8/27 PBE Update: Guardian of the Sands Kha'Zix, Akali Splash, Cassiopeia TU & Gameplay Update

The PBE has been updated, including a new Guardian of the Sands Kha'Zix skin, model/texture and gameplay updates for Cassiopeia, a new splash art for Akali, and more!
Continue reading for more information!

New Kha'Zix Skin

Just in time for Ascension, Kha'Zix has received a new "Guardian of the Sands Kha'Zix" skin in this PBE Update. Unfortunately for us though, it is currently bugs and not up for testing just yet.

Guardian of the Sands Kha'Zix

Here's Galetta with a Bugs & Feedback thread for Guardian of the Sands Kha'Zix:

"A guardian rises! 

After a long slumber, Guardian of the Sands Kha'zix arrives on the rift! His golden carapace shimmers in the sunlight as he leaps upon his prey! This skin includes: 

• All new golden scarab themed model! 
• All new sand and jade themed particles!
• New recall animation!

Your feedback and bug reports are extremely helpful to us, so please check out Guardian of the Sands Kha'Zix and let us know what you think! Feel free to drop any bugs (heh) you find in this thread as well, and definitely give him a go on the Summoner’s Rift Update! 

See you on the Rift! 

Note: Sorry guys, this is not the ultimate skin. :D 

NOTE 2: Due to a bug (heh) Guardian of the Sands Kha'zix will not be playable today 8/27/2014, we are working to resolve this issue as quickly as possible. Thanks for being patient. :<"

Regardless of the note, here is a video preview of the skin. Be aware that we had to utilize dark magics to access it and the skin should be considered incomplete.

Once things get fixed up in the next update, I'll add a full set of screen shots!

New Splash Art

Cassiopeia Gameplay + Texture/Model Updates

Before we take a look at the new Cassiopeia models and textures included in today's update, here's Riot Stashu with details on what's new for Cassiopeia's kit:

"Hey guys! Coupled with all these other upcoming Shurima releases, we've got an update to Cassiopeia for ya. Cassiopeia has always had some really cool stuff on her kit, and we saw this as a great opportunity to polish her up and really accentuate her interesting strengths. Here’s what we’re hoping to accomplish with these changes:

1) Emphasize Cassiopeia's carry potential 

Cassiopeia has always been thought of as one of the highest potential damage sources in League of Legends, so we've taken this opportunity to really push her into that niche. Alongside this is giving her a unique and powerful endgame goal-- take a look at her new passive for more information here.

2) Increase reliability 

The reset mechanic on Twin Fang often feels like it doesn't work properly, even when it does. So, we’re adding a few tweaks here to make Twin Fang just a touch more reliable-- and from what we've seen, even a little bit of reliability on Cassiopeia goes a longggg way.

3) Tone down her lane bullying 

Historically, when Cassiopeia has been strong, her laning was oppressive to the point of being problematic. We're looking to fix this by toning down some of her early power and making space to give her very powerful tools for the late game.

4) Channel her damage potential into her single target spell, Twin Fang 

We plan on giving Cassiopeia a lot of late game power-- way too much to comfortably fit into her spammable aoe spells. Don't worry though, Noxious blast and Miasma are still going to be very important and impactful spells, but we'll be shifting some of their damage into utility so as to allow Cassiopeia better access to her E. 

And with that in mind, here are the specifics: 

Aspect of the Serpent

• Old passive: removed!
• New passive: Cassiopeia gains a stack of Aspect of the Serpent for each second that an enemy champion is poisoned and for each poisoned unit that she kills. Her ability power is increased by 1% for every 25 stacks, up to a max of 375 stacks.

• At 50 stacks, Twin Fang now heals Cassiopeia for 6/8/10/12/16 (+0.1 ability power)

• At 150 stacks, Cassioepeia gains 30% CDR

• At 375 stacks, the AP bonus from Aspect of the Serpent is doubled.

Noxious Blast 

Provides Cassiopeia more movement speed later in the game but, in turn, deals less damage. 

• Damage: 70/105/140/175/210 (+0.35 ability power)
• Movement speed: 10/15/20/25/30%
• Cooldown: 4 seconds
• Mana cost: 40/45/50/55/60
• Delay increased by 0.05 seconds

Miasma 

Now a notably more powerful slow tool but has a higher cooldown and deals less damage. 

• Damage per second: 10/15/20/25/30 (+0.1 ability power)
• Cooldown: 15 seconds
• Mana cost: 40/50/60/70/80
• Slow: 15/22.5/30/37.5/45%

Twin Fang 

Is now MUCH more reliable when checking for poisoned targets and has a higher AP ratio later in the game. Also, now grants mana upon killing a unit. 

• Damage: 55/80/105/130/155 (+0.4/0.45/0.5/0.55/0.6 ability power)
• Mana cost: 30/45/60/75/90
• Utility: Now refunds its mana cost plus an additional 3% of Cassiopeia's total mana when it kills a unit.
• Usability: Now has additional checks in place to see if target was poisoned.

Petrifying Gaze 

Lower cooldown, but also slightly lower damage.

• Damage: 150/250/350 (+0.5 ability power)
• Cooldown: 120/110/100

And that's it. I’m sure Cassiopeia veterans out there have some concerns about some of these damage changes, so I'd like to highlight a few things.

• The reliability change to Twin Fang cannot be understated

• This has huge implications on her DPS potential. More E's with a higher ratio = more DPS. For anyone used to playing Cassiopeia, you'll notice a difference immediately.

• Much of her kit has been restructured to make Twin Fang more accessible

• 30% CDR, buffed movespeed on Q, a buffed slow on W, and a lower cooldown on R all come together to make Cassiopeia's damage more readily available.

• Additionally, the life on hit on Twin Fang allows Cassiopeia to stay in fights for longer periods of time, much like lifesteal does for AD carries. This means Cassiopeia will be free to do more damage over the course of a fight.

• Aspect of the Serpent grants Cassiopeia significant AP in the late game

• This'll help make up for some of the base damage tuning, but also simply give her more damage than ever before at full build

So! Please let us know what it feels like to play with this new passive. I’m particularly interested in the following: Does “Aspect of the Serpent” change the way you think about the laning phase while playing Cassiopeia? Does Cassiopeia feel particularly powerful in the late game as a result of her passive? How do the usability changes to Twin Fang feel? 

Lastly, as with most content on the PBE, keep in mind that many aspects of Cassiopeia are still works in progress-- which means some things might look a bit weird, and others will likely be a little buggy. We’re already working on a lot of this, and we'd love to hear your feedback in case there’s anything not already on our radar. 

Alright, that's all for now, but I'll be around! I hope you enjoy Cassiopeia on the PBE!"

Here's a screen shot of her new passive in-game, it's big enough to sink your fangs into!
Now for better look at her model and texture updates!

Cassiopeia

Xerath Voiceover

Xerath has new voiceover lines. He really, really likes to talk about Ascension!

Other

Miss out on previous updates from this PBE cycle? Check out THIS PAGE for a comprehensive list of the new content in this PBE cycle or catch up with the links below !

• 8/26 PBE Update: Azir, Galactic Azir, Renekton Texture and Model updates, new summoner icons, Ascension Assets, Kha'Zix Skin Placeholder