Surrender at 20

Red Post Collection: Patch 12.1 & TFT Notes, Season 2022 Opening Day Livestream, & More

Today's red post collection includes the patch 12.1 & TFT notes, the Season 2022 opening day livestream, an update on the Udyr VGU, the Mythic content overhaul, the next VGO & Skin thematic vote, and much more!
Continue reading for more information!

Table of Contents


Patch 12.1 Notes

Check out the Patch 12.1 Notes:
"Happy new year, folks!

Welcome to Season 2022. We're kicking off the new Ranked season with a soft reset, changes to decay, and some visual updates. We also have a few champion and item balances, changes to Teleport, plus a couple of beautiful new Elderwood skins. Well, let's get right on to it, shall we?

Check out how TFT is kicking off the year at the TFT patch notes here! 
JINA “AHRISOO” YOON
PAUL "RIOTAETHER" PERSCHEID 
PATCH HIGHLIGHTS
Elderwood Gnar and Elderwood Rek'Sai will be available January 6, 2022."

[Full Patch Notes here!]


Season 2022 Opening Day Livestream

Season 2022 is here! Check out the opening day livestream for a look at what's coming up in 2022: "A new journey approaches. Welcome to Season 2022. Here’s a first look at the upcoming year across League of Legends, Wild Rift, and Esports."

Here's a look at each of the LoL centric sections:

The Call Cinematic

"For the fallen. For the deserted. For the downtrodden. And for those who will rise again.  
Season 2022 is here. How will you answer the Call? 
Video created in partnership with Unit Image and Ben Hibon.

LISTEN NOW: https://found.ee/thecall 

"The Call" 
Featured artists: 2WEI, Louis Leibfried, and Edda Hayes
Written by: Louis „LoOF" Leibfried, Hermann Schepetkov, Christian Vorländer, Simon Heeger
Produced by: 2WEI & Mr. Herms
Mixed and Mastered by: 2WEI & Mr. Herms
Vocals performed by: Louis Leibfried and Edda Hayes
Additional vocals performed by: Colm McGuinness and SVRCINA
Executive Producer and Supervision by: Riot Music Team

Lyrics: 
Hear my plea to the fallen            
Leave me to be with the broken 
one last time before I go 
Hold the last burning ember 
Let us never surrender
May we rise unto the Call
For the Glory and the Fall 
For the beat and the broken
For the lost and forsaken
Let us never surrender
May we rise unto the Call 
For the beat and the broken
For the lost and forsaken
Let us never surrender
For the Glory and the Fall 
For the beat and the broken
For the lost and forsaken
Let us never surrender
Now we rise unto the Call 
(For the beat and the broken)
Chains that we are breaking 
Fate that we are awaiting 
We will rise unto the Call
(Rise unto the Call) 
For the Glory and the Fall 
Read through the stories on Universe to learn more about each champion’s journey: 
“Dead of Winter”
“The Faceless God”
“Hollowspun”
#TheCall

Gameplay in Season 2022

Hop in with Brightmoon to recap some of League’s recent updates and gameplay changes. Explore upcoming ways to track progress with Challenges, and look towards a smoother Ranked reset.

Skins & Events in Season 2022

"Join Bellissimoh for a first look at 2022’s skins, thematics, and events across League of Legends. Learn about the new approach to event passes and an update to Mythic content. Finally, discover the new Anima SQUAD, say hello to Porcelain, and remember to vote on the next revamped thematic!"

Champions in Season 2022

"Reav3 covers 2022's upcoming champions and VGUs—and introduces Zeri, an electrifying bot lane carry. Look out for Udyr’s VGU, and remember to vote for the champion you’d like to see updated next!"

League of Legends Esports in Season 2022

"Claim your season. Take a look at highlights from 2021 and look towards Season 2022 for League of Legends esports."

The Mythic Content Overhaul

Here's Riot KenAdamsNSA with a look at the Mythic content overhaul - "We're updating the systems surrounding League's rare and exclusive content this year!"
"Hot on the heels of our season start video announcement, here's a walkthrough of the mythic content changes coming to League's rare and exclusive content in 2022. This update rolls out in three phases: 
Phase 1
Mythic Essence 
Gemstones and Prestige Points are combining into a single new currency that never expires. When the update happens, your remaining Gemstones will automatically convert to Mythic Essence at a 1-to-10 ratio, but your Prestige Points will disappear. Make sure to spend them in the Final Prestige Shop, which is open now! After the conversion, Mythic Essence will replace Gemstones and Prestige Points everywhere those two currencies appeared as loot or rewards. Mythic Essence drop rates from Masterwork Chests will temporarily increase to offset the removal of Prestige Points from bundles.
Mythic Essence 
Mythic Shop, Prestige Unvaults & Mythic Thematics 
We're also replacing the Gemstone shop with a Mythic Shop that features rotating content. The content on offer includes:

Unvaulted Prestige skins: Prestige skins released at least 1 year ago are eligible for unvaulting in the Mythic shop. Two Prestiges will be unvaulted each month. Here's how Mythic Essence prices will be determined:
  • First unvault: 125 ME
  • Second unvault: 150 ME (2019 Prestiges start here)
  • Third+ unvault: 200 ME (2018 Prestiges start here)
2018 and 2019 Prestiges start at higher tiers to respect the higher exclusivity and difficulty of obtaining them, compared to newer Prestiges. In addition, when those Prestiges are unvaulted, original owners will receive exclusive modified versions of the skins in recognition of their investment. These modified versions won't be available for Mythic Essence. The cutoff for OG ownership will be one patch before the Mythic Essence transition. This date will be messaged in the patch notes.
K/DA Evelynn Prestige Edition (2022) skin concept

We're kicking things off with a bang by doing the first three unvaults all at once, meaning six Prestige skins will be unvaulted for three months:
  • K/DA Kai'Sa Prestige Edition (200 ME, original owners get a special edition)
  • PROJECT: Irelia Prestige Edition (150 ME, original owners get a special edition)
  • Pulsefire Thresh Prestige Edition (150 ME, original owners get a special edition)
  • Arcanist Zoe Prestige Edition (125 ME)
  • Spirit Blossom Teemo Prestige Edition (125 ME)
  • Battle Queen Diana Prestige Edition (125 ME)
Mythic thematic skins: Like old Prestige skins, old Gemstone skins will also be unvaulted on a two-at-a-time rotation in the Mythic Shop, but will rotate every three months instead of each month. They'll debut at 100 ME for their first unvault, and cost 125 ME on subsequent returns. The first unvaults will be Hextech Annie and Hextech Amumu. 
Additionally, we're retiring the Hextech thematic and introducing new seasonal thematics for Mythic Essence-exclusive skins. The 2022 Mythic thematic is Ashen Knights! A new Mythic thematic skin debuts at the beginning of each three-month rotation and rotates out at the end. These skins cost 100 ME on debut, and will cost 125 ME when they're unvaulted down the road..
Ashen Knights Pyke concept

Seasonal ward & emote: A rotating Mythic thematic ward skin will be available each year for 50 ME, as well as a Mythic thematic emote for 25 ME. 
Other stuff: You'll always be able to spend a little Mythic Essence on a Hextech Chest (5 ME), Hextech Key (5 ME), 50 Orange Essence (1 ME), or 150 Blue Essence (1 ME) 
Reroll & Drop Exclusivity 
With the addition of legacy Prestiges to the Mythic Shop, we're removing Mythic skins, including Prestige skins, from loot pools, including rerolls. Moving forward, whenever you see something described as "exclusive", that means the only way to get it is through the means described at launch, like via event tokens. The only exception will be a window during future Season Starts, where Prestige and Mythic skins that are at least 1 year old will temporarily reappear in loot drop and reroll pools. 
Old event orbs and capsules in your inventory which launched with the chance to drop Mythic and Prestige skins released at the time will still have a chance to drop those skins, because we aren't going back and re-coding their loot pools. 
Regular Hextech and Masterwork chests will stop dropping these skins as soon as the Mythic Essence transition occurs, because the loot pool is the same even if you got them before the transition. 
Phase 2
Prestige 2.0 
Starting in phase 2, Prestige skins are leveling up. We're experimenting with a new thematic layer to Prestiges to help them stand apart and feel like more than gold chromas. Prestige 2.0 skins are high-fashion reimaginings of the base thematic, as if it were the theme for a red carpet or runway event. Along with this new identity, we're amping up the value that Prestiges offer, including brand new splash art! 
Showcase Milestones 
Loot showcase events, like 2021's PROJECT or Battle Academia, are switching from Prestige Point bundles to a rewards track that progresses as you open event capsules. The skins that would've been released for Prestige Points are now exclusively (see above) releasing as the final reward on showcase milestone reward tracks. After the event ends, they'll be unobtainable until they're unvaulted in the Mythic Shop in the future.
Showcase milestone rewards track

A showcase milestone track is designed to match the same amount of loot you would've had to buy to earn 100 Prestige Points through capsule bundles in 2021, but with a bunch of extra loot rewards attached. These rewards tracks will look something like: 
  • 1 Capsule: Event icon
  • 3 Capsules: Exclusive emote
  • 5 Capsules: 975+ skin shard
  • 10 Capsules: 1350+ skin shard
  • 15 Capsules: 1820+ skin shard and 10 Mythic Essence
  • 20 Capsules: Event grab bag and 10 Mythic Essence
  • 25 Capsules: Exclusive Prestige skin, icon, and border
Masterwork Milestones
Masterwork milestone rewards track 
Masterwork milestones are an infinitely repeatable rewards track for opening Masterwork chests. We're currently planning on the following.
  • 5 Chests: 5 Mythic Essence and any tier skin shard
  • 10 Chests: 5 Mythic Essence
  • 15 Chests: 5 Mythic Essence and 975+ skin shard
  • 20 Chests: 5 Mythic Essence
  • 25 Chests: 5 Mythic essence and 1350+ skin shard
Mythic Essence drop rates from Masterwork chests will return to normal when Masterwork milestones launch. Since each chest roughly corresponds to one Mythic Essence, bundles provide slightly less Mythic Essence than the Prestige Point comparables (5 ME rather than 6 PP for the 5 chest bundle; 10+1 ME rather than 13 PP for the 10+1 chest bundle). The three skin shards along the way are intended to offset the difference. 
Phase 3
Event Pass Evolved
Event Pass Evolved rewards track 
The last step of the Mythic Content Overhaul is an update to League's event passes, hybridizing the existing Token Shop system and more traditional battle passes. Earn XP from playing games and completing missions, and unlock tokens and other rewards as you level through the pass. All the rewards spread across different event mission types today are consolidating into a 50-level rewards lineup with paid and free tracks:
  • Free event missions: Converted to free pass track rewards. Still includes 300 total tokens and an Event Orb, among other content. You'll earn all free rewards by level 30.
  • Pass token bank missions: Converted to paid pass track rewards at each level. After all 50 event pass levels, there's an infinitely repeatable "51st" level for pass holders that grants tokens.
  • Pass milestone missions: Converted to paid pass track rewards.
  • Pass weekly wins missions: Now grant XP instead of tokens. Stacks with First Win of the Day missions.
  • (NEW) Free First Win of the Day missions: Earn pass XP for your first win (or 3 played matches) each day. Like the standard First Win mission, this is a use-it-or-lose-it model; you can't accrue multiple First Win missions.
Like today, you'll spend the tokens you earn in a Token Shop, and once the new Event Pass launches, we'll adjust tuning as needed to ensure it doesn't take longer to grind 2000 tokens than it does now. The new shop has a few usability improvements, like category tags (the icons on the left of the image above!) 
When League's event pass evolves, we're not increasing its price. Event passes will still cost 1650 RP and include four Event Orbs and 200 Event Tokens. We're also keeping the 2650 RP bundle that includes the base skin of the event's Prestige, its border, and its icon. 
Coming in 2022 
We're excited to finally bring these updates to you this year! We'll let you know as each phase releases, so keep an eye out as the changes get ready for launch."


/dev: The Latest on Udyr's VGU

Here's the latest from the Udyr VGU team - "An update on Udyr’s VGU, including character modeling, animation, visual effects, and concept art."
"Hey all, Ryan “Reav3” Mireles here with another update on Udyr’s VGU, which will come out later this year. Since our last check-in, we’ve entered full production on Udyr, so this post will focus on how he’s looking in-game. But before we get into it, here’s a quick recap of what our goals were going into Udyr’s update:
  1. We want to preserve Udyr’s stance-changing identity and keep him as a primarily auto-attack/melee-focused champion. We think this is what makes Udyr unique and stand out on the roster. To help his gameplay feel more modern, we want to add a bit more interest to his stances and melee pattern to give some more depth to playing him, as well as make it more clear when Udyr is doing something cool (he doesn’t really have a hype gameplay moment right now).
  2. We want to upgrade Udyr’s visuals to modern League standards while keeping his general theme of a warrior shaman intact. Our goal is to build on Udyr’s visuals, not reinvent them.
  3. As for his narrative, we want to bring his in-game portrayal closer to how he’s been portrayed in recent lore and give him stronger ties to the Freljord.
Oh, and in case you haven’t seen the Champions in 2022 video we released today, we decided to remove Udyr’s antlers. We know a lot of you weren’t really digging them, and once we got him in game (as you’ll see below) we felt they weren’t really needed for a unique silhouette. 
And with that, on to the new stuff you all came here for! 
Antlers or No Antlers? 
Jason “OOYOO” Namgung, Character Artist: 
Udyr’s rework has been a long time coming, and I was stoked to help recreate one of League’s most “senior” citizens. 
When we got started, I assumed that Udyr would be a rather simple and straightforward champ to work on, but that façade wore away very, VERY quickly. 
I got started by blocking out a proxy model to get him in-game to start testing our ideas for his visuals and gameplay. But in order to do this, we needed to get his proportions correct because without a good base we’d just be “polishing a turd.” Our goal was to make him feel like a big, strong mountain man, and that became our north star for his body type.
ORIGINAL / UPDATE VERSION 1 / UPDATE VERSION 2
While working on his proportions, we ended up removing his antlers. While we really liked the idea of them and we tried a lot to get them to work, we couldn’t get them to not look goofy because of how hunched over he is. 
In one attempt they looked like wings, and in another they looked like propellers. No matter how hard we tried to get them to work, they just always looked off. Although the idea was cool, Udyr’s the animal spirit guy, not the antler guy. So ultimately we decided to table the antlers and refocus on his animal spirit fantasy. 
After we built out Udyr’s base body, we got started on his stances. And that’s when we realized the mountain man was going to be a bit complicated.
WORK IN PROGRESS OF UDYR’S SCULPT
His base body was pretty straight forward, but his four stances were a major hurdle. Not only were there four of them, but we also had to make sure each one amplified the fantasy of the animal spirit they’re associated with. 
We try to create sustainable resources as we go, this way we’re future proofing new champions, making it much easier to develop skins and future updates. We decided to use the same “bones” in each of Udyr’s models to keep things simple for us and help readability in game for players.
EVOLUTION OF UDYR’S POWER
This meant we had to do A LOT of iteration to find what felt the best for our big boy. Some were simple while others required 10 or more iterations to get right. 
...But that's the fun of game development!
THICC BOY’S DAY AT THE BEACH
We’re still early in Udyr’s production and everything’s a work in progress, but we’re slowly getting closer to the final look and feel for our big boy. And hopefully all of you will enjoy him when he finally comes out! 
Mastering Udyr’s Many Stances 
Koingyeal “Koing” Jang, Animator:

Gameplay clarity is really important in League, and I knew Udyr would be challenging because I needed to look at each of his four stances as separate from each other, but still connected—because they needed to feel like Udyr in order to be clear in game. But I also wanted to animate his stances as if they’re four different champions with entirely different characteristics. That way it won’t be confusing to figure out which stance he’s in. 
Udyr holds a deep reverence for wild animals, and I wanted that connection to be clear in his animations. Phoenix stance was the most challenging to animate and it took many iterations before I found the right direction. 
We wanted his pose to look bird-like, magical, and related to ice, which is... a lot. I also wanted to preserve his wildness, so after much thought, I came up with the wind attack idea. 
The idea was to mimic a bird’s wing, with Udyr creating wind with the swipe of his arm. I liked the direction a lot, but there were a few problems: The size of the air made the attack look like it hit multiple enemies instead of just one, and the team wanted this stance to be related to ice more than wind. That meant I needed to go back to the drawing board.
My next idea was to animate Udyr creating ice instead of wind, so that it looked like he was using his magic to attack with the ice. We all liked this direction more than the first iteration with wind, but we were afraid that he looked too magical and lost his wildness aspect that’s key to who he is. That meant I needed to find a good balance between his magical power and inherent wildness.

Next I leaned more into a physical version of ice. And while I really liked this direction, it felt like it lost the connection with birds.
So I changed the stabbing lunge to a swipe to bring in bird-like inspiration from the first idea, but kept the iced wings as a nod to a certain winged Freljordian demigod. The final idea ended up being a blend of everything I did leading up to this point, in true game development fashion. And we’re all really excited with where we ended up. 
Udyr has many types of basic attacks, which meant I had to animate it for each stance. My approach to each is pretty much the same: I consider his personality first, and then need to think about the spell's function, all while making sure they feel unique to each stance. Here are some of the others using the same process: 
Awakening the Beasts of the Freljord 
Luis “Riot Bloois” Aguas, Visual Effects Artist: 
Oh deer, it's Udyr. It's also VFX time! 
Udyr's VGU gave me a good opportunity to push boundaries in League's VFX style. The first inception of that came from the question, "Can I make Udyr look like he’s in a fighting game and in League?" 
Fighting games have always been a genre where you can express individual mastery over a character and its matchups. When I looked at Udyr's new gameplay, I immediately thought of that individual character skill expression you’d find in a fighting game. His stances have different use cases—Bear Stance is great against certain champions in a 1v1 duel, Phoenix Stance is great in an AoE situation, and so on. 
I picture an Udyr player knowing when it’s the right time to use the optimal stance, and that being the thing that differentiates between a good Udyr player and a great Udyr player. He’s an incredibly versatile and flexible champion—exactly the type of character I’d want in a fighting game. 
But fighting games and League are two different games with two different types of VFX. Where’s the happy medium? 
Before we get into examples, let me explain Udyr’s passive, which is what I’ll be talking about: If Udyr is already in a stance and it is on cooldown, he can Awaken it. Each stance has an empowered form or function when it’s Awakened. 
With this in mind, his passive should visually make you feel powerful when you Awaken each stance. Going back to my original goal of trying to combine League and a fighting game, I decided to go for heavily stylized, sharp, hard-edged shapes to hit that “powerful feeling.”
FIRST ITERATION OF UDYR’S PASSIVE VFX—I USED A FLAT WHITE COLOR TO FIGURE OUT THE SILHOUETTE BEFORE MOVING ON TO COLORED EFFECTS
After looking at the first iteration I decided that, while cool, the direction didn’t quite fit League’s VFX style. So... now what?
I looked for answers in Udyr’s spiritual energy. What does this power look like after he channels it? How does it feel connected to the spirits he holds dear? 
I replaced the hard shapes with softer ones to match League’s VFX style and introduced color to deepen the overall fantasy. But I couldn’t stop thinking about that initial fighting game design, so I had a thought... What if we add everything together and make color the differentiator between his stances? 
Exploration of the new combined visual effects 
Because there are 4 stances, I needed to create a color palette for each one. These visuals are all using the same exact VFX, with the only exception being their color!
Bear Stance on the left and Ram Stance on the right 
This design felt really cool, but nothing actually communicated that Udyr entered a more powerful form. So I decided to tone down the visuals I had and focus on a way to make it clear he was in an enhanced state. 
Up until this point I was creating VFX on Udyr’s old model. But around this time OOYOO completed an updated proxy model to give us a better idea of how he’d look in game. This meant that I could start creating VFX based on Udyr’s updated kit and model, instead of just “blue skies”ing ideas on his old one. 
Before I got started working with Udyr’s new model, I needed to prioritize which elements of his gameplay are most important to communicate. For example, when you press Q, three things happen: 
  • Udyr enters Bear Stance
  • Udyr gains bonus attack speed for the next two auto attacks
  • Udyr gains bonus attack speed for a certain duration
Since the bonus attack speed lasts longer than the Awaken passive, that gets a higher visual priority. But even higher than that is making it clear which stance is Udyr in. 
In League, we typically communicate an auto attack enhancement by applying VFX to a champion’s hands. In Udyr’s case, I added lightning VFX to his Bear Stance’s bear claws to indicate that Udyr’s auto attacks are doing something extra. There were three visuals I needed to create, with each one unique but still feeling connected to the others: The idle VFX with bear claws active, the stance activation with the active Awaken buff, and his passive’s Awaken VFX cast and buffs. 
UDYR’S BEAR STANCE IDLE VFX

UDYR’S BEAR STANCE ACTIVATION

UDYR’S PASSIVE AWAKEN CAST AND BUFF VFX

You might notice some of the visual language from my early “fighting game” exploration and that’s because... it’s there! I was able to combine sharp shapes with thematic lightning hooks and soft blending to ground it within League’s VFX style while still giving it something uniquely Udyr. 
Then I needed to move on to the effects when you interact with enemies. When Udyr’s Bear stance is Awakened, your next two auto attacks will arc chain lightning to your primary target and then spread nearby enemies. (Sound familiar?)
Furthermore, when this arc of lightning hits a single target and doesn’t bounce to others, it’ll do increased damage. Kind of like a big lightning bear when he’s mauling your face.
And that wraps up what I’ve got to share for Udyr’s VFX! As a reminder, everything I’ve shared is a work in progress, and the final product may still end up a bit different than the direction we currently have. I hope you like what you’ve seen here, and I can’t wait to see what you think when you get your claws on him. Thanks everyone~! 
Channeling the Dragon Spirit 
Justin “RiotEarp” Albers, Concept Artist: 
Udyr has just a few very classic, very well-known skins in his catalog (Spirit Guard, anyone?), and as we were figuring out his base, we were keeping ideas for his skins in the back of our dev brains. We decided to start with his most recent, Dragon Oracle. 
It’s a great looking skin with an excellent thematic, so there’s a lot to keep with some things that need to be adjusted to match his new character. Also, the dragon thematics and colors will easily translate to what the new-dyr is here to represent. 
We wanted to do our due diligence by going wide with the explorations—we have a pretty solid understanding of this dragon world now thanks to the extensive amount of skins—so we focused on a few different areas. We decided early on that he should remain on the mystical dragon side of things, and not among the draconic division of dragonslayers—he still channels the dragon spirits for just a hint of their power. But that left us asking, how dragon-y should he look? How physically affected is he by the animal spirits he channels? (That will forever be a question on Udyr!)
We decided to keep Udy more human than dragon to show that he’s in control of the draconic power he’s summoning. Some dragon elements will be cool for this skin, some scales, and definitely horns! But overall we want to keep his arms and shoulders free to show off his stances and animations.
Next we’re honing some of the more minor details for his base before doing the in-game version and concepting the dragon form stances!
And here’s where we’re heading with this skin: getting into the in-game view and his ortho for modeling. 
There’s lots more to come on Udyr skins, so keep an eye out for these in a later update!
What Comes Next? 
As you can see we’ve made a lot of progress and we think his base is coming along nicely. I think it’s worth sharing that Udyr does have quite a few skins, and the nature of his form swapping makes each one take longer than the average champion would—not to mention he also has an Ultimate skin. 
Given all that, we still have a ways to go before we can finally get the new Udyr into your hands. We want to make sure we get him and his skins right before he releases into the wild, and we’ll be sure to keep you updated in future champion roadmaps once we have a clearer picture."

Choose A Champion Update

Here's Reav3 with details on the next VGU poll - "With five champs to choose from, you decide who gets updated next."
"Another year, another “choose-a-champ” VGU poll. We’re still working hard on Udyr, but once he’s done, we’re ready to get started on another champion. And the polls are open. 
You have until 11:59 pm PT on January 19 to vote. You may cast your vote directly in the League client. But choose wisely, because your vote cannot be changed after submission. 
We’ve selected five champions we see as high-priorities for updates and we’re committed to working on whichever one you choose. It’ll take a few months to get rolling on development, but once we do, you can expect regular check-ins like we’ve been doing with recent updates. This way we can collect your thoughts and feedback as we go so we can make sure we get it right, especially for mains who already love these champs. 
With that, let’s jump into how we'd approach updating each of these champions. 
Tryndamere 
Tryndamere has maintained a pretty healthy playerbase over the years, and is an incredibly important character to the Freljord. That said, he has really started to show his age, especially when it comes to gameplay and visuals. We think he’d benefit greatly from a modernization VGU similar to Pantheon’s, opposed to a complete overhaul. 
If we were to update Tryndamere, we’d want to preserve his split-pushing identity with crit item-scaling. We’d keep his kit straightforward and simple, along with his iconic ultimate. But his healing, early power expression, and effectiveness in teamfights are areas we’d want to dig into with an update.
Shyvana 
While Shyvana’s overall visuals aren’t as low as some of the other champs in this poll, she falls under the same category as Irelia or Akali—champions who weren’t fully delivering on their thematic promise before being reworked. 
If we were to update Shyvana, we’d want to really bring the fantasy of “warrior who transforms into a fire-breathing dragon” to life. In terms of gameplay, we’d want to make her dragon form feel more formidable and destructive while better differentiating it from her human form. 
Nocturne 
Nocturne’s an interesting case for a VGU. He’s one of the most popular champions among new players, but most of them drop him quickly. This suggests Nocturne's gameplay and visual fantasies are strong, but he’s not quite delivering on them. 
If we were to update Nocturne, we’d want to really drive home his promised fantasy of a living nightmare who engulfs his enemies in total darkness. Nocturne would keep his iconic ultimate, but we’d create a more deep and satisfying base kit to go along with it. We’d also modernize Nocturne’s visuals so can finally live up to his title—Eternal Nightmare. 
Kog’Maw 
Kog’Maw hasn’t aged well at all. His kit’s kind of all over the place, torn between a hyper scaling ADC and an AP-focused artillery champ. He also feels out of place among his more sinister Void brethren, and while we love our cute Void puppy, we’d want to make him feel more... Void-y. 
If we were to update Kog’Maw, we’d give him a full kit overhaul while amplifying his hyperscaling “protect the puppy” auto-focused playstyle. We’ll do our best to retain the artillery AP portion of his kit, but if push comes to shove, we’ll sacrifice it to make his AD face-melter part shine. 
Skarner 
Skarner is one of the least played champions, and honestly he needs a lot of work. We’d aim to fully reimagine his kit and theme, similar to older VGUs like Sion and Urgot. Like his Brackern kin, Skarner’s generic crystal scorpion fantasy is the relic of a bygone era, and we’d strive to give him a clearer, more exciting source of power. This would likely result in big changes to his visuals and story. 
As for his kit, the fact that his playrate remains so low despite past reworks is indicative of deep-rooted issues we’d aim to address with a complete overhaul. While certain basic elements and ideas might remain the same, you can expect his new kit to deliver on new and exciting themes in ways his current kit simply cannot.
Head on over to the League client to cast your vote, and stay tuned after the polls close for the results. We can’t wait to see which champion you choose!"

Make sure to head to the client to vote on the VGU and skin thematic you want to see updated!


Universe Updates

The Universe was updated with new stories, each tying into the latest cinematic, "The Call"!
"Kai’Sa peers out from the mouth of the tunnel and feels like she’s standing at the edge of the world.

A chasm, so deep that sunlight doesn’t hit the bottom. Surrounding it are the openings of dozens of other tunnels. All are carved into rock that sits deep below the surface, now exposed and crumbling.

Once, this had been home to a vast colony of Void creatures. These had been their burrows, formed with the randomness of unmade matter. Sharp corners, dead ends, coils upon coils... all constructed without a plan beyond “eat the world.” That is the Void—mindless organic machines, driven by instinct to fight and consume and unmake with no thought beyond the present. She’s killed enough to know there is nothing deeper to the creatures than that.

But the tunnel Kai’Sa stands in is different. It is not random unmaking. It is practically a straight line running north, one she’d followed for nearly four days. This tunnel, this passage, was made with intention. With a goal. It doesn’t make sense...

Kai’Sa would make it make sense, starting with where this passage led."

[Full story over on the Universe!] 

"I watch the worm wriggling its way up from the sand. 
Its fronded head sways this way and that as it tastes the air, sensing the ewer of water I keep by my bedside amid the pile of scrolls, bone styluses, and ink pots. The water is two days old, gritty with dust from a well that is dry more often than not—but the worm won’t care."

[Full story over on the Universe!]

"Even from a distance, Sejuani could see the mammoth was dying, but like everything in the Freljord, it fought to live with every fiber of its being. Half a dozen spears and twice that many arrows jutted from the colossal beast’s matted hide, its russet hair stiff with frozen blood, but still it wouldn’t die.

Its furious bellows shook the mountainside, and Sejuani kept glancing to the lightning-wreathed summit, fearful of an avalanche.

Or something worse…"

[Full story over on the Universe!]


Teamfight Tactics Patch 12.1 Notes

"You know what they say: new year, new you! 
Wait, I liked the old you just fine! But like patch 12.1, maybe some changes are for the better. That said, 12.1 is here, bringing quite a lot of changes for the new year—so what are you waiting for, let’s get into it! 
RODGER "MINIONSRPEOPLE2" CAUDILL 
PATCH HIGHLIGHTS

[Check out the full TFT Patch 12.1 Notes]


Other Games

Legends of Runeterra


Wild Rift


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