Olaf Champion Update - Clear Speed Nerfs

Olaf’s mid-scope update shifts some of his power away from his clear speed, and back into his identity as a berserker who plays on the edge of death.

Base Stats and Passive - Berserker Rage

To begin with, Olaf’s scaling stats have been been bumped up to make him more of a threat in the late game:

• AD growth increased to 4.7, up from 3.5
• AD at level 18 increased to 148, up from 127.5
• Health growth increased to 105, up from 100
• Mana growth increased to 50, up from 42

Additionally, his Passive (Berserker Rage) has received a couple changes:

• New effect - now grants 10-30% life steal (levels 1-18), based on Olaf’s missing health
• Maximum attack speed changed to 40-100% (levels 1-18), changed from 99% at all levels
• Bonuses now max out when Olaf is at 30% health, changed from 0%

The maximum attack speed changes makes Olaf’s early game and his jungle clear speed slightly worse, as he has to wait for a few levels before gaining noteworthy attack speed. However, the fact the attack speed and life steal now maxes out when Olaf is at 30% health means the uptime of these larger bonuses will be much higher.

Q - Undertow

Olaf’s Q (Undertow) has received some changes to make picking up his axes more worthwhile:

• Picking up axes now fully refunds Q’s cooldown, but axes can only be thrown a maximum of once every 3 seconds (this scales with ability haste)
• New effect - now shreds 20/22.5/25/27.5/30% armour for 4 seconds upon hitting enemy champions. Subsequent axes will refresh this duration
• Quality of life buff - now grants ghosting more consistently, ensuring Olaf can hit multiple jungle creeps with his Q

The new armour shred effect will augment Olaf’s ganks, as he can slow enemies with his Q then deal even more damage to them thanks to the armour reduction. These buffs have been balanced out with some nerfs to its damage and cooldown:

• Cooldown increased to 9 seconds, up from 7
• Damage reduced to 60/110/160/210/260, down from 80/125/170/215/260

However, the increased cooldown is only relevant when you are unable to pick up the axes, while the early game damage reduction will mostly affect Olaf’s jungle clear. The new armour shred effect should mitigate this nerf when Olaf is using Q on champions. Meanwhile, its range has been increased and mana cost decreased:

• Minimum range increased 425 units, up from 300
• Mana cost decreased to 40/45/50/55/60, down from 60 at all ranks

W - Tough It Out

Olaf’s W has received a name change, and is now called Tough It Out instead of Vicious Strikes. This reflects its ability to help Olaf survive through tricky situations, particularly with its new effect:

• New effect - upon activation, grants Olaf a 10/45/80/115/150 (+25% missing health, capped at 30% of his current health) shield for 2.5 seconds
• Removed effect - no longer grants Olaf life steal
• Removed effect - no longer amplifies Olaf’s healing based on missing health

Though the life steal has been removed from his W, it is now present in his passive. Additionally, the new shield will reward players who can time it effectively when Olaf is at low health, and will make Olaf deceptively durable when paired with other shields (such as Sterak’s Gage). Its attack speed, duration, and cooldown have also been reduced:

• Cooldown decreased to 16/14.5/13/11.5/10 seconds, down from 16 seconds at all ranks
• Attack speed decreased to 40/50/60/70/80%, down from 50/60/70/80/90%
• Ability duration decreased to 4 seconds, down from 6 seconds

The last change to Olaf’s W is how it now resets Olaf’s basic attack timer, strengthening Olaf’s skirmishing power by giving him another basic attack for damage and life steal, and allowing him to clear wards quickly.

Ultimate - Ragnarok

Finally, Olaf’s iconic ultimate has received some nerfs:

• Bonus attack damage reduced to 10/20/30 (+25% AD), down from 15/20/25 (+30% AD)
• Duration reduced to 3 seconds, down from 6
• Passive resists reduced to 10/25/40, down from 20/30/40

However, these nerfs have been balanced out by two critical buffs:

• Bonus resistances are no longer lost for the duration of the ability
• New effect: hitting a champion or E (Reckless Swing) extends the duration of Ragnarok by 2.5 seconds. Olaf can refresh Ragnarok indefinitely

The duration nerf will make Ragnarok much worse when Olaf is using it to escape from enemies, as you may not have the opportunity to damage enemies if you’re running away. Though Olaf will be dealing less damage during his ult, the fact its duration can be extended indefinitely means Olaf will be extremely powerful in extended skirmishes.

Summary

Overall, the changes have nerfed Olaf's clear speed and early game damage, but given him increased durability and the potential to become unstoppable in elongated skirmishes.