League of Legends is getting a major update in preparations for the 2017 season. Riot has recognized multiple mistakes they made in 2016 and is making adjustments so that 2017 can be the best year for League yet.
As with any pre-season update, there are lots of balance and champion updates that will change up the meta and keep things fresh for Season 7. The Assassin and Jungle changes in particular will bring big meta switches for 2017. Players will have to focus more on strategy and planning moves, rather than simply burning up abilities to take down opponents.
The jungle will have to be played differently, with the addition of various growths which could (or could not) wave in your favor. New stealth modes will offer ways to trick your enemies for potentially powerful kill shots. But be careful, as your opponents could be using the same tactics against you.
Here’s a rundown of the balance changes coming in Patch 6.22:
- Game Client
- Beta access to a complete overhaul of the game client will be available for download in this patch.
- Ranked Queues
- Solo/Duo Queue is back. Riot is also adding Flex Queue, allowing up to five players to queue up together.
- Replays
- Replay downloads will be available from match history, along with a recording tool to save highlights as video files that can be shared.
- Practice Tool
- Practice Tool will allow you to gain extra training in Summoner’s Rift to master every tricky mechanic. The Practice Tool will allow you to set certain scenarios like infinite gold, cooldown resets, level lock, and more.
- Gameplay Changes
- New growths in the Rift offer bonuses throughout the game — such as a Blast Cone to jump into a jungle camp, Scryer’s Bloom that releases pollen for vision, and Honeyfruit that allows for quick healing when you’re in a bind.
- Stealth Changes
- Camouflage and Invisibility are added as new versions of Stealth
- When Stealth-Camouflaged, you can be revealed by nearby enemy champions and turrets.
- When Stealth-Invisible you only be revealed by nearby enemy turrets.
Assassin Class and Champion Changes
LeBlanc
LeBlanc’s kit will be reworked so that she can bait and switch her enemies with an increased movement speed, along with rewarding enemies who successfully catch her tricks. Sigil of Malice (Passive) will be added, with all of LeBlanc’s abilities inflicting it. Sigil of Malice can be detonated and consumed by her other abilities as well.
If Shatter Orb (Q) strikes a Sigiled target, it will bounce to next nearest Sigiled target too, dealing 70% damage to minions. This added Passive will be strong for LeBlanc as a minion clearer and jungler. She will also have an alternate mode that creates a copy of LeBlanc anywhere on the map who runs towards the nearest enemy champion and casts a zero damage copy of her last spell cast.
Talon
Instead of being a direct hit champion, Talon will utilize the area around him to target his enemies. Blade’s End (Passive) will be added, allowing his abilities put a stacking wound on champions up to three. Auto-attacking a triple stacked target causes a bleed for 60-160 over two seconds.
Noxian Diplomacy (Q) now deals a critical strike if used at melee range, rather than leaping. Assassin’s Path (E) will be added, allowing Talon to vault over terrain in a specified direction. However, enemies who see Talon vault over a wall will get a notification of which walls he has recently vaulted.
Rengar
The focus of Rengar’s kit changes is to allow his empowered abilities to stand alone, rather than being part of a chain of attacks. His Leap range will be increased heavily from 600 to 725, along with a speed and time-to-target adjustment on larger leaps for bigger gank potential.
Savagery (Q) will be redesigned as a skill shot that deals damage in an arc, rather than a line. Each hit deals 50-220 damage based on level. Battle Roar will get a redesign as well, dealing magic damage as an AoE and healing for 50% of the damage taken in last 1.5s.
Katarina
Katarina’s abilities are fairly limited right now. She has to be quite careful in picking her targets, and a minor mistake can make the biggest difference. This update will give her more mobility so she’s better able to jump in and out of fights.
Replacing Sinister Steel with Preperation (W) lets Katarina throw a dagger in the air, gaining decaying movement speed. Changes to Shunpo (E) will allow for targeting daggers and dealing damage to the nearest enemies, making her spell casts more useful.
Other Changes
This pre-season update also includes a handful of minor changes to other champions, including Fizz, Kha’Zix, Ekko, Shaco, Akali, and Zed.
Assassin items have been reworked as well. These item changes should allow assassins to have more thought-out strategies, rather than just bursting down all their enemies.
This massive update should be released sometime early November, after the completion of the 2016 season. Season 7 of League will begin on December 6th. You can see all the detailed patch notes for 6.22 over at the official League of Legends website.
How do you feel about the gameplay and class changes coming in this patch? Think it will make the assassin class more exciting to play? Let us know down in the comments!
