This morning's red post collection features Solcrushed with new information regarding Viktor's upcoming gameplay update, Meddler commenting on future Urgot and Gangplank reworks, clarification on the dates for the SUGAR RUSH double IP weekend, details on the NA/EU LCS expanding to 10 teams each next season, what factors into champion updates, and more!
- 8/27 PBE Update: Guardian of the Sands Kha'Zix, Cassiopeia Model, Texture, and Gameplay update.
- Champion and Skin Sale 8/29 - 9/1
- Final Boss Veigar now available
[Continued] Viktor Gameplay Update Details
Solcrushed is back with a load of additional information regarding the upcoming Viktor gameplay update!"Hi everyone, a couple of weeks earlier I shared some preliminary peeks into what the Viktor gameplay update will bring. Today I am here to talk in more detail regarding the kit changes as we near completion.
OBLIGATORY THIS IS NOT FINAL THINGY
~~~~Passive
We've already talked about the passive, and not much has changed from what I spoiled back then. Viktor is able to upgrade his Hex Core 3 times, and each upgrade will allow him to augment a basic ability & grant AP and mana. The completed item will be certainly slot efficient and grant a load of AP in the late game.
~~~~Q
We talked about the Q somewhat in intentionally vague terms. The Q is gaining a significant increase in range in exchange for significant reduction in damage. The lost damage will be made up as Viktor will gain a strong damage modifier on his next basic attack, akin to Lich Bane.
This is intended to divorce the utility portion of the Q from the damage portion while keeping it a targeted spell. Viktor should be able to gain access to his shield and speed boost (with augment) from a safer distance, and decide whether he can risk coming in closer to deal the bulk of his damage.
but Viktor's autoattack sucks!
Not THIS one
The augment on the Q remains the speed boost. The divorce of the utility and damage opens up offensive use cases of the augment (to get closer to land your other spells with higher accuracy), and should be a strong contender for 1st augment.
One last thing, the shield, speedboost and on next hit are all granted upon cast. You can finally shield an enemy's spells on reaction.
~~~~W
This is all in all a fine spell with very strong potential. However its lack of range makes it very difficult to utilize in non-defensive ways. The spell has also had its range increased significantly (but not as much as live Augment W) to clarify Viktor's engagement range to be around his R range. In exchange, the enemies will be warned earlier that the trap is opening beneath them. This should both increase usability of the spell for Viktor but keep it feeling fair for the enemy.
The W augment no longer increases range but sucks in enemies that are stunned by it to its center. This will allow Viktor to both function as a very strong follow up AOE burst (someone else probably needs to initiate for him) and enhance his kiting gameplay against the front line of the enemy who he ends up fighting against due to lack of jumps. This is probably the 3rd augment to take in most situations but if you need to kite a lot or foresee a mid level teamfight it could be taken earlier.
~~~~E
The Lazer of Death is an iconic spell on viktor and we have fought very hard to keep its numbers intact on the base spell. Nothing much has changed, it is still the thing we all love and hate.
The E augment on the other hand, has undergone significant changes. It will no longer apply a DOT on hit, but instead an explosion will follow the initial laser's wake. If Viktor hits both the laser and the explosion, Viktor will deal more damage than the Augmented E on live. This will be a net nerf as the reliability hit is significant, and the spell will be weaker as poke, but stronger for waveclear or in combination with other spells .
~~~~R
I said back then that the R is also undergoing a big change, unfortunately the change we planned did not pan out and the R will stay very similar to what it is on live. Not much more to talk about here.
~~~~So there it is, the updated Viktor should become a strong followup mage that excels as a secondary AOE wombo, and deals strong sustained damage against the front line with his Q and R. Hopefully we will meet again soon when phase 2 of the Glorious Evolution commences as I will leave you with one last tease."
When asked if the new Q resets AA modifiers and if it works on towers thus making him a powerful tower killer, Solcrushed replied:
"No and no, that's Ziggs :p"
Context on 4.15 Urgot Changes
"Decided to go for a set of high confidence changes and then assess how they've affected Urgot before looking at more experimental changes such as the W mana scaling. Urgot still has some core issues unaddressed, lack of sufficient counterplay at times in particular, so we need to be cautious about just giving him raw power."As for Urgot still needing more changes, Meddler reiterated that he is still set for a rework in the future:
"We'll do a rework and it'll almost certainly include some substantial changes. That's still quite a long way off though, hence these smaller changes in the meantime to try and get Urgot into a better spot until then."
More Consistant Gangplank Ultimate
"Yeah, we're going to test out a more consistent version of the ult, hopefully for a patch soon (needs some visual adjustments since the timing's changing a bit, so can't commit to an exact timeline). It's a change that's part of his rework and has tested well that's probably a good fit for being pulled forwards by itself."When asked for a timeline on this, Meddler replied:
Might be within a couple of patches, that's very much a guess though.
Removal of RNG (which here generally provides a chance for failure without giving GP a way to play around it)."
What factors in to champion updates
Ghostcrawler also commented in a thread asking why champion's seem to take so long to rework, explaining what all goes into the process."There are a lot of champions that we need to update. Many factors to into determining what the order of attack is, including art resources, coordination with visual updates, waiting for engineering support, or sometimes just the passion of the designer or having a clear idea for how to update someone."When asked why not just skip the art updates ( for the time being ) and push new kits while the resources finish, Meddler explained:
"Combining reworks and VUs together is both more efficient and gives us a lot of more options in terms of how we can improve a champion's kit. A VU means we've got the freedom to create new spells, get different animations, get new sounds etc. Without that we're working within a much narrower space. Sometimes that's fine - some champions just need numbers adjustments (even if substantial). For a champion like Warwick though that's not the case, there are some solid changes we'd like to make but they require a combination of both art and game design changes."
Varus Q Indicator Feedback
"Hey all,
A couple of patches back we added a line indicator, not just a range circle, to Varus' Q (Piercing Arrow). Now that that's been out for a bit I was hoping to gather some feedback on how you folks have found that. Has it been helpful? Distracting? Don't care either way?
Edit: Threw up a poll to make it easier to track overall feedback (will still be reading the comments too of course)."
He continued:
"Quote
PLEASE DON'T REMOVE IT. :<
Make it an option. If Line Missile Display is off, the indicator should be off. Satisfy both parties.
Long term that's the solution I'd like to go with, that requires some engineering work be done though, hence the check to see how people have been finding this take on a 'one size fits all' approach."
Double IP Weekend Clarification
RiotWingfield swooped into reddit to offer clarification on the upcoming Sugar Rush double IP weekend and explain why NA's dates are a day later than other regions."Hey Everyone!
Just wanted to clear up what's going on here. All regions are getting 3 days of double IP. NA is 8/30 - 9/1 while all other regions are 8/29 - 8/31. NA is pushed back a day so people can take advantage of the Monday off for Labor Day.
The post referenced is an error on our end, so we apologize for the confusion. It should be corrected shortly."
Abilities lacking decision making
Ghostcrawler also scuttled on to the boards to comment on abilities that require little to no decision making, using Vladimir's Q as an example:"Vlad's Q is often the example we also use of an ability with no decision making. Shameless plug: I think we mention it in the design PAX panel this Saturday. It's the kind of thing we are likely to eventually update.
Not every decision needs to be a huge decision and not every interesting decision needs to have huge consequences for using it wrong. As an example, many Qs are on a pretty short cooldown, because while it is rewarding to use an ability at the right time and feel smart for doing so, it also feels unrewarding to not be able to hit hotkeys very often."
If you'd like to check out the panel he mentioned, tune into the PAX stream at 2 PM PDT on Saturday!
2015 LCS Season expanding to 10 teams per region
While it's not time for the latest TWIES entry just yet, big things are happening! Riot announced earlier today that the 2015 LCS season will expand the EU and NA LCS up to 10 teams each!
"Next season, we’re excited to officially announce that we will be expanding the NA LCS and EU LCS to 10 teams. We’re looking forward to this team expansion to bring more diversity of talent and new gameplay into the professional scene in North America and Europe.
EXPANSION TOURNAMENT
In order to fill these new team spots, we’re introducing a onetime event called the Expansion Tournament. The tournament will take place after Worlds and will pull teams from the ladder. Teams that lose in the Promotion Tournament will still have another chance to qualify for the LCS as they will automatically be entered into the Expansion Tournament. We’ll confirm official dates, tournament structure, and format soon, but we wanted to let everyone know it was happening before we all get swept up into the excitement of Worlds.
POSSIBLE CIRCUIT POINTS
We also wanted to share that we’re seriously considering introducing some form of circuit points to the LCS tournament structure. Points would bring more weight to the Spring Split and help make every playoff match more significant due to the awarding of these valuable points. We do have some concerns about the intuitiveness of this point system, specifically as it pertains to new viewers.
We want to ensure the point system enforces that teams should always play their best as well as gives all teams from both splits a fighting chance at advancing on to the NA Regionals and Worlds. We’re currently running simulations to find the ideal solution, but we’d like to open it up to the community for point distribution suggestions and feedback. Tell us what you want to see around potential LCS circuit points.
CONCLUSION
Based on more teams entering the LCS, we will be updating the format and some policies for next season, and we’ll share the final details after Worlds. We’ll continue to provide insights into some of our thinking and considerations for 2015 along the way to Worlds.
Don’t forget to share your ideas for potential circuit point systems in the comments below. We’ll also be watching the forums and other community channels."
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