Riot Games has just rolled out a preview of what is to come for its new seasonal model of League of Legends, teasing what fans can expect to be different in the updated format.
The format will introduce three seasons across the year, each lasting around 16 weeks and centering around a unique theme. The seasons will follow specific champions across different regions within Runeterra, which will connect to an overarching narrative that spans the year, with skins to coincide with each theme.
The first season takes place in Noxus, and will launch at some point in January. Viktor will receive a visual update around this time to better align his character with Arcane Season 2, similar to Caitlin’s visual rework in 2021. Plus, a new jungle monster is being introduced called Atakhan, Bringer of Ruin. A breakdown of each character can be seen below:
Viktor VGU:
- New visual and gameplay update
- Art and updated backstory to align with Arcane Season 2 character
- Retains core gameplay elements, though ultimate is larger with every kill until the end of the ability’s duration
- Prototype Viktor will increase in price from 520 to 750 RP
Atakhan, Bringer of Ruin:
- New epic jungle monster
- Spawns once per game at the 20-minute mark on either the top or bottom side of the map, depending on which has seen the most champion damage and kills by the 14-minute mark
- Atakhan’s dark influence causes Blood Roses to grow periodically in the areas where champions have been killed. Each team gains a small amount of XP, and a permanently stacking Adaptive Force buff for every Blood Rose collected.
- Ruinous form grants Bloody Petals to the team that defeats him and spawns a grove of Blood Roses in the area for anyone to collect. Taking down Ruinous Atakhan also grants increased effects from all Epic monster rewards
- Voracious form spawns in lower action games and imparts a one-time Rebirth buff, which resurrects its bearers in base upon taking fatal damage, to the team that takes him down.
Noxian-themed boot upgrades will also become available throughout League of Legends Season One. They’ll be called Feats of Strength and are granted to the first team to claim two of three objectives: first blood, first tower, and first three epic jungle monsters.
Regarding the ranked system, the game will return to a single large reset in January at the beginning of each year, though that will be the only one that takes place each year. The Battle Pass and reward system is also getting a slight tune-up, as both a free and paid track, priced just like the current Event Pass. Rewards that were previously scattered across various systems will also now be consolidated within the free track.
For more information on all of the changes coming alongside League of Legends Season One, you can check out the official blog post here.