Red Post Collection: July Sales Schedule, Gameplay Thoughts for June 20th, Azir Gameplay Update, & more!

Tonight's red post collection includes the July champion and skins sales schedule, Meddler's quick gameplay thoughts for June 20th, direction & goals for future Azir gameplay update, and more!
Continue reading for more info:

• Red Post Collection: Vision Ping Details, Origins: Riven, Gameplay Thoughts June 16th, and more! 
• Champion & Skin Sale 6/20 - 6/23
• Free Champion Rotation, Week of June 20th
• 6/19 PBE Update: Zeke's Convergence Icon, Skin Tweaks, & more! 
• 2016 SKT T1 World Championship Skins Splash

Table of Contents

• July sales schedule 
• Meddler's Quick Gameplay Thoughts: June 20 
• Azir Gameplay Update: Goals and Directions 
• 2017 NA LCS Summer Finals tickets on Sale Soon
• Quick Hits
• Reminders

July sales schedule 

As we charge past June and closer to July, the July champion & skins sales schedule is available now:

"Check out all the champs and skins on sale this July! Like previous sales schedules, we’re not posting the exact dates for each champ and skin, but they’ll all be on sale sometime next month. 

Just a heads up – since we’re publishing these in advance, we won’t offer partial refunds on champs and skins purchased before they go on sale."

Meddler's Quick Gameplay Thoughts: June 20 

Meddler is back with his quick gameplay thoughts for June 20th. This edition covers Rek'Sai's 7.13 PBE changes, Ezreal and Xayah, as well as Rift Herald and death sounds in game:

"Hey all, 

Usual Disclaimers 

These posts will often contain talk about future work we're doing, or planning to do, that isn't yet guaranteed to ship. The nature of the work could change or, depending on what we discover, projects mentioned may get put delayed or even stopped. 

If you'd like to see a Tweet whenever a new one of these posts goes up: https://twitter.com/RiotMeddler 

Rek'Sai 

We've got some follow up changes for Rek'Sai in testing, though a bunch of them will be pretty hard to datamine. Mainly bug fixes and useability, though we're also testing an AD ratio buff on the ult, belief being that's still underperforming a bit versus where it should be. 

Q - does a better job of spell queueing
W - Standardized unburrow time for W reactivation versus right click (right click was slightly slower), knockback for secondary targets now clears the CC properly on knockback end (was lingering sometimes)
R - Ratio 1.6 -> 1.85, CD updates properly for allies, visual effects clean up. 

Ezreal 

Ez looks pretty weak at the moment. Some of that makes sense with the current meta, state of items in particular, which aren't so favorable to him. Something we'll want to consider before buffing him however is whether this is finally the time to do some work on his W, make it a more satisfying spell. Lot of value from doing that, main downside is that we've got some other small updates in the queue already (Azir, LB being the main two). Would be looking for a W that had interesting skill expression, still felt right thematically for Ezreal and didn't remove gameplay or intended weaknesses from him (so not just W affecting minions or W removing the skilltest on who E hits for example). 

Rift Herald 

Rift Herald looks to be in a pretty good space still. We'll be making a slight buff most likely in the next patch however, increasing the gold reward for the kill from 25g to 100g. Goal there is to put a bit more power in for taking the camp in the first place, bringing up the baseline value a little even if you don't get much out of the summon itself (e.g. if your team's behind and can't support the push well). Also puts a bit more reward in for the jungler (usually) specifically. 

Inhib Tower XP 

We'll also be removing the XP inhib towers give at present in an upcoming patch. We removed most tower XP a while back, but looks like we missed that specific case. It's not a major impact, but it's a bit of extra snowball, that won't be appreciated or played around, in a situation where one team's already getting themselves into a powerful position (they've taken an inhib tower). Snowball's got its place, good play should increase your chance of winning after all, but we still want it to be at the appropriate levels, clear, satisfying etc. 

Xayah 

Small bit of follow up on Xayah coming in the next patch too, with her Q lockout now reducing with the amount of attack speed she's got. The lockout looks like it's having the appropriate impact in lane, but longer than needed later in the game. 

Death Sounds 

Shortly, most likely in 7.14, we'll be testing out updated sounds for nearby allied and enemy champion deaths, aiming to make those a bit more distinct so team fights especially are easy to track. Bunch more details on those coming in the next week or two, feedback then much appreciated as to how clear they are/how they sound in general."

When asked about the fifth dragon mentioned in an earlier gameplay thoughts post, Meddler responded:

"Quote:

Hey Meddler, any word on the possible fifth dargon that was being discussed a few months back?

Still a possible next year thing, as per previous discussion definitely not this year (Runes work's taking most of our pre-season focus)."

On Singed buffs, Meddler commented:

"Quote:

When can we expect Singed buffs?
He is so weak and with that Righteous glory change made him even worse then before

Probably still something in 7.13."

On Cho'Gath, Meddler replied:

"Quote:

Any followups for cho'gath? Still has a 46-47% winrate and low pick rate since 6.20

Likely stuff in 7.14 or 7.15."

On whether Ezreal and Karma would have larger reworks soon, Meddler responded:

"Quote:

Hey Meddler, 2 questions:

1. If you update Ezreal's W, would you also give him a visual update to accompany it?
2. Someone on the boards claimed a few days ago that in a 2016 twitch stream, that you and Ghostcrawler said you were saving Karma for a full rework next year, is this true?

We wouldn't be doing a full visual update on Ezreal no, this would be something more like the Rek'Sai update by the Live Gameplay team, not a full overhaul. 

We don't have a full Karma rework scheduled or planned at present no. Think there are reasonable odds we do some smaller work, but give we only get to do around 5 full reworks a year we think there are other champs in more need than Karma."

Meddler continued:

"Quote:

Hell I think ezreal needs it more than karma if only for the visuals. Or almost anyone.

I'd agree with that, though then argue there are other champs (Nunu for example) who need both visual and gameplay work even more."

When a user asked about Rek'Sai's Q not stacking energized attacks, Meddler commented:

"Quote:

Rek'Sai - is it intended that her Q auto attacks do not stack Energized Attacks?

Nope, if that's happening it's a bug. We'll get it fixed."

When asked if there are any plans for Twitch, Meddler commented:

"Quote:

Hi Meddler, 

Twitch is out of the line for a long time so far. Im just curious: Is he even on the radar? Any thoughts? 

I dont like it if he is too strong. 

Thanks in advance! :)

He's on watch, don't currently have nerfs in for him or nerfs planned for the coming patch at least though."

When asked a variety of questions about runes, Meddler replied:

"Quote:

Very well then. 

Q1: Will we still have some sort of granular control over base stats? Either through runes or some other means. Current system obviously has limitations and lacks that in-game "visual 'oomph'", but we still get 9x runes and 3x quints of everything. 

Q2: Will there be any major base stat modifier runes transitioned over, such as AD/AS/AP, MS/MR/HP; Scaling or Flat, etc? If so, will they be the same now just in "bigger chunks" (i.e. instead of 9x runes giving 8.5AD, having 2x runes give 8.5AD)? 

Q3: Will off-meta playstyles/builds be taken into consideration with the new system? E.g. On-hit/Tank Teemo (needs a lot of upfront early resistances and scaling hp); full crit dmg runes on Jhin/Panth; Spellvamp Karthus JG; stuff like that? 

Q4: Is there anyone or place where one can submit keystone rune concepts for the team to look at and maybe get inspiration from? If not, would you be open to providing such a avenue? 

Q5: Followup Is there a better way to be noticed / get in contact with you and other higher ups than the boards/reddit, and/or is Riot open to input from individuals in the community that may have valid suggestions or interesting concepts to work with? 

Q6: Finally, any thoughts on Rammus' W slow being reduced from 60% to something more manageable like 30%, or scaled per level or even removed altogether? He feels very..... asinine to play with when his whole identity revolves around going fast and sticking to players, yet completely dismantles that playstyle with the aggressive W slow which literally makes him crawl on the rift. 

Thank you for replying and for your time. Feel free to answer all or some of my Q's, as your time permits. Much appreciated.

We've got different definitions of short. Few responses though since you've trimmed down a fair amount:

• There'll still be some ways of modifying starting stats, through runes that give stats in some form, probably additional starting items etc. Some champs will also have their base stats or rank 1 abilities adjusted to ensure they still feel right and are balanced. 

• There'll be a lot of runes that enable off meta playstyles. Those won't necessarily be the same identical off meta playstyles as today though, with different content supporting new ones and likely not covering at least the more obscure old ones. On hit builds should have stuff they can spec into for example that helps them out, both offensively and defensively. With more specific stuff, like Spellvamp Jungle Karthus, I'd expect there'll be things that help Karthus jungle, though they won't necessarily be the exact same tools (e.g. could be other forms of survivability/sustain rather than starting spell vamp for example) 

• Posts on the Boards or Reddit are your best bets if trying to get discussion going with Rioters. We generally prefer to keep discussion public, both because the community often helps filter good ideas from bad and because there's a lot more benefit in having a conversation others can read too. Topics in question are normally of interest to a range of other people too."

Meddler continued on the same subject:

"Quote:

I just saw the post. I only asked because the new rune system is going to force a drastic need to update the jungle/junglers. Also I was assuming that the diver update was the next thing on the block and with a drastic majority of them being junglers it was a good timing to kill 2 birds with one stone.

No details yet, we'll definitely be making changes though to at the very least jungle items, and probably jungle camps/individual champs, so that jungling still works appropriately post Runes changes."

When asked about Fiora, Meddler replied:

"Still looking at Fiora, less certain we'll be nerfing her at this point though, hence the lack of nerfs on PBE."

Azir Gameplay Update: Goals and Directions 

Here's Wav3Break with an update post on Azir, sharing tentative details on a future update. Be aware this is very early in the process and aims to share goals and directions:

"As mentioned by Meddler and a recent Ask Riot, we are currently exploring different update directions for our beloved Shuriman emperor. We are still very early on into the process, but I wanted to communicate what our main goals are and the different paths we are considering to achieve those goals. 

Goals: 

• Increase opponent play options when playing against Azir 

• Increase Azir’s live ranked performance (buff) 

• Preserve his core play pattern of summoning Sand Soldiers and using them as his auto attacks 

Each following direction seeks to increase options when playing against Azir, but makes its own trade offs. 

Two Major Directions: 

1) Reduce Azir’s soldier command range, exposing him to more opponent damage/cc opportunities when he is dealing damage. 

• Ranges would still be decently long, shorter by roughly 15~% is what we'd likely aim for 

• Affords his mobility profile remaining similar to live 

• Might mean he needs more on-demand survivability 

• Is the direction that reduces the most pressure on us to dramatically change functionality on his current spells (might still require some decent changes depending on what we discover though)  

2) Keep Azir’s live soldier command range, but reduce his mobility profile so he is more easily killed when you do have the tools to close the gap on him.  

• Affords soldiers lasting longer than they currently do 

• Most likely means we remove his ability to drift or dash to his soldiers 

• Is the direction that restricts Azir to be even more of a back-liner  

Regardless of our choice in direction, we will most likely be buffing Azir’s Sand Soldier stab damage and overall DPS potential. At the same time, we will also be looking for ways to ensure his laning phase is less oppressive when his numbers are tuned up. 

A decently successful mechanic we have tested a bit so far is reducing his Soldier’s AoE damage early game and scaling it back up to 100% by champion level. This means Azir can still have threatening single target damage throughout the match, but less wave control early game. 

Again, we are still very early on into this project, but feedback around these two directions and what you like about the current Azir are all very helpful to us during this stage of development! At the end of the day, we want to deliver an Azir that is exciting to his current players (and potential new ones) that doesn’t warp the meta-game around himself when he is fairly tuned for the average player. I will try to be here often to answer some questions throughout this week as well."

On Azir's range being reduced, Wav3Break commented:

"Quote:

i REALLY much prefer the latter (reducing mobility) over the former (nerfing range) for thematic reasons, Azir is the emperor, the commander, the king, he doesn't do the dirty work, he points and his soldiers kill whoever he wills them too, he's a much more interesting champion as a back line DPS champion then a pseudo innitiator, and it makes curbing his strengths and high elo performance much easier

Idea for range reduction isn't to make him not a back line champion, just reduce his range so its not such a pronounced strength. He would likely function at ranges similar to Cassiopeia/Ryze if we take direction 1."

Wav3Break continued:

"Quote:

Definitely rooting for option #2 

Do you guys have any ideas as to what you'll do to tune down his mobility? Just remove his E or are you looking to reduce it's range?

Most likely exploring another way for him to re-position soldiers or a steroid for him to optimize around."

2017 NA LCS Summer Finals tickets on Sale Soon

Tickets for the 2017 NA LCS Summer Finals in Boston, MA go on sale June 27th with a limited presale on June 26th. Check the official announcement on LoL Esports for more information.

"2017 NA LCS Summer Finals tickets go on sale on June 27. Click here to pre-register for a chance to buy your tickets early. 

As a certain feathered friend revealed, 2017 NA LCS Summer Finals is heading to Boston on September 2-3. If you’re hoping to join us for Finals weekend to see a new champion be crowned live from the renowned TD Garden, here’s what you need to know to get your tickets: 

Tickets on sale on June 27 at 12:00 PM ET via Ticketmaster. Tickets will be $35-$85. 

We’ll have a limited presale of floor seats and discounted 2-day bundles on June 26 at 12:00 PM ET to June 27 at 10:00 AM ET. During the presale, limited quantities of 2-day ticket bundles will be available at a 25% discount and single day seats will be available at a 10% discount. Buying order will be determined by random lottery from pre-registrations so if you want a chance to get your tickets early, you must sign up here with Ticketmaster Verified Fan. Pre-registration closes on Sunday, June 25 at 1:00 AM ET. If you don't register in time or are not selected for the presale, you'll need to buy tickets during the June 27 sale."

For the full article and the FAQ, check out this link!

Quick Hits

[Quick Hits is our own collection within a red post collection, often including easy to digest stories, specialized information, and/or repeat info you may have missed in other posts!]