Category: Development (Page 11 of 51)

      Patch preview: Garen, Galio, and Caitlyn buffs

      March 27, 2011 /

      galio_splash_2

      This week’s patch preview is up, giving us a quick peek at what we can expect on Tuesday. It looks like it’s going to be a pretty slim patch. Phreak did mention that the patch is going to be pretty light on champion changes because there are going to be some larger changes in the following patch to address the tanky problem we’re currently facing. Here’s hoping that stuff will be enough.

      In the meantime, it looks like Galio, Garen, and Caitlyn will all be getting buffed. I’m surprised when people complain about viability for Galio and Garen. I saw those toons nonstop for like four months. I might actually be sad if they’re back in the regular rotation.

      Caitlyn occupies sort of a strange space right now. I have a lot of really good games with her, but the bad ones I have are usually catastrophic failures. I think a big part of that is the slow cast time on her escape skill. That slight delay before she fires backward and the ensuing slow motion reverse dash make her pretty easy to catch up to. Compare that to Corki’s Valkyrie and I think you can see where she’s lacking.

      My biggest concern is that the changes will make her even more frustrating to play against. She already ruins a lot of champions in lane. What will it be like with more attack speed and an extra trap for warding or lane control? I’d imagine things will get pretty messy around her.

      All the same, I’m glad to see Riot buffing a ranged champion. I miss the days of the ranged carry.

      Development, league of legends, News, Patches

      Does Riot underestimate the tanky DPS problem?

      March 26, 2011 /

      malphite_splash_2

      I can’t think of another metagame that has been quite as contentious as the current tanky DPS game, and for good reason. Tanky DPS is infuriating to play against, even more so than the old poke/heal or R->win of days gone by. It lengthens games to a ridiculous degree. It encourages tower humping. It slows teamfights to a crawl. And, unfortunately, I think Riot underestimates just how bad it is.

      Just check this noncommittal post from Guinsoo. He talks about all sorts of testing that’s going on, but in his final paragraph says that it may or may not pan out, may or may not release, may or may not do any of the things they’re supposed to do. Add to that the fact that Riot seems to be trying anything to shorten games except significantly nerfing the bruisers and it seems that tanky DPS is here to stay, at least in the meantime.

      I’m actually fine with the idea of a consistent metagame. It gives players a chance to settle into a routine, which isn’t such a terrible thing, especially for a competitive game. In the case of tanky DPS, though, the metagame makes the game a lot less enjoyable. I’m pretty comfortable saying that my average level of fun has decreased dramatically in League of Legends over the last couple months. Games are so long these days that I’ll get one, maybe two games in before I’m so worn out that I don’t have much interest in playing further. I think that can be mostly attributed to the prevalence of tanky characters. Tower diving doesn’t work. There’s too much health on the board to bother taking risks. It just isn’t fun.

      I’m hoping the game takes a serious shift some time soon. Several of the designers have mentioned items that directly counter the tanky meta, but when will we see those? I’m guessing 6-8 weeks. Until those items release, tanky DPS will reign supreme.

      Current Affairs, Development, Editorial, league of legends

      Lee Sin abilities announced

      March 25, 2011 /
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      It’s looking more and more like Lee Sin might be the real deal, not just an April Fool’s Joke. Riot has announced his official skill list, which includes in game screenshots. It would be an awful lot of work, not to mention a PR nightmare that Riot doesn’t need, to put all of this together just to strip it from under our feet.

      Let’s take a look at that ability list.

      Sonic Wave / Resonating Strike:
      Sonic Wave: Lee Sin projects a discordant wave of sound to locate his enemies, dealing physical damage to the first enemy it encounters. If Sonic Wave hits, Lee Sin can cast Resonating Strike for the next 3 seconds.

      Resonating Strike: Lee Sin dashes to the enemy hit by Sonic Wave, dealing physical damage plus 10% of their missing health.

      Safeguard / Iron Will
      Safeguard: Lee Sin rushes towards a target ally, shielding them both from damage. If a shield is broken, half the energy cost is returned. After using Safeguard, Lee Sin can cast Iron Will for the next 3 seconds.

      Iron Will: Lee Sin’s intense training allows him to thrive in battle. For 5 seconds, Lee Sin gains lifesteal, spell vamp, and armor.

      Tempest / Cripple
      Tempest: Lee Sin smashes the ground sending out a shockwave that deals magic damage and reveals enemy units hit. If Tempest hits an enemy, Lee Sin can cast cripple for the next 3 seconds.

      Cripple: Lee Sin cripples nearby enemies revealed by Tempest, reducing their Movement and Attack Speed for 4 seconds. Movement and Attack Speed recover gradually over the duration.

      Dragon’s Rage (Ultimate)
      Lee Sin performs a powerful roundhouse kick launching his target back, dealing physical damage to the target and any enemies they collide with. Enemies the target collides with are knocked into the air for a short duration.

      Flurry (Passive)
      After Lee Sin uses an ability, his next 2 basic attacks gain 50% Attack Speed and return 10 energy each.

      I haven’t had a ton of time to think through his skillset, but I will say I don’t usually like skills getting complicated with bonus effects, especially if the secondary use requires some action first. I know it’s designed to work as a skill ceiling, but the way Lee Sin’s passive works, any miss will multiply the feeling of penalty.

      I’ll wait to say more until I’ve seen the skills in action. For now, I’m just happy the Blind Monk is real.

      Champions, Development, league of legends, News

      Magma Chamber is still months away

      March 24, 2011 /

      water_caverns

      Over the past month or two I’ve held out hope against hope that we would get some news of Magma Chamber on patch day. For a while there I thought it might even be released to custom games until the Shiny update was ready to go. That’s not going to be the case, not anytime soon, anyway. Unfortunately, it looks like the Shiny update and, by association Magma Chamber, is at least several months away.

      A player made a forum post asking about Shiny and received the following response from Tamat:

      We’ve actually made some crazy advancements with this since the last time we released screenshots. We’re probably going to be releasing some new assets to give you a glimpse of where it’s at in the next month or two.

      If you remember, Riot said the Shiny update and Magma Chamber would be coming at the same time. Reading into Tamat’s post, it seems that time is pretty far off. “Glimpse,” doesn’t exactly imply a load of content, probably just some more screen shots and maybe a video of a developer build. “The next month or two” is also a shaky enough timeframe to make me think there’s still a serious amount of work to be done before it’s even ready to show off.

      I hope everyone’s ready for several more months of champion releases before we see a feature update.

      Development, league of legends, News

      Nocturne preview release on IGN

      March 11, 2011 /

      Last night IGN released the first gameplay footage of Nocturne. The footage is basically a champion spotlight, without all the detail devoted to showing the champion’s individual skills. It’s a nice look at what he can do. I really love the fear tether idea. It’s not entirely new – just a remake of Leblanc’s Ethereal Chains – but it adds nice flavor to the character. Check the video and, as always, let me know what you think about Nocturne in the comments.

      Champions, Development, league of legends, News, Video

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