F
romanoutside
perspective,Leagueof
Legendsmighthave
seemedasthoughit’s
stayedthesamefor
years.Underthehood,however,it
remainsahiveofactivity,withnew
champions,ideas,andsystems
changingthewayplayersinteract
withthegameandeachother.
Inagameascomplexasthis,
however,thosekindsofchanges
rarelygoentirelytoplan.Lastyear’s
itemrework,forexample,stillhasn’t
beenentirelysuccessful.“Overall,we
thinktheitemsystemreworkhas
beenpositiveforthegame,though
it’scertainlystillaworkinprogress
to some extent,” says game director
Andrei ‘Meddler’ Van Roon. “The
initial launch had some clear benefits,
like improved choice structure for
some classes, better visualisation of
many item effects, and a range of new
gameplay mechanics on offer. It also
had a number of issues to address.”
Riot’s working on those issues,
with changes set to arrive in this
year’s Preseason, an annual period
between seasons in late autumn that’s
often defined by new systems. This
year, the biggest focus will be on
more Elemental Rifts, introducing
Hextech and Chemtech variants; the
former will provide portals to newspots on the map, while the latter will automatically
stealth anyone who walks into certain areas.
In a game where stealth and mobility are not tools to
be handed out lightly, those are significant changes,
especially as Riot seems broadly satisfied with the rest of
Summoner’s Rift, “We’re at the point where adding too
much more would risk overloading the map with points
of interest to contest or consider, so aren’t planning any
major changes to the base map.”WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS
While changes to the Rift might be few and far between,
new characters arestillcomingthickandfast.Withthe
latest arrival, LeagueofLegends’rostertotals 157 playableTHE SECOND DECADE
Aftertenyearsatthetop,where does LEAGUE OF
LEGENDSgofromhere?By Alistair Jones
champions. The pace of new
additions is down to a steady stream
of half a dozen a year – one for each
of the major roles, with an extra one
to match the dual specialisation of
mid lane’s ‘mage/assassin’ meta.
“We think champion releases are a
critical part of what keeps LoL feeling
like a fresh, evolving game. There’s
certainly some disruption cost to that,
but we think the benefits outweigh
the cost.” There’s no point “in theTOP: (^) Riot’s expanding
LoL’s elemental rifts
ahead of next season.
RIOT GAMES