League of Legends Patch 9.5: Vi, Akali, Tryndamere and Rakan

This article is a historical summary of League of Legends patch 9.5. It does not describe the current strength, items or ability values of these champions. Use it to understand what changed in that patch, then check the current client and Riot's latest patch notes before choosing a build.

Players learning the game today should start with the beginner-friendly League of Legends champions. If performance affects play, use the League of Legends FPS guide.

Vi: a broader jungle update

Patch 9.5 changed several parts of Vi's kit rather than applying one simple damage increase. Her main clearing and trading tools received adjustments intended to improve repeated combat and the interaction with her passive shield. Her ultimate also traded some damage and cooldown power for changes to its control behavior.

Historical impact: Vi players had more reason to consider how abilities triggered defensive value during a clear or fight. Because the ultimate included tradeoffs, the update should be read as a reshaping of her power budget, not an unconditional buff to every situation.

Akali: mobility, damage and ultimate availability

After earlier reductions to her power, patch 9.5 returned strength to Akali through her passive movement, Shuriken Flip damage and a lower ultimate cooldown. The intent was to make her ability sequence feel more fluid and give her more opportunities to use the full kit.

Historical impact: better movement and ability availability helped skilled Akali players create more frequent windows, but execution and matchup knowledge remained essential. These changes should not be applied to the current Akali without checking her live tooltips.

Tryndamere: higher critical scaling from Fury

Patch 9.5 increased the critical-strike chance available from Tryndamere's Fury at later levels. This improved the value of a full resource bar and changed how quickly his build could reach high critical consistency.

Historical impact: the change strengthened his scaling and split-push threat, but it did not remove the need to manage Fury, wave position and ultimate timing. Item names and critical-strike systems have changed in later seasons, so the old build conclusions are not current advice.

Rakan: faster Grand Entrance travel

Rakan's Grand Entrance received a travel-speed increase. A faster dash reduced the time opponents had to move away from the knock-up area and made his engage feel more responsive.

Historical impact: the support gained a more reliable initiation window, especially when approaching from fog of war or following allied crowd control. Positioning still mattered because a missed engage could leave Rakan exposed.

Patch 9.5 change summary

How to use old League of Legends patch articles

1. Match the guide to the exact patch number.
2. Separate direct buffs from changes that include a compensating nerf.
3. Ignore old item recommendations unless the item still exists with the same function.
4. Confirm current ability text, cooldowns and ratios in the client.

Patch 9.5 explains a moment in these champions' balance history. It should not be used as a current ranking or as evidence that the four champions are stronger in the live game.