Red Post Collection: Xerath heading to PBE for an extra-long PBE testing cycle, Nikasaur Leaves Riot, and more!

Continue reading for more information!

Xerath coming to the PBE for an extra-long PBE cycle.
Xelnath dropped off another update on Xerath into the "Let's Talk about Xerath" thread today, noting he will be trying something new - an experimental extra-long PBE cycle to test out his new changes!

"Actually... 

After some discussion, we're going to leak Xerath to PBE early in an experimental extra-long PBE incubation cycle.

Setting expectations:
We've adjusted Xerath based on the feedback from this thread, our own judgement calls and a lot of experimentation. We have him in a rough balance state - we don't have a good sense yet for how he works out competitively or if he's balanced for most center-lane play.

However, I do want to get a lot of player eyes on him to see what small tweaks we can make to polish him heavily before release.

With that understanding...

I'm going to sneak him onto PBE for a couple days a week sometime *after* 3.11 ships."

The linked champion icon certainly hasn't been clipped from Xerath's current splash - could this mean a new splash or look for Xerath? Guess we'll have to wait until he hits the PBE to find out!

CertainlyT on Dashes and CC
CertainlyT has been chattin' up the forums on the topics of dashes/jumps and how they work with roots, stuns, and displacement effects like Blitzcrank's Q.

"The rules for dash interruption are consistent throughout the game, even if they are a little unclear. Let me explain: 

90 Caliber Net's dash/jump (the two are mechanically identical) will not be stopped if you are stunned or rooted mid-flight but will be stopped if you are stunned or rooted during the spell's cast time. This is consistent with at least the vast majority of our non-ultimate dash/jumps with cast times (I suppose there could be an odd exception somewhere, though I can't think of one now). 

The Blitzcrank interaction is how all dash/jumps work -- his movement ability always "wins" because either you are casting when it hits you (in which case, you are stunned when the cast completes) or are in flight (in which case his takes priority since the most recently applied movement effect always takes priority over earlier movement effects. On the other hand, teleports with cast times will teleport the player even if they have been hooked provided the cast has already begun. 

Why these rules exist is quite frankly beyond me, but they are certainly consistent."

He continued:

"I agree that greater consistency is desirable as a principle, but I wonder how general we need to be. For example, non-movement spells with cast times all complete even if the caster is stunned during the middle of the spell (as anyone who has stunned Ezreal as he casts Arcane Barrage is sure to have noticed). One could argue that movement spells should obey the overall rule for spell casts and move the caster. However, I think it would be odd for Tristana to leap into the air 0.24 seconds after she was hit by Dazzle. 

In this case, there are good motivations behind the distinctions we make -- in this case, we have structured the system to minimize the number of situations in which spell casts are wasted entirely but still put on cooldown. Caitlyn cannot begin casting 90 Caliber Net while rooted, so she is only able to "fail" the cast if rooted during the brief time between cast begin and cast complete (0.25 seconds -- the same cast time or shorter than almost all of our non-ultimate stuns/roots). In this case, we have chosen to break a "tie" in two players beginning their cast simultaneously in favor of the stun/root caster. Nautilus, on the other hand, can't very well be locked out of casting his Q while rooted since its primary use case is not movement and so would frequently cast his Q only to find out that in our drive for consistency, we had set him up for failure (he was rooted when he cast the spell).

Perhaps a good compromise would be for us as a design team to more actively explain our game rules so that when confronted with seeming oddities like this players could quickly learn about them rather than having to fish for forum responses or conduct elaborate custom game tests."

When questioned why Gragas' Body Slam can be stopped by stuns/roots, CertainlyT responded:

"Quote:

I noticed you said dashes/jumps with cast times; what about Gragas? Hs dash does not have a cast time, and can be stopped mid-dash by almost anything, which is actually a little frustrating at times. My guess is that this is intentional, is that because he doesn't have a cast time?

Again, this is factually inaccurate: Gragas' Body Slam is not interrupted by stuns or roots, just by other movement effects (for example, knockups) or by him colliding with a non-allied unit."

He also replied to a question about if Nautilus' Q acts differently than a jump/dash as it can be used to pull you away from a Blitz hook that grabs you after casting.

"Quote:

Is Nautilus's hook different? The other day I escaped a blitz hook by leaping to a wall, and Nautilus's anchor attached after Blitz started pulling me.

Yes, it is an exception! The same goes for Bandage Toss, Dragon Strike + Demacian Standard, etc. Spells that move you not when the cast itself completes but on the completion of some additional event will generally function even while rooted/stunned."

Nikasaur Leaving Riot ; Summoner Showcase 113 last of the series.
Nikasaur recently announced she will be leaving Riot games to pursue other opportunities. Additionally, she mentioned that the next summoner showcase, 113, will be "the last of the series".

"Hiya Summoners!

After three years working at Riot and 112 episodes of the Summoner Showcase, I'm taking my final bow and leaving Riot.

Our next episode of the Showcase, 113, will be the last of the series. It has been an amazing time. I've met so many incredible fans and shared so many moments… Your passion, boundless creativity and excitement has made this job the best in the world. I have too many stories to even recount, and not enough ways to express how Summoners have illuminated my life. I'm gonna miss it like hell, but it's time for me to pursue other passions and focus on my writing.

While I won't be working for Riot or making the Summoner Showcase, I am and will always be a fan. I think my weekends would super suck if it wasn't for LCS, and I'll still be right there, admiring your artwork and cosplay as a fellow fan.

I know that Riot will keep supporting fans and changing the definition of what it means to be community-focused. The Showcase Facebook page will continue, with frequent updates of art and must-see fan creations, and our new Tumblr page with even more. What's next? We'd love to hear it from you. Give us your ideas for what you wanna see from Riot to support the community. After all, it's about you, it should come from you as well.

Thank you so much for supporting me, supporting my show and making my job so easy. With the people I've met, the art I've seen and everything in between, this couldn't have been a more wonderful life experience.

-Nikasaur"

If you want to read more on her departure, check out her blog post on the topic.


Reminder: Last batch of World Finals Tickets on Sale 8/31
If you missed out and didn't get tickets to the upcoming World Championship in Los Angeles in early October, you'll have one more chance to try to get them!

"Due to the overwhelming demand for attendance of the Staples Center event, we've adjusted some production design elements in order to expand available seating at the venue. 

We're working behind the scenes on the stage design to ensure every seat in the house will be a fantastic experience for attendees and to allow more esports fans to cheer on their favorite team live. 

This new and last block of tickets will go on sale on August 31 at 12PM PDT / 21:00 CEST. 

We're aware the ticketing vendor can get overloaded on the day of sales given the large volume of people trying to get tickets, and that this has a negative impact on the purchase process. We're sorry about the inconvenience, and will be looking for alternative solutions for future events. 

The World Championship is a three-week tournament beginning September 15, where the top-ranked teams from around the globe compete for the title of Season 3 World Champion, a $1 million grand prize, and their name etched forever onto the Summoner's Cup. The Championship finals take place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on October 4. 

Click here to follow all the regions on their Road to Worlds."

EU summoners may also enter this contest for a chance to win a sweet trip to the World Finals and the Riot Studios!