4/3 PBE Update: Conqueror Varus, New DM Swain & BB Rumble Chroma, New Summoner Icons, Ward skin, and more!

Posted on at 12:37 PM by Aznbeat
The PBE has been updated! As we kick off the 8.8 PBE cycle, today's update includes Conqueror Varus, upcoming chromas for Dragon Master Swain and Badlands Baron Rumble, new set of summoner icons, a new ward skin, and more!
Continue reading for more information!

(Warning: PBE Content is tentative and subject to change - what you see below may not reflect what eventually gets pushed to live servers at the end of the cycle! Manage your expectations accordingly.)

Table of Contents


New Skin

With MSI 2018 right around the corner, Conqueror Varus has debuted on the PBE!

Conqueror Varus

975 RP / Legacy
[Will have a limited edition loading screen border included in bundle available 4/26-5/21]
[Gif]

Here's Riot KiWiKiD with a bugs & feedback thread for Conqueror Varus:
Hello gamers, KiWiKiD here bringing you Conqueror Varus for PBE Bugs and Feedback! 
This bad boy has conquered countless battlefields and now has MSI 2018 in his sights! 
Go forth and dominate with his:
  • New model and textures - Reigning with a new, ruby-and-gold bow.
  • New spell VFX- Inspired by the gritty crimson of a warring battlefield.
  • New recall animation - Where he takes what belongs to him.
  • Special loadscreen border - If you buy the Conqueror Varus bundle (Available 4/26-5/21*), you'll have a special border as you load into game!
Conqueror Varus is now available on PBE! Give him the battles he desires and report back here with any bugs that occured or feedback that you have. Any questions are of course welcome as well, and I’ll do my best to answer as many as I can. 
Conqueror Varus is currently set at 975 RP. (subject to change)"

New Chroma

New chroma were added for the recently released Dragon Master Swain (4) and forthcoming Badlands Baron Rumble (8)!

Dragon Master Swain

   

Badlands Baron Rumble

       

New Summoner Icons

A slew of new summoner icons were added this cycle!

We have eight new cute champion that are similar to the Blue Essence Emporium's Mystery Minis icons champion icons seen during preseason. No release or availability details yet!
    
   

A summoner icon featuring the new Conqueror Varus is also on the PBE:

New Ward Skin

Assets for an upcoming ward skin were added this cycle, no name yet. Look for in-game pictures once the new ward skin is enabled for testing.

Game client security changes now live on PBE 

Here's Riot Perma with more on new security changes now in place on the PBE:
"Hello Summoners, 
We’ve begun rolling out security changes to the League of Legends game client today on the Public Beta Environment. Our goal with these changes is to make it harder to develop or use cheating applications in League. We wanted to proactively communicate these changes in case you run into any abnormal failures while running the game in this environment. If you are experiencing new game crashes it may indicate an incompatibility between software on your computer and our new changes. 
If you encounter a critical error message during the game, we would greatly appreciate your help in troubleshooting the issue by attempting to temporarily uninstall or disable any of the following software:
  • Security software (anti-virus and anti-malware products)
  • In-game overlay software (Steam, Discord, TeamSpeak, Overwolf, ASUS Sonic Radar, etc)
  • Streaming software (XSplit, OBS, Raptr, etc)
  • Video capture software (Fraps, ShadowPlay, etc) 
Once you have disabled third party software that may be interacting with the game, it would be helpful if you shared with us which software you needed to disable and whether or not disabling that software fixed the issue. While we try our best to maintain compatibility with as much legitimate third party software as possible, we are not in control of these products, and an update can break compatibility with our solution at any time. We want to be aware of these incompatibilities so that we can work with software vendors to resolve them. 
If you continue to encounter problems, we are happy to work with you on identifying the possible causes. We really appreciate everyone’s patience and cooperation as we work to keep League of Legends a safe and competitive playing experience."

Balance Changes

* NOTE*: The PBE is a testing grounds for new, tentative, & experimental changes. Be aware that what you see below may be relative to other changes earlier this cycle! These are not official notes.

Champions
Ahri
[Context/Changelist]
  • Vastayan Grace (Passive):
    • [Changed Effect] "If Ahri earns 2 spell hits against an enemy champion within a 1.5-second period, she gains 20% movement speed for 3 seconds (9 second cooldown)."
  • Orb of Deception (Q): 
    • [Removed] no longer grants movement speed 
    • [New Effect] "If Ahri earns 9 spell hits (max 3 per cast) she gains Essence Theft, causing her next Q cast that lands to restore health on hit."
  • Fox-Fire (W): 
    • Cost lowered from 50 at all ranks to 40 at all ranks
    • Initial Delay for Non-Priority Targeting increased from 0.25 to 0.4
    • [New] "Fox-Fire has priority targeting for targets that meet at least one of the following sets of conditions:
      • The target is a champion affected by Charm's damage amp and is within 725 units of Ahri
      • The target is the most recent target Ahri has launched a basic attack against (within the past 3 seconds) and is within 725 units of Ahri"
  • Charm (E):
    • Damage changed from 60/95/130/165/200 (+60% AP) to 60/90/120/150/180 (+40% AP)
    • [New Effect] When Charm deals damage to a champion, Ahri's abilities deal 20% more damage to them for 5 seconds 
  • Spirit Rush (R) Damage changed from 70/110/150 (+25% AP) to 60/90/120 (35% AP) 

Kai'Sa
  • Icathian Rain (Q) AD ratio lowered from 40% to 35%

 LeBlanc
[Changelist 1 / Changelist 2 - tentative 8.8 release]
  • Mirror Image (Passive):
    • "Mirror Image is back, currently no changes from pre-rework state."
  • Sigil of Malice (Q):
    • Damage lowered from 55/90/125/160/195 (+0.5 AP) to 55/80/105/130/155 (+0.4 AP)
    • Mark Damage: 55/80/105/130/155 (+0.4 AP)
    • Mana Cost increased from 40/45/50/55/60 to 50/60/70/80/90 
  • Distortion (W):
    • Damage increased from 40/55/70/85/100 (+0.2 AP) to 85/125/165/205/245 (+0.6 AP)
    • Mana Cost increased from 70/80/90/100/110 to 60/75/90/105/120
    • cooldown lowered from 18/16/14/12/10 to 14/13/12/11/10
    • Dash Speed lowered from 1600 to 1450
    • Snapback Lockout changed from 0.85 seconds from starting dash to 0.2 seconds from finishing dash
  • Ethereal Chains (E):
    • Initial Hit AP Ratio lowered from 0.5 to 0.3 
    • Root Damage increased from 40/60/80/100/120 (+0.5 AP) to 60/90/120/150/180 (+0.7 AP)
    • Mana Cost increased from 40 to 70
    • Tether Range lowered from 885 to 865 
  • Mimic (R):
    • RQ Damage lowered from 150/275/400 (+0.6 AP) to 70/140/210 (+0.4 AP)
    • RQ Mark Damage changed from 150/275/400 (+0.6 AP) to 140/280/420 (+0.8 AP)
    • RW Damage increased from 60/120/180 (+0.3 AP) to 150/300/450 (+0.75 AP)
    • RE Initial Damage lowered from 100/160/220 (+0.4 AP) to 70/140/210 (+0.4 AP) 
    • RE Root Damage increased from 100/160/220 (+0.4 AP) to 140/280/420 (+0.8 AP) 
    • Cooldown increased from 54/42/30 to 60/45/30

Tahm Kench
[Context]
  • Devour (W) 
    • [Removed] No longer gains movement speed toward enemy champions when he has eaten an ally.
  • Thick Skin (E) 
    • Passive's total health restored lowered from 25/30/35/40/45% to 15/20/25/30/35%
    • Active's Damage converted into gray health increased from 70/75/80/85/90% to 80/85/90/95/100%

Varus
[Context - new active component added, old effect moved to passive & damage adjusted.]
  • Blighted Quiver (W):
    • Passive damage lowered from 10/14/18/22/26 to 4/8/12/16/20
    • New Active - 
      • Cooldown: 40 seconds at all ranks
      • "Active: Varus' next Piercing Arrow deals bonus magic damage equal to 6/7/8/9/10% to 9/10.5/12/13.5/15% of the target's missing health (scales with Piercing Arrow charge).

        Blighted Quiver is capped at 360 damage against monsters."

Vi
[context]
  • Armor changed from [35 + 3.5 per level] to [30 + 4 per level]
  • Health regen increased from [9 + .9 per level] to [10 + 1 per level]
  • Base attack speed increased from .625 to .644
  • Blast Shield (Passive)
    • cooldown changed from [16 - 8 by level 9] to [12 - 8 by level 9] 
  • Vault Breaker (Q)
    • Cooldown lowered from 16/14/12/10/8 to 12/11/10/9/8
    • Cost lowered from 50/60/70/80/90 to 30/45/60/75/90
  • Denting Blows (W) attack speed changed from 30/35/40/45/50% to 15/25/35/45/55%
  • Excessive Force (E)
    • Ammo recharge time lowered from 14/12.5/11/9.5/8 to 12/11/10/9/8
    • mana cost lowered from 40/45/50/55/60 to 30/35/40/45/50

Items
Trinkets
  • Swapping between trinkets now sets your new trinket to the same % remaining cooldown as your old one rather than flat 120 second cooldown on swap.

Oracle Alteration (/Lens)
[Context]
  • Now available at level 1 instead of level 9+
    •  (note: no longer need to be level 9+ to purchase although tooltip currently still says "lvl 9").
    • [Cooldown is 90-60 seconds based on level - same as Sweeping/Oracle Lens on live]
    • [Range appears to always be 750 rather than 660/690/720/750 based on level]


Sweeping Lens

Context & Notes

1) Riot August provided context and a changelist for Vi changes in today's PBE update:
"Experimental Vi changes - 
Goals -
1. Make Vi more versatile in the early game
2. Make top lane Vi stronger
3. Jungle Vi's strength stays the same (a nerf to her jungle would be bad) 
Changelist is attached"

2) ricklessabandon provided a changelist and context for Ahri this cycle:
[1] made several updates to the ahri changes, and will be putting this list up on the first 8.8 pbe update:
[2] will be focusing on fox-fire testing, how the passive is playing out, and starting in on the more serious balance passes
[3] basically two types of acquisition from fox-fire:
[1] priority (can happen 0.25 sec after cast)
targets: most recent unit attacked, charmed champions
range: 725 units from ahri
[2] non-priority (can happen 0.4 sec after cast)
targets: same as live
range: 550 units from flame
[4] since fox-fire flames orbit 150 units from ahri, 'priority' acquisitions can gain anywhere from 25 to 325 range than they'd normally have on live (or as 'non-priority' acquisitions)
[5] if the charmed target is within 725 range of ahri after the initial 0.25 seconds, then yes all 3 flames will simultaneously attack that target (in this new iteration)
3) AzuBK provided a changelist and context for LeBlanc this cycle:
[1] A new week, a new (small) changelist.
E2 Damage :: 80/120/160/200/240 >>> 60/90/120/150/180
E2 AP Ratio :: 0.6 >>> 0.7
[2] Coming into the home stretch, unlikely to see any major kit changes from here. Immediate goal is to land her in a reasonable place power-wise and follow up quickly. This week will mostly be rescripting (which will handle most of the bugs as well) and helping get assets done.

4) Riot August also provided a changelist for Lux changes coming to the PBE soon:
"Highly Experimental Lux changes: 
Seeing if we can make adjustments to W that both mid and support Lux players can enjoy. 
Gut feel is that firing the spell at start of cast is a good change, regardless of what other changes (if any) accompany it. 
Changelist is attached"

 5) Here's Meddler's quick gameplay thoughts for March 30th, covering some 8.8 changes, Varus, and more:
"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 
Some 8.8 stuff 
We're working on a number of things for 8.8 and also working on midseason right now. Couple of lists below as a result that split 8.8 into things highly likely to happen and things we're hoping to look at but may or may not get to depending on how other work goes. 
Likely to ship:
  • The kill streak bounty changes previously mentioned (solo gold instead of team)
  • Kit adjustments as previously discussed to Leblanc and Ahri.
  • Some trinket adjustments. At the least we'll be making it so Oracle's is available from level 1 instead of Sweeping Lens. Original reason to not to that was concern at how much lane brush control it would offer, we believe we can address that by having the Oracle's duration scale by level. Also considering some other possible things, including yellow trinket wards having a longer lifespan and longer CD (give a longer period of safety when you do use them, need to be a bit more deliberate about when that is however).
  • A Tahm Kench nerf aimed at giving opponents more ways to deal with him when he's saving allies. What we're currently testing is that he no longer gains bonus movement speed when moving towards enemies if he has an ally devoured. Original intent was that that would encourage more aggressive ally devour cases. It mainly seems to result in TK running away faster because there's often an enemy along the line of his retreat (or close enough to, the directional check's pretty generous in its angles). 
Smaller balance adjustments (or at least investigations) if time permits. Not all of these will happen and some of those that do will show up later in the patch cycle:
  • Buffs to Pantheon (post minion agro changes), Spellbinder Orb (underperforming compared to comparable AP options), Nautilus (needs larger work too, but is also just weak), Vi
  • Nerfs to Archangel's (new build path and stats have made this a bit strong), Janna, Xayah, Caitlyn, Warwick, Braum, Sion, Kog (though also need to see where Rageblade nerfs in 8.7 leave him) 
Might also be some midseason changes we pull forwards from 8.10 to 8.8 to test a few things earlier, still figuring that out though. 
Varus 
A few of you might remember a change to Varus I talked about around a year ago that never ended up happening which would involve changing a bit of his kit's functionality. Was intended to ship around the same time as the addition of the Attack Speed ratio to his passive, ended up getting delayed repeatedly however because it needed visual effects/sound changes and other things were higher priority. We finally had a chance to get round to doing that art/audio work though, so will have that change in 8.8. That change is the addition of an active to his W that looks like this at rank 1. 
Active: Varus' next Piercing Arrow deals bonus magic damage equal to 6% to 9% of the target's missing health (scales with Piercing Arrow charge). 40s CD. No mana cost. 
Magic damage scales up to 12%-18% by W rank. It's still going through final balancing, so numbers aren't final. First goal is to ensure that, no matter what his build is, some of Varus's Q shots are still really impactful. Second is to offer an additional skill test, rewarding those who can call the shots that are both most important and likely to hit (long CD means you need to pick the right Q). 
This change does add some power to Varus, so depending on where he ends up after the Rageblade cost increase in 8.7 might take a bit of power out elsewhere. 
No posts for a couple of weeks 
I'm going to be out of the office for a couple of weeks so I won't be able to do these posts for a bit, apologies. Should be back mid April."

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