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CHEMTECH DRAKE, JUNGLE CHANGES, AND IN-GAME COORDINATION IMPROVEMENTS HIGHLIGHT LEAGUE OF LEGENDS' PRESEASON 2023

2023 season's preparations exhaustive and filled with Chemtech Drake and Jungle changes.

October 3, 2022

5 Min Read

[This unedited press release is made available courtesy of Game Developer and its partnership with notable game PR-related resource Games Press]

Riot Games |

Today Riot Games revealed to players some of the changes coming to League of Legends during this year's Preseason. Preseason marks the end of the ranked season for players and signals a transition into the next season of the game. During this time, the team introduces some of the game's most disruptive changes for the year. In Preseason 2023, League of Legends will be introducing multiple changes to some of the coordination-driven in-game systems, as well as the jungle role. These changes will be tested on PBE (Public Beta Environment) for six weeks before making their way to the live server in patch 12.22. 

NEW CHEMTECH DRAKE, SOUL, AND RIFT

After a brief break, the Chemtech Drake is back with a new design and thematic. In this newest iteration, the Chemtech Drake will now grant a buff that gives tenacity and heal/shield strength when defeated. When claiming a Chemtech Soul, players will be granted bonus damage and damage reduction when below a certain threshold of health.

The Chemtech Rift now features the presence of Zaunite chemicals throughout the map, mutating the jungle plants in different ways:

  • Blast Cone plants will now blast players twice as far

  • Stim Fruit plants will now produce Honey Fruits that will no longer slow players when consumed. Additionally, they will grant a small bonus shield

  • Stalker's Bloom plants now grant movespeed in the direction they reveal, including an extra range around the plant itself, and reduce revealed wards' health

JUNGLE CHANGES

During Preseason 2023, League of Legends is introducing some changes to the Jungle role to make it more approachable to newcomers and less stressful to veterans. 

  • Avatars: Traditional starting Jungle items have been replaced with new companions that will evolve as the game progresses called Avatar . Players can evolve their new pals by giving them treats, which are acquired by killing champions as monsters, as well as slowly over time. 

    • Salamander: Defensive option, provides a shield and tenacity.

    • Fox: Mobility option, provides utility and movespeed.

    • Cat: Aggressive option, provides slows and extra damage.

  • Camp Range Indicators: In an effort to make the jungle more welcoming to players unfamiliar with the role, we’ll be adding visual leashing indicators that will show how far camps can be pulled before their patience starts diminishing. We’re also decreasing the distance camps can be pulled, so no more having to stand on the perfect pixel in order to hyper-optimize your jungle clears.

  • Recommended Pathing Options: Each champion will now have Jungle patching recommendations or their first clear (or stop on the map) to help players newer to the role find their footing. These "first clear paths" were determined by data from high-skilled Jungle players on their high Master champions across the globe. Pathing recommendations will be based on which routes most often led these players to a win. 

COMMUNICATION TOOLS

Communication is an essential part of League of Legends and is crucial for effective teamwork between your allies. This year, we are doubling the amount of pings to allow players to better coordinate their plays. We're also adding an additional ping wheel exclusive for vision related callouts like "Vision Cleared" and "Need Vision." 

Additionally, players will now have access to an objective voting system. Players will now be able to ping an alive or soon-to-be alive objective to begin a vote asking  all allied players to choose whether they'd like to take or give up an objective. 

Offscreen pings will also help players understand the direction of their allies' pings even when they're not directly on-screen. 

ADDITIONAL PRESEASON CHANGES: 

  • Vision System Updates

  • Top Lane Changes

  • Items

  • Loadout Recommendations

For more information on Preseason 2023 and the upcoming changes, please check out leagueoflegends.com

ABOUT LEAGUE OF LEGENDS

Released in 2009, League of Legends is Riot Games' debut title and one of the most-played competitive games in the world, engaging millions of players daily in 20+ officially-supported languages. A mainstay of the MOBA genre, in League, two teams of five powerful champions face off to destroy each other's base in a game that blends the speed, strategy, and intensity of an RTS with immersive RPG elements. 

 

League continues to evolve year over year in gameplay and storytelling, delivering fresh new experiences like K/DA, immersive stories like Star Guardian and Spirit Blossom, and technical balance changes to ensure competitive integrity. As the basis for the Runeterra universe, League champions have been featured in music, comic books, spinoff games, collectible figurines, board games, TV series, and more. The annual League of Legends World Championship is the most widely viewed esport tournament, and is among the largest and most popular sporting events in the world. 

 

Visit leagueoflegends.com for more information and follow @leagueoflegends on social media.

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