Deceiver is arguably the patch's biggest beneficiary. He gets a double-dip: his Skill 2's ending damage jumps from 300 base to 400, with scaling up from 0.4 to 0.6 MP, and his Ultimate's cooldown drops from 40 seconds to 35. That ultimate cooldown reduction is the big one. Krizzix players have always complained about how telegraphed and slow his engage rhythm feels, and now he can be far more aggressive about looking for teamfights. If you have been sleeping on him, this is the patch to give him a real run.

Biron, Chariot of War gets a targeted early-game boost to Skill 1, Shatter Blade. Base damage jumps from 80 to 120 at rank one, a significant early-laning spike even with the per-level scaling slightly trimmed. The enhanced version follows the same pattern. The intent is clear: the devs want Biron to be a lane presence early rather than fading before he gets items. Expect him to bully harder in the solo lane.

Slimz, The Trustworthy keeps getting incremental love from the balance team. His enhanced normal-attack damage through his passive goes from 170 to 220 at base, a 50-point jump that adds up over a long laning phase. It is not a rework, but for a marksman who lives on sustained poke, it keeps him competitive without tipping into oppressive.

Wiro, Pendekar 212 gets a quality-of-life buff his mains have wanted. Skill 1's cooldown drops from 9 seconds to 7.5 at base, with reduced per-level scaling, so the early levels feel snappier. Not game-breaking, but it makes his combo flow more naturally and cuts the awkward downtime that made him feel clunky next to other fighters.

Biggest losers

Gildur, The Golden King takes a meaningful nerf to his most impactful tool. Skill 2, Extravagant, loses damage across the board, both base and scaling, and gains a full second of base cooldown. If you have been bullying opponents through pure Skill 2 spam, that playstyle just got noticeably weaker. He is not out of the meta, but you have to be smarter about when you use that ability.

Toro, The Bull King is the nerf that will sting most for tank players. After a recent bug fix restored his passive damage reduction to working properly, the devs have now deliberately cut it from 25% to 20%. That is not a small number. Five percent damage reduction on a frontline brawler is a real survivability difference in extended fights. He is still a tank with his full kit, but do not expect him to feel as unkillable as he did when the passive was fully operational.

Volkath, The Black Apostate gets trimmed on his ultimate damage. Both his normal attack and base damage during Ultima have their per-level scaling cut from 100 to 50, with a slight AD ratio dip too. This matters most in the mid-to-late game when levels are high. His ultimate payoff at max level will be noticeably lower, which softens the scary all-in potential that made him a pick-or-ban presence lately.

Flowborn-Mage, Arcane Heart loses damage on both Skill 2 and his Ultimate. The Arcane Arts ultimate takes the biggest hit, dropping from 660 to 600 base and from 1.3 to 1.2 MP scaling. For a hero defined by burst, those cuts should make him slightly less oppressive in teamfights.

Hero quality upgrade: Jinna gets mobility

This is the most interesting change in the patch. Jinna, The Incorruptible has always had one glaring weakness: zero built-in mobility. The team addressed it directly by reworking Skill 2, Resonance, to include a forward dash. Jinna now moves during the cast, gains slow immunity, picks up some damage reduction, and can chain into a Skill 1 dash during the movement. His passive also gets a cleaner UI, showing stack count under the HP bar. This is a real usability upgrade. It makes Jinna far less dependent on Flicker, which frees up his loadout and gives him a much better shot at actually landing his combo in real games.

What this means for the meta

The patch nudges things in a few clear directions. Tankiness takes a hit with Toro's damage reduction drop, which opens the door for burst-heavy comps. Gildur's Skill 2 nerf gives opponents more breathing room in the support role. Krizzix emerging as a more aggressive teamfight initiator could push him into ban consideration. And with Jinna finally carrying mobility in his kit, do not be surprised to see him climb the solo-lane tier list. Stay flexible, watch Krizzix in draft, and adjust your bans accordingly.