Red Post Collection: Details on Extra Patch coming in December, Ask Riot: Religion & LeBlanc, & More

Here's Maple Nectar with an update on patch scheduling during the holidays:

Ask Riot: Religion & LeBlanc

A new Ask Riot is now available, covering LeBlanc, religions in Runeterra, and more:

"Let’s talk future plans for Leblanc, Cassiopeia’s lack of shoes, and religions in Runeterra. 

Are you still planning on updating Leblanc? What do you think of her right now?

Leblanc has some issues that we definitely want to address at some point. In her update last year, we resolved some of the problems that plagued her but introduced some new ones in the process. 

We took some time recently to test several variations of new spells on her kit. While a lot of them were interesting, they didn’t feel like the set of changes that would solve her problems and satisfy the desires of both camps of Leblanc players (those that prefer the old version and those that prefer the new one). If we’re updating Leblanc again, we need to make sure that it nails it, rather than just creating an additional group of players that prefer now an additional version of Leblanc. 

Having not found anything that we were satisfied with yet, we’re opting to table further Leblanc rework explorations for now as we focus our efforts on systems and champs that need more urgent attention (ie. Runes Reforged follow-up). For the time being, we’re going to look to tweak some things around to be a mix of both pre- and post-rework Leblanc until we have the time to invest deeply in kit explorations again. 

MEDDLER

Lead Gameplay Designer 

Are there religions in runeterra? For example, when a person is on their knees, life flashing before their eyes, and they’re told to pray to their god… who do they pray to? the kindred? the mists? asol? wild magics? bard? azir? the crownguards? or are there other religions?

tl;dr: Who (or what) a person in Runeterra prays to depends entirely on who they are and where they are. 

Runeterra is as complex and diverse as our own world, with a myriad of faiths, religions and philosophies. Unlike our world, there are no individual organized religions which dominate globally. Our world building team has been working on the various factions and civilizations that can be found in Runeterra, and this has included exploring the cosmology and religions of those factions. As we publish more lore and storytelling (like our comics), we’ will continue to explore these factions and their individual characteristics, including things such as philosophy and religion. 

The challenge is that Religions, at a fundamental level, developed in an entirely different way on Runeterra. Imagine a place in which the classical questions of our world, —does god(s) exist? What does god(s) want? Is there an afterlife?— are entirely redundant. In Runeterra, the presence of higher powers is indisputable and can be witnessed. Individuals with god -like powers walk through the world, and, the effects of magic and celestial power can be seen in the very landscape. From the celestial gate way on top of Mount Targon, through the vast sun disk in Shurima, to the void- scarred wastes of Icathia… 

In such a world, religions are much more focused on understanding the will and intent of these powers, divining and communicating with them, worshipping them, and adhering to whatever covenant that power demands. The complexity comes from the blurred lines between gods (as we would understand them) and powerful beings who possess extraordinary powers but not the limitless command of the forces of the universe. In one sense, at least at a local level, it’s probably best to worship the being or celestial entity who is literally present. Make offerings, gain their favor, make requests of them. In other cases, you may want to seek a higher and greater power to save you from those same beings. 

Like Ancient Greece, the issue is not believing in Gods, —it’s dealing with the wide variety and forms of them, figuring out which of them are benevolent or malicious, and navigating the complex hierarchy of heroes, demigods, titans and deities. 

What is certainly universal to all religions in Runeterra is that while the hand of a supreme power can be seen in the presence of things like magic, celestial beings and champions, the highest level of cosmic creator is still a philosophical mystery. As indeed is what lies beyond in the afterlife. 

RED TRINITY01

Narrative Writer

Why can’t Cassiopeia buy boots but Nami can? Nami doesn’t have legs either, just a fish tail. 

There’s no particular reason that Cassiopeia absolutely had to have a passive that didn’t allow her to buy boots, as this was mostly done as a means of achieving some gameplay end. In this case, Cassiopeia’s passive allows her to have a special interaction with the shop in which she gets effectively another item slot by virtue of not needing to build boots. 

Basically, yes, there is a thematic tie here (Cassiopeia has no feet, so it makes sense she wouldn’t need to buy boots), but gameplay is what drove the decision to give her this passive. If, on another character, there’s 1) a need for a new passive, 2) a thematic tie, and 3) a matching gameplay need, it’s conceivable we could do something similar in the future. 

RIOTREPERTOIR

Game Designer, Live Gameplay

Thanks for reading this week’s Ask Riot. Have a question? 

Head over to Ask Riot and sign into your League account. Check out the Pro Tips, 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."

Get your All-Star 2017 Summoner Icon 

With the All-Star event coming up soon, you can now purchase All Star icons for each region:

"Players have voted and the All-Star results are in. Watch as each region’s dream team fights for supremacy at the 2017 All-Star Event. 

You can show your support for your favorite dream team by purchasing an All-Star icon in the store. Players in each region with a dream team competing in the All-Star Event will be able to purchase their region’s All-Star dream team icon for 10 BE in the store. Regions without a dream team in the competition can purchase the All-Star Event icon for 10 BE. If you’d like to show your support for another region, the other All-Star icons are available to all players in the store for 250 RP each. 

The All-Star icons will be available in the store from November 30 at 11:00 AM PT until December 11 at 11:00 AM PT. 

Grab an All-Star icon and cheer on your favorite dream team as we watch teams rise and fall. Click here for more info on when, where, and how to watch."

Get ready for the 2017 All-Star Event 

Check out this article from LoLEsports for a full rundown of the All-Star event:

"All-Star 2017 is coming up quick and we’ve got all the info you’ll need to get ready for the battle of the Dream Teams coming your way on December 7-10. 

Every year the All-Star Event serves as a celebration of competition at the highest levels on the Rift. This year, we’ve updated the format to make All-Star 2017 a more compelling and exciting tournament, while still retaining some of the fun and energy of All-Star’s past. Need a recap on what to expect at the new All-Star? Look no further -- we’ve got you covered below. 

What is All-Star 2017? 

All-Star 2017 is all about celebrating the best players in League esports and providing a more compelling tournament format where they can fight for regional glory as a dream team and outplay their foes in the 1v1 tournament. Eight participating regions will send player-voted rosters filled with their top pros to Los Angeles where they’ll clash for pride and global adoration. The regional teams will also have a Head Coach voted on by the regional pros for the main event. It’s the only time you’ll get to see action quite like this as we countdown to the start of the 2018 Season. 

Why does All-Star 2017 matter? 

All-Star 2017 is the only tournament where regional dream teams square off in a battle for pride, glory, and epic outplays. It’s the one time of the year where the best players put aside their team jerseys, come together to celebrate, and compete at the highest level as a region. Whether it’s the main event featuring super teams built out of the world’s greatest talent or a battle of wits in the 1v1 tournament, it’s all about finding out who’s got what it takes to claim victory. 

What’s the format? 

There are two components to All-Star 2017: the Main Event Tournament and the 1v1 Tournament. 

For the Main Event, teams will be split into two groups and compete in a single Best of 1 (Bo1) round robin. From there the top two teams from each group will move on to the Best of 3 (Bo3) Semifinals for their shot at the Best of 5 (Bo5) Finals. 

The 1v1 Tournament will feature 16 players as chosen by their coaches. These players will go heads up in a single elimination bracket. The Round of 16 and Quarterfinals will follow a Best of 1 format, while the Semifinals and Finals will move to Best of 3s. 

Who’s participating? 

Once the votes were tallied up from each region, dream teams were assembled and the hype matchups were finally locked in. Below you’ll find a list of regions and the superstars they chose to represent them: 

China (LPL):

• Top: 957
• Jungle: Mlxg
• Mid: xiye
• ADC: Uzi
• Support: Meiko
• Coach: Firefox 

Europe (EU LCS):

• Top: sOAZ
• Jungle: Jankos
• Mid: PowerOfEvil
• ADC: Rekkles
• Support: IgNar
• Coach: Youngbuck 

Korea (LCK):

• Top: CuVee
• Jungle: Ambition
• Mid: Faker
• ADC: PraY
• Support: GorillA
• Coach: H-Dragon 

LMS (LMS):

• Top: Ziv
• Jungle: Karsa
• Mid: FoFo
• ADC: BeBe
• Support: SwordArT
• Coach: Steak 

North America (NA LCS):

• Top: Hauntzer
• Jungle: MikeYeung
• Mid: Bjergsen
• ADC: Sneaky
• Support: Aphromoo
• Coach: Ssong 

Southeast Asia (GPL):

• Top: Hope
• Jungle: Levi
• Mid: Naul
• ADC: NoWay
• Support: Palette
• Coach: Tinikun 

Turkey (TCL):

• Top: Thaldrin
• Jungle: Stomaged
• Mid: Frozen
• ADC: Zeitnot
• Support: Zergsting
• Coach: Pades 

Brazil (CBLOL):

• Top: VVvert
• Jungle: Revolta
• Mid: Kami
• ADC: brTT
• Support: Dioud
• Coach: Peter 

When is the All-Star Event? 

The All-Star Event will take place December 7-10 at the NA LCS Studios in Los Angeles, California. The show will kick off daily at 3:00 PM PT. 

How can I watch? 

You can catch all the action streamed live right here on Lolesports. If you can’t watch live check out the VODs tab or head on over Lolesports YouTube channel to catch up on anything you missed."

Quick Hits

• After the big lore drop for Varus, Meddler noted that there were no immediate plans for any gameplay updates:

"We don't have any plans for a Varus rework. 

At some point there are some small gameplay tweaks I'd like to make. They're at the level of shifting a bit of power around and adding one additional effect to his kit though, not any major changes to how Varus plays. Also unlikely to happen for a while (hopefully sometime next year?)."

• DyQuill noted they were in talks about changes to Varus's voiceover:

"We agree, and yes, we're currently in talks about when and how we can do it. This new narrative is making his VO update much more of a priority (MF is in the same boat), but we've promised other updates for other champs (not just VO, but visual and gameplay), so we owe players some other things first. We do want to get to it eventually.

• Maple Nectar provided some thoughts on the state of top lane:

"This thread actually gave me a decent chuckle. I can totally imagine there being a commercial like those random drug ones where there's a family sitting in a field or running down a beach into the sunset as a calm voice lists all the side effects to their new drug called top-be-strong. 

Real talk though. We had a meeting on Monday to talk about what we can do in the short term for the state of top lane, while the team that worked on runes finds a more long term solution to the fighter problem/preseason wraps up. We typically find during pre-season that teams are more than likely to opt into sub-optimal full damage comps as opposed to having a tank somewhere, which makes folks like Ornn/Mao look all the more powerful when they're actually picked (they also are just too strong which is why we're nerfing them). Usually this behavior switches as we move into the start of the new year, though this year may be different with the introduction of runes. We're seeing some things like Vayne top crop up, and honestly I think that's pretty cool seeing her flex there more frequently (though still far less than other top laners), but we need to make sure you still have some recourse against her as opposed to just having to concede your lane. 

Regarding top lane, we're going to be doing another end of year patch on December 14th after 7.24 goes live on December 6th. A lot of focus is being put on top lane, both champions that are weak, champions that are suppressing others more than we'd like, as well as some itemization tuning. It's stuff that we're going to be willing to undo in the future should we find that the longer term systems solve flips the table and turns thing into a 100% fighter dominated meta, but that'll be a later discussion and may not even be necessary. 

TL;DR - we hear the plight, we're looking to do some temporary measures to help resolve some of the pain, and we're looking into the long term fixes for the role/classes as well."

• Riot Sparkle noted some changes coming for the Ghost Poro VFX:

"Oh hi I'm late to this topic! We actually have some changes in for the Ghost Poro VFX for this exact problem - should ship for 7.24.

Screenshot of ally Poro VFX"

Reminders