Removal of FoN, Altars nerfed in TTL, and Zed CD AMA!

Edit: Updated the bottom of the post with loads of answers from the Zed Lore AMA. Enjoy!

In lieu of the recent "Morello Introduces Preseason Updates" post, I suspect a lot of red posts, about the various big balance projects, in the coming days. So, in order to not bog you down with massive lists of red posts, here is a quick collection of posts from earlier today.
Continue reading for posts regarding the removal of Force of Nature in the S3 item rework, upcoming balance changes for the TTL altars, and a creative design AMA for Zed!

Force of Nature removed in the S3 Item rework
Xypherous broke the news earlier today that Force of Nature is being removed in the S3 item rework and it's various stats/passives are being distrusted on to other items. He said:

"Hm. This probably isn't a good time to mention that I removed FoN and scattered its various passives and pieces to the wind onto other items.

On the plus side though, Tanks now get to build Warmog's and not feel silly.

Although you'll still be able to build every piece of FoN used to offer. It just won't be rolled up into the particular stat combination. This counts against my spoiler count for the day. :P"

He elaborated on the removal by mentioning what the problem is with the present day Force of Nature

"Force of Nature served three purposes, one of which we couldn't make good.

1. High end MR item on one item.

We're not sure that a single rushed item should counter mages so heavily. So buying FoN for raw magic resistance was always going to be somewhat of a trap because we could never make it *good* to have this much MR on a single item without it simply being cost-inefficient so it could be slot-efficient.

There are ways to make an item cost-inefficient for selfish MR while still making it cost-efficient as a whole for MR though...

2. Regeneration/Siege

This we liked, but the fact that it was tied to a movement speed item and a magic resist item was a little weird. It didn't quite seem to click, so tanks that had to itemize regeneration kind of picked up a bunch of stats randomly.

Also, the tri-fecta of Warmogs / Spirit Visage / FoN was actually incredibly hard to get a good sense of balance. Mostly because it turns "on" super-late but mostly because they build on each other a little too much. While we like the build of 'I am unstoppable brick wall of regeneration' - we think that right now it's both really hard to get *and* overpowered when finished and we'd really like to see it be a more viable build that's more in line when it does happen so people feel like they aren't taking long-gambits but more of a choice on how to itemize.

3. Movement Speed

The whole paradigm of X class gets a MS item Y is actually starting to show where the faults are. In order to specialize for movement speed, you have to build into a very specific item - which naturally creates this weird power gap where a class that is perfectly catered by item Y gets MS while every other class pays a gold tax of unwanted stats to get the same mobility. This naturally leads to people wanting more MS/X items for a specific class - which seems to suggest that maybe what people actually want is more ubiquitous movement options that don't consume slots rather than a continuous stream of one-off items with MS% randomly on it.

For example, Lich Bane is the AP item with movement speed on it. That kind of screws every AP caster who doesn't want Lich Bane or can't use it well. This leads to this weird case where randomly, some class of characters get faster just because they can use Lich Bane well. While it's nice to have a few items like this - it's probably a sign as a whole that people want to be able to somehow spend more gold to get mobility rather than they want catered items that have MS on the item."

TTL Altar's being "nerfed"
RiotNome posted earlier saying that the altar's on the newly updated Twisted Treeline will be nerfed in the upcoming patch.

"Altars are getting a few "nerfs" in the upcoming 1.71 patch. After that, we'll be re-evaluating some systems level changes to both altars and speed shrines that should make them less favorable to bruisers."

Not sure what the change is exactly, but it could be the reduction of bonus gold on kill from 4 to 3, as seen in one of the earlier PBE iterations.

Zed Creative Design AMA
RiotRunaan is currently fielding questions about the creative design and process behind our next champion,  Zed, the Master of Shadows.

"Hello, summoners!

We're back with another Creative Design AMA, and this time we'll be talking about Zed, the Master of Shadows. For the next 24 hours, I'll be answering questions about Zed's lore and the creative efforts and goals behind his character.

If you haven't seen it yet, here's Zed's bio:

Quote:

Zed is the first ninja in 200 years to unlock the ancient, forbidden ways. He defied his clan and master, casting off the balance and discipline that had shackled him all his life. Zed now offers power to those who embrace knowledge of the shadows, and slays those who cling to ignorance. An orphan, Zed was taken in and trained by a great ninja master. Only one other student appeared to be Zed's equal - the master's son, Shen. It seemed Zed could never win the favor of the master, as every match between the rivals ended in a draw. Frustrated and jealous, he sought an advantage. The young ninja ventured into a sealed part of the clan's temple, where he found an ornate, foreboding box. Sensing the dark knowledge within, Zed knew he should not open it, but he peered inside nonetheless. In an instant, shadows touched his mind, revealing techniques that had long been hidden. Now armed with a secret edge, he challenged Shen, and this time he defeated the master's son. He expected praise and recognition in his moment of victory, but somehow the master knew Zed had used forbidden ways, and banished him. Humiliated, the young ninja wandered for years. His bitterness turned to ambition, and he began to train others in the style of the shadows. As his power grew, so did his circle of followers, but he knew that without the box, his technique would never be perfect. One day, Zed looked at his followers and saw that his students were now an army. He led them back to the temple to claim his prize. At the gates, he was surprised to find the old master waiting, receiving Zed and his disciples as if they were welcome guests. The old man laid his sword at Zed's feet, declaring that he had failed Zed as his master. By banishing his former student, the master had doomed Zed to the shadows, instead of leading him to the balanced path. The old man implored Zed to enter the temple, destroy the box, and lead his followers to balance. The dark ninja followed the master inside. Moments later, the assembled ninjas heard Zed cry out in pain. Mysteriously, he emerged unscathed, and threw the severed head of the master at Shen's feet. Screaming in rage, Zed commanded his followers to slaughter the master's students and seize the box. That day, the old ninja order fell. Though many students died, some escaped thanks to Shen's heroic efforts. Now the temple is a dark training ground for the Order of the Shadow. Zed rules as the Order's master, and his edict is simple: perfect one's technique, and kill all ninjas who refuse to embrace the shadows. ''Balance is a lie - we are the true ninjas.'' -Zed

Please remember to keep the discussions here constructive! Ask away!"

Got something to ask? Hop on over to the Lore Discussion forums and post your question! As of posting time, RiotRunaan hasn't answered any questions yet but when he does I will be sure to edit them in!

Edit: Here is a load of answers, from RiotRunaan, from the Zed AMA! Enjoy!








[ What caused Zed to cry out in pain after following his master into the temple?]: "Aha, I knew this question would pop up pretty quickly! This is another thing we'd like you to speculate on, because for the moment, we're saving that for later. : ) You'll find out what happened between Zed and Shen's father in a different story someday."

[ Does Zed's story take place before or after Shen joins the League? ]: "The timeline is a little unclear right now, but it's safe to say that Zed's story takes place before Shen joining the League.

We have a LOT of awesome ideas on how to add more to the stories of the three ninjas now that Zed has hit the scene. I can't promise an immediate rework of their bios, but the story of the Kinkou is one we definitely want to develop. There's so much to explore here! "

[ Is Zed really evil or is it a result of his banishment / opening the box? ]: "Good questions! You're really getting at the heart of Zed's story here. I hesitate to say that Zed is truly evil at all, because that's truly up to interpretation. There are a few turning points in his story--his choice to open the box, his banishment, and his return to the temple. One can choose to think that Zed was "evil" from the beginning, or that at any of these points he might have had a chance at redemption, or that there's still a chance at redemption in the future--it's pretty subjective, and we like it that way. Heck, you can even blame the master entirely! Perhaps Zed was right from the beginning! :)

From my personal standpoint, there's a lot to be said for the way that Shen's father treated Zed. Perhaps if the master had been more forgiving, or if he'd noticed Zed trying to gain his favor and responded, Zed might have chosen a different path. "

[ What does the Order of Shadow Stand for? ]: "Zed's Order of Shadow wants its students to fully realize their power and potential free of the constraints Ionia's "balance" places upon them. No power should be out of reach--no matter the consequences. Zed's order is under no illusion that they walk a dark path, they fully embrace it. "

[ Does Zed's Order of Shadow have any lieutenants worthy enough to join him on the Fields of Justice ]: "I touched on this lightly before, but Zed remains the leader and most powerful among the Order of Shadows, and this is intentional. He wants to remain the master of his students. None shall be his equal. "

[ Was the Kinkou Order ( Shen ) the ninja order destroyed in Zed's Lore or is it another?] : "As we've presented it now, the Kinkou Order was destroyed by Zed and rebuilt by Shen. We're going to have to smooth out some of the information in the ninjas' bios (Shen, Akali, Kennen) to really make this clear and to go into detail, but that'd the direction we'd like to take the story. "

[ Do his allegience lie with Ionia? ]: "He's from Ionia, Zed's allegiance lies with Zed!"

[ Shen's bio mentions him being a "shadow warrior" is he like Zed? ]: "This is one of the things we'd like to smooth out in Shen's bio once we revise it. By "shadow warriors," Shen's bio really just means "ninjas," but now that Zed's in the mix it's a fairly misleading detail. : )"

[ How does Zed's story effect Kennen and Akali? ]: "Akali and Kennen remain Zed's enemies, but we have some interesting ideas about Akali's connection to Zed in particular.

Food for thought: Akali's passive is "twin disciplines," her title "the Fist of Shadow" ... hmmmm. : )"'

[ Why no more League Judgements ]: "Kitae has spoken about this in the past, but essentially, explaining why a champion joined the League in previous bios usually felt like a one-liner without much depth and drew focus away from the character's story"

[ What happened in the temple mentioned in the Bio? ]: "We're deliberately saving the question of what happened in the temple for a different story. As for the others you've mentioned--well, we'll have to wait and see how/if those develop... : P"

[ Has Zed had any students, apprectencies, or successors for his knowledge of the Shadows? ]: "He may have had a "favorite student" at one point... but this particular student is no longer a part of his Order. :O"