Red Post Collection: Talon update direction, Ask Riot - Bugs & Player Behavior, Clubs added to app, & more!

Posted on at 1:24 AM by Moobeat
[REMINDER: One for All in RGMQ this week!]

Tonight's red post collection includes a direction for Talon's assassin class update, a new edition of Ask Riot on player behavior & bugs, Clubs added to the LoL mobile app, an fan artist feature on Ze, and more!

Continue reading for more information!


Table of Contents


Assassin Roster Update -- Talon Direction 

Riot Stashu has put up a boards thread discussing the direction of Talon's gameplay update in the Assassin class update scheduled for later this year.
"Hey all! 
As Statikk explained earlier in the year, Assassins will [finally] take center stage in our next roster update, and I’m here to shed some light on the first project we’d like to share with you: Talon, the Blade’s Shadow. 
Talon has always been a major missed opportunity -- he promises to be a stealthy-yet-flashy agile rogue, but manifests in game as more of a reckless AoE damage bomb. All of us who’ve died to that mobi-boots, ghost-blading Talon that blinked on our face and one-shot us from stealth can probably agree that his kill pattern is not particularly fun to engage with, but I think even Talon could recognize that there’s room for more creativity in his kit. We believe that trading in some of that brute force for a more skillful and acrobatic realization of his could-be-cool theme will land the champion in a much better place. 
Secondarily, Talon suffers some big overlap problems with other Assassins, namely the melee bunch like Kha’Zix, Akali, and Zed. They have their differences, to be sure, but we think there’s a lot more room there to set them apart. [Quick aside on why this is important: If all Assassins do the same thing, we get two major problems: 1) Staleness: Games with an Assassin, no matter which one, tend to feel very similar, and 2) Dominance: The ‘best’ Assassin will crowd out the others from being picked coughZedcough]. So, we’ll be playing up and adding in some more Talon-esque things to his kit to make him a bit more like the special snowflake that he ought to be and less of a generic Assassin guy. 
So, in gameplay terms, what does this mean for the update? 
  1. Leaning into what’s already unique -- roaming. Talon is among the most dedicated roamers when it comes to the Assassins, with boots of mobility being one of his core items. We think that this is cool and something to push on. Talon’s ability to both traverse the map and approach on his target will be way more awesome, appreciable, and thematic for everyone involved. Instant blink from stealth has its merits, but we could take it much, much farther on pretty much all sides (coolness / uniqueness / fairness / fun).
  2. Extending his burst window. It’s important for Assassins to have some reliable threat on the enemy backline, but when all their damage comes out before the would-be victims can react, that’s a big problem. Try not to worry though, we’re not talking about much time here, even half a second could mean a LOT for these guys.
  3. Focusing him on his target. Assassins should be empowered to hunt down and kill a particular enemy champion, and while there’s nothing wrong with having some AoE damage, when you accidentally get a quadrakill by just doing your job and aiming for the fed enemy Twitch, something’s not right. Blades-everywhere is an iconic and exciting part of what Talon does, but we’d like to siphon some of that ambient damage into more focused assassination power. He’ll still be able to get big multikills, he’ll just have to be a bit more deliberate. 
And those are our primary focuses for our boy Talon! Please share any questions / comments / concerns here, and I’ll do my best to respond to them when I can. 
-Stashu"
Several Rioters hung out in the comments to answer questions and share a few more specifics:

When asked if this means Talon will be one of the larger scale reworks in the update, Reav3  noted
"Quote:
So does this mean Talon is one of the big reworks for the assassin update? Will you guys take the chance to change his E's, cutthroat, name to something more fitting since it no longer have a silence, which was taken away nearly 2 years ago.
Yes, this means he will be one of the big reworks."
Statikk  added:
"Quote:
Will this update also make him more unique visually and thematically, or will it be strictly gamelay-focused and Talon will continu to be the Assassin's Creed guy?
It's largely gameplay with some animation, sound effects, and visual effects. We aren't re-designing his model the way the VGUs do. He'll still look like the Talon you've come to know - he'll just do some pretty new and cool things." 
Statikk  also confirmed Talon will have a new passive.
"Quote:
This made my day literally. I love Talon and he deserves changes so i am very excited for what you are bringing to us. But a question: Is his passive finally changing?? Please reply. 
He'll have a new passive. =)"

On adjusting the kill windows for assassins, Statikk  added:
"Quote:
Wouldn't making his assassination take longer take away his identity of stealth and quick kills? I understand it's not healthy for the game (e.g. Rengar) but if the direction you described were to continue forward would that mean you guys are looking into giving him a new identity over the generic "I'm the Assassin's Creed league champ"? 
If his way of killing is gonna change then I might as well see him get an escape tool or gain some other "edge" when he get's unlucky. Certain situations seem good to go in but in a fast paced environment where anything can happen he needs to be able to pull off his combos quick and do his job or he is completely useless.
Talon will still be burst-y, all of the Assassins will since that defines who they are. We're talking about the difference between 0.5 seconds and 1.5 seconds in a lot of these cases. We think giving enemies that extra second allows them an opportunity to react with tools like Zhonya's or allowing an ally to save them. 
He will definitely be getting a pretty cool new tool that will help him both chase and escape. Talon's mobility is going to be a lot less 1-dimensional with this update."
Statikk also answered a series of questions about the direction:
"Quote:
Hello again! Thanks for keeping us updated, even with individual champions. I play Talon very frequently, and he has been my most played champion across 3 seasons. I have a load of confidence when it comes to the reworks. My favorites so far are Poppy and Fiora. Now that you guys have settled more in on a direction for Talon, I have a few concerns and questions, if you don't mind expanding upon. 
  1. Do you plan on changing his lore and character? Pretty much all of his lore is not tied to the League, but I can see if you wanted to change a few points. Personally, I am a fan of how he realizes the importance of the bond he made with House Du'Couteau when the summoner in his judgement points out how his chase of Du'Couteau goes against his values he made on the street.
  2. Concerning his tendency to roam, I think Talon is indeed a roamer, but I would say Swifties are now more popular among dedicated players than Mobis due to the prevalence of Rylai's and the fact that Mobis are easily canceled by minor things like a caster minion. Do you plan on making similar changes to Mobis as you did with Strut? Also, I believe part of the reason Talon has become more of a roamer was due to the silence change 2 years back, which stunted his duelist ability. Is the team planning to maintain his identity as one of the fastest snowballers?
  3. Extending his burst window is a great change I think. Talon as being an instakill was definitely a perk, but it also meant that if you did not have the numbers to kill someone, you just were not able to without having your allies set you up or dropping a few Rakes. It made gameplay rather linear.
  4. The removal of a lot of his AoE is understandable, but I personally think a lot of his AoE gave a certain thrill to the character. Some of the most thrill inducing plays are casting Cutthroat to a minion and then blowing up 3 people standing in the wrong place. It's not something you can do often, but it feels amazing.
  1. Unfortunately we currently don't have any plans to significantly adjust his lore.
  2. Boots of Mobility is probably something we can follow up with the Systems / Live teams. I personally love the feel of it on Talon as it makes him unique, but we don't really want to force Talon to have to buy it.
  3. We've been pretty cognizant to keep Talon fairly low intensity when it comes to complexity of inputs. He will definitely not feel like playing Zed.
  4. None of his gameplay mechanics reflect the ability to perform when outnumbered or when being hunted. We didn't feel like that was necessarily a significant part of the player fantasy that Talon brings to the table."
Answering another set of questions, Statikk also confirmed Talon will be losing his "blink" effect from E but that we'll have to wait and see what replaces it:
"Quote:
Hello, thanks for this. As a D2 Talon mains for 3 seasons, I and a few other Talon mains have questions: 
  1. Is this a confirmation for the removal of a blink in his kit? What type of mobility will Talon have now?
  2. Since Talon can already oneshot most carries + AOE, and the AoE will be tuned down, is this rework generally a nerf? What tradeoffs are happening?
  3. Will he have new animations?
  4. I don't agree with mobis being core on Talon. Many of the high elo Talon mains opt for either swifties, merc, tabi, cdr boots, etc...I myself rarely bought them. Does data support the statement that mobis are core on Talon?
  5. Is blink turning into a dash of some sort?
  6. Talon right now is very binary, and he goes in with a pretty similar combo each time. Will this update change the complexity of his kit significantly?
Thanks.
  1. Yes we will be removing the blink. Unfortunately, you'll have to wait and see what it is replaced with.
  2. Even though he's losing some strengths, Talon's mobility will now become a lot more flexible. And by a lot I mean A LOT.
  3. Yes, he will definitely have some new animations. We're not re-hauling all of them though.
  4. This is cool to hear, I think having Mobi's as a cool option is great, we don't want to force him to wear them every game though. Will keep this in mind.
  5. It's changing into something a whole lot more. =)"
On Talon's mobility, Reav3  added:
"Quote:
Will he be more mobile then the current Kass??? :o
He will be situationally one of the most mobile champs in the game"
As for when we might see more of these assassin update direction posts pop up, Reav3  noted
"Quote:
So Stashu is in charge of Talon? Can we know which designers will be in charge of which champions?
We will be starting to trickle out the direction posts in the weeks to come. They will be made by the designers of those champions so you will find out when they are posted :)"

[UPDATE - Several more posts on Talon below!]

Riot Stashu  continued:
"Quote:
I posted two comments before in the thread, and I had some time to think about the proposed direction, specifically as Talon's roaming identity.
How would this affect Talon's already weak lane? My playstyle is to farm up as much as I can and 1v1 the enemy laner nearing mid game. Would this update weaken this and force me to be more mobile around the map?
We're adding some counterplay to Talon's kit throughout, which means since it'll be a little harder to land everything perfectly, the payoff is going to have to be proportionately higher. So when he plays things right, post-update Talon should definitely be able to land kills in lane. He won't be as reliably able to kill his lane opponent as the more 1-on-1 focused assassins like Zed, but he'll be able to do it."

Riot Stashu  added that Talon's W and R will remain:
"Quote:
Please tell me either his rake or his ult will be kept. those two abilities I feel are his most iconic ones
Yep! We agree that they're the most iconic parts of the kit. Expect some tweaks, but yeah, they'll still be there."

Riot Stashu  continued:
"Quote:
Not that I'm implying it should end up on talon's kit, but do you feel that additional damage based off of current CC state is a healthy design space you could explore in the future? I could see a champion with a single target stun and an AoE ability that amped, say 25-40% damage if the champs are cc'd might work? Again, unrelated to talon
I like exploring those sorts of synergies. Raw damage probably isn't the right way to do, especially at such small values as Talon's current passive, but I believe there's some cool CC related combos to explore on other kits, yeah!"

Reav3 also added:
"Quote:
Is there a way will be getting new particle effects?
Talon will be getting new particle effects, yes"


Behavior, bugs, and more in Ask Riot 

We also have a new installment of ASK RIOT, discussing player behavior, bugs, and more!
"Welcome to Ask Riot, where we focus on your questions and give you answers. 
This week, we talk about rewarding good behavior, getting better at League, and crazy bugs. 
Have a question (or two...hundred) yourself? Head over to Ask Riot and sign into your League account. Check out the Do’s, the Don'ts, and then ask us something. We’ll archive the answers once we’ve accumulated a few of them. One thing to note: Asking the same question over and over again won’t help your cause. 
ASK RIOT 
We’re committed to reading every question but can’t guarantee we’ll answer them all. 
“Okay, why not?” 
Some questions may already be answered elsewhere or won’t be right for Ask Riot. For example, we won’t typically be launching new products or features here or talking about issues about which we’ve already gone into more depth elsewhere (but we can clarify individual points!). Even if your question isn’t the one being answered, we’re listening, and we’ll be sharing your questions with the Rioters who are working directly on the things you’re curious about. 
What’s the craziest bug you’ve encountered in League of Legends? 
Craziest bug, huh? 
I like this question. Many aspects of QA (Quality Assurance), and the resulting bugs, never see the light of day. Most thankfully die well before the content in question leaves internal environments, some go to PBE, and then a few (unfortunately) go to live. Basically what I'm getting at though... we're hogging the good ones to ourselves. 
Bugs can be pretty terrifying when we first encounter them, but many are also quite hysterical. Be it giant 30-foot Zyras planting miniature versions of herself, wacky animation bugs like Nidalee's human form running around with her cougar's animations (SHUDDER), a random spot on the map just allowing champions to jump off to their doom, or the classic Shaco being Windwalled entirely out of existence…we never quite know what to expect. 
The bug I’d like to share with you today was a fun little one we encountered during Illaoi's development. It only occurred when we had two Illaois in the same game, after which certain variables would sometimes go a bit out of control. 
You know, rather than explaining through text, just enjoy this lovely video of it!

– Ququroon, QA on Champion Update 
Are you planning on rewarding good behavior in any way beyond Hextech Crafting? 
Short answer: Yes! 
Long answer: 
Sportsmanship is a core value for Riot. At the highest level, we’d like all players to strive towards fair, respectful games of League. Are we talking about a future where 100% of games are perfectly sportsmanlike? No. Part of sports is learning how to cope with bad sports – and hopefully, learning how not to be one yourself. There will always be some level of heat in competition, e.g. losing a Baron 35 minutes into a game is an inherently stressful thing – it’s about tempering that flame into a constructive, competitive drive. There’s no perfect formula. That’s the thing about values: They’re unlikely to ever be perfectly achieved. We’ll try. We’ll falter. Occasionally we’ll tilt. So will you. And as long as we aren’t going totally off the deep end, it’s a great chance to learn. 
That’s why talking more often about the ideals of sportsmanship, and highlighting the players who uphold them, could move us to a better standard in League. It’s important because we all know that we have more fun, and more importantly, play better when we can simply focus on the game at hand. 
Around the world, there are local Riot initiatives highlighting sportsmanship. For example, the local office runs the “Fight with Honor” program, randomly selecting from the most honorable players each month and recognizing them with RP gifts. Our local team in Brazil asked players to share their stories of sportsmanship and positive play and selected some of the best to make into comics starring those players. The Oceania team is working with high schools to craft League of Legends clubs to help teach sportsmanship on and off the Rift. 
Going forward we’re very excited about creating more opportunities to recognize sportsmanship and positive play. One thing on our radar is the Honor system, which could use an update. You’ve given us a lot of feedback on how we can improve the system, from calling out skilled play, to recognizing players that are great sports, to saying “Hey, thanks for the game, let’s do that again sometime!” Through this system, we’d love to create more opportunities for badges and other rewards that call out positive contributions and sportsmanship. We see this as a great way to get you involved in helping to identify what it means to be an awesome community member and player. We have some work to do before it’s ready but we’re always listening to other ideas on how to make this a great way to celebrate sportsmanship! 
– Riot Central Player Behavior Team 
How do I get better at League? 
Getting better at League is hard. It’s hard as hell. And it takes a lot of time. There’s no easy fix, and pretending like there is will only net you disappointment. As someone who’s played for 7 years and progressed from the depths of Bronze to the heights of Diamond I, I can’t offer you an easy “How To” - but I can offer you a state of mind that might help you with improvement. 
1. Failing is the first step in becoming good at something. 
This age-old phrase, though sometimes sounding like a platitude, has far more wisdom in it that most may realize. Yes, you’re bronze now, but you just started. Or even if you’re a long-time player, you’ve only just started taking improvement seriously. Whatever level of skill, when you’re trying a new champion for the first time (or playing against a Master-Tier Veigar for the first time), you’re very likely going to get crushed. Not only is that okay, it’s necessary. Just don’t give up. Which brings me to this next point: 
2. Commit yourself to the idea that everything is a learning experience. 
If I had 10 LP for every time I failed to first blood my lane opponent and got killed instead, I’d be Rank 1 by now. It’s easy to huff and puff and type ‘fiora no flash’ in all chat, but let’s be real here - these moments can teach us so much more if we frame them as learning experiences. Yes, maybe that enemy champion is OP. Yes, maybe your jungler is AFK. But what could you have done differently? There’s never truly nothing you could have done to improve a situation - it might take you sitting at your tower, maxing W on Gangplank vs Pantheon and praying for dear life - but taking each failure and each success as experiments to add to your vast database will make you a better player long-term. 
3. Take responsibility for putting your knowledge into practice. 
So, you’ve accepted your failures - and you might even be writing some of them down! But our last point of improvement is about holding yourself accountable for what you’ve learned. You know every time you try to all-in Swain Top you lose - so stop the cycle! Take a different approach, take a different summoner spell, take a different keystone - who cares! If insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result, then be vigilant and force yourself to make the shift in your play style that will net you the win. Yes, it might not be fun to play the long-game and farm it out, but sometimes that’s what you need to do - and the feeling you’ll have in the end for making the ‘right’ play is incredible. 
Obviously, if you want to get better at League, you should play more League. If that’s the kind of advice you came here to listen to, then sure - spam LoL, find some guides you like, watch streams, whatever. But if you feel like you’re running in circles, maybe it’s time to take a look at yourself - and a look at the framework I’ve laid out above - and really start making the change you want to see in your own gameplay. 
– Scarizard, Gameplay Communications (helping out my bro Calisker given his Bronze4Life skillset)"

Speaking of bugs, Ququroon also shared this one over on twitter:
"Here's the jumping off the map bug that was mentioned in the AskRiot post. It was a strong contender for the video."

The League Friends App, Now With Clubs! 

The League Friends mobile app has been updated to now include clubs!
"Chatting with a friend is cool, but hanging out with all your friends all at once is better. That's why we're bringing Clubs to the League Friends app. The update is launching today. Grab it on Android or on iOSand start clubbing. 
If you haven't already heard, the League Friends app is free and lets you see your friends list, add new pals, and chat one-on-one or in Clubs. With this new update, you can access Clubs you're already a member of and accept invites to new Clubs. We’ll continue to add more features over time—the app will keep evolving just like League does. 
Send us any feedback about League Friends directly through the app by visiting the settings tab and selecting "Bugs and Feedback." 
Note: The app works with devices using iOS 8.3 or newer or Android 4.1.1 or newer (API 16)."

Estimated Wait Time Indicators on NA

[NOTE: Looks like this is going up on other servers now!]
 Riot Socrates tweeted out  earlier tonight that estimated wait time indicators for the new champion select are now live on NA! When queuing for a game, this will show which roles are in demand and estimate how much faster or slower the queue time will be.
"Estimated wait time indicators are enabled in new champ select on NA. Let us know what you think."
Here are two example pictures, note the text above selection and the systems on the positions.

[VOD] League Design Livestream with Scarizard and Reinboom

Join Scarizard and Reinboom as they discuss systems, itemization, and more in this week's League Design livestream!

[VOD] World Premiere of Live/Play: Be There - A League Documentary (and Q&A with Riot Jerkee)

Following the trailer, Riot hosted a community stream to debut the first episode of Live/Play: Be There - A League Documentary and held a Q&A with director Riot Jerkee!
"Hear from FoxDrop, visit Korean PC bangs, and watch friendship unfold in Brazil during the premiere episode of a new Live/Play documentary miniseries. Now premiering on Twitch."

Fan Artist Feature: Ze 

Riot Jynx is back with a fan artist feature on Ze!

"Hey Summoners! Today we’re speaking with Ze, a talented community artist and musician from Los Angeles with beautifully rendered pieces that explore unique skin designs and character portraits. Ze also streams her art on Twitch, and in game you might catch her playing one of her favorite champ, Vladimir, Rumble, or Nautilus. - She also has a kitty! 
Click the thumbnails below to see even more of her awesome work, and follow her progress on DeviantArt and Twitter.

How did you get started creating League of Legends fan art?

Ze: I started playing League at the end of 2010, but didn’t create fan art until late into 2011. What started the train that still runs today? The good ol’ Journal of Justice. I saw an article’s headline image of Jarvan IV fighting Swain and thought, “Hey…I should recreate this into an even bigger illustration!” 
For concept art, I thought it was really fun to create looks from alternate realities or worlds. League was the first game I played that had more of an emphasis on skins and “what ifs”. I wanted to try this with as many champions as I could. I have quite a way to go, but it’s become quite an exploration and collection.
  
What’s been your favorite piece to create, and why? 
Ze: I’d have to say Elderwood Kindred, even though I recently redesigned it. From my group of skin sketches, I wanted to pick one and draw detailed in-game mockups that were accompanied by a pseudo splash. It took quite some time, but I learned so much. 
When I first drew the skin concept for Kindred, it was based off of Bard’s look (back then, he was the only champ who had an Elderwood skin). After completing the concept page for Kindred, I eventually wanted to revisit the concept so it would stand out more, similar to Hecarim and LeBlanc. 
Do you have a dream project you’d like to work on?  
Ze: Make games! Or at least draw stuff and help make them! As a kid, I always loved exploring and interacting with a game’s world as much as I could. It’s always fun to think about how a game is made, from its visuals and music to its gameplay and mechanics. Eventually I started to draft out a couple personal concepts. When I can, I work on some concept art or jot down ideas. Wish I had more time, but musing about it is fun. 
  
Who’s your inspiration? Do you have any favorite League content creators? 
Ze: This is incredibly tough…I’m terrible at picking favorites. The list just goes on and on. As far as League artists go… 
Is there anything else you’d like to share with the community? 
Ze: If you’re an artist and you want to improve, keep drawing…keep practicing. It takes A LOT of time and patience. Don’t focus on big improvements within a short amount of time. Comparing Riot’s art from 2010 to now is like night and day, but it was a gradual process too. Whenever Riot’s work improved, I wanted to get better as well, even if it was just a bit. 
To everyone else, thank you so much for the support. I really mean it. I’ve never been much of a social media person, but I hope to improve on that and become more involved. One step at a time! 
  
Lets us know what your favorite piece was in the comments below!"

[REMINDERS]

Last up for today's red post collection we have a few reminders on current promotions and events!

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