Mana Regen Nerfs Explained

My assumptions about the mana regen changes turned out to be incorrect when I calculated the numbers, so I'm sharing the information here. These are examples of a typical mid mage and a typical mid mage pigeonholed into support.

LIVE Base mp5: 6 + .8 / lvl With +50% regen: 9 + 1.2 / lvl Doran's CS regen equivalent: 0-4 mp5 (4 mana per minion, 6 minions per 30 seconds) Total regen at lvl 1: 9-13 mp5 Total regen at lvl 6: 15-19 mp5 Total regen at lvl 10: 19.8-23.8 mp5 Total regen at lvl 16: 27-31 mp5

PBE Base mp5: 8 + .8 / lvl With Doran's: 13 +.8 / lvl Total regen at lvl 1: 13 mp5 Total regen at lvl 6: 17 mp5 Total regen at lvl 10: 20.2 mp5 Total regen at lvl 16: 25 mp5

CONCLUSION PBE regen baseline is equivalent to perfect CS at level 1, falls to missing half of CS by level 6, and completely loses any CS regen equivalent by level 11. Overall, this is a buff for very hard lanes and very bad players, but it's mostly a nerf for safe lanes and good CSers.

LIVE Base mp5: 11.5 + .4 / lvl With +50% regen: 17.25 + .6 / lvl Doran's CS regen equivalent: 0-4 mp5 (4 mana per minion, 6 minions per 30 seconds) Total regen at lvl 1: 17.25-21.25 mp5 Total regen at lvl 6: 20.25-24.25 mp5 Total regen at lvl 10: 22.65-26.65 mp5 Total regen at lvl 16: 26.25-30.25 mp5

Base mp5: 11.5 + .4 / lvl With +50% Frostfang regen: 17.25 + .6 / lvl Total regen at lvl 1: 14.375 mp5 Total regen at lvl 6: 20.25 mp5 Total regen at lvl 10: 22.65 mp5 Total regen at lvl 16: 26.25 mp5

PBE Base mp5: 15.34 + .4 / lvl With Doran's: 20.34 + .4 / lvl Total regen at lvl 1: 20.34 mp5 Total regen at lvl 6: 22.34 mp5 Total regen at lvl 10: 23.94 mp5 Total regen at lvl 16: 26.34 mp5

Base mp5: 15.34 + .4 / lvl With +25% Frostfang regen: 19.2 + .5 / lvl Total regen at lvl 1: 15.34 mp5 Total regen at lvl 6: 21.7 mp5 Total regen at lvl 10: 23.7 mp5 Total regen at lvl 16: 26.7 mp5

CONCLUSION Unlike Lux, there is no point at which the new Doran's breaks even with live Doran's with perfect CS; it's a nerf but still not a massive one. Surprisingly, the regen and spellthief changes are a buff across the board from level 1-18.

TIP On all mages, you can now buy a on first recall and have regen equal to a live Doran's with perfect CS for as long as you have it in your inventory. Even if you sell charms later instead of upgrading, the buy/sell cost difference is 38g, or approximately the cost of 1.5 mana pots (RIP mana pots). In other words, just buy charms and think of them as consumables.

This is particularly useful on support mages (Zilean, Zyra, Brand) because they have the highest base regen, and shared exp in bot lane means you spend less game time feeling the nerfs to max mana per level.