Riot Games previously announced who they will buff and nerf when League of Legends patch 10.22 hits but now they have released details, revealing that Brand is in for a treat.
Brand hasn't had much of a presence in mid-lane for a long time now. These days we usually see him bullying bot laners thanks to his range and strong base damage on abilities. When patch 10.22 hits, however, we might actually see him back in mid lane but not necessarily out of the support role.
His passive is getting adjusted since it will have lower base damage but better scaling since explosion damage will go from 12-16 per cent down to 10-14 per cent. It will scale by two per cent each 100 AP instead of 1.5 per cent though. At 400 AP, the damage will be the same as before the changes while at 500 or more AP, it will deal more damage than before.
That change could be interesting but it's by no means Brand's highlight in the upcoming patch. The honour is reserved for Conflagration (E) and Pyroclasm (R).
Conflagration will now always spread to nearby enemies, even if the primary target is not ablaze. The spread radius is slightly lower (from 375 units down to 300) but it can actually be much higher if the primary target is affected by Brand's passive as the flames will now spread in a 600 radius. For reference, that is the basic attack range of most marksmen.
Pyroclasm change is a simple but immensely powerful one - it can now bounce off of Brand.
League of Legends - showcase of several champion splash arts
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With these two changes, there is little to nothing keeping Brand from being a powerhouse in the midlane. E into W combo will be extremely potent at pushing waves so he will have something to compensate with for the lack of roaming ability.
Meanwhile, the Pyroclasm buff will make him much stronger in duels since proccing the passive and having several bounces on a single enemy will make Brand dish out his full damage potential without relying on opponents clumping up.
