Reign of Gaming

Update

Our game diffs have been fixed. MANY champion and item changes can now be found below

WIP Post - Read This

For those who don't know. Aatrox was on the air client of the last pbe patch for about 5 mins. Make sure to read all the changes there, along with what Riot had to say about all the changes. We won't be reposting it all. You can view the last pbe Patch post here.

Update: Skins and champion are not enabled! (oh no!) fear not though. We are still grabbing videos of the skins :)

Aatrox Sound and Voices

Also, a tie to Tryndamere

 PBE - Woad King Darius Skin Preview

 PBE - Ghost Bride Morgana Skin Preview [Incorrect W,R particles]

There is a weird situation with this skin. The skin is marked as skin 5. However her particles are marked as "Skin 6". Due to this, our normal tools for showing skins not released is not working as it should. We will try to fix this as soon as we are done getting you all the ability and item changes.

 Aatrox Skin Textures

• Defualt
• Defualt 2
• Release Skin

Champions With Unqiue New Sounds

Looks like Aatrox's release skin, New Darius and Morgana skin have unqiue sounds. (Note: Voices would be in the main folder, these look to just be sound effects)

files/DATA/Sounds/FMOD/LoL_SFX_aatrox_base.fsb
files/DATA/Sounds/FMOD/LoL_SFX_darius_norseking.fsb
files/DATA/Sounds/FMOD/LoL_SFX_morgana_skin05.fsb
files/DATA/Sounds/FMOD/LoL_SFX_aatrox_skin01.fsb

 Custom Game Map Update

Champion Changes

All champion changes are the same as last patch. You can see them here.

We have our game client diff fixed. and there ARE some changes. We will need to format this

Aatrox

• More Detialed Blood Well Passive: Upon taking fatal damage, Aatrox extracts the current blood in the well and recovers it as Health over 1.5 seconds. When using an ability that costs Health, Aatrox stores 70% of the self-inflicted damage into the Blood Well.The Blood Well has a base of 35% of the max pool, 225 second Cooldown, and decays 3% of the well a second while out of combat.
• UPDATE TO Aatrox's Abilities (Now have Ratios) His W Ratio is (+0.25*AD)

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Abilities

Old (Air Client v68)	New (Air Client v73)
Shyvana - [E] - Flame Breath
Shyvana - [E] - Flame Breath Shyvana unleashes a fireball that deals 80/110/140/170/200 (+0.6)magic damage to all enemies it passes through,debuffing them for 5 seconds.Basic attacks to debuffed targets deal 25% of Flame Breath's damage on-hit. Dragon Form: Flame Breath engulfs all units in a cone in front of her. Cost: Range: 925 Cooldown: 12/11/10/9/8	Shyvana - [E] - Flame Breath Shyvana unleashes a fireball that deals 80/125/170/215/260 (+0.6)magic damage to all enemies it passes through,debuffing them for 5 seconds.Basic attacks to debuffed targets deal 25% of Flame Breath's damage on-hit. Dragon Form: Flame Breath engulfs all units in a cone in front of her. Cost: Range: 925 Cooldown: 12/11/10/9/8
Shyvana - [R] - Dragon's Descent
Shyvana - [R] - Dragon's Descent Active: Shyvana transforms into a dragon and takes flight to a target location.Enemies along her path take 200/300/400 (+0.7)magic damage and are knocked toward her target location. Passive: Shyvana generates 1 fury every 1.5 seconds.Basic Attacks generate 2/3/4 fury. Cost: Range: 1000 Cooldown: 0/0/0	Shyvana - [R] - Dragon's Descent Active: Shyvana transforms into a dragon and takes flight to a target location.Enemies along her path take 200/300/400 (+0.7)magic damage and are knocked toward her target location. Passive: Shyvana generates 1 fury every 1.5 seconds.Basic Attacks generate 10/15/20 fury. Cost: Range: 1000 Cooldown: 0/0/0
Kha'Zix - [Q] - Taste Their Fear
Kha'Zix - [Q] - Taste Their Fear Passive: Marks enemies who are isolated from nearby allies. Active: Deals 70/100/130/160/190 (+)physical damage.If the target is isolated,the damage is increased by 45/45/45/45/45%. Evolved Enlarged Claws: Taste Their Fear deals bonus physical damage equal to 8/8/8/8/8% of the target's missing Health,which can also be increased by isolation (max 200/200/200/200/200 vs.monsters).Increases the range of Taste Their Fear and Kha'Zix's basic attacks by 50/50/50/50/50. Cost: 25/25/25/25/25 Mana Range: 0 Cooldown: 3.5/3.5/3.5/3.5/3.5	Kha'Zix - [Q] - Taste Their Fear Passive: Marks enemies who are isolated from nearby allies. Active: Deals 70/100/130/160/190 (+)physical damage.If the target is isolated,the damage is increased by 45/45/45/45/45%. Evolved Enlarged Claws: Deals bonus physical damage equal to 8/8/8/8/8% of the target's missing Health (can be increased by isolation,max 200/200/200/200/200 vs.monsters).Increases the range of Taste Their Fear and Kha'Zix's basic attacks by 50/50/50/50/50. Cost: 25/25/25/25/25 Mana Range: 0 Cooldown: 3.5/3.5/3.5/3.5/3.5
Kha'Zix - [R] - Void Assault
Kha'Zix - [R] - Void Assault Passive: Ranking up Void Assault allows Kha'Zix to evolve one of his abilities. Active: Stealths for 1/1/1 second.Activates Unseen Threat and increases Kha'Zix's Movement Speed by 40/40/40%.Void Assault can be cast a second time within 12/12/12 seconds. Evolved Active Camouflage: Void Assault can be cast four times. Cost: 100/100/100 Mana Range: 0 Cooldown: 100/90/80	Kha'Zix - [R] - Void Assault Passive: Ranking up Void Assault allows Kha'Zix to evolve one of his abilities. Active: Stealths for 1/1/1 second.Activates Unseen Threat and increases Kha'Zix's Movement Speed by 40/40/40%.Void Assault can be cast a second time within 10/10/10 seconds. Evolved Active Camouflage: Void Assault can be cast three times.Kha'Zix takes 40/40/40% reduced damage while in stealth. Cost: 100/100/100 Mana Range: 0 Cooldown: 100/90/80
Lissandra - [W] - Ring of Frost
Lissandra - [W] - Ring of Frost Deals 65/100/135/170/205 (+0.6)magic damage to nearby enemies and roots them for 1.1/1.2/1.3/1.4/1.5 seconds. Cost: 55/55/55/55/55 Mana Range: 0 Cooldown: 16/14/12/10/8	Lissandra - [W] - Ring of Frost Deals 60/95/130/165/200 (+0.6)magic damage to nearby enemies and roots them for 1.1/1.2/1.3/1.4/1.5 seconds. Cost: 70/70/70/70/70 Mana Range: 0 Cooldown: 16/14/12/10/8
Lissandra - [R] - Frozen Tomb
Lissandra - [R] - Frozen Tomb On Enemy Cast: Freezes target champion solid,stunning it for 1.5/1.5/1.5 seconds. On Self Cast: Lissandra encases herself in dark ice for 1.5/1.5/1.5 seconds,becoming untargetable and invulnerable but unable to take any actions. Dark ice then emanates from the target dealing 150/275/400 (+0.7)magic damage to enemies.The ice lasts for 3/3/3 seconds and slows enemy Movement Speed by 20/30/40%. Cost: 100/100/100 Mana Range: 0 Cooldown: 130/105/80	Lissandra - [R] - Frozen Tomb On Enemy Cast: Freezes target champion solid,stunning it for 1.5/1.5/1.5 seconds. On Self Cast: Lissandra encases herself in dark ice for 1.5/1.5/1.5 seconds,becoming untargetable and invulnerable but unable to take any actions. Dark ice then emanates from the target dealing 150/250/350 (+0.7)magic damage to enemies.The ice lasts for 3/3/3 seconds and slows enemy Movement Speed by 20/30/40%. Cost: 100/100/100 Mana Range: 0 Cooldown: 130/105/80
Aatrox - [Q] - Dark Flight
Aatrox - [Q] - Dark Flight Aatrox takes flight and slams down at a targeted location,dealing 70/115/160/205/250 (+)physical damage to all nearby enemies and knocking up targets at the center of impact for 1/1/1/1/1 second. Cost: 0/10/10/10/10 % of Current Health () Range: 650 Cooldown: 16/15/14/13/12	Aatrox - [Q] - Dark Flight Aatrox takes flight and slams down at a targeted location,dealing 60/95/130/165/200 (+)physical damage to all nearby enemies and knocking up targets at the center of impact for 1/1/1/1/1 second. Cost: 0/10/10/10/10 % of Current Health () Range: 650 Cooldown: 16/15/14/13/12
Aatrox_Q.png	Aatrox_Q.png
Aatrox - [W] - Blood Thirst / Blood Price
Aatrox - [W] - Blood Thirst / Blood Price Activate to switch between Blood Thirst and Blood Price. Blood Thirst: Every third attack,Aatrox restores 20/25/30/35/40 (+)Health,increased by 200/200/200/200/200% when below half Health. Blood Price: Every third attack,Aatrox deals 60/95/130/165/200 (+)bonus physical damage and loses Health. Cost: Range: 0 Cooldown: 1/1/1/1/1	Aatrox - [W] - Blood Thirst / Blood Price Activate to switch between Blood Thirst and Blood Price. Blood Thirst: Reduces the cost of Dark Flight and Blades of Torment by 50/50/50/50/50%.Every third attack,Aatrox restores 20/25/30/35/40 (+)Health,increased by 200/200/200/200/200% when below half Health. Blood Price: Increases the damage of Dark Flight and Blades of Torment by 25/25/25/25/25%.Every third attack,Aatrox deals 60/95/130/165/200 (+)bonus physical damage and loses Health. Cost: Range: 0 Cooldown: 0.5/0.5/0.5/0.5/0.5
Aatrox_W2.png	Aatrox_W2.png
Aatrox - [E] - Blades of Torment
Aatrox - [E] - Blades of Torment Aatrox unleashes and sends forward the power of his blade,dealing 75/120/165/210/255 (+0.6)Magic Damage to all enemies hit and slowing them by 40/40/40/40/40% for 1.75/2/2.25/2.5/2.75 seconds. Cost: 5/5/5/5/5 % of Current Health () Range: 900 Cooldown: 12/11/10/9/8	Aatrox - [E] - Blades of Torment Aatrox unleashes and sends forward the power of his blade,dealing 65/100/135/170/205 (+0.6)Magic Damage to all enemies hit and slowing them by 40/40/40/40/40% for 1.75/2/2.25/2.5/2.75 seconds. Cost: 5/5/5/5/5 % of Current Health () Range: 900 Cooldown: 12/11/10/9/8
Aatrox_E.png	Aatrox_E.png
Evelynn - [R] - Agony's Embrace
Evelynn - [R] - Agony's Embrace Evelynn impales all enemies in the targeted area,dealing 15/20/25 (+0.01)% of their current Health in magic damage and slowing their Movement Speed by 30/50/70% for 2/2/2 seconds. Evelynn siphons their pain,gaining a 150/225/300 health shield for each enemy champion hit which lasts up to 6 seconds. Cost: 100/100/100 Mana Range: 0 Cooldown: 150/120/90	Evelynn - [R] - Agony's Embrace Evelynn impales all enemies in the targeted area,dealing 15/20/25 (+0.01)% of their current Health in magic damage and slowing their Movement Speed by 30/50/70% for 2/2/2 seconds. Evelynn siphons their pain,gaining a 150/225/300 health shield for each enemy champion hit which lasts up to 6 seconds. Cost: 100/100/100 Mana Range: 0 Cooldown: 120/105/90
Akali - [W] - Twilight Shroud
Akali - [W] - Twilight Shroud Akali throws down a cover of smoke that lasts for 8/8/8/8/8 seconds.While inside the area,Akali gains 10/20/30/40/50 Armor and Magic Resist and becomes invisible.Attacking or using abilities will briefly reveal her. Enemies inside the smoke are slowed by 14/18/22/26/30%. Cost: 60/60/60/60/60 Energy Range: 0 Cooldown: 20/19/18/17/16	Akali - [W] - Twilight Shroud Akali throws down a cover of smoke that lasts for 8/8/8/8/8 seconds.While inside the area,Akali gains 10/20/30/40/50 Armor and Magic Resist and becomes invisible.Attacking or using abilities will briefly reveal her. Enemies inside the smoke are slowed by 14/18/22/26/30%. Cost: 80/75/70/65/60 Energy Range: 0 Cooldown: 20/20/20/20/20

Items

New Tips

IronStylus on Leona Skins

Originally Posted by Riot (View RedTracker Source)

So, here's a thing. Yes, Sunbathing/beach bash Leona will most likely be a reality barring some major issue or slotting problem. That does sometimes happen. I never want to set certainty that could be subject to change.

It's past the concept phase, having been fully fleshed out, and will move onto modeling. I reconcepted her after PAX for better readability and some other more thought-out touches. She'll probably move onto 3D very soon, then through the animation and particle pipeline. Depending on priority, this could be a few months, we'll see.

One of the reasons it's been a while since she's had a skin is because we actually brought a couple skins of hers up to the modeling phase, and plugged them into the game, but then realized they either weren't cutting the quality/theme bar, or the skin had to be bumped because of saturation of similar themes. These skins might some day come to release, but I'm not certain of that at all.

I don't want to really delve into what those skins were because at least one wasn't terribly strong in differentiation from her other skins. It might even only really equate to a model swap. I made a call to kill the skin and possibly focus on a legendary skin for her down the line that would be a much stronger theme than what I had produced. You actually have seen the beginning of that skin in one of the videos that was released about champion production. A picture had been circulated of an armored figure from the bust up that was very early on in iteration. That was a potential Leona skin, but again, in the end it wasnt very strong.

This can happen. We actually had a mecha-cho'gath finished and animated but it was really lame. We scrapped it and decided to make him a Battlecast skin which was a MUCH stronger theme. While sometimes skins can be cool, and we feel they're neat ideas, until we get it plugged into the game we don't really know if the skin will work.

Concept art can't solve all the problems up front. Concept, meaning "idea", is just that. Until our 3D brows get that thing walking round, only then can we know that it works 100%. So while it can be unfortunate that we have to kill content that we know some players will want, we want to make sure we're delivering the right thing at the right time, and these particular unreleased skins weren't hitting the bar. My hope is that we can revisit them and make them work! Who knows!

IMPORTANT: Ghost Bride Morgana haunting soon - in Game Pictures, Transfers to the Brazil server now available!
Update for EU: Read this for server information

 PBE Patch for 5/17 - Aatrox and More

So if you only checked the post once, you need to give it a second look. Riot has posted a few red posts about the various champion nerfs/buffs that we saw. Also make sure to click the "view in redtracker" if it's a topic/champion you care about, they responded to some Q&A in each thread.

Next Ultimate Skin Now in June - Delay on Summoner Icon Rewards for Lifetime RP

Riothippalus hit Reddit to give some information on a few delays.

Originally Posted by Riot (View Reddit Source)

OP is correct - we have not come through with the summoner icon rewards for lifetime RP purchases yet. There have been a few different reasons for the delay, but the good news is that when they do finally come, they should be much cooler than I originally envisioned.

And while I'm fessing up to missing target dates I've put out there, I should mention that the next ultimate skin will not make it in May. Hopefully June!

Ghost Bride Morgana haunting soon

The skin posted on the LA facebook page we reported last night has its official NA/EU announcement.

Originally Posted by Riot (View RedTracker Source)

The legend of 'La Llorona' is emerging from the river in the form of Ghost Bride Morgana. This haunting take on the Fallen Angel captures the mournful tale of the weeping bride. Tapping into a rich vein of shared cultural history, Ghost Bride Morgana is the launch skin for Latin America. Prepare to celebrate the Latin American server launch and chain yourself to this spectral interpretation of the haunting legend.

Transfers to the Brazil server now available!

Originally Posted by Riot (View RedTracker Source)

 

Starting today, players'll be able transfer to the Brazil server. This transfer is free for a limited time. Use your free transfer token by heading to the in-game store and click on the Other tab. Secure your summoner name on the Brazil server by transferring today!

For the full scoop on the Portuguese-language server, transfer options and more, check out this FAQ.

Important: [Official Riot Post] Pick Order vs. Call Order

Summoner Name Cleanse Will Happen with 3.8, Name Changes will Remain on Sale

There was an issue with the name cleanse that was going to happen with this patch. Due to this, we will not see the clear up of names until 3.8. However the name change will remain on sale until then!

When asked when we might see 3.8 we got the following reply: Roughly end of May/early June. Obviously patch days can change in timing.

Originally Posted by Riot (View RedTracker Source)

Hi everyone,

Due to the issues with the Summoner Name Cleanse in conjunction with last night's patch (and the need to run the cleanse while the system is in planned downtime), we will have to delay the cleanse until the 3.8 patch.

We recognize that this is a disappointment to those planning to get a name on sale or people trying to get newly cleansed names, so we'll be leaving Name Changes at 50% off through the 3.7 patch and into the middle of 3.8.

-Udyr

 05/16 - Hecarim Disabled

Originally Posted by Riot (View RedTracker Source)

Summoners,

Hecarim is temporarily disabled due to a bug that we are actively working to fix.

We will update you back here with progress.

 Meddler on Syndra's 3.7 Buff

Originally Posted by Riot (View RedTracker Source)

Scatter the Weak is her knockback which if it hits a sphere, can knock the sphere back and if that sphere hits an enemy, they are stunned.

I am assuming this fix is to improve the hit detection as sometimes when the tip of the cone is touching the sphere, it fails to actually knock the sphere back.

You assume correctly! This detection fix also effectively increases the range of Scatter the Weak very slightly for purposes of Sphere collision only.

Pick Order vs. Call Order

Riot says "we've ultimately decided to endorse Pick Order over Call Order as an underlying system." However with this, they also say "Pick Order is meant to be a last resort when settling discussions - this is why we are endorsing it and not mandating it."

Originally Posted by Riot (View RedTracker Source)

Summoners,

As you all know, we value communication and collaboration above all when it comes to choosing roles in ranked games. According to the Player Behavior team's studies, teams that cooperate together have a greater chance to win. Naturally, cooperation and communication is something we want to encourage within all games of League of Legends.

That said, we do know that there have been some problems with coming to an agreement at champion select, and many players have defaulted to one of two systems: Pick Order – where players higher on the pick list have first choice of their role – and Call Order – where players believe whoever “calls” a role first gets the right to it. For a while, we've been asked what our own official stance is on Pick Order versus Call Order and, after much consideration, we've ultimately decided to endorse Pick Order over Call Order as an underlying system. There are many reasons why Pick Order works better to encourage communication and cooperation in teams:

• Players with faster load times shouldn't have an unfair advantage in Call Order
• Pick Order occurs naturally in the current design, so it's more intuitive
• Over time, players get an equal number of opportunities to be each pick slot
• Players shouldn't have to race to type a position at the start of each match

At this point we would like to stress, once again, that Pick Order should not be the first thing players turn to in determining who plays what role in ranked games. Pick Order is meant to be a last resort when settling discussions - this is why we are endorsing it and not mandating it. Communication and collaboration are still the most important things when it comes to playing ranked games, and we hope players will continue to uphold the Summoner's Code in all of their matches. If you refuse to communicate with your team and rely only on Pick Order to determine your role selection, you are still being a toxic player and this will reflect negatively upon you. By officially endorsing Pick Order, however, we are hoping this will give more structure to players and may help settle some disputes. And, of course, this isn't the only thing we're doing to address champion select as a process. For more information on our long-term plans, turn to this discussion with Lyte, status kwoh, and davin. We've also included a mini-FAQ for players who have further questions on our endorsement of this philosophy.

Happy hunting,

Socrates

Patch 3.7 Saintvicious Run down

In case you missed these today we have them for you right here.

Riot Talks Ashe Passive Changes

Originally Posted by Riot (View RedTracker Source)

IMO Ashe as a whole is in a pretty good spot. She sees decent play and maintains a decent win rate across all elos while also being a niche pick in the competitive environment. Her kit has clear strengths and weaknesses and offers Ashe players many opportunities for extreme high moments.

What is NOT in a good spot is Focus, Ashe's passive. As far as the majority of Ashe players are concerned it provides one singular moment of play and power to Ashe over the duration of the entire game. This is during the level one team fight/lane engagement. For the rest of the game the Ashe player tends not to notice or care about Focus and if she does notice it she feels as though she has no way to be proactive and take advantage of the power it is providing. Not cool.

So what to do? CHANGE IT OF COURSE! Here's something CertainlyT and I just put into testing:

Ashe gains 3/6/9/12/15/18 stacks of Focus for every 3 seconds spent not attacking. At 100 stacks her next attack is guaranteed to crit. Her Focus stacks will then reset to her current Crit Chance.

Note - Attacking no longer causes Ashe to lose focus.

The goal here isn't to do a massive Focus overhaul but instead make a lighter change that turns Focus into a binary mechanic that you can plan and play around in lane. If you have full stacks of Focus you get a free crit on your next attack. If you have 90 stacks of Focus then go hide in a bush for 6 seconds, get Focus, and R+W+Crit the enemy Sona.

Patch 3.7 Notes - Custom Item Sets!

Originally Posted by Riot (View RedTracker Source)

Akali

These two changes are intended to give Akali's kit some utility. With Twilight Shroud now granting vision where it's placed, Akali can perform interesting jungle and lane jukes by first casting Twilight Shroud to gain vision of an enemy or jungle monster, and then using Shadow Dance as an escape tool. Overall, it should be a cool little trick that adds some depth to this ability.

• Twilight Shroud
  • Now grants vision in the area of effect
• Shadow Dance
  • Essence of Shadow charge time reduced to 30/22.5/15 seconds from 35/25/15

Caitlyn

Caitlyn was crowding out a lot of other AD champions with her potent siege capabilities and strong lane trading potential. We wanted to highlight her weakness to extended trades as a sniper by reducing her base attack speed.

Additionally, by removing the accrual of headshot stacks when attacking turrets, it'll be a little more difficult for Caitlyn to perpetually siege towers in early game while zoning out enemies with the threat of a headshot.

• Base Attack Speed reduced to 0.625 from 0.668
• Attack Speed per level increased to 4% from 3%
• Headshot
  • No longer gains stacks when attacking structures

Cassiopeia

• Twin Fang
  • Now counts as a single target spell for the sake of items like Rylai's Crystal Scepter

Diana

As a melee champion, Diana should have an inherent weakness to lane harass. These changes are to reduce some of the safe and efficient wave clear Diana was getting from auto-attacking with her shield up in lane.

The shield change will help Diana in mid- to late-game team fights when she needs to dive into multiple enemies to engage. Before the changes, Diana's shield refreshed almost immediately and she got no benefit from the first stack unless she took damage very quickly upon initiating. Now with her shields stacking on top of each other, Diana will gain a little more survivability in these kind of engagements.

• Moonsilver Blade
  • Damage reduced to 20/25/30/35/40/50/60/70/80/90/105/120/135/155/175/200/225/250 (+0.6 Ability Power) from 20/25/30/40/50/65/80/95/110/125/140/155/175/195/215/240/265/290 (+0.6 Ability Power)
  • Range of the cleave behind Diana reduced
• Pale Cascade
  • Total damage changed to 66/102/138/174/210 from 60/105/150/195/240
  • Shield reduced to 40/55/70/85/100 (+0.3 Ability Power) from 55/80/105/130/155 (+0.45 Ability Power)
  • The second application of the shield now stacks with the first shield instead of replacing it

Elise

Removing the bonus Armor and Magic Resist in Spider Form while increasing the ability power ratio on Skittering Frenzy will better position Elise's offensive capabilities and vulnerabilities. Elise continues to be a very strong lane bully; she will just need to think carefully about when she can win a trade.

• Skittering Frenzy
  • Ability Power ratio increased to 0.04 from 0.02
• Spider Form
  • No longer grants bonus Armor and Magic Resist

Jarvan IV

• Demacian Standard
  • Vision radius of the Standard reduced to 700 from 850

Karma

• Inner Flame
  • Mantra Bonus - Soulflare
    • Slow area now spawns directly under the primary target

Miss Fortune

Miss Fortune excels at trading in lanes, but her Impure Shots were building too quickly and dealing too much burst damage with the use of Double Up. With this change, Miss Fortune loses some of her burst potential, but will do around the same damage in extended trades.

• Impure Shots
  • Passive
    • Max stacks increased to 5 from 4
    • Damage per stack reduced to 4/6/8/10/12 from 6/8/10/12/14 

Mordekaiser

• Recommend items updated

Nami

These general usability buffs are for Nami to feel more impactful in team fights and skirmishes. In particular, with Surging Tides giving more movement speed and Aqua Prison having a longer stun duration, Nami players should feel better about playing aggressive in a lane.

• Basic Attack Missile Speed increased to 1500 from 1350
• Surging Tides
  • Bonus Movement Speed increased to 40 from 30
• Aqua Prison
  • Stun duration increased to 1.5 seconds from 1.25

Nunu

Nunu naturally fits in the jungle with his strong objective control and high map mobility - these changes should add more depth within that role. Above all, we want Consume to be a cool spell -Consume has traditionally languished in late game for everything besides objective control, so making it an attractive spell with these changes adds more depth and rank-up incentive.

• Consume
  • Damage increased to 600/700/800/900/1000 from 500/600/700/800/900
  • Healing reduced to 90/130/170/210/250 from 125/180/235/290/345
  • Healing ratio reduced to 0.75 from 1.0
  • Consume now grants bonuses for 120/150/180/210/240 seconds based on the type of monster consume was used on:
    • Golem-type monsters grant 10% increased size and maximum Health
    • Lizard-type monsters grant Nunu's attacks and spells additional magic damage equal to 1% of Nunu's maximum Health
    • Wraith or Wolf-type monsters grant 15% movement speed for 3 seconds after Nunu kills a unit

Quinn

• Vault
  • Fixed a bug where Vault failed to interrupt targets that were immune to slows

Rammus

• Puncturing Taunt
  • Can no longer target minions

Rumble

We did tone down some of Rumble's overall damage, but we also took this opportunity to make Danger Zone more impactful in Rumble's overall play. Here we've decided to increase his benefits for staying in the Danger Zone, so Rumble players will have more incentive to carefully manage their abilities.

• Flamespitter
  • Damage decreased to 75/135/195/255/315 (+1.0 Ability Power) from 90/160/230/300/370 (+1.35 Ability Power)
  • Danger Zone damage bonus increased to 50% from 25%
• Electro-Harpoon
  • Damage decreased to 45/70/95/120/145 (+0.4 Ability Power) from 55/85/115/145/175 (+0.5 Ability Power)

Syndra

• Scatter the Weak
  • Improved detection of Dark Spheres at longer ranges

Twisted Fate

With his huge global map pressure in early and mid-game, we wanted to reduce Twisted Fate's overall power without hitting the core components that make him fun. We're changing the passive cooldown reduction on Stacked Deck to attack speed to take out some of the free power he was getting without much gameplay interaction. Additionally, given Destiny's high impact, we've brought it more in line with other global ability cooldowns

• Pick a Card
  • Blue card now restores 50/75/100/125/150 Mana instead of 26/39/52/65/78 (+0.6 total Attack Damage)
• Stacked Deck
  • No longer grants Cooldown Reduction
  • Bonus Attack Speed increased to 10/15/20/25/30% from 3/6/9/12/15%
• Destiny
  • Cooldown increased to 180/150/120 seconds from 150/135/120
  • Tooltips updated

Udyr

• Tiger Stance
  • Fixed a bug that caused Tiger Strike to only apply in the first 5 seconds of the stance

Varus

Hail of Arrows makes Varus very strong in lane trades and zoning enemies out, but the strength of this ability was crowding out the intended use of Piercing Arrow as a high-damage snipe. With these changes, Hail of Arrows still has its strength in area control but it no longer completely trumps Piercing Arrow as a method of proccing Blighted Quiver and dealing high burst damage.

• Base Movement Speed reduced to 330 from 335
• Piercing Arrow
  • Minimum damage increased to 10/47/83/120/157 from 10/43/77/110/143
  • Maximum damage increased to 15/70/125/180/235 from 15/65/115/165/215
  • Improved hit detection at the end of the missile
• Hail of Arrows
  • Damage reduced to 65/100/135/170/205 from 65/105/145/185/225
• Chain of Corruption
  • Improved hit detection at the end of the missile

 

Warwick

These are mostly quality of life changes for Warwick, who actually spent more time channeling Infinite Duress than he spent suppressing his target. Additionally, the fact that Warwick will now always place himself in front of the target rather than in a random location around them should add a little more strategic depth to who he suppresses and when.

• Infinite Duress
  • Channel time reduced to 1.5 seconds from 2.1 (the target is still suppressed for the full 1.8 seconds)
  • Infinite Duress now always places Warwick in front of the target rather than a random spot around the target

Zac

For all of the utility and sustain he brings, Zac was just a little too strong across the board. These changes should tone him down in places where he had excessive power - reducing the burst power of his ultimate and his already unusually high sustain from bloblets.

• Base Health Regen reduced to 7.0 from 12.5
• Let's Bounce!
  • Damage reduced to 140/210/280 from 160/240/320
  • Fixed a bug where Let's Bounce! was applying a 0.25 Ability Power ratio on every bounce rather than 0.4 on the first bounce, halved on subsequent bounces
  • Tenacity reduced to 50% from 75%

Zed

As a resourceless champion, Zed was able to farm efficiently and safely without giving his opponent much opportunity for interaction. These changes should hit his wave clearing efficiency, especially at early levels. The vision reduction on Zed's Living Shadow was just to bring it more in line with other abilities of this type.

• Razor Shuriken
  • Damage dealt to secondary targets reduced to 45/69/93/117/141 (+0.6 bonus Attack Damage) from 60/92/124/156/188 (+0.8 bonus Attack Damage)
• Living Shadow
  • Vision radius of the Shadow reduced to 700 from 1300
• Shadow Slash
  • Cooldown increased to 4 seconds from 3

Zyra

• Thorn Spitter and Vine Lasher plants now correctly display their bonus damage from Ability Power
• Thorn Spitter and Vine Lasher plants now benefit from Banner of Command's minion damage aura

Items

Mana Manipulator

• Recipe changed: Faerie Charm + 120 gold = 300 total gold
• Mana Warp Passive Aura reduced to 5 Mana Regen per 5 seconds from 6

Mikael's Crucible

Mikael's Crucible is a very strong item for supports who want to stay on the back line out of harm's way. Most supports, however, opt for Philosopher's Stone in early game, which makes them adverse to buying another high-sustain item like Mikael's Crucible. These changes also open up more diversity for supports when upgrading their Philosopher's Stone - Shurelya's offers more offensive and defensive disengage, but Mikael's Crucible offers more in-fight potential.

• Recipe changed: Philosopher's Stone + Chalice of Harmony + 920 gold = 2500 total cost
• Grants 7 Health Regen per 5 seconds from 0
• Grants 18 Mana Regen per 5 seconds from 9
• No longer grants Mana
• Active Heal changed to "Heals for 150 + 10% of the target's Maximum Health" from "Heals for 150 + 15% of the target's Missing Health", Cleanse effect unchanged
• Active travel time changed to 0.2 seconds from variable with distance
• Fixed an issue with the hit effect particle

Shard of True Ice

• Total cost reduced to 1600 gold from 1700
• Mana Warp Passive Aura reduced to 5 Mana Regen per 5 seconds from 6

Summoner's Rift

While this change doesn't seem significant, it will help auto-attack reliant laners when trading against ability-based laners. Champions who rely on lane harassment through abilities typically don't draw minion attacks as much as auto-attack champions, and this disparity was forcing a lot of champions to opt for high-sustain starts in order to compensate. This change will have a larger overall effect on lane trading as the game progresses.

• Caster Minions
  • Base Attack Damage reduced to 23 from 25

Howling Abyss

• High Winds duration and intervals tweaked to match the pace of the music
• Statue destruction algorithms tweaked to become more consistent throughout the match

Game Interface

• Loss of Control UI
  • Loss of control indicators now appear underneath a player's nameplate when the player's champion is afflicted by a crowd control effect
  • A unique icon is displayed for each type of effect, and a shrinking progress bar indicates time remaining on the effect
  • When multiple, unique crowd control effects are active:
    • An additional icon is displayed for each unique effect type
    • The progress bar represents whichever effect has the longest remaining duration
    • Icons are removed as their associated effect type becomes inactive
  • Indicators are visible to the afflicted player, that player's team and the player who inflicted the crowd control effect

Co-op vs. AI

• Fixed a bug that caused Co-op vs. AI games on Twisted Treeline to award more IP/XP than intended for games under 20 minutes
• Fixed a bug that caused Co-op vs. AI games on Twisted Treeline to award less IP/XP than intended for games over 20 minutes

League System

• Fixed a number of cases where icons on the league view were not showing up correctly

General

• Custom Item Sets
  • Custom item sets can now be created and edited in the summoner profile.
  • Saved item sets appear as an option in the Recommended tab of the in-game item shop
  • Item sets can be associated with a specific champion, multiple champions or all champions
  • Item sets can be associated with a specific map, multiple maps or all maps
• Silence, Taunt, Stun, Fear and Suppress effects have been updated with a new, consistent visual
• Karthus' Requiem should no longer have a major FPS performance hit across all maps.
• Rerolls in the ARAM queue will now prefer champions not being played by a member of the other team.
• The 'Random Champion' option is no longer available in ranked game champion select.
• Players who fail to connect to the game will now be granted the same bonus Magic Resistance/Armor that disconnected players receive.
• Fixed a bug with certain AMD Radeon video cards when playing Dominion.
• Players may now disable moving their champion via right-clicking on the minimap in the options menu.
• Logitech G-Key, LED, and LCD technologies are now supported.
• Fixed: Players joining private custom games in the PvP.net client were not able to submit passwords using the Enter key.
• Adobe AIR no longer uses the Debug Launcher and has been updated to version 3.7. This should result in increased client stability.

Important: Server Maintenance: Patch 3.7 - 5/16/2013
Update: Freljord event is extended

PBE Changes for 5/14

There were two patches today, however not many changes at all. In the last patch (which has not been patched yet) has updated the Taunt CC indicator.

Next PBE: Dominion Tear + RoA changes

Originally Posted by Riot (View RedTracker Source)

For those coming in from a red tracker, this is for Dominion only!

Tear of the Goddess + Manamune: 8 mana per charge (SR: 4)
Archangel's Staff: 10 mana per charge (SR: 6)
Rod of Ages: 40 seconds per charge (SR: 60)

Champions with persistent drain effects (Singed, Amumu, Swain, Karthus) will charge the new Tear extremely quickly, but it should still help other champs out a bit. Feedback is welcome!

Xelnath Gives us an Update on Xerath

If you missed the first part and second part of this topic over the last few days, make sure to take a look at the red tracker for information on why Xelnath is looking at Xerath.

Originally Posted by Riot (View RedTracker Source)

Hey Xelnath, How are tests coming along?

Thanks for asking. I spent the weekend building "Orbital Beam Cannon Xerath".

It was pretty much a huge bust for Xerath. Controlling the orbital beams conclusively felt too much like Viktor R, but with a better theme. It also didn't pay-off in terms of kit cohesion. Orbital beam cannon *is* a cool idea, but its better dedicated to an appropriate, vector-targetting champion.

However, it did create this awesome screenshot of my placeholder artwork.

BEHOLD THE ORBITAL BEAM CANNON SPIDER SWARM:

Server Maintenance: Patch 3.7

Originally Posted by Riot (View RedTracker Source)

On 05/16/13, starting at 00:30 PDT, ranked queues will be disabled in preparation for patch 3.7. At 02:00 PDT, the servers will be shut down and all games currently in progress will end in a draw and stats will not be recorded. We estimate the battlegrounds will be unavailable for 6 hours

Freljord Event Ends Today

Originally Posted by Riot (View RedTracker Source)

The Freljord event officially ends today 5/14 at 11:59 PM Pacific! Don't miss this last opportunity to declare your allegiance to the Avarosan, the Winter's Claw or the Frostguard and permanently unlock a tribal icon. You can review the official rules on how to join a tribe here!

Finish your 10 wins and join a tribe before 11:59 PM Pacific, summoners. Otherwise you'll get left out in the cold!

Important: [Updated] Free Champion Rotation

Champion Spotlight: Ashe, the Frost Archer

Originally Posted by Riot (View RedTracker Source)

With the Freljord event coming to a close, this edition of the Champion Spotlight focuses on one of the leaders of the three tribes. Take aim with a giant frozen arrow and focus your enemies into frigid oblivion as Ashe, the Frost Archer.

With her full suite of crowd-control and utility, Ashe has the ability to harass in lane and deliver high-impact damage complemented by one of the strongest initiates in the game. Ashe demonstrates natural kiting power with Frost Shot, while Volley provides efficient wave clear and Hawkshot's active effect allows her to spot a sneaky gank attempt. Use Enchanted Crystal Arrow to start a fight, or pick off an opponent with a cross-map snipe to end one.

Check out the video for tips, tricks, and sample runes and masteries for Ashe, an ADC with a chilly disposition.

More on Viktor's Augments

Originally Posted by Riot (View RedTracker Source)

Updates!
I have been consulting with the Pony on the issue.
We will be trying out a version where he can 'merge' the augments together by spending more gold.
Obviously this is an iteration and subject to change!

This weeks free champion rotation has been posted on the Korean LoL site. These champions will become free to play starting tomorrow 5/14
UPDATE: Even though its only been 2 weeks, the US version has Lissandra free instead of Syndra

Important: PBE Changes and News for 5/10 - TPA Ezreal Update

Top 20 - Rarest LoL Skins - Part 1

James goes over some of the rarest, hottest and otherwise most sought after skins in the league.

Live Patch was a Small Hotfix - Replays Still in "Alpha" on PBE

Originally Posted by Riot (View RedTracker Source)

It was a small fix for the Air Client. Nothing too snazzy

No new champ. For those wondering when we will see him. Patch 3.7 should be next week (as we know from this news post).  We will probably see the new champ after this patch is finalized.

 TPA Ezreal Update

TPA Ezreal got an update. His bow no longer looks weird with his foam finger. His Q and W now have a light glow on the finger, while his ULT his a nice light bow from the finger

• 0.0.1.13/DATA/Characters/Ezreal/Animations/ezreal_tpa_fingerbone.anm
• 0.0.1.13/DATA/Characters/Ezreal/Ezreal_TPA.skl
• 0.0.1.13/DATA/Characters/Ezreal/Ezreal_TPA.skn
• 0.0.1.13/DATA/Characters/Ezreal/TPAEzreal.blnd
• 0.0.1.13/DATA/Characters/Ezreal/TPAEzreal.manifest

PBE: Heads-up to Corki, Tristana and Kha'zix players - Updated Jump Effects

Originally Posted by Riot (View RedTracker Source)

If you play a champion with a ground-targetted jump effect, you should find that jumping over a wall is slightly easier than it used to be.

Previously, if you clicked on the center of a wall, your jump effect would stop in front of the wall. Now it attempts to be slightly more smart about jumping over walls. In addition, I fixed several timing and control issues.

Please play around and let me know how it feels!

(Other champions affected to a lesser degree: Hecarim, Malphite, Ahri, Gragas, Fizz)

Does this change the fact that Trist can't jump over traps? Please?

Not yet, but CertainlyT is looking into a solution for that.

Update to Custom Item Sets

Originally Posted by Riot (View RedTracker Source)

So just as another quick update, the latest changes to Item Sets will allow you to select multiple champions/maps without ctrl/shift clicking. Clicking one will simply toggle it.

Other Important News

• NEW CHAMPION: Aatrox, the Darkin Blade, revealed
• PBE Changes for 5/9 - Summoner Icons, Morgana Fire Skin Particles, Rammus

Scarizard on Karma

Originally Posted by Riot (View RedTracker Source)

Looking at tackling this in the next patch. Overall, i'm pretty happy with how Karma's been playing on live, with the W2 being the only sore spot. We have a QoL fix for her Soulflare coming in 3.7 (it's not going to pierce minions or anything wacky) but should definitely help the spell feel better.

In the 3.5 Balance Update, we made a change where Inner Flame and Soulflare both would detonate at the area of missile impact instead of auto-locking to the center of the area hit. This was a pretty nice fix for Inner Flame, making it easier to both farm and harass champions near minons (previously, you would Q 3 ranged minions in a line - and instead of exploding and hitting all three, the impact zone would lock onto the left-most or right-most minions, meaning you'd hit two of 3. Feels bad, man.) However, in the case of Soulflare this has kind of been a nerf - you clip more people with that radius than you did before, but it increased the ability for champions hit spot-on to walk out of it due to the zone spawning with them mostly outside of it already. It's small, but it's something we could easily change and have.

Looking to the future, though (as this thread is about W2), i'll be working on and testing an iteration of Renewal that hopefully makes the healing more reliable and useful in the dueling scenarios. She's getting a lot more mantras than before, but with 1 of her 3 choices feeling 'wrong' even when the situational read was correct, it's certainly not helping her play experience.

Originally Posted by Riot (View RedTracker Source)

Aatrox, the Darkin Blade emerges from the shadows of history to slake his thirst for blood and battle. This deft warrior cuts down his foes and drains their life force with his blade. Aatrox's abilities cost health to cast.

Blood Well (Passive) Aatrox stores a portion of his abilities' health cost in the Blood Well, which slowly drains to a base amount while he is out of combat. When Aatrox loses all of his health, he draws on the Blood Well and recovers the amount of health stored.

Dark Flight Aatrox rises into the air and slams into a target location. Enemies within the impact zone are knocked up and take damage, while nearby enemies take damage.

Blood Thirst Aatrox heals himself on every third attack. Activating Blood Thirst toggles Blood Price. Blood Price: Every third attack now deals bonus damage instead of healing Aatrox. Aatrox loses health based on the bonus damage dealt.

Blades of Torment Aatrox fires a line attack that damages and slows enemies caught in its path. Aatrox is refunded a part of the health cost if Blades of Torment strikes an enemy champion.

Massacre Upon activation, Aatrox instantly damages enemies in an area around him. For the duration of Massacre, Aatrox gains bonus attack speed and range. Massacre has no health cost.

Gameplay

Aatrox is a basic attack dependent melee champion who excels as a duelist and team fighter. His built-in sustain and escape mechanics make him an ideal fit for top lane.

---

Top-lane

The sustain from Blood Thirst keeps Aatrox's health topped off, allowing him to farm throughout the laning phase. Aatrox excels as a duelist, able to switch to Blood Price for heavy burst damage when trading with his lane opponent. After the exchange, Aatrox can toggle back to Blood Thirst to top off his health. When he's ready to finish the job, Massacre adds significantly to an already potent burst combo.

If the lane isn't going Aatrox's way, the knock-up effect from Dark Flight can be used to set up ganks for his jungler. Or, if Aatrox has bullied his enemy out of lane, he can push aggressively, safe in the knowledge that the disengage from Dark Flight and Blades of Torment's slow will aid his escape when enemies come charging. Even when things go totally wrong, Blood Well offers a second chance to secure kills or make a quick exit.

---

Team fights

Aatrox's mobility gives him an innate ability to pressure enemy carries in team fights. Blood Thirst grants Aatrox plenty of sustain as he tangos with enemy initiators and tanks. When he sees an opportunity to reach an enemy carry, Dark Flight closes the gap and allows the punishment to begin. When Aatrox is in deep, the area of effect burst and extra range from Massacre, and slow on Blades of Torment prevent high-value targets from escaping. All the while the consistent healing from Blood Thirst and resurrection effect from Blood Well keep him alive long enough to cut through enemy squishies.

If Aatrox's team is on the defensive, a well-aimed Blades of Torment can slow multiple enemies and open a window for retreating allies to slip away. Alternately, he can kite enemies with Dark Flight, and create an opportunity for the remainder of his team to turn and counter-initiate. If Aatrox is focused, Blood Thirst's sustain and the Blood Well keep him in the fight, giving his teammates an opportunity to cut through foes as he resurrects and delivers the killing blow.

Story

Aatrox is a legendary warrior, one of only five that remain of an ancient race known as the Darkin. He wields his massive blade with grace and poise, slicing through legions in a style that is hypnotic to behold. With each foe felled, Aatrox's seemingly living blade drinks in their blood, empowering him and fueling his brutal, elegant campaign of slaughter.

The earliest tale of Aatrox is as old as recorded history. It tells of a war between two great factions remembered only as the Protectorate and the Magelords. Over time, the Magelords won a series of crushing victories, leaving them on the brink of obliterating their sworn enemy forever. On the day of their final confrontation, the Protectorate army found themselves outnumbered, exhausted, and poorly equipped. They braced for inevitable defeat.

Just when all hope seemed lost, Aatrox appeared among the ranks of the Protectorate. With but a few words, he urged the soldiers to fight to the last before throwing himself into battle. His presence inspired the desperate warriors. At first, they could only watch in awe as this unknown hero cleaved through their enemies, his body and blade moving in unison as if one being. Soon, the warriors found themselves imbued with a potent thirst for battle. They followed Aatrox into the fray, each fighting with the furious strength of ten until they had won a most unlikely victory.

Aatrox vanished after that battle, but the Protectorate army's newfound fury did not. Their surprising triumph led to many more until they were able to finally return home victorious. Their countrymen hailed them as heroes, but though they had saved their entire civilization from destruction, darkness lingered in the mind of each warrior. Something within them had changed. Over time, their memories of battle faded, only to be replaced with a grim revelation: their acts of heroism were, in fact, brutal atrocities committed by their own hands.

Tales like these appear among the myths of many cultures. If they are all to be believed, Aatrox's presence has changed the course of some of the most important wars in history. Though these stories remember him as a savior in dark times, Aatrox's true legacy may be a world filled with conflict and strife.

"Some fight for honor, some fight for glory. It matters only that you fight." - Aatrox

Don't Miss - An ancient mystery in Runeterra

If you missed this today, or only checked it once, make sure to take a second look. A lot more information/ lore was posted. 

The First Demonstone has been Obtained.

Update; It looks like this may only be tied to this new thread.

Originally Posted by Riot (View RedTracker Source)

Summoners, watchers of secrets, harbingers of chaos...

The mighty Geeves has left to explore the world on urgent Live Realm business. In the ensuing void, I have infiltrated the tower of balance he staunchly guarded. I now walk among the inhabitants as one of them. They know not what I seek or why. In his haste... he left the precious artifact behind.

... soon I shall unleash its power to break the shackles holding another back. However, it is not what you think. Be not distracted by the explorer's unimportant tales of a mundane wanderer. That miscreant cares nothing for power or plans.

For those of you who do... look soon to the European West.

An ancient mystery in Runeterra - New Champion Tease Starting

Originally Posted by Riot (View RedTracker Source)

Hey, everyone. Ezreal here.

Normally, I wouldn't ask for help. I've come across a lot of interesting relics in my travels, but never anything like these.

I've gathered everything on my desk for all of you to take a look. The important thing is that these relics were found all over Runeterra, and they date from different and completely unconnected eras. The thing is… they all share one similarity: they show a dark figure, clearly inhuman, wielding a jagged blade. 

This is a mystery I'm not sure I want solved. From what I can gather so far, this dark figure has been at the center of many bloody conflicts and tales of war.

What do you think? Who is this figure, and what role has he played in Runeterra's history? 
Oh, and if you really want to hear some of the stories about these things… I'll tell them, but some of them aren't pretty.

Update to the Picture

Riot is really going all out this time. People noticed the picture of Ezreal and Lux, Ezreal responded to this on the forums, and then updated the picture to what's above.

Originally Posted by Riot (View RedTracker Source)

That picture on the bottom left... is that Lux?

Uh oh.

Don't pay any attention to that sketch of me and whoever that is, it's not important. I didn't mean to leave it out.

I'll justÂ… put it away.

More Information - Stained Glass Window

Originally Posted by Riot (View RedTracker Source)

Take a look at this. It's a stained glass window from Demacia.

Don't ask me how I got it. I'm going to give it back, I promise. I'm borrowing it for research, and they'll never know it's missing. Demacians never stop talking about light, so what do they really need a window for, anyway?

Look closely. See the shape in the center with the wings and the jagged sword? That's the figure I've been seeing everywhere.

This is the first artifact that really got me thinking. It's not that old, and it can't really go back more than a few generations at most. I asked around, and nobody knows what the figure is or if he has a name. They all agreed on one thing though: whoever this figure is, he's clearly someone worth remembering to be immortalized like this.

But why does he appear in so many other places? So many of these artifacts are ancient, and some are from lost civilizations so old they don't even have names.

How is that possible?

More information - Statuette from Noxus.

Originally Posted by Riot (View RedTracker Source)

This statuette is from Noxus. 

Yes, Noxus. You know how I feel about Noxians, but their city is full of history. It'll take more than dark magic, guards with massive axes, and a creepy bird guy to keep ME from exploring the most important places in Valoran. 

Noxus is full of these kinds of statuettes. Usually, they're made as tributes to the nation's greatest heroes, but this one doesn't look like any Noxian war hero I've ever heard of. I know of plenty, too, believe me: pick up any Noxian book and it's probably a way-too-lengthy chronicle of some hero's life, conquests, and the size of their weapon. I wouldn't have looked twice at this one if I hadn't recognized the figure. 

Here's the thing that's really nagging me… what's Noxus doing with statues of a figure that shows up in Demacian art, too?

More Information - Books and Poems

Originally Posted by Riot (View RedTracker Source)

When I noticed the similarities between the Demacian stained glass and the Noxian statue, I had to know more. I pulled as many books as I could out of the library at Piltover's academy. There are some sections there restricted to everyone but academy graduates. I could have gotten in on my own, but I didn't want to burn any bridges, so I had Jayce help me out. Everyone loves that guy. 

The smaller one is a book of Noxian war poems. Most of what's inside is standard Noxian military fare, but the blade on the cover captured my attention. 

The big one right here is an old book of fables and stories. Not all of them are entirely true, but one of them caught my eye. The character in the story is an arrogant general leading his warriors into battle and winning with ease. He has the last of his enemies cornered, but… you know what they say about pride before a fall.

A great warrior—that's right, our dark figure—appears in the battle. The arrogant general's enemies, men on the verge of death, are inspired by his presence. “They rose from their knees as though he'd lit their very blood aflame,” it says. “The shamed general watched as his men were cleaved by an army that had begged for mercy just moments before. His enemies had become murderers and butchers. As they closed on him, the general could not be certain whether they were still men at all.”

More Information - Urn

Originally Posted by Riot (View RedTracker Source)

Shurima's been gone for centuries. It's hardly anything but dust now, but the ruins that remain show a massive civilization that once thrived in the desert. I have no idea what happened to the empire. It seems like it vanished without a trace… but that's a whole different mystery. 

I found this urn in a tomb there. From the look of the place and some of the carvings on the walls, it was the final resting place of a great Shuriman warlord who led a battle against impossible odds. He and his men should have gone out in a blaze of glory, but somehow, they won. Just a handful of warriors defeated thousands of enemies who rose against them. 

It's no wonder they'd immortalize that kind of victory on the walls of a tomb, but what is this dark figure doing on the urn? What part did he play in this battle? I just don't get it.

More Information - Dagger

Originally Posted by Riot (View RedTracker Source)

You can carve plenty of interesting things out of the Freljord's ice. That place has always been a battleground, so I wouldn't have thought twice about digging up a dagger like this one if it weren't for two things. One: check out the etching in the metal. Look closely enough and you'll see the same serrated design found in the rest of these relics. Two, well… the dagger's hilt is carved from human bone. 

Here's where it gets more interesting. The tribesmen of that region say the figure on the blade is a legend, a “warrior-savior” who appeared during a battle against a hated rival tribe several years ago. They'd almost lost the battle, but the warrior appeared and led them to a crushing victory over their enemies. They left no one alive, but when the tribesmen went to celebrate with their champion, he'd already vanished. They say that - in his memory - they took the bones of their enemies as trophies. 

It sounds like a similar story to the one from the Shuriman tomb. Both tell of a warrior who appeared and turned the tide of a great battle… but at a gruesome cost.

More Information - Ionian Woodblock

Originally Posted by Riot (View RedTracker Source)

This Ionian woodblock was carved long before the war with Noxus. They're rare nowadays, but they're always more or less the same. They all depict things of beauty: landscapes, monks in meditation, the stars and the night sky, all of that “enlightenment” stuff they're always on about. All of them... except this one.

I've never seen anything like it. It's that same dark figure with that same blade - and the worst thing - I don't think those red stains are ink…

More Information - Random Page

Originally Posted by Riot (View RedTracker Source)

I got lucky with this one. I found it stuck between the pages of that huge book. It's not the same paper, and it's pretty damaged. Maybe someone got to this research before me, but they didn't get as far as I did. 

In the image, it looks like these men are revering a statue of the dark figure. The statue itself looks like it's half-unearthed. It might not even be something they built, but something they found. 

What is it about this figure that drove these people to be so devoted to him?

More Information - Coins and Pendant

Originally Posted by Riot (View RedTracker Source)

I won these coins off a certain Card Master whose name I won't say… and whose real name I don't even know. I'd lost every single hand up until this one, and the one time I beat him, of course he'd bet completely useless old coins. I can't spend them anywhere in Valoran. At least I've found a “use” for them now. It took me a while to realize it, but that's the same jagged blade on these old coins. 

Finally, there's this pendant to the right. It's very, very old, and I have no idea where it originally came from. That's the dark figure's face right there in the metal. Whoever he is, he's been around for a really long time. 

That's all I've collected so far. So… what do you think? Who is this figure, and what does his presence mean? 

I know one thing: I never want to meet him

 Zaun Lab Bot Leaks a Photo

You may remember him from the Zac release. He now leaked us the full picture that Ezreal tried to hide!

Zerglinator makes a good point that this sounds almost tied to the lore update of Tryndamere. In which it says "But the dark figure did not even lift his blade, and instead gave Tryndamere a knowing smile as he withdrew into the shadows. That was the last time the barbarian ever saw his nemesis." In this teaser post, we have ": they show a dark figure, clearly inhuman, wielding a jagged blade." and ", this dark figure has been at the center of many bloody conflicts and tales of war.". However when Ezreal was asked about this, he had this to say.

Lets hear your speculation of whats to come?

Important: PBE Changes for 5/7 - Update to Custom Item Sets, New TPA Shen and Mundo Sounds, and More
Important: Full Freljord AMA Roundup

Several "System-Level" Redesigns being Considered for TT

Originally Posted by Riot (View RedTracker Source)

I'm not in-tune with the actual beta status, but in terms of design there's definitely a lot of holes that need to be addressed. Now that Howling Abyss is done, there's several systems-levels redesigns that we want to consider for the upcoming patches.

Heimerdinger Once Again Confirmed Next Non-Art Rework

Not really new, as we have been told this a few times already, but here it is once more:

Originally Posted by Riot (View RedTracker Source)

Well there has been a lot of talk on Sion, and a little on Viktor, (who honestly just needs the ability to continuously upgrade his hextech core to make it better and better and he will be viable AF) but not much talk on Heimy. Is Heimy next up on the re-work list?

Next on the non-art list, yes.