Surrender at 20

Red Post Collection: 8/26 Patch Update, MF Changes still in works, Dragon icon now available, NA server move, & more

[UPDATE: Post updated with info on NA serve move completing and 8/26 Patch Update hotfix! ]

This afternoon's red post collection includes a look at the 8/26 live hotfix with Darius buffs and Skarner nerfs, Scruffy noting Miss Fortune still has changes in the works, the Dragon summoner icon now available for 250 RP, a heads up that Davin will be on the boards for a Q&A on 8/26, a megathread on the NA Chicago server move now that it is complete, and more!
Continue reading for more information!


Table of Contents


August 26th Patch Update


The official 5.16 patch notes have been updated to reflect Darius and Skarner changes that are being hotfixed to live soon
"26/8/2015 
Hey folks! Juggernauts shipped, and as enormous game updates sometimes go, not everything was 100% on the balance front. Check out the changes below to see how we're reacting to them. Since we're aiming to get these changes out with as little friction as possible (ie. we don't want to make you download another patch!), some of the in-game tooltips will be out of date until we hit 5.17 and can more comprehensively update everything.
Darius 
Decimate's damage and healing increased.
"Darius released far weaker than his juggernaut brothers, mostly due to the extra gameplay added to Decimate. We're still keeping the gameplay (we like that part), so we're making it more rewarding when you swing your axe correctly."
Q - Decimate
  • DAMAGE - 20/40/60/80/100 ⇒ 40/70/100/130/160
  • HEALING -10% of missing health per champion hit ⇒ 15% of missing health per champion hit (maximum is still 30%)
Skarner 
Movement speed and attack speed lowered. W's shield lowered. E's cooldown is increased, and deals less damage.
"Oh dear. Skarner released at the strongest state we've seen a character...pretty much ever. While the below changes might look like a lot, these were all added on towards the end of his development cycle as a result of feedback on the PBE. We shouldn't have listenedquite so well. No hard feelings, PBE."
General
  • BASE MOVEMENT SPEED - 345 ⇒ 335
  • BASE ATTACK DAMAGE - 61 ⇒ 57 
W - Crystalline Exoskeleton
  • SHIELD RATIO- 12/13/14/15/16% of maximum health ⇒10/11/12/13/14% of maximum health
E - Fracture
  • COOLDOWN -13/12.5/12/11.5/11 seconds ⇒ 14/13.5/13/12.5/12 seconds
  • INITIAL DAMAGE - 40/75/110/145/180 ⇒ 40/65/90/115/140
  • BONUS DAMAGE ON STUNNING - 25/50/75/100/125 ⇒ 25/35/45/55/65
Ququroon noted these will be going out soon, with a small delay for NA:
"We're patching these tweaks over the course of the day, though NA will be receiving these a bit later due to the server migration."

Miss Fortune changes still in the works

When asked if they are still planning another set of changes for Miss Fortune, Riot Scruffy commented they are but that those changes won't be until after Worlds:
"Those are still happening, just not before worlds. Statikk (dude working on them) is making sure that they will have a real positive effect on making MF fun and relevant again. We don't wanna rush out something that isn't going to work. 
Ideally when it's all done, some long standing complaints about her ult scaling and overall purpose as a character will be solved. MF's signature moves right now just aren't packing the punch that they should so we hope to fix that."
He continued:
"Hopefully a bit of our "unique identity" philosophy for champs will pay off here. We can really go big on MF as the AOE wombo combo adc with clear weaknesses and she can be strong without shooting to must pick/ban status. 
IMO the recent ashe work did this in a way we're pretty happy with, shes a strong pick but not unbeatable."

No Garen Changes going out in Juggernaut Hotfix

 Meddler posted an update that no Garen changes will be going out in the upcoming Juggernaut hotfix, which will include changes for Skarner and Darius.
"Quick update: No Garen changes in the hotfix. He's almost certainly too strong, and we'll probably go through with the nerfs in 5.17, he's not so out of line we need to act before the next regular patch though. Taking the time to assess how he's doing a bit more as a result."

Heat things up with the Dragon icon

As expected, the new Dragon themed summoner icon is now available for 250 RP

"On Summoner’s Rift, Dragon is more than a simple game objective. He’s a flame-spouting, squishy-smashing badass ready to incinerate anyone who foolishly ventures into his lair. Many an overconfident champion has received a free ticket back to the fountain from some well-placed Dragon fire – and many more will follow. 
Luckily, the new Dragon icon doesn’t require any dramatic sword-swinging, spell-slinging, or thrilling heroics. Pick it up at the League store for 250 RP, and let everyone who views your profile know who’s the real final boss of Summoner’s Rift (hint: it’s the player with the terrifying dragon on their profile [additional hint: you])."

Chat with Riot researcher Davin on 8/26!

Research manager Davin will be hoping on the boards for a Q&A on August 26th!

"We’re back with Between Two Turrets, a new Q&A series from the NA Community team in which we’ll connect you with various Rioters to chat about League, life, and anything in between. You can expect an installment every couple weeks or so, with Rioters from all over jumping in to spend some time with you on the boards. 
This week, we’ve got research manager Davin “Davin” (he’s cool like that) Pavlas - come chat with him on the Boards August 26 starting at 2 PM PDT!"

NA Server Roadmap Update: Chicago Server Move Complete

The NA server move to Chicago is complete! Here's Riot Ahab with a post move update:
"TL;DR: The NA game servers have now successfully moved to a new, centralized location in Chicago, Illinois. This move, along with other components of the NA Server Roadmap, should improve connection quality for the vast majority of NA players. West Coast players will see an uptick in raw ping numbers, but should also see that uptick mitigated by connection improvements in the form of better overall stability and reduced packet loss. Over the next couple days we’ll be troubleshooting any emergent routing issues (help us out here!), followed by a weekend stress test (complete with Party IP) from August 28 - 30. More details below.


As of 12:00PM PDT today, the new NA game servers in Chicago, Illinois are now fully online and handling all League game traffic in the US and Canada. The new servers have improved ping and overall connection quality for a substantial majority of NA players, and drastically so across much of the eastern US and Canada. West Coast players have seen an uptick in raw ping numbers, but should also see that uptick mitigated by connection improvements in the form of better overall stability and reduced packet loss. Most importantly, this move has brought the vast majority of NA players under 80 ms ping.
What’s next? 
Given the complexity of NA’s internet architecture and ISP landscape, we fully expected some wonky local routing issues to crop up in the wake of the server move, and the Roadmap team is already hard at work making sure any wayward connections are taking the most efficient possible paths on our dedicated network to the new game servers.

Connection Clinic Megathread 
Most connections should already be well-aligned, but we’d like your help tracking down the ones that aren’t! Join us in this Chicago Connection Clinic Megathread to help us troubleshoot any emergent network pathing problems by testing your connection to Chicago and sending us traceroute info from your machines.

ISP peering 
On a related note, ISP peering will of course play a major role in making sure your connections are getting to Chicago as quickly as possible. One of our key Roadmap efforts over the past year has been signing and maintaining agreements with ISPs across the US and Canada - check out our latest peering list here and at the end of this post. A note on some of the more high-profile names missing from that list - we’re currently in talks with Cox, AT&T, and Verizon, and expect to have inked and implemented peering deals with all three within the next couple of weeks.

Transfers 
Now that the move is complete, we’ve enabled free server transfers for players located in the US, US territories, and Canada who are currently playing on other servers - look for a transfer email from us and a free transfer option in the store on your account! Lingering questions about transferring your account? Check out our Account Transfer FAQ.

Stress test weekend 
While we fine-tune any remaining issues over the next couple days, we also want to roll right into a stress test weekend from August 28 - 30 to observe how well the new game servers handle peak traffic. To help make sure we really put the new Chicago infrastructure through its paces, we’re enabling Party IP over the weekend - check out the details below in case you need a refresher. 
Number of players in party --> Bonus IP awarded

  • 2 --> 100% bonus
  • 3 --> 150% bonus
  • 4 --> 200% bonus
  • 5 --> 300% bonus
You earn rewards win or lose, but only if you’re in a party with at least one other player. Make sure to log in, help us test, and earn extra IP from August 28th, 00:00 PDT through August 30th, 23:59 PDT!

Going forward 
While the Chicago move completes our outlined milestones for the NA Server Roadmap, there will always be more to do on the service front. ISPs will change, routes will merge, and the landscape may shift, so multiple teams here at Riot will remain dedicated to making sure players experience the best possible connection while playing League. 
Drop us a comment below if you have any immediate questions, otherwise we’ll see you in the connection-clinic megathread or online throughout this weekend for the Party IP stress test!

UPDATED PEERING LIST 
Talks in Progress:
AT&T
Cox Communications
Verizon 
Partnered ISPs:
Atlas Networks Corporation
Accelerated Connections
Bell Aliant Regional Communications
Bell Air Internet
Bell Canada (We've hit a snag and are currently working through logistics. More updates to follow!)
Cablevision Systems
CenturyLink
Charter Communications
Clear Wireless
Cogent Communications
Comcast Cable Communications
Cox
CTS Communications Corp
Eltopia
Frontier Communications
Google Fiber
Hurricane Electric
Interconnected Associates
LS Networks
NetRiver
NTT America
Pavlov Media
Pocketinet Communications
Qwest Communications Company
RCN
Rogers Cable Communications
Saskatchewan Telecommunications (SaskTel)
Shaw Communications
Syringa Networks
TDS Telecom
TekSavvy Solutions
TELUS Communications
TeraGo Networks
Threshold Communications
Time Warner Cable
Videotron Ltee
Vision Net
WiscNet
Worldlink
WOW! Internet"

Chicago Connection Clinic Megathread

With the NA server move to Chicago underway, dArtagnan has posted up a Chicago Connection clinic megathread to help players identify issues they may be having:

"The Chicago servers are now live! We know that with the relocation, most connection paths will have changed and, in some cases, may be routed inefficiently. We’ve been preparing for this on our end for a while now, and most should be properly routed, but we want to work with you guys to identify and squash any remaining issues. 
If you’re experiencing higher ping than we’ve estimatedmake sure to fill out our Chicago Log Gathering Tool. 
Do not post the results in this thread! It contains sensitive information about your connection info! 
Also, make sure to check whether we’ve peered with your ISP. If we haven’t peered with your ISP yet, feel free to reach out to them and ask them to peer with us!

Note: Some of the more high-profile ISP names are missing from that list. We’re currently installing our connections with Cox, AT&T, and Verizon, and expect to have peering fully up and running with all three of them within a few weeks. If you’re playing League on one of these ISPs, your connection post-Chicago move may not be on the most efficiently-routed path until that work completes. We’ll keep this discussion updated as these ISPs come online. 
Our tech experts will review every one of the forms you guys submit to identify any problems and work to resolve them ASAP. Once we have info to share, we’ll update the top of this thread with any resolutions. Also, we’ll keep an eye out for any questions in this thread and respond when we can, but the best way to have us look at your connection is by using the Chicago Log Gathering Tool! 

The following tech experts are here to help: 
Steeb
Morgageddon
dArtagnan
Digital Ram
Riot WizardOTL
Riot Foro
Korensky
Riot Laslow
Riot R3lick"
Remember to post your logs and concerns on the mega thread.

Introducing the Riot Games Engineering Tech Blog

Last up we have an introduction to the new Riot Games Engineering tech blog!

"In our ongoing effort to tell more stories about the engineering and tech-work we do behind the scenes at Riot Games, we’re proud to announce the launch of Riot’s Engineering Tech Blog! 
In this blog, we’ll keep focused on sharing with you, our tech-curious community, the journey we’ve taken in developing Riot’s technology and the lessons we’ve learned. We look forward to discussing the unique challenges we face!"
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