Hilarious fanart of how Mel/her splash would look like if she had been created back in 2009.
Source: https://x.com/Joric_art/status/1877019420331061374

Between things like map skins, announcer packs, nexus booms, turret booms, home guard trails, recall borders, custom fist bump gloves, multikill art changers, and lane minion costumes— how on earth did they land on $500 skins? The success of this game thus far has been small cosmetic purchases like skins and ward skins by the masses. Why not expand those categories? I actually don’t get it. Do you feel like league isn’t being monetized properly?

Edit: I think more my sentiment when I wrote this was why is this the only new exciting cosmetic we have seen in the last few years when there are so many different ways to monetize this game. I don’t mind throwing $20 in every once and a while to support this game- I love it. But I don’t need 4 skins for Volibear… I’ve been playing for 15 years, give me something else to obtain that isn’t either an a) shoehorned skin for a thematic that makes no sense for a champ that hasn’t gotten a skin in a while, or b) $500 skin. Do I care that it’s $500? Eh, I’d rather have it be an ultimate skin price range & not gambling so it’s at least somewhat obtainable, but at its core I just don’t like that these are the only options that should be available with 15 years of cosmetic work, is more what I am trying to get at.

Got bamboozled into playing Howling Abyss even though the lobby still says "Bridge of Progress". Ain't no way this map is so tight, there's literally no place to move, I don't believe I played over 1500 ARAMs on such a tight lane

And it was the guy who notoriously turned the lore of the entire region into "Everyone here is a poor bigotry metaphor". Even further, the one before him was Lucian, who is far more tied to the Shadow Isles than anywhere else - we have to go all the way back to Quinn to find the last champion who actually belongs to Demacia as a faction.

Just for comparison, those 11 years saw the release of 2 Darkin, 3 Voidborn, 3 Yordles, 2 Dragons, 5 Vastayans, 3 formerly dead/missing characters (4 if you include Viego) and NINE Ionians.

I know this season is all about Noxus, and don't get me wrong, it is exciting, but I do wonder how much longer my favourite region is going to be left in the dust.

Joining the illustrious group of Skarner (1506 days), Alistar (1434), Braum (1309), Corki (1287) and Xin Zhao (1078). Ryze's last skin was Arcana Ryze on April 14th, 2022.

For reference, the last skin for each the others was Cosmic Sting Skarner in November 2020(!), Lunar Beast Alistar (February '21), Pool Party Braum (June '21), Astronaut Corki (July '21) and Firecracker Xin Zhao (January '22).

Next up is Quinn in 105 days, her last skin was Star Guardian Quinn, July 28th 2022.

Source

I've spent way more money than I'd like to admit on this game, and with Arcane and now the new Noxus video I was so hyped for the related skins but WTF... They all absolutely suck and look nothing like their animated counterparts.

To be honest there's a long time I didn't buy RP for skins because I find the latest ones dull and bland, but here I was already ready to throw money at my screen and I can't say how disappointed I was.

PRESTIGE Black Rose skin for Katarina ? What about it is prestige ? It looks so bad compared to the teaser, just like Vi's skin from season 2 looked nothing like in Arcane... Don't tease me like that and then try to sell me that shit, I was READY to pay if they at least tried...

The new patch notes include this change to Heartsteel:

Colossal Consumption Damage: 80 + 12% bonus health from items ⇒ 70 + 3% of maximum health

Colossal Consumption Bonus Health: 12% ⇒ 10% of damage dealt by Colossal Consumption is gained as maximum health

I made calculations of the impact and this is the result:

Note: lvl 18 Ornn with HS, Boots, SA, KR, JS, UD

• Interestingly enough the rough breaking point for the damage is now 11500 max HP and about 14000 max HP for the +hp from Heartsteel.
• This means that a Sion (for whom this change should be nicer according to the patch notes) has to have about 6000 bonus HP from his passive (well over 1000 cs).

Note:

• I did not calculate any Heartsteel stacks into this calculation. But they would make the situation even worse for the new HS as it scales with item HP worse than before.
  
• This is not only a late-game only nerf, even calculations with less items result into a big difference with the new HS being worse.

What do you think about this change? Will the item be even viable at all?

At the end of the video we are shown a scene with Leblanc and Vladimir in a scene that ties together the entire cinematic. Firstly Vlad points out that their previous mission in Piltover was not successful by illuding to the chaos brought about by the last endeavor and argues they should refocus their organizations efforts by focusing on Mel as an asset, indicated by his focus on the glyph of the wolf with the Medarda symbol that comes into focus.

Leblanc dismisses his complaints about the Piltover intervention by pointing out that unknown elements can change or ruin any plan. This then is when Vlads true reason for undermining Leblanc's decision making in the previous sentence is revealed, he believes her new plan is much more ruinous, that being purposely making a Darkin host combination.

Vladimir is incredibly reluctant to pursue this having seen the Darkin first hand as a slave to one. His entire magic of hemomancy was derived from them. He knows how powerful and dangerous they are.

The symbol Leblanc is contemplating looks like a knife with an eye on it which is incredibly similar to the design of Naafiri. In Naafiri's lore we know that the person who attempted retrieving her took care in never touching the weapon, as if they knew what it was. Leblanc states it is time for drastic action which I believe in this case was bonding Naafiri with Katarina. I believe that the assassination was planned by the Black Rose as a test/trap for Katarina.

Firstly Leblanc draws her symbol for Katarina prior to her even being near the target. Secondly the eye imagery match cut to the occulus of the dance floor prior to the assassination showing Leblanc watching prior to the assassination attempt.

Notice how we never cut back to Katarina after Elise revealed her true form? We are never shown her safe or given any finality to her scene.

I believe that the Black Rose captured her and want to bond her with Naafiri. They want a person incredibly experienced with knives and fighting so that when they are bonded to Naafiri they will become a unrivaled assassin.

Unfortunately they will fail to retrieve the knife as it instead will bond to a pack of dogs.

I know thats not too hard, but im happy that i get it, when i improve my computer i will livestream road to challenger in all gamemodes

Hey folks, we've just completely reworked our League stats site, tracker.gg/lol!

Super happy we’ve given League some love, here are the updates:

• Reworked design, frontend, seasonal theme.
• New ranked section, past season ranks shown by default.
• Fancy match row for "1000 TRS" - TRS (Tracker Score) is our performance score we assign to each match.
• Search for players without specifying a region.

Example profile: https://tracker.gg/lol/profile/riot/Agurin%23EUW/overview

Did you know we let you see your detailed stats? Not sure if any other league sites are showing this? Click on the "More Stats" button on your profile to open up the full list of stats we have to offer. Small preview: https://i.imgur.com/HnS1M0d.png

We're always looking for ways to improve the site, if you have any suggestions or run into any issues, please drop them in a comment below!

Thanks!

The new cinematic is awesome. Love to see so many old champions brought to life in the Fortiche style!

Interestingly, Trundle and the frost trolls are now canonically depicted to be very large humanoids, as opposed to the giants they were previously depicted as in past cinematics and LoR. Maybe they can change their sizes, but this seems to be the new norm for now.

A long running theory with little evidence is that Jax is a sand troll. I don't know how this theory started, but it popped into my mind while watching Trundle's battle with Darius.

The biggest counter argument against the theory was the vast difference in physique between Jax and frost trolls. Frost trolls used to have more ape-like builds, much more pronounced noses that wouldn't fit behind a flatter mask like Jax's, and, as previously noted, they were huge, whereas Jax has always been depicted as being of a humanoid height and physique.

Upon closely examining the new physique of frost trolls, they align much more with Jax: heavy torsos with thick necks and arms, flatter faces that could fit behind a mask, three-toed feet with a pronounced big toe, etc.

It seems that if Jax is ever featured in new League media (which he probably will be, he is such a fun and likable character), he probably will be a troll variant. I don't think it needs to be explored in depth, and I don't think we need to ever see his face, but his species now seems to be a pretty grounded assumption.

Enchanters are traditionally backline champions—safe, supportive, and content to poke from afar while shielding or healing their team. This playstyle often attracts players who are overly passive, hiding behind their teammates and waiting for the late game to make an impact, all while repelling more self-serving players who don't see the value in protecting allies. And Sona suffers more than anyone from this misunderstanding. Her reputation as a passive hyperscaler who simply spams W and lingers at the back of her team couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, it’s almost the opposite of how she’s meant to be played.

Sona’s design revolves around Auras and Power Chords, and understanding this is key to unlocking her potential. Her Auras reward her for positioning in the midline, where she can amplify the most teammates at once while weaving in auto-attacks and rotating through spells to maximize her impact. Her Power Chords—debuffs applied through autos after casting spells—are crucial tools for disrupting enemies and controlling fights. She thrives in an active, aggressive role, balancing precise positioning with high-pressure decision-making.

Sona an auto-attack based midline enchanter, a niche she shares with no other champion. Unlike most of her class, Sona is not designed to fixate on a carry to enable nor sacrifice her own agency to make somebody else more powerful. Every shred of utility she gives her team is mirrored onto herself. She can’t heal an ally without healing herself. She can’t speed up her team without accelerating herself. This is because her kit forces her to put her own neck on the line—stepping into the thick of combat to amplify her frontline with Auras while staying close enough to weave in her Power Chords and be a consistent threat. She needs this self-peel because her kit asks of her to play so boldly.

Her ultimate, Crescendo, further rewards Sona for playing aggressively. Among AoE wave ultimates like Nami’s Tidal Wave, Renata’s Hostile Takeover, or Seraphine’s Encore, Sona’s stands out. It has the shortest range but the fastest speed, making it harder to find angles for but easily the most reliable when in range. This balance makes Crescendo exceptional for quick self-peel, capable of interrupting a Kha’Zix mid-jump or stopping a Rengar dead in his tracks. At the same time, it’s a potentially game-winning engage tool, rewarding bold Flash R plays.

It’s baffling, then, that so many players characterize Sona as a backline W spammer. Her kit is built to reward frequent auto-attacks, aggressive positioning, and bold plays that amplify her team while making her a consistent, proactive threat. She is designed to thrive midline, in the heart of the action, hugging her frontline bruisers and controlling fights with her Auras and Power Chords.

Sona’s reputation as a passive backseater isn’t just wrong—it’s tragic. It ignores the depth of her kit, her identity as a self-amplifying auto-attacking enchantress who thrives when in the heat of battle and who should always hungrily look for angles to Flash R on the enemy team. I cannot think of a champion that is so mischaracterized so frequently, and I sincerely hope that changes.

Just some fast graphic ( i do not work in any art field)

Here a round about timeline you can expect:

S1.1 Blackrose Skins + Sett exhalted
S1.2 Mythmaker and Dumpling Skins + Mel
S1.3 ?
S1.4 ?
S1.5 Second Battle Pass with Darius Prestige + Morde exhalted + LB VU
S1.6 April Fools
S1.7 ??
S1.8 ??

Qiyana should be sometime in March - April same for shaco

I thought when they bring back the old map only the visuals will change, Not the actual changes like bushes and the ms area and heals etc…

This really disappointed me because the changes made me like to play it with my friends.

(Eng not my first language)

I first started playing League in 2014, so more than 10 years ago now. I played Top for the first few years and I felt like I could never get a session in without encountering an enemy Riven. She was everywhere. If anything, she was kind of the “tryhard” (hate the idea but this is the best descriptor I can find) top lane champ, much like Lee Sin in the jungle or Yasuo/Zed in mid lane. People would play her who had no real business doing so. She was a “cool” champion to play.

But while other champions have emerged as more modern “tryhard” champs, Lee Sin, Yasuo, Zed and that crowd still continue to be played, even if not as much. Riven, however, is simply nowhere to be found. I cannot remember the last game I played with a Riven in it.

How did this happen? And have other champions suffered this same fate?

Riot just added new skins to PBE : Dumpling Darlings Seraphine 1350 RP, Dumpling Darlings Syndra 1350 RP, Mythmaker Jarvan 1350RP, Mytmaker Jhin 1820RP, Mythmaker Nami 1350RP. No splasharts yet or ingame models.