User blog comment:NicknameMy/Garen changes for more balance and interactive gameplay/@comment-7463332-20180302193921/@comment-3493296-20180303013731

The reason for that is that he gets basically destroyed by any ranged champion so hard in lane that he can't exist. And also, the passive change makes him even more vulnerable to ranged champions, so he needs a buff for that. For that, I also took away his free resistances, means in a close battle, he takes more damage. You can also play as a ranged around this and stay inside the range and play a more dangerous game, but you are rewarded with more damage. This and his passive are types of interactive gameplay which Garen lacks right now.