Red Post Collection: LeBlanc preseason spotlight, Meddler on Shen/Azir/Kalista, Founding Interns Of League, & more!

Posted on at 2:05 AM by Moobeat
Tonight's red post collection includes a preseason spotlight for LeBlanc, Meddler on a Shen, Kalista, and Azir changes in the works, a documentary on the Founding Interns of League, a new edition of Ask Riot, Legend of the Poro King in the RGMQ this weekend, and more! 
Continue reading for more information!




Table of Contents


LeBlanc Preseason Spotlight | Gameplay - League of Legends

With her assassin class update coming in 6.22, check out the preseason spotlight for LeBlanc!

"LeBlanc's always been great at zipping in for fast kills, but she hasn't fully lived up to her title: "The Deceiver." This preseason, she's getting some new tricks up her sleeve."
Preseason Spotlights:
More on LeBlanc and the other assassin updates available the 6.22 / Preseason PBE Cycle coverage.

Meddler on Shen, Azir, and Kalista + Rylai's Changes

Next up is a small grab bag of posts from Meddler concerning Shen, Azir, and Kalista as well as a follow up on the planned Rylai's Crystal Scepter changes they've been discussing recently.
When asked if there are plans for Shen buffs in the near future, Meddler noted that  they are looking at a few changes for Shen in 6.23 or 6.24 + small changes for Azir and Kalista!
"Our current plan is to look at Shen buffs in 6.23 or 6.24 (which depends on how much pre-season response work's needed). We'll also be looking at other champions like Azir and Kalista around the same time for possible small changes. They both need bigger work, but we'd like to see what we can do in the meantime until then, given that larger scoped work wouldn't be for a fair while."

Meddler Permalink
"Quote:
Honestly if you are going to buff Shen could you possibly just start out small by trying to give him some base stats his base hp late game is pretty laughable and feels pretty bad for the Shen player when someone building a bruiser item is tanker than you with a tank item. 
Another way to go about buffing him could possibly be in his passive, it goes from being a super good passive to being pretty sub par when you are slowed and can't pull the sword through someone, or the delay on when it actually activates which is after an ability.
Looking at base stats is probably where we'll start."
As for what they may look to buff on Shen, Meddler commented:
"Looking at base stats is probably where we'll start."

When asked if Garen changes are also on the menu, Meddler added:
"Quote:
will you be looking at garen too? he's been a pretty sub-par pick for a while now
Yes, around the same time."

On Kalista, Meddler added::
"Quote:
I think Kalista should remain in her current state until you guys can fully rework her, she is a very interesting champion design but I don't think she works in league. Azir is somewhat similar but I believe you guys can fix him.
I suspect we'll have to keep Kalista weak until we can make some significant changes to her. She's got too many strengths which means she crowds out other marksmen pretty hard if at a useful power level. What we're going to look at though is whether she needs to be as extremely weak as she is at present, or whether we've got some room to buff her."
As for why Kalista and Azir are so difficult to get right, Meddler shared this thoughts:
"Quote:
wouldn't that make her a failed concept? Especially if you are planning to have to Olaf her. (season 3 meaning of the term, aka keeping weak ). 
Is riot having conversation yet about how some designers keep throwing loads of extras in kits? Kalista is a fairly new champ and should not need a rework at any level. A lot of NEW champs have tons of strengths and then fail on weakness.
Both Kalista and Azir are representative of a period where in hindsight I think we tunnel visioned too much on uniqueness at the expense of some aspects of game health (overloaded kits) and skill floors. That's resulted in some champs who have really cool stuff on their kits, but have been challenges to balance for regular play versus top tier play. My take is that there are solid concepts there, but that the execution on them needs some work (reducing unnecessary strengths primarily, and putting that power into other parts of the kit, giving clearer weaknesses to play around)."






Meddler also offered an update on the previously discussed changes for Rylai's Crystal Scepter that were discussed prior to pre-season kicking off on the PBE:
"We were originally looking to get some Rylai's changes into patch 6.22. We haven't hit on changes we're confident are right for the item long term though, so will be holding off until we've got a direction we're confident is correct (could be 6.23, could be later)."
Meddler continued:
"Quote:
Why has rylai's been so hard for you guys to fix, is this pretty normal when reworking an item? 
Is it time for you guys to make a mini-rylais (ap and slow spell hit) that builds into 2-3 items?
Timeline on Rylai's hasn't been as urgent as other work, given it's not particularly connected to the other pre-season changes, in contrast with other things on the same time like assassin kits, balance and items. At the same time it's also an item that's been used by a lot of champs this year, so cost of getting it wrong's noticeable. Don't want to rush it as a result. Couple that with some lack of agreement on exactly who should or shouldn't have access to slows on all their spells in the first place, or whether a more limited approach is needed instead, and you get a process that takes longer than usual. 
I'd expect 2-3 different versions of Rylai's to exacerbate the current problems with it, not fix them. Allowing champions to choose even more optimal stat profiles for it makes it more attractive, and therefore universal, rather than limiting it to those it should be a tool on. Branching items like that can be a great approach if the thing being provided's baseline functionality for the class (e.g. % armor pen for ADCs, Sightstones for supports etc). With things like 'all spells slow' that are meant to be optional on most possible users, and something you should make some form of trade off for, branching items can fight against what you're trying to accomplish."

Ask Riot: Yes, It's Snowing 

This week's ASK RIOT includes answers to player questions on the recently announced Winter Summoner's Rift, mouse macros, and more!
"Welcome to Ask Riot! 
This week, let’s talk winter wonderlands, mouse macros, and pumping iron. Also, Ask Riot lives in Nexus now! Yay!\ 
Will it ever snow again on the Rift?

We answered this one a few weeks ago, but we’ve got an update! 
You may have already seen but, it’s getting colder on the Rift.. and some snow has started to fall. This is still just a first pass and is heavily a work in progress, but we’re currently knee-deep in efforts to bring back some snow to Summoner’s Rift. We were fortunate to find a solution to some of the previously described problems with a Winter SR, and some more time to focus on the idea. 
We want to start delivering more thematic experiences like this, or the spooky Summoner’s Rift we did for Doom Bots during the Teemoing event. Can’t make any specific promises right now, but stay tuned. In the meantime, we’re shoveling through the snow to get Summoner’s Rift ready for battle! 
L4T3NCY, Lead Designer, Rotating Game Modes 
What’s the official stance on mouse macros (Razer, Steelseries, etc.)? Are they allowed?

We don't have a problem with keyboard macros or mouse customization. I personally have one of my mouse buttons mapped to "attack move". What we don't allow is anything that makes decisions for you or takes actions on your behalf. Check here for a list of what’s allowed and what’s not, and remember that we often update our stance as new issues emerge. 
RAYKAY, Product Owner, Anti-Cheat 

Who would be the strongest champion in League if there were no constraints? In other words, who can lift the most, bro?

Tough question… Braum is definitely keeping those muscles in shape carting that door around like it’s a handbag. Volibear could flip a banquet table set with a Demacian feast with his pinky (do battle bears have pinkies?). And Mundo definitely qualifies as brawn over brains. But for my money? No one lifts harder than Poppy. Sure, she’s small. Sure, she’s pastel. She may walk softly, but she carries a BIG HAMMER. And when she swings that hammer of hers, whatever’s in her way… isn’t anymore. So if I needed help moving furniture or clearing boulders off a train track in a hurry, she’d be my first call. 
RIOT TIGER LILY, Editor, Foundations

Have a question? Head over to Ask Riot and sign into your League account. Check out the Dos and Don’ts, then ask away. 
We promise to read every question, but we can’t guarantee they’ll all get answers. Some questions may already be answered elsewhere, and some won’t be right for Ask Riot. This isn’t the best place to announce new features, for example, and we might skip conversations on issues we’ve talked about in depth before (though we can clarify individual points). 
We are listening, though, so keep asking. We’ll make sure your questions are heard by the Rioters working on the stuff you’re curious about."

RGMQ - Legend of the Poro King Friday & Updated Schedule


Legend of the Poro King returns this FRIDAY in the rotating game mode queue!

The RGMQ schedule has also been updated to include ONE FOR ALL November 25th through 28th following two weeks of Ascension on November 11th - 14th & 18th -21st!

As always, we keep the current RGMQ schedule listed on the right sidebar here on S@20!

Founding Interns of League | Documentary

Next up is a short documentary on the from the perspective of the first several interns at Riot Games as they worked to launch League of Legends - many of which continue to work there today!

"Marc Merrill and Brandon Beck set out with a vision to build a different type of game company. To make it real, they’d need help from a bunch of talented game industry vets. And a few interns."
Be sure to  check out the extremely early LoL art and champions around 6:50 into the video!

Team Fight Breakdown with Jatt: SSG vs SKT (Worlds 2016 Finals)

With the 2016 World Championship behind us and SKT crowned our world champions for the third times, here's Jatt with a team fight breakdown between SSG vs SKT during the finals! 

"This week on Team Fight Breakdown, we're looking at a 4-1 split push technique SK Telecom T1 used in the Finals of Worlds 2016 against Samsung Galaxy.\ 
Watch more Team Fight Breakdowns: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... 
Detailed Match History: http://matchhistory.na.leagueoflegend... 
Worlds VODS: http://www.lolesports.com/en_US/vods/... 
End song: Cool it Off by Theodore Yeager "

Quick Hits - PAX Aus this weekend,  Ranked Borders, & more

[Quick hits is our own mini news collection inside a red post collection, often including shorter or easy to digest stories and repeat information you may have missed in other posts! ]

"Nope, borders are remaining exactly the same from last year."

  • PAX AUS 2016 is this weekend and Riot will be in attendance and hosting several panels that will be LIVE STREAMED - including "Becoming a professional eSports Player", "New Champion Creation", and "Top 5 pain in the Ass Champions to Balance". Check out these links for more information on the panels, stream times, and more!


  •  SUPER LEAGUE - Players in select NA cities can now sign up to play LoL in city based leagues at movie theaters via Super League! Full details and signups available [here].  
"Join a local team with Super League Gaming - Play League in a movie theater and fight for your city!"


REMINDERS

To round out tonight's red post collection, here are a few reminders on current promotions or limited time events!
  • 2016 All-Star Voting is open through November 7th! Vote for who you want to see represent each region at the international all-star event in early December and score a free summoner icon. 

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