If you’ve been grinding ranked in Teamfight Tactics Set 16: Lore & Legends, then you’ve likely noticed something unsettling since Patch 16.3 — Bilgewater isn’t the unstoppable early tempo force it used to be. What once felt like a sure way to punish Stage 2 and snowball into late game now leaves you questioning your economy and mid‑game health.
That’s because Riot didn’t just slap a few stat nerfs on Bilgewater — they restructured its economic engine, fundamentally altering how the combo rewards early aggression and snowballing. In Patch 16.3, Bilgewater’s tempo dominance — long the backbone of early wins — has been systematically weakened. Here’s why, and how you should adjust your strategy to thrive in the new meta.
🎮 What Changed in Patch 16.3 — The Hard Data
Patch 16.3 brought one of the biggest overhauls to Teamfight Tactics this season, including trait nerfs, system changes, and new unlock mechanics. Let’s focus on the specific Bilgewater adjustments and the context around them.
⚓ Bilgewater Trait Nerfs
According to the official 16.3 patch notes, Bilgewater’s core power sources were directly targeted:
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Free AD/AP bonus reduced: 20% → 15%
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2‑cost Serpent cost increased: 30 → 35
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Serpents per takedown reduced: 2 → 1
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Bilgewater (10) cannon damage reduced: 500 → 300
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Bilgewater (10) gold per kill reduced: 5 → 2
These changes slash both early board strength and the gold/XP generation that feeds powerful tempo builds — meaning your old rush‑to‑win strategy simply doesn’t generate the resources it once did.
🧠 Why These Changes Matter
📉 1. Reduced Combat Income Halts Snowballing
Before 16.3, winning early rounds with Bilgewater gave you Serpents — the trait currency — quickly. Each takedown rewarded 2 serpents. Now it only gives 1 serpent, which cuts your income in half. That sharp drop in currency makes it much harder to both roll for upgrades and save for interest.
⚔️ 2. Weaker Stat Bonuses Make Early Boards Less Dominant
With the Free AD/AP bonus reduced from 20% to 15%, your units hit significantly less hard in the early to mid game, making it harder to snowball wins.
💰 3. Lower Gold Per Kill and Higher Serpent Costs Drain Econ
Gold per kill at the (10) stack level is now 2 instead of 5, and serpents needed for 2‑cost units increased from 30 to 35. This slows down not just tempo, but every economic avenue Bilgewater used to keep players rich early.
🔄 The Big Meta Shift: Not Just the Trait
Patch 16.3 also included other systemic changes that synergize with Bilgewater’s nerfs:
📌 1. Increased Level 8 → 9 XP
The experience required to reach Level 9 was increased from 68 XP to 76 XP, which slows down greedy leveling comps that rely on early gold to hit high cost units quickly.
📌 2. Unlock System Changes
Though not specific to Bilgewater, the broader Unlock system update — where contested 4‑ and 5‑cost units are now easier to two‑star but harder to three‑star when uncontested — shifts emphasis away from pure greedy tempo boards toward reactive and flexible play.
🧪 The Silent Effect: What This Means for Tempo Play
Taken together, these changes don’t just reduce numbers — they change the underlying incentives of the game:
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Winning early is no longer enough — you can’t snowball into the late game purely by slamming wins.
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Economy matters more — reduced serpent income and slower leveling push you toward safer decisions around interest and roll timings.
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Pivoting is critical — sticking rigidly to Bilgewater now often results in middling boards and low health.
In plain terms: tempo Bilgewater — the kind that rushed Stage 3 with 7 units and hoped to cash out into late game — is no longer reliable.
🧭 How to Adapt Your Bilgewater Playstyle in 16.3
That doesn’t mean never playing Bilgewater — it just means you need to adjust your objectives and tactical decisions.
✅ 1. Use Bilgewater as a Stabilizer, Not a Win Condition
Instead of aiming to win every round early, use the trait to secure moderate health while building toward a stronger mid‑game board. Resist the urge to slam items too early; prioritize centerline strength that helps you scale.
🔁 2. Consider Slow Rolls or Hybrid Transitions
If you find multiple Bilgewater carries early (like Gangplank or Draven), consider slow rolling at Level 7 or even Level 8 rather than committing to an all‑in tempo push. This lets you use Bilgewater for value while preserving economy for a pivot.
🧠 3. Shift Item & Augment Priorities
With Bilgewater’s raw damage down:
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Prioritize items and augments that boost survivability or utility, such as shields or crowd control.
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Economy‑focused augments become riskier unless you have an already strong board, so favor combat‑oriented augments that keep you alive and consistent through mid rounds.
🔄 Smart Alternatives to Bilgewater in Patch 16.3
Bad news: Bilgewater isn’t broken enough to completely disappear — but there are other strategies that now compete effectively:
🌿 Ixtal Cashout Builds
Ixtal’s quests and cashout rewards received several buffs that make it more attractive, with guaranteed strong item payout paths that can replace Bilgewater’s early tempo.
🚀 Piltover Module Synergies
Piltover traits — especially modules like Continuum Cogs and Acceleration Gate — were buffed in the patch, improving their mid‑game viability and offering tech‑oriented boards that reliably scale.
🛡️ Darkin (3) Spike Plays
Darkin (3) saw significant damage increases, offering a mid‑to‑late game spike that’s less reliant on early gold and snowballing than classic Bilgewater.
🧠 Final Thoughts: Play Smarter, Not Greedier
Bilgewater in Patch 16.3 isn’t dead — but the tempo engine that made it dominant has been fundamentally slowed. Rather than gambling on early kills and hoping it all pays off, success in the current meta rewards players who:
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Stabilize early without burning all gold
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Pivot to stronger mid‑game boards
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Prioritize board strength over greedy slams
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Use trait puff for value, not as a single path to victory
The era of win at all costs early is over. Adaptation, flexibility, and economic discipline are now what put you at the top of the leaderboard.
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