Red Post Collection: Quick Gameplay Thoughts: October 19th, November Sales Schedule, & More

Today's red post collection includes Meddler's quick gameplay thoughts for October 19th, the November sales schedule, October bundles, and more!
Continue reading for more information!

• Red Post Collection: Quick Gameplay Thoughts: October 17, Xayah & Rakan Merch, & More
• 10/17 PBE Update: Tales From The Rift Login Theme
• Hextech Malzahar Now Available!
• 10/18 PBE Update: More Tentative Balance Changes

Table of Contents

• Quick Gameplay Thoughts: October 19 
• November sales schedule 
• It’s time for October bundles! 
• Ask Riot: Assassins & Chromas 
• Quick Hits
• Reminders

Quick Gameplay Thoughts: October 19 

Here's Meddler's quick gameplay thoughts for October 19th, including thoughts about Preseason on the PBE, context on 8.21 changes, and more:

"Hi folks, 

Usual Disclaimers 

These posts will often contain talk about future work we're doing, or planning to do, that isn't yet guaranteed to ship. The nature of the work could change or, depending on what we discover, projects mentioned may get delayed or even stopped. If you'd like to see a Tweet whenever a new one of these posts goes up: https://twitter.com/RiotMeddler 

Some non 'gameplay' content in these posts 

As you might have noticed I've started adding a wider variety of content into these posts occasionally, in addition to talking about core gameplay topics like champion balance, items, the jungle etc. Recent examples include things like how we explored new VO for Miss Fortune, or how the popularity of different queues compares. That broadening is due to a few things. 

1. Wider topics like that seem to be of interest to a lot of players. I know some people aren't interested in them, but many are.
2. There are some times of the year where there's just not that much gameplay wise to talk about. Right now for example patch to patch change is fairly low given we're focused on preseason development and Worlds is going on. We've already talked about preseason in some detail. We do still want to take the time to communicate with you folks though, so shifting focus a bit makes sense as a result.
3. My role at Riot's changed since I started these posts. In particular I'm now better able to talk about some things that I didn't have enough context on previously to talk about confidently. There's still a lot of stuff I'm not the right person to cover (when is X champion getting a skin, can you unban my account, what's up with server maintenance etc). I'd like to share wider info as well that isn't just gameplay when I can when it feels like it might be of interest though. 

Preseason changes and the PBE 

Preseason changes will be on the PBE for longer the just the usual 2 week patch cycle. More details on that, and a run through of a lot of the changes, including many of the harder to spot numbers, next week. Changes are coming along well, still room to iterate and improve though, so feedback on them highly appreciated, especially early in their time on PBE. 

Context on some 8.21 changes 

We've added, or tested, some late changes to 8.21 as you might have seen. Wanted to share context on a few of them:

• Aatrox - We looked at a couple of possible nerfs to Aatrox, both lower base MS and/or shorter ult duration. Ended up pulling both though to instead go for more testing and potentially a larger set of changes in 8.22.
• Aurelion Sol - Taking a bit of power out, in particular making him more vulnerable early to being all in'd. Giving him a bit more regen to make his learning curve a bit less painful (newer players don't take advantage of going back to base to top up as much as they should on him, so regen is disproportionately valuable on them).
• Irelia - Wanted to cut some power from her in all contexts (lanes, skill levels, different game phases, etc). Mobility looks a bit high, so hitting her base MS by 5 as a result. One of those changes that looks very small on paper but for some champs does have a pretty meaningful impact. Will reassess once its live, see if more is needed or not, with W CD a possible second target.
• Zac - Buffing Q damage, both base a bit and rankup. Base is aimed at giving a little more early power, rank up at reducing the discrepancy between Q as 2nd max versus 3rd max."

On Viktor, Meddler noted:

"No current plans to nerf Viktor because of his top performance. Will reassess post preseason changes of course, but seems ok so far at least?"

When asked about Ivern, Meddler commented:

"Dude's weak overall. Putting power into a few places in his case because we don't want to push any one thing too much further. He's extremely distinct already, so sharpening him further's not a goal."

When asked for an update on Lissandra's passive change, Meddler noted:

"It's not next patch, no. Have been testing a change for the last couple of weeks that seems to have address the lack of reliability/appreciation though, so back on track there. Will get some details into first post of next week."

When asked about Corki, Meddler replied:

"We tested a couple of different changes to The Package, trying things like it not knocking people away as much/slowing more (more time in DoT zone), higher damage etc. Didn't have confidence how that was going after playtesting a few versions though. Pulled it as a result, will look at other buffs in a future patch."

When asked about the possibility of more VFX updates, Meddler commented:

"They're pretty opportunistic work at the moment, getting done when an animator's got a bit of time between larger champion projects. Likely, but not guaranteed, there'll be some more as a result."

November sales schedule 

Here's Riot Evaelin with the November sales schedule:

"Check out all the champs and skins on sale this November! Like previous sales schedules, we’re not posting the exact dates for each champ and skin, but they’ll all be on sale sometime next month. 

Just a heads up – since we’re publishing these in advance, we won’t offer partial refunds on champs and skins purchased before they go on sale."

It’s time for October bundles! 

Here's Riot Evaelin with the October bundles:

"Grab these limited-time bundles now through October 25, 2018 at 11:59 p.m. PT. All bundles include champions as well as skins. 

Is This A Support? Bundle - 50% off at 2100 RP (3150 RP if you need the champions)

Skins included:

• Grungy Nunu & Willump
• Star Guardian Poppy
• Blood Moon Shen
• Arctic Ops Gragas  

You're Locked In Here With Me Bundle - 50% off at 2324 RP (4131 RP if you need the champions)

Skins included:

• Blood Moon Elise
• Dark Star Jarvin IV
• Sandscourge Skarner
• Program Camille 

Big Ol' Softies Bundle - 50% off at 1612 RP (3076 RP if you need the champions)

Skins included:

• Definitely Not Udyr
• Constable Trundle
• El Rayo Volibear
• Archduke Nasus  

Five Man Ult Bundle - 50% off at 2512 RP (4227 RP if you need the champions)

Skins included:

• Badlands Baron Rumble
• Dragon Master Swain
• Soulstealer Vladimir
• Karthus Lightsbane"

Ask Riot: Assassins & Chromas 

Here's this week's Ask Riot:

"Let’s talk assassins, chromas, deleting champions, and what it’s like to pet a space dragon.

Why do you feel that assassins are a healthy class of champions in terms of game design? Each player should have the ability to impact the game equally, but with an assassin in the game, the success of your team can be almost entirely based around them. For example if a Rengar pops off, he can one shot the enemy back line and carry, but if he falls behind, you’re effectively playing a 4v5.

Assassins are a high-risk, high-reward class that’s on the high end of how much snowball is good for LoL. This is probably why they are so appealing—there’s the chance you can “carry” a game with an incredible individual performance, and that’s something a lot of players want. 

In League, and with assassins in particular, we want snowballing to be something that can happen while still not completely removing all gameplay. For example, it’s natural that counter options become more and more limited as an enemy assassin gets more ahead, but even when they’re 5-0, there should be something you and your teammates can do against them. Things like focus fire, CC peel, and Summoner Spells hold up well even when behind. On the other hand, we think a 20-0 assassin should probably win with little rebuttal—there were 20 previous chances to beat them, and they came out consistently ahead. 

In short, we think assassins are a healthy part of League, so long as there are sufficient opportunities for counterplay. (Changes like the removal of Talon’s silence may seem small, but they’re often enough to open up the chance for survival in many cases.) 

RIOTSCRUFFY

Lead Champion Designer 

Has Riot ever considered retiring a character? Perhaps before full-scale reworks became common?

Retiring a champion is not something we have ever considered, and likely we never would consider this. We would much rather go back and update our older problematic champions with either small reworks or through big VGUs. Retiring a champion would set a weird precedence where players would always be worried that the things they invested in would be taken away from them at some point, which isn’t something we want our players to worry about. 

REAV3

Lead Producer of Champions

How do you choose which skins to make chromas for?We look at chromas as ways to add extra flair to a champion and try out different color combinations that hopefully give you different ways of expressing yourself. Chromas are generally restricted to model texture changes and mostly don’t touch particle or visual effects. This is why some skin lines like PROJECT currently don’t have chromas. With the PROJECT skin lines—let’s take PROJECT: Leona for example—the yellow extends past her shield and sword; it’s also integrated into her autottacks and abilities. Changing the color of her model’s textures without addressing her particles and would feel off. While it may happen in the future, at this time, we’re not committing to it. 

We’re currently trying to make chromas for every new skin except for Legendaries or Ultimates. With these tiers, we’re focusing on capturing the essence of the experience. While Chromas do provide option value to the skins, we’re choosing to focus our efforts on the base experience of Ultimates and Legendaries at launch. 

But what happened to chromas for older skins? Our initial focus on chromas was to target previously released skins. After doing a few tests in 2018, we saw that the chromas for older skins didn’t seem to resonate as much as the chromas for the newer skins. It was something like a 10:1 difference. We’ll still opportunistically look at chromas for older skins if we’re doing related themes (like how we recently did with the Dragon Trainer lines.) Aside from those, we’ll probably minimize the amount we’ll be creating for the older skin lines. We’ve recently tested pairing chroma releases with Champion Updates (recently with Mecha Aatrox and Headhunter Akali) and are waiting for the results to come in. 

IAMCARLOS

Producer, Personalization 

If you were to pet Aurelion Sol, what texture would his skin have?

His scales are like piano keys, each one emanating its own unique, piercingly sweet note as you drag your fingers along his endless tail, creating a haunting song you’ll never be able to get out of your head. His skin, like mirrors, is smooth to the touch, with the depth of infinity hidden within. Then he becomes silken, like the golden strands of your little sister’s hair as you braid it quickly before school. Then cold, like ice to the touch, but you can’t take your hand away. You let it sting until it becomes an unbearable burn that never numbs. There’s something ancient and unrecognizable, like bones dug up from the deepest dust, that confuses the pads of your fingers. It’s coarse as coral, molten as metal. Strong and soft, all at once, with the same slippery meatiness you get when you pinch your tongue between your fingers. To touch him leaves a fine stardust on the tips of your fingers, like Cheetos do with that powdery, orange proof of their once-existence, that only your guilt can corroborate. 

Just make sure to scratch under his chin. It makes his left leg stomp and wobble uncontrollably and he looks ridiculous. He can create the cosmos, but he can’t stop his leg from shaking during a good chin scratching. 

He’s a very good boy. 

RIOT TIGER LILY

Editor, R&D

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."

Quick Hits

• Riot OwlHowl noted an issue with emotes disappearing when going in game, and that it was being looked into:

"Hey Paul, thanks for the report! The team I'm on is aware of the issue and we're committed to fixing it. This is a frustrating bug for us, too - it's sporadic nature has made identifying the root cause pretty tricky to track down. We're currently adding in more robust logging to help us investigate why this issue is occurring, how we can fix it, and what we can do to prevent other issues like it from happening in the future. 

Thanks for your patience. 

PS - Riot Evaelin has opted to type out the name of the emote in /all when it happens to her. "SAD BEE EMOTE""