5.2 PBE Cycle

1/15 PBE Update

1/16 PBE Update

1/21 PBE Update

1/22 PBE Update

(Warning: PBE Content is tentative and iterative - what you see may not reflect what eventually gets pushed to live servers! Manage your expectations accordingly. )

Table of Contents

• New Skins

• Firecracker Jinx

• Warring Kingdoms Katarina

• Warring Kingdoms Nidalee

• Arclight Vel'Koz
• Sweetheart Annie 

• Tristana Champion Update

• Tristana, the Yordle Gunner
• Kit & Abilities 

• Skins

• Lore
• Voiceover

• New Splash Art
• WIP Mysterious Mislabeled Splash - REMOVED
• New Summoner Icons
• Lunar Revel
• LCS
• OCE "OCEAN WEEK"
• New Ward Skin
• Firecracker Ward
• New VFX
• Vanguard
• The Bloodthirster
• Infernal Alistar Q
• New Featured Game Mode
• Nemesis Draft
• Texture Rebalances

• Vayne

• Yorick

• Nunu 

• Dr. Mundo 
• Irelia
• Jarvan IV   
• Swain 

• Start of Game Gates
• New Friend Discovery Feature
• Fizz Chum the Waters Debuff
• Miscellaneous
• Annie Splash Fix
• Rod of Ages Display Change
• Alistar Portrait Changes
• Balance Changes

New Skins

"Let the bloodshed begin! 

The revered grand master of the dancing blade has come to school the PBE! Feared and famous; she seeks an opponent who is worth to die by her elegant execution! This skin includes:

• New model and texture!
• New particles with yellow flower flourishes.
• New recall animation! 

This skin will be 975rp. 

Your feedback and bug reports are extremely helpful to us, so please check out Warring Kingdoms Katarina and let us know what you think! Feel free to drop any bugs you find in this thread as well! 

See you on the Rift!"

Here's Nurse Flan with a bugs and feedback thread for Warring Kingdoms Nidalee:

"A white cougar stalks the streets, decorated in intricate patterns and ornaments. Then, in a flurry of crimson petals, Warring Kingdoms Nidalee appears to keep the peace on the streets during the fireworks celebration! 

She's got the moves and the looks to kill!

• Completely new human and cougar models! (fancy fancy)
• New ability particles! (lots of red petals!)
• New recalls! (Wushu flurry in human form, and "WOW FOLLOW THE RED SPARK" in cougar!)

As players who get the first look at this in-progress skin, it would be wonderful to hear your thoughts and feelings on this new Lunar Revel skin! The feedback (good and bad) and bugs you leave here will help us get a better idea of things we may still have to take a look at. :] 

See you on the Rift! 

NOTE: Some minor sfx may be missing, hang tight!"

Here's Riot Baconhawk with a bugs and feedback thread for Arbiter Vel'Koz!

"Pondering the state of the lifeform disintegrated mere moments before, Arbiter Vel'Koz comes to a conclusion. 

Guilty. 

Satisfied, he floats away from the wisps of smoke, searching, always searching, for his next target of absolute (somewhat violent) justice. 

Arbiter Vel'Koz will be 1350 RP, and includes: 

• All new model and texture — golden tentacles of justice
• All new particles — pure, questionably holy energy
• All new sound effects — listen for the ringing of justice after every spell
• All new voice filter —the better to judge you with
• All new recall & respawn animation!

Arbiter Vel'Koz is now available to play on PBE! We always find bug reports and feedback super helpful, so feel free to comment in the thread below. Likewise, if you've got any questions, feel free to post them, and we will do our best to answer."

Here's Riot KateyKhaos with a bugs and feedback thread for Sweetheart Annie!

"Annie couldn't wait to show everyone her Valentine's Day outfit, so we agreed to let her on the PBE a bit early! 

Sweetheart Annie will be 750 RP and includes: 

• A new model and texture for both her and Tibbers! 

Sweetheart Annie is now available to play on PBE! We always find bug reports and feedback super helpful, so feel free to comment in the thread below! Likewise, if you've got any questions, post 'em here, and we'll do our best to answer them!"

Tristana Champion Update

Following her champion update announcement, Tristana has a brand new look and several kit tweaks (including a brand new E) on the PBE!
Before we start, here's Ququroon with more information on the update and what is to come:

"Note: She's currently disabled. This sucks, but it should be fixed up for tomorrow. For now, I wanted to get this post up so feedback can have a home. 

Blasting onto the PBE is none other than the Tristana update! 

This nimble cannoneer is one of the first forty champions that released for this game, so needless to say she needed a little love. Our goals for Tristana were to really develop Yordle (rip meglings) proportions to a greater scale, both as a race and for the dimorphic genders. On a character specific scale, we wanted to bring out her personality and polish her visuals and gameplay. 

In her update, you'll find brand new models and textures for her base and across all her skins. This also goes for sounds, visual effects, icons, animations, and VO! Everything! RiotVesh has also done some gameplay changes on Tristana to bring a little more gameplay into her kit with a brand new 'sticky bomb' spell replacing her previous Explosive Shot. 

As you try out Tristana on the PBE (or see her elsewhere and have feedback), please try to keep these questions in mind, as I'd be curious to hear your responses. 

• Does this still read as Tristana to you?
• Is there a particular skin that stands out to you?
• Do all of her effects still convey the same effects, or better?
• How does the new Explosive Charge feel? Did you find it fun to use?
• How do you feel about these proportions? With respect to their appropriate characters, how do you feel Lulu and Poppy would be with them?
• Do you feel we missed anything important in this update? 

We'd really appreciate it if you'd take a look at Tristana, and shoot any bugs and feedback that come your way back at us. Your feedback helps to guide changes we can make, as well as helps us grow as a team. 

FAQ: 

Does Tristana have new VO?
Yup. We wanted to add some depth to her character (as well as more than 9 lines). 

Tristana doesn't match the current (semi-new) splash. Is she receiving a new one?
She is! It's still being worked on though, so hold tight for now. 

Is that a rocket in your pocket?
Why, yes. Yes it is. 

Rumble or Teemo?
Hmmm.~ 

Check this out if you want more context into what we've done on Tristana, as well as more about our goals while working on her."

Now for a better look:

Tristana, the Yordle Gunner

Kit & Abilities

Tristana's champion update also comes with a set of kit changes, primarily to her Rocket Jump (W) and her Explosive Shot (E), and number changes!

Skins:

Rocket Girl Tristana has several unique vfx!

Lore

"Greatness comes in all shapes and sizes, as proven by this diminutive, cannon-wielding yordle. In a world fraught with turmoil, Tristana refuses to back down from any challenge. She represents the pinnacle of martial proficiency, unwavering courage, and boundless optimism. For Trist and her gun, Boomer, every mission is a chance to prove that heroes do exist."

Voiceover

New Splash Art 

While obviously not the splash for Warring Kingdoms Nidalee, this mysterious and incomplete splash art showed up as "Nidalee_Splash_7". Speculate away! 

Nurse Flan has commented on this mysterious splash, saying:

"FYI, the splashart under "Nidalee_Splash_7" is NOT finished and is NOT Warring Kingdom Nidalee's splashart. :) Please hang tight as that is WIP :)"

As of 1/16: The mysterious and mislabeled  splash art originally added in the 1/14 update has been removed and Warring Kingdoms Nidalee is back to having the typical grey "work in progress splash art".

New Summoner Icons

New Ward Skin

This cycle has added the  Firecracker Ward skin to light up this year's Lunar Revel!

Firecracker Ward

Here's Riot KateyKhaos with a bugs and feedback thread for the Firecracker Ward!

"Keep your bushes and jungles lit up with firecrackers this Lunar Revel! 

The Firecracker Ward will be 640 RP and includes: 

• New model and texture!
• New particles!
• New sounds! 

The Firecracker Ward is now available to play on PBE! We always find bug reports and feedback super helpful, so feel free to comment in the thread below! Likewise, if you've got any questions, post 'em here, and we'll do our best to answer them!"

New VFX

The Bloodthirster's shield has also been updated

Infernal Alistar - Fiery Q

After it's unintended removal in patch 5.1's Alistar champion update, Infernal Alistar once again has a fiery orange particle for Pulverize (Q)!

New Featured Game Mode - 'Nemesis Draft'

Here's L4T3NCY with a heads up on our next featured game mode - NEMESIS DRAFT!

"Hi everyone!

Our first Featured Game Mode for the year, “Nemesis Draft”, is on its way to the PBE. This time around, you’ll be choosing the champions for the enemy team, then making the champs you’ve been given work in battle on the Summoner’s Rift. Let the 'creative' comps begin. :)

Some notes:
-- Nemesis Draft is a 5v5 featured game mode played on Summoner’s Rift.
-- Nemesis Draft allows each player to choose 1 champion for the enemy team for a total of 5 per team.
-- Each team will still get 3 bans. Do you bans champs do DON’T want to play, or leave them up to give to the other team? It’s up to you. :)
-- Available champions for you to give the other team are allowed from the collective pool of champs on your allied team.
-- There is a free trading period after all champs have been locked in, allowing you to organise amongst your team who would be best playing which champs. Even if you don’t own a champion, you’ll still be able to trade and play anyone you’re given.

Known issues:
Play flow artwork is still a placeholder.

Nemesis Draft will be live on the PBE soon™. We’ve paid special attention to the champion select phase this time, to make the picking & trading phases as clear as possible, so feedback on that flow will be welcome. Also "Thanks!" again to you PBE guys that always help us catch things early. Even if we can’t respond to every bug or report individually, we do read EVERYTHING and fix as much as possible.

SO.. we’re excited to see how scheming & creative you guys are. Are we about to uncover some diamonds in the rough? Will it be, “Give them all melee champs!” or “Give them all AD so we can just build armour!”. And then the inevitable, “Ok guys. We’ve got 4 junglers and a support.. but so do they! Let’s do this.” I can’t wait. :)

See you on the Rift. ^_^"

As of today's update NEMESIS DRAFT IS UP FOR TESTING!
As noted, you move through champion select by first banning (3 per team) any champions then selecting the champions for the person directly across from you on the enemy team. This goes back and forth until everyone has a champion, at which point you team can swap freely for about a minute.

This PBE cycle now includes texture rebalances for Vayne, Yorick, Nunu,  the corrected Dr. Mundo, Irelia, and Jarvan IV! These texture adjustments are meant to align older champions with the current art style. They are not meant to replace full visual updates.

[Note: For the comparisons, the OLD pictures on the left and the UPDATED version on the right.]

Vayne

Dr. Mundo

Irelia

Jarvan IV

Swain

Alistar has received a few tweaks to his portrait icon.

Balance Changes

* Remember *: The PBE is a testing grounds for new, tentative, and sometimes radical changes. The changes you see below may be lacking context or other accompanying changes that didn't make it in - don't freak out! These are not official notes.

Fizz

• Urchin Strike (Q) magic damage decreased to 10/25/40/55/70 (+.3 AP) from 10/40/70/100/130 (+.6 AP)
• Seastone Trident (W) passive 's damage changed to 20/30/40/50/60 (.45 AP) from 30/40/50/60/70 (+.35 AP)(+4/5/6/7/8% of missing HP as magic damage) over 3 seconds
• Seastone Trident (W) active's on hit damage changed to 10/20/30/40/50 (+ 4/5/6/7/8% of target's missing health as Magic Damage) from 10/15/20/25/30 (.25 AP)
• Seastone Trident (W) active no longer applies Grievous Wounds to the target.

• [Note: TL;DR - number changes and % missing health magic damage moved from passive to active. No more AP ratio on active.]

• Chum the Waters (R) : The fish now also amplifies Fizz's damage (except for Chum the Water's "shark" damage) on the target by 20% for 6 seconds

Nidalee

• Prowl (Passive) Nidalee can now "Hunt" monsters in addition to champions
• Prowl (Passive) When Nidalee triggers Hunt on a monster, they are briefly rooted

Rek'Sai

• Queen's Wrath (Unburrowed Q) damage reduced to 15/25/35/45/55 from 15/30/45/60/75
• Un-Burrow (Burrowed W) damage reduced to 40/80/120/160/200 from 60/110/160/210/260

Riven

• [Reverted] Broken Wings (Q) now auto cancels it's animation, allowing Riven to attack much faster after using Q

• [Context: Alright, this change is a bit complicated.  Currently on live you can "fast combo" Riven's Q by clicking the ground immediately after using Q. This STOPS the Q animation early and allows you to auto attack much much faster than just hitting Q and waiting for the auto to go off naturally. THIS PBE CHANGE AUTOMATICALLY CANCELS Q'S ANIMATION which significantly speeds up your auto attack speed after using Q.]

• [Video Context: In this video preview, all I'm doing is hitting Q as soon as my auto attack goes off. You'll notice in the first video (PBE), I auto attack extremely fast so the combo goes very fast. In the second video (LIVE), there is a significantly longer gap between when I Q and when my auto attack goes off.] 

• Riven's "auto quick combo" Q has been fixed - Her Q is now back to live functionality. 

Tristana

• Along with her visual updates, Tristana has received significant kit changes! See Above!

Zed

• Attack Speed per level lowered to 2.1% per level from 3.1%

• Base Attack Speed lowered to 0.644 from .658.

• [Note: For those aware of how attack speed is calculated and "attack delay", this is going FROM -0.05 to -0.03]

Deathfire Grasp

• No longer purchasable on Summoner's Rift

• [Context : More information available in the 5.2 patch forecast and from Scarizard: 

• [1] "Confirmed. As of 5.2, Deathfire Grasp will be removed. We're working on a context post that should be out soon to explain!" and 

•  [2]" Important note: DFG's removal won't be the only change - a number of champions will receive changes/updates to compensate.

•  [3]" I've posted this tons in replies, so let me be clear - of the champions being compensated for DFG's removal, Ahri and Veigar are at the top."] 

Dervish Blade

• Can now be purchased on Summoner's Rift.

• [Note: This is just a bug.]

Zz'Rot Portal

• Now the first and every FOURTH (from third) Voidspawn gain 100% (from 50%)  of Armor/MR as damage
• Voidspawn base stats reduced

• Base armor 115 from 60 
• Base HP 40 from 50
• Base MR 20 from 40 

Stalker's Blade, Skirmisher's Sabre, Ranger's Trailblazer,  Poacher's Knife

• Total cost increased to 850 from 750

Dragon

• Attack range increased to 500 from 350
•  Base damage lowered to 120 from 230. 

• [Note: There could potentially other changes that were not able to be datamined.]