Red Post Collection: Champion Update: June 2020, Universe Update & More

Champion Roadmap: June 2020

Reav3 is back with the newest champion roadmap, including teasers on upcoming champions, champion updates, and more - ""A dreamy jungler, masked assassin, and thrill-seeking marksman. Plus, who’s up next for a VGU?":

"Hey all, now that the Fiddlesticks and Volibear VGUs you voted for last year are out, we thought it’d be a good time to go into more detail on what’s next for the Champions Team. Let’s start with a broad overview of where we’re headed, then we'll share a little bit about the next three champions in development and announce our next VGU. 

Adapting Our Approach 

As I mentioned in the Season Start Champion video, we’ll be focusing on new champions for the rest of the year. Back in 2018, there were a lot of champs in need of a full-scale rework, so we put our resources into bringing champs like Swain, Irelia, and Nunu up to modern standards. Since 2018, we’ve updated 12 champions, and we feel like we’ve gotten through most of the champs in critical need of a VGU. Of course, there are still champs that can be improved, but the amount they can be improved has lessened. This has caused us to rethink our overall champion strategy. 

For one, we thought more about the role of new champions and what their main purpose is in League. The main reason we continue to release new champs is to add new gameplay for people to engage with. For many players, new champions are like mini-expansions packs for League, and we always see huge playrates on new champions when they’re first released. Even if you don’t pick them up yourself, seeing new champs in your games adds more to learn and master. 

That being said, we think it’s important for all players to get at least one new champion in their role a year, that way they have something new to try and can maybe even add a new champ to their rotation (... or find a new main). With that goal, we felt it was important to try and release at least six new champions a year—one for each position, with the exception of mid lane, where we’re targeting two. Mid lane is the most popular role in League, and mid lane assassin players are looking for something quite different than mid lane mage players. Since so many people enjoy mages and assassins, we’re aiming to release a champion for both audiences every year. 

We may not always hit these goals, as we don’t want to push champions out that don’t meet our quality bar just to hit the target, but it’s what we’re aiming for starting in 2020. 

We will also still be working on VGUs, just at a slightly slower cadence, as we see a lot of value in bringing older champions up to modern standards while (hopefully) exciting champion mains. In fact, we’ll be announcing an update for a champion who goes where he pleases later this blog… 

And with that, why don’t you pull up a mat as we get right into the next three champions coming this year. 

Dreams of a New Jungler

Jungle mains have been longing for a new champion for a while now, and it just so happens that we’ve got one blooming soon! In the last update, I told you we couldn’t decide if we wanted the new jungler to be an assassin or a skirmisher, but the dream dust has settled and behind it was a mid-range skirmisher, frolicking in and out of the fray. 

Eep! I shouldn’t say anything else… But maybe, possibly... We can find her instead! Be very quiet, though, she can be quite shy, and if we startle her she may prance into action, darting off as our vision starts to get blurry… and… hazy. The world around us is becoming slow… NO! We have to stay awake! But… it’s so warm and safe… Must… sleep… 

ZzZzZzZzZz... 

An Out of Body Experience 

AH—! D-did I fall asleep? Am I dreaming? The last thing I remember was purple dust and the sound of someone skittering away. 

Where am I? I feel a presence inside me—something dark yet dormant. Something I subdued. Is that masked figure in the distance... me? 

I’m holding two weapons. I recognize one of them, and the presence inside me recognizes the other. I temper my rising anger into something cold, like the steel in hand. Suddenly I feel a spiritual tug from the direction of the masked figure—from me? The tug becomes a yank, and I feel my subconscious pulled toward my body, accelerating until— 

I slam into it! 

Whoa—what just happened? I feel like I just stepped out of another world. Or perhaps a tale told long ago? Now that I’m back, let’s get back to the roadmap. 

After the jungler we’ll be releasing a new assassin. You’ll get a chance to form bonds with both champions in a big summer event coming next month. 

Calling All Thrill-Seekers 

Do you like to laugh in the face of danger? Do you enjoy stringing together abilities, creating stylish new combos? Does the idea of diving straight into the fray, firing a whirlwind of blades and bullets, then hopping back out with a sliver of health excite you?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then we may be releasing just the champion for you. A new marksman, dressed to slay, coming later this year. 

A VGU That Goes Where It Pleases 

The next champion update will be none other than the Madman of Zaun himself, Dr. Mundo. This project is very early in development and is scheduled for 2021, so expect to see a few more new champs in between the marksmen and Mundo. 

The reason we’re sharing so early is because we saw a strong positive reaction from players when we did the /dev blogs for Fiddlesticks and Volibear, so it’s something we want to do for Mundo as well. We aren’t going into any more detail on Mundo’s VGU here, as we'll be releasing a full post next week that’ll cover the super early exploration phase for his gameplay, narrative, and art. 

Outro 

That about covers everything we wanted to talk about today. Sorry we weren’t able to find the new jungler—what a weird experience that was. I'll make sure to keep my wits about me for the roadmap later this year, where we’ll talk about two of the other new champs in development. Tune in next time to hear about a sensational mage and an ultra-heavy tank support, which will round out our goal for releasing one new champ per role each year. 

We’re also still planning to hold another “Choose a VGU” poll since the last one went so well; expect to see that either later this year or very early next year. 

We can’t wait to get all these champions out of our hands and into yours. Until next time!"

Over on the League subreddit, Reav3 noted who was working on which champion/update:

"Marksmen is Squad5, Mage is RiotJag and tank is Stashu"

[Update] When asked about the potential of an update for Udyr, Reav3 added:

"While it's true Udyr would be expensive, that doesn't mean we wont ever VGU him. We still discuss him a lot when we discuss VGU candidates. I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up on the next VGU poll"

As for other potential candidates we might see in consideration for the champion update poll, Reav3  noted:

"Champs I have been thinking about for the poll have been Skarner, Shyv, Nocturne, Rammus, Udyr, Quinn, Shaco, Trynd, Cho'Gath. Not sure who will make the cut yet"

When asked what factors they consider when prioritizing champion to mark as potential candidates for VGUs, Reav3 continued:

"Art quality, thematic quality, game play quality, player request (Which we get from regular surveys we send out asking players what champs they think most need VGUs) Potential of theme (How resonate a Champion could be with a VGU)"

Volibear Updates for 10.12

Here's Riot Lutzburg with a /r/VolibearMains reddit thread on Volibear:

"Hi everyone, 

I'd like to share all the stuff we've been working on for Volibear in 10.12. We took a lot of your feedback to heart and tried to make as many changes as we could. I'm gonna break this down into a few categories- buffs, bug fixes and misc. updates. After that, I'd like to discuss Voli's current win rates and how we're approaching his long term balance. 

One caveat- while all of this is planned for 10.12, we are still running tests for bugs, stability etc., so a couple things on this list may not make it in time for the next update. 

Buffs:

• Mana/level increased to 50 from 40
• Health/level increased to 90 from 85
• Q's empowered attack can no longer be interrupted once it's been initiated
• Q's empowered attack now scales its timing with attack speed
• R's tower disable duration has been adjusted to 3/4/5 seconds from 2/4/6
• R's damage sweetspot radius increased to 300 from 250
• R's damage increased to 300/500/700 from 250/475/700

Bug Fixes:

• Volibear will no longer automatically attack a target after landing with his R, especially if Q is active
• Volibear will now hum less frequently during his idle animation (we had temporarily disabled it in 10.11)
• Volibear will now continue to attack his target after casting W on them
• Volibear will now automatically attack when canceling his W and E animations (he could already do this but only if the player manually issued an attack order)
• Volibear's Q reset will no longer fail if quickly recast after being interrupted (this can't happen anymore since Q's attack can no longer be interrupted)

Misc. Updates:

• E and R impact craters now disperse faster
• R model size reduced slightly
• W mark VFX is now much larger and better anchored to the target's health bar
• Disabled towers are now significantly darker to indicate their status
• Brightness of Volibear's paws when at full Passive stacks has been reduced
• Various visual bug fixes to Volibear's skins
• Volibear's ETERNALS go live in 10.12! They are:
• Enemies killed with R
• Enemies hit by E while stunned by Q
• Lifetime healing from W

Win Rates and Long Term Balance: 

You may be surprised to learn that Volibear's current win rate in the jungle is 49% for average players. The micropatch buffs from earlier this week improved his win rate by roughly 3%, despite how small the buffs seemed to some. However, Volibear is still lagging behind in top lane, and is also struggling to succeed in all roles in higher MMRs. This is why we're specifically targeting top lane and skilled play with our buffs for 10.12. 

Overall we agree with player feedback that Volibear was simply under-statted to perform at the baseline expectation players had for him. Q made you run fast, but you still weren't catching people. 

E was hard to hit, but its damage was unimpressive when you landed it. R made you feel cool and powerful, but you rarely landed the damage and sometimes died right after afterwards. This is why we decided to focus more on his individual spells' power with these buffs, instead of simply beefing up all of his stats. While some players are still skeptical of the power and usability of W, we feel like the combination of these buffs and the earlier hotfixes will support and empower players to better utilize Frenzied Maul. 

To close, the Volibear team feels confident that these final buffs will get him close to a healthy, sustainable spot for long term balance. His win rates continue to climb with each passing day, which demonstrates that players are still learning his new playstyle and adapting their builds and rune choices to find what works best for them. We'll continue to keep a close eye on how his mastery curve pans out over the coming weeks. 

Thanks for reading,
-Lutz"

TFT Galaxies Mid-Set Explainer | Gameplay 

Here's a new video covering the upcoming TFT gameplay changes headed our way with the upcoming TFT update - including new units, Astro & Battlecast, and more!

"Greetings, Captain! Here’s everything you need to know about the changes coming in Teamfight Tactics Galaxies: Return to the Stars. 

Teamfight Tactics Sign Up & Download https://teamfighttactics.leagueoflege..."

You can read up a bit more on the specific changes by warping on over to our 10.12 PBE TFT coverage.

Universe Update

The Universe has been updated with new stories featuring Sejuani and Kai'Sa!

A Death Knot
By Odin Austin Shafer

"Sejuani slammed the axe into the tree’s trunk. It had taken her five hits to fell it, and hacking down a dozen trees had winded her. Iceborn were strongest in the cold, and the southern heat was sapping her strength. 

Her weary reavers cheered. Though only a hundred strong, their roar echoed off the hills. 

The time for stealth had passed. The southerners had gathered an army of many thousands and were less than a half-day behind. On the surrounding hilltops, enemy scouts watched."

[Full story here!] 

Monstrous
By Graham McNeill

"There’s light under the earth, if you know where to look. 

If you know how to look. 

I don’t need light to see. Not anymore. 

My eyes only ever saw in degrees of darkness, but the sight I now have shows me much more than I ever knew was possible. Now, I perceive colors that don’t exist in nature, as well as hues and shades that reveal how the walls keeping the monsters out aren’t solid at all—they’re as thin as a painted backcloth hung by a performing troupe. 

Sometimes I wish I didn’t see the things I do, but then I remember that I’d have died a long time ago if I hadn’t adapted to life down here. 

And sometimes I wonder if dying would have been better."

[Full story here!] 

Miscellaneous

• For those wondering about the recent Sett emote, some LoLEsports watch missions went live, and it looks like it may be rewarded at the end of the chain: 

These missions should start to be complete-able as regional Leagues start back up for the 2020 Summer Split! More info on LoLEsports!

• A new Galaxy merch collection is on the Riot merch store, including new Galaxies Little Legends mugs, posters, and the return of some old favorites!

• Over on the League subreddit, Riot August jumped in to a champion update discussion thread to note Malphite's global popularity as an example of something they keep in mind when it comes to gameplay changes

"We were discussing a major gameplay update to Malphite a few years ago, but when we looked into it we found that he's an INCREDIBLY popular champ worldwide (upper quarter of the roster). In China he's top 10 for popularity. IMO he could use a visual update for sure, but there's a reason the most recent changes to his gameplay were pretty minimal. A lot of players love what's already there."

• The Teamfight Tactics twitter announced:

"Due to the amount of changes in the Mid-Season Update, ladder rank will not count towards OCE/NA Finals qualification for the week after the Mid-Set Update Patch 10.12.

We want to give everyone a week to adjust. Next ranked snapshot will occur at 11:59 PM PT on Tuesday June 16."

• As mentioned on the official twitter, League of Legends: Wild Rift regional alphas are starting to roll out with a test up for the Android Alpha in BR today (6/5) and The Philippines on 6/6. Be sure to check out streaming platforms such as Twitch or Youtube   to check out the community streams and captures.
• The main Wild Rift twitter has shared the game's unique splash arts for it's variants of Angler Jax, Dreadknight Garen, and Mafia Graves - as seen in the limited regional alphas!

"Wild Rift's champs retain the feel of their League PC counterparts, but with some tweaks to fit new platforms. Sometimes, this means new splashes to go along with their redesigns! Check out:  

Angler Jax
Dreadknight Garen
Mafia Graves"

• The Wild Rift BR twitter also shared a few Wild Rifts unique splash arts from the the limited regional alpha.

• and more! 

Reminders

• The FPX skins are now in the store and will be available until June 11th!

• The Pulsefire 2020 event is running from now until June 15th!