Lyte on Voice chat
[hide]In a high profile reddit thread discussing if voice chat has a place as a default feature in League of Legends, Lyte jumped in clear up a few misconceptions floating around the thread:
"There's a lot of misconceptions about voice chat, so hopefully going to clear some of them up here.
First, just comparing your anecdotal experiences to other games is not valuable. We (and other companies) have done research on voice chat, and one of the first things you realize is that there is a huge difference between:
-
Opt-in voice chat (so you have to use a 3rd party) versus default voice chat (available for everyone in-game)
-
Voice chat between strangers versus between friends
In our research, (which you can read here ), players in voice chat showed 126% more toxicity in text chat. Players in voice chat with strangers also received 47% more reports compared to players not in voice chat.
In a study by Ohio State University (which you can read here), they show that female players receive 300% more harassment compared to male players just for being heard as a female voice.
However, our research does agree that voice chat between friends is a great experience. When you think to your stories of 3rd party voice apps and why they are more positive, it is because of something called selection bias. Players that generally want to voice with strangers may have a different personality and be more open to chatting with strangers, so they actually go out of their way to download a 3rd party voice app. However, if you made voice chat available by default in games, the behavior would not be the same at all and would match all the research above suggesting that it would increase toxicity in games.
More and more, games studios are doing this type of research which is why you see newer games have limited voice chat that is usually tied to just friends or premades, and quite a few AAA games no longer have default voice chat between strangers."
He continued:
"To put it simply, all companies should be learning from the lessons of other companies. To create and test everything yourself would be extremely time consuming and not an efficient use of resources.
The whole point of generalizable research is that you can do research that generalizes to other contexts, and so we can understand how things work across different contexts be it games or platforms. There's very, very little chance that voice chat would miraculously be different behavior in League compared to all the studies out there."
In response to a claim that "99%" of players would prefer voice chat as the default communication in league and that "personally-held beliefs" from the team are holding the idea back, Lyte replied:
"Well, we know that it isn't the case that 99% of players want voice chat as a default option for League of Legends. Reddit isn't really a representative sample of the overall playerbase.
I wouldn't say we have personally-held beliefs either–if we did, we probably wouldn't have bothered doing the research. We did the research to determine what the impact of voice chat was because although there are anecdotes and stories everywhere, very few companies truly understood the impact of voice chat on games and all the nuances associated with it.
If we do voice chat, we'd just design it differently than other games have done so in the past. We'd encourage voice chat with friends, make it harder to voice chat with strangers unless both parties opted-in, etc."[/hide]
Minor Hits on upcoming Ashe changes
[hide]Meddler popped on to boards to briefly comment on the Ashe changes Riot Repertoir and himself have mentioned over the past few weeks.
When asked about some of the things they experimented with but didn't necessarily end up using , Meddler noted:
"Short version: We looked at a number of different ways for crit to affect Ashe's play (in particular, should crits do the same thing on all champs) and for her to slow targets via her basic attacks.
The longer version I'll leave to Repertoir who'd I'd imagine will talk about the changes in detail once they're close to release (he's the designer who's been working on Ashe, amongst other things)."
When asked if Ashe's R will be changed at all, Meddler noted:
"Odds are extremely high we'll leave the ult as is (or slightly tweaked). Also pretty likely the gold generation passive will be removed in order to add more interactive power somewhere."[/hide]
Urgot Rework still planned, Sion Level Project [hide]With Urgot sittin' pretty after several changes in patch 5.5, Meddler commented on the boards they they are still planning an extensive rework in the future (which has the plan since last year):
"We're still planning to rework him. There's the low counterplay/binary performance you mentioned plus his passive lacks significant gameplay, his ult's not a good fit with the rest of his kit much of the time and there's a bunch of thematic space he's not taking full advantage of"
As for the expected scope of this project, he noted:
"Odds are very high he'll be a Sion level project. As far as really large gameplay reworks go though Poppy's almost certainly going to come out before Urgot."[/hide]
Meddler on Azir, Kha'Zix, Lee Sin, and Rumble
[hide]Meddler also hoped around a number of other threads, sharing his thoughts on the balance of several other champions.
In a thread asking about Azir, he noted:
"We're currently letting him sit as he is for a while, to assess both the impact of the 5.5 buffs and to see how the changing state of the game (tank jungler return and Athene's buffs) affects him.
As far as win rate goes that's a data point that needs to be treated with caution, particularly on an extremely high mastery curve champion like Azir. A 46% average win rate for example could be associated with a champion that's weak or with a champion that's balanced (or even strong), whose average performance statistically gets dragged down by players new to that champ.
As far as being able to be picked into any team comp that's something we'd like to avoid where possible. It suggests a champ lacks sufficiently clear strengths and weaknesses which results in a champ that gets picked all the time if they're strong, leading to games that feel very similar to each other."
As for the current state of Kha'Zix, Meddler replied:
"We think he's a bit weak and from memory he's on the list of champions the balance team are planning to look at, see if there are some appropriate buffs we can give him. Not sure where he is priority wise though, so can't give you an ETA off the top of the head."
When asked if they have balance plans for Lee Sin in the immediate future, Meddler noted:
"No current plans, he's not crowding out other jungle picks now."
As for current thoughts on Rumble's balance, Meddler commented:
"Don't think we've got any current plans, so most likely just balance adjustments as needed. He's a champ we've been watching in case he's too strong for a long time, doesn't seem to be too oppressive for now though."[/hide]
INTRODUCING CHROMA PACKS [hide]Here's Riot Roadmap with more information on the upcoming Chroma Packs -
"You’ve asked for more colors, and now League’s getting more colorful. Chroma packs roll out with the next PBE update as our exploration into further expressions of your style and personality in League of Legends.
Where champion skins offer alternate fantasies from a champion’s base thematic, chromas serve up a way to further personalize specific champs or skins. As a re-imagining of the original champion or skin’s look, chromas allow you to make a champion or skin your own.
A chroma pack includes three chromas that modify either a champion’s base or one of their skins. Each of these initial packs will be 590 RP, and if you need the champion or skin, they’ll be included in the bundle price you see in the store. Once you’ve unlocked a chroma pack in the bundles tab of the store, the chromas appear during champion select under the skins tab linked to the base champion or skin.
We’re testing one champion base chroma pack (Lucian) and one skin chroma pack (Dragonfist Lee Sin) to start, and we’re listening for your feedback. If you still have questions, check out the chroma pack FAQ here! Let us know what you think of the new chromas on PBE, and we’ll see you on the battlefield wearing a slick new suit!
-Riot Roadmap[/hide]
Frequently asked questions about chromas packs
[hide]Chroma packs are brand new, and there’s no way we could know your questions ahead of time, but that didn’t stop us from answering a few of the ones that came up around the office. Learn more about League’s newest way to share your excitement for your favorite champs and skins below.
Why can’t I earn chromas or buy them with IP?
All options are still open in the future, including earning additional chromas through champion mastery, but we’re sticking with RP-only at launch, in line with our historical approach to cosmetic content.
Why do I have to buy three chromas in a pack instead of just one at a time?
Historically, our lowest tier of skins were priced at 390 RP. Over the years, we’ve improved skins to the point that the “recolor” tier no longer reflects the polish and quality of our newer offerings.
But despite the improvement in visuals and the deeper expression chroma packs allow (linking color choices to a theme that re-imagines the original scheme), a single chroma would slot into our pricing at that 390 RP level. If we offered them individually, three would run 1170 RP.
Instead, we’ve chosen to package three of them in a pack for 590 RP, which we feel offers higher value while not skimping on quality or consistency.
Do you feel you’d be happy with the purchase if you could pick up a single chroma for 390 RP? Let us know, and leave us your other feedback on chroma packs, too.
Why are some chroma packs more expensive than others?
All chroma packs are actually the same price at launch: 590 RP. When you go to buy a chroma pack, though, the bundle tech actually recognizes whether or not you have the champion or skin and includes them in the price if you don’t. It’s meant to be a convenience, so that you don’t have go to two different parts of the store if you’re just trying to browse for chromas.
TLDR: Price includes champion or skin if you don’t own it.
Can I buy chroma packs in champion select?
No. Unlike skins, you’ll have to unlock chroma packs in the store. They’re sold as sets of three chromas, so they can’t be picked up during champion select.
How can I refund a chroma pack?
As with all of our bundled products, chroma packs can’t be refunded. However, we are reconsidering the restrictions on refunding bundles as a result of chroma packs. For the foreseeable future, however, they’ll be all sales final.
Why not Zac (or [insert your favorite champion here])?
Zac is a tricky one, because he seems like such an obvious candidate for some slick-looking chromas. The short answer is that we aren’t ruling out a chroma pack for Zac, or any other champion or skin. We’re testing chroma packs first, to gauge interest and engagement. This answer continued in the next one.
How do we choose future chroma packs?
Any champion or skin could get a chroma pack, and our criteria going forward will be guided by popularity, interest, and suitability but not mandated by any one of those things.
We strive to deliver quality products you can enjoy. We finally hit a quality bar that felt good internally and seems like a solid value, so we’re putting them out there for everyone to tell us what they think.
Why are you making these as opposed to new skins?
It’s not either/or. We get to do both. Obviously we can’t just spoil a bunch of new skins here in an FAQ, but they’re still coming, and we plan on offering more, not fewer.
Why should I ever buy a skin again?
Well, we’d say the best answer is probably “because you think it’s awesome,” but it’s up to you, really. It’s worth pointing out that you have to own the original skin before you can pick up a chroma for it.
A slightly longer answer is that skins provide an opportunity to experience a champion in a way that’s different from normal (Rumble and Super Galaxy Rumble, Blitzcrank and We Swear There’s a Difference Blitzcrank). We continue to look for new ways for you to engage with your favorite champions. Skins are usually about alternate fantasies, where chromas are, at least at launch, working with a lot more than fifty shades of grey. Chromas are about expressing your style and personality, or to color-coordinate your team or rep your favorite sportsball unit or whatever you want them to be. We’re experimenting here, so it’s up to you to show us how you feel about chromas and how you’ll use them.
Will particles be recolored as well?
We’re looking into this with some champions and skins as it makes sense. Particle recolors add an intensive, additional layer to the project and they often differentiate between what we’re trying to do with chroma packs and what we do with skins (especially in the murky realm of 750 RP skins and slick-looking chromas). However, if we just always leave particles as they are, we could miss out on tons of chroma packs that without particle changes wouldn’t hit our quality high-bar.
Will they always be the same price?
If you’re actually asking, “will chromas ever go on sale,” the answer is still up in the air. If you mean, “are some chromas going to be more expensive?” Then, well, the answer is still as cloudy as a mountaintop in the Freljord.
The community has been asking for recolors for a long while, but despite testing and experimenting with a few internal ideas, we couldn’t find a way to build them that satisfied our high standards. The current price reflects the work we put into crafting them.
Yeah, it’s possible to do a quick and dirty overlay, or shift a slider left in an editing program, but we think you would call us on that bullshit real quick, and as players ourselves, we wouldn’t be satisfied with such a hacky solution.
How did you pick the champion and skins for these first-run packs?
Artistic complexity, potential QA issues, champion and skin popularity and a veritable cornucopia of other factors went into what we considered a good candidate for chromas. Also, the community wanted Blucian.
Will any existing skins be reclassified as chromas?
It’s obvious some of our previous skins share some of the characteristics of what we’re launching with chromas. Jokes about Nightmare Cho’gath and Rusty Blitzcrank aside, there’s something pretty cool about having vintage Deadly Kennen, Toxic Dr. Mundo and the like and we want to be careful about reclassifying them. For now, they’ll still be considered a separate tier of skins, but we’re interested to hear what you think.
How can I see all the chromas currently available?
The magic of hexspheres. Or if you don’t have one of those, you can find chroma packs in the Bundles tab of the store.
Why don’t chromas have new or recolored splashes?
Chroma packs are ways for you to deepen your experience with some of your favorite champions and skins, not change the core identity of that champ or skin.
Can I gift chroma packs? What about mystery gifts?
Not at launch, but worth exploring in the future.
There are other games where the community makes cheap recolors, why not have League fans and players do the same?
We don’t have plans to set this up right now, but we are looking for you to tell us what chroma packs you’d like to see.
For content creators with the skills to hurtle the quality bar for products like chroma packs, you can show us in contests like the Polycount art showdown, and take a shot at joining us here in the office–or working remote, that’s totally a thing, too--adding your unique flavor to League in the future."[/hide]
PATCH 5.7 NOTES http://na.leagueoflegends.com/en/news/game-updates/patch/patch-57-notes
Good news everyone - Server maintenance for our next patch, Patch 5.7, has been scheduled!
[hide]On April 8th at 3:00 AM PST for NA, 5:00 GMT for EUW and 02:00 GMT for EUNE, servers will go down for maintenance and the 5.7 patch will be applied.
Here's NA version of the Network Operations maintenance announcement:
"On 08/04/2015, starting at 01:30 AM PDT, ranked queues will be disabled in preparation for patch 5.7. At 03:00 AM 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.[/hide]
NEW FIDDLESTICKS, JAYCE, ZILEAN, ZIGGS SKINS Risen Fiddlesticks (1350 RP)
360° skin spin
Here's Riot KateyKhaos with a bugs & feedback thread for Risen Fiddlesticks:
"From the sands comes Risen Fiddlesticks!
Risen Fiddlesticks will be 1350 RP* and includes:
New model and texture! (Oooh, shiny!)
New particles! (He gives a whole new meaning to throwing sand in your enemies' eyes!)
New sounds! (They're uh… pretty 'buggy', one might say. :D)
New recall animation! (Poor Fiddle!)
Risen Fiddlesticks is now available to play on PBE! We always find bug reports and feedback super helpful, so feel free to comment in the thread below! Likewise, if you've got any questions, post 'em here, and we'll do our best to answer them!
*Prices on PBE are subject to change."
Forsaken Jayce (1350 RP)
360° skin spin
Here's Galetta with a bugs & feedback thread for Forsaken Jayce:
"Bring down the hammer!
The dark and brooding Forsaken Jayce has descended onto the PBE! This skin includes:
All new model and texture!
All new particles!
All new recall animation!
All new SFX!
This skins price is 1350RP - (pricing subject to change)
Your feedback and bug reports are extremely helpful to us, so please check out Forsaken Jayce and let us know what you think! Feel free to drop any bugs you find in this thread as well!
See you on the Rift!
Note: His Acceleration Gate (E) is supposed to be blue. Due to game play concerns we made an entirely new particle but kept the coloring blue to make it obvious that this Gate is from a friendly Jayce. It's a similar situation to Ahris (Q) color which can't be changed since it shows if her passive is active or not."
Blood Moon Zilean (? RP)
360° skin spin
Here's Nurse Flan with a bugs & feedback thread for Blood Moon Zilean:
"Dark clouds part and reveal a sinister red moon. Its red beams of moonlight pierce through the night as Blood Moon Zilean emerges from the shadows. He has seen your future, and it was painful…
Zilean merged the blood moon arts with his powers over time, and he's ready to showcase his new abilities on the Rift! He will be priced at 975RP *
Completely new model (new mask and robe!)
Carries around a new time machine! (blood moon style!)
New particles for abilities!
New recall! (he uses his clock as a gong!)
New audio for his Recall, Q and R!
As players who get the first look at this in-progress skin, it would be wonderful to hear your thoughts and feelings on the new Blood Moon skin! The feedback and bugs you leave here will help us get a better idea of things we may still have to take a look at. :]
See you on the Rift!
*Prices are not final and may be subject to change :)"
Master Arcanist Ziggs (1350 RP)
360° skin spin
Here's Galetta with a bugs & feedback thread for Master Arcanist Ziggs:
"Magic first, questions later!
Master Arcanist Ziggs, the skilled arcane wizard, is ready to try out some new spells on the PBE! This skin includes:
All new model and texture!
All new particles!
All new recall animation!
All new SFX!
This skins price is 1350RP - (pricing subject to change)
Your feedback and bug reports are extremely helpful to us, so please check out Master Arcanist Ziggs and let us know what you think! Feel free to drop any bugs you find in this thread as well!
See you on the Rift!"
ARAM Improvements
[hide]Here's Riot JxE with details on all the numerous ARAM improvements that are hitting the PBE in today's update, including a new summoner spell, several item changes, reskinned minions and updated structures, a new loading screen, and more!
"Hey all!
As we continue to polish and update Summoner’s Rift, we found a cool opportunity to make some improvements to Howling Abyss and ARAM. Without any further ado, let’s break the ice and get things rolling – here is the list of changes coming to the PBE today:
Gameplay Changes; My Mind is Telling Me No:
New Summoner Spell on ARAM: Mark/Dash
After analyzing the results of Legend of the Poro King, we realized that Poro Toss gave an across-the-board bump in viability to some historically unpopular picks and helped balance the playing field. After careful consideration and some tweaks we’re bringing this back to ARAM as an optional new summoner spell called Mark/Dash.
Mark allows you toss a projectile at an enemy unit, you can then follow up on a Marked unit with Dash to quickly travel to the Marked target.
Go forth and tower dive, but remember, it’s only worth it if you say so in chat.
Item Changes; Out With the New, In With the Old:
Bloodthirster added
With the recent rework of Bloodthirster, it made sense to re-introduce the SR favorite to ARAM to help out champions that rely on high AD to be more successful on the map. The passive doesn’t hurt either - shields up!
Sanguine Blade removed
10 out of 10 ADCs agree that Bloodthirster is bigger, better and bloodier than Sanguine Blade. We can't argue with that, so we’ll be retiring it from ARAM.
Warmogs added
Ever shed a tear after purchasing Giant’s Belt on ARAM only to remember you can’t build Warmogs? We’re bringing the HP behemoth to ARAM to give tanks a little love and to help them survive poke long enough to initiate at the right time. Note that we’ll be keeping a close eye on this one to make sure tanks don’t become too overpowering.
Skin Boosts; Turning the Random Dial to 11:
After flicking some switches and fiddling with a couple of dials, we've successfully added Skin Boosts to our ARAM update! Throw down 95RP and you'll give everyone on your team a one-time random skin for the champ they're using that game. You'll also earn yourself 200IP while giving your teammates 100IP.
Map & Art Changes; No More Nexus Gnomes:
We’ve skinned some of the art from Summoner’s Rift to match the Howling Abyss theme and bring some consistency between the maps. We also took this opportunity to do some general art polish, make some performance improvements and fix an issue that caused champion spells to sometimes be clipped when drawing on the ground. Check out these screenshots for more details.
Reskinned Nexuses (Nexi?)
Reskinned Minions
New Loading Screen
If you discover any bugs, please post them here!"
Here's the new HA background with no VS:
[/hide]New Feature - Chroma Packs
[hide][These are included in today's update but don't seem to enabled just yet]
Chroma packs are making their PBE debut in today's update. These are 590 RP bundles that include three different color variations for a champion's base or existing skin that you already own.
More information can be found here in the PBE announcement and feedback thread and in the FAQ.
To start off with we have Chromas for Lucian and Dragonfist Lee Sin.
[/hide]
Texture Rebalances
Today's update includes another set of texture rebalances, this time for Poppy, Shaco, Shyvana, and Teemo! These are low scope texture updates aimed at aligning older champions & skins with the current art style. They are not replacing proper and larger scope visual updates.
Poppy
Noxus
Lollipoppy
[ Only these two for now. Other Poppy skins likely in a future pbe update ]
Shaco
Mad Hatter
Royal
Nutcracko
Workshop
Asylum
[Nothing for Masked Shaco.]
Shyvana
Dragon form
Ironscale
Dragon form
Boneclaw
Dragon form
Darkflame
Dragon form
[No changes for Icedrake Shyvana and Championship Shyvana]
Teemo
Happy Elf
Recon
Badger
Astronaut
Cottontail
Super
Panda
[ His Shrooms have been updated as well ]
Context on PBE The Black Cleaver changes
Here's Riot Axes with context on The Black Cleaver changes currently up on the PBE for testing:
"Hi folks, Riot Axes here to talk about The Black Cleaver update coming to the PBE (soon!). The Black Cleaver is an item that’s been in a pretty rough spot for a while: when it’s cost effective, it makes you good at killing, well, anyone, since it gives strong burst tools through flat armor penetration, along with tank-busting power with armor shred (anyone remember League of Cleavers?). Because of these issues, we've had to tune the item accordingly, which has left is pretty mediocre at both jobs (bursting folks vs. shredding tanks).
That brings us to today. Right now we're setting out to give the item a more cohesive identity. Specifically: tank busting. We're giving TBC more max shred and a new set of stats that are best used by champions longer combat patterns – with more CDR and health, plus a movement passive – at the cost of reduced attack damage and removed flat armor pen. This should allow The Black
Cleaver to be a genuinely powerful option in certain scenarios without just dominating every situation.
The item:
The Black Cleaver
Phage + Kindlegem + 825 gold (3000 gold total)
+400 Health
+40 Attack Damage
+20% Cooldown Reduction
UNIQUE Passive: Dealing physical damage to an enemy champion Cleaves them, reducing their Armor by 5% for 6 seconds (stacks up to 6 times, up to 30%).
UNIQUE Passive - Rage: Dealing physical damage grants 20 movement speed for 2 seconds. Assists on Cleaved enemy champions or kills on any unit grant 80 movement speed for 4 seconds instead. This movement speed is halved for ranged champions.
I'd love feedback on any part of this, but especially on item clarity - do you understand what's going on? Do you understand how to use it well?
Thanks!"
Balance Changes
- Remember *: The PBE is a testing grounds for new, tentative, and sometimes radical changes. The changes you see below may be lacking context or other accompanying changes that didn't make it in - don't freak out! These are not official notes.
Items
[Looks like lots of changes, hold tight]
Hunter's Machete
Health regen per second lowered to 6 from 7
New Effect: Increases to 12 health regen per second when under 50% HP
[Experimental] Mandrake Ward
The files for this experimental item have once again been added to the PBE but it is not back up for testing just yet.
Randuin's Omen
[Unique active now reads: "UNIQUE Active: Slows the movement speed of nearby enemy units by 35% and afflicts them with Cold Steel's debuff for 3 seconds. For each enemy champion slowed, gain 15% attack speed for 6 seconds (60 second cooldown)." ]
Righteous Glory
Health reduced to 600 from 650