Category: Development (Page 34 of 51)

      LoL: Kennen officially announced

      March 31, 2010 /

      Kennen bg.Curse got an exclusive announcement from Riot earlier today. It looks like we’ll be seeing Kennen, the next in the supposed trinity of ninja champions, very soon.

      Kennen appears to be the caster of ninja trio, bringing an array of nukes with which to dispatch his opponents. From the description of his skills it seems he has a skill shot, a short range AOE nuke, a charge that includes a damage component, and a larger AOE nuke as his ult. His passive also grants a stun for every third ability hit on enemy targets. It does sound like he could potentially stun an entire team at once. Take a look at the ability list:

      Thundering Shuriken: Kennen throws a lightning shuriken to a target location, dealing damage and adding a Mark of the Storm debuff to the first enemy it hits.

      Electrical Surge: Passive: Kennen’s weapon becomes charged every few attacks, dealing extra damage and adding a Mark of the Storm debuff on his next attack.

      Active: Kennen deals damage and adds another Mark of the Storm to all nearby enemies who currently have a Mark of the Storm debuff on them.

      Lightning Rush: Kennen turns into a pulsating ball of lightning for several seconds, moving incredibly fast and gaining the ability to pass through units. Any enemy unit he touches in this form is dealt damage and receives a Mark of the Storm.

      Slicing Maelstrom (ultimate): Kennen creates a storm of shurikens and lightning around himself, summoning down a powerful energy bolt to a nearby enemy champion every half of a second, dealing damage and adding a Mark of the Storm with each strike.

      Mark of the Storm (passive): Kennen’s abilities add a Mark of the Storm debuff to enemies. Upon reaching 3 stacks of the Mark of the Storm debuff, the enemy is stunned and Kennen receives an energy boost.

      Charge champions are obviously popular on Twisted Treeline and will likely continue to be because of mobility. Ignoring walls is just too sweet to pass up. I’ll be interested to see how the stun mechanic plays out. More news when he hits the TR.

      Development, league of legends

      LoL: Should TT have a separate ELO system?

      March 31, 2010 /

      Twisted Treeline.I’ve spent all of my game time over the past two days getting to know Twisted Treeline. It’s a very different playstyle, different enough that I don’t feel like I’m even close to mastering it. I’ve been playing with the same friends I played with on Summoner’s Rift, and while some of them have been successful, others have struggled to learn the map and the new game.

      A red post on the forums answered the question most people have been asking: will Treeline have a separate ELO? The answer is no. The two maps will share the same ranking system. For now, I can’t say this makes sense. I’m not saying we should start back at ground zero – the first few months would be a total mess. Instead, why not take the current 5v5 ELO and apply it to Treeline and let it update independently of the 5v5 system.

      From what I’ve seen, some people will pick up Treeline very quickly. Others are going to take a very long time. I’ve seen so many ridiculous comps it makes me wonder how we’re at the same ELO. Granted, I solo queue a ton, but I’m more than 60 games above .500. The best explanation I see is that the game is completely different in a 3v3 setting. People who quickly migrate between those systems shouldn’t be matched against players that think Fiddle/Gang/Anivia is a strong comp.

      Development, league of legends

      LoL: The state of Heimerdinger

      March 28, 2010 /

      Heimerdinger.I had a nine-game winning streak going just the other day. Nine games. It was great to look at my summoner profile and see so much green. Unfortunately the tenth game I drew a 20-minute 0-6 Taric. You can imagine how things went from there. I decided to end my quest for the elusive ten-game streak and go on a Heimerdinger bender. Here’s what I found out.

      As great as Heimer used to be in mid, he was always easily shut down. The old turret system required too much time to be effective and was easy to counter. You were also dead if you left those turrets for any reason. Now things are different. The ability to drop red turrets at will gives you great DPS if you’re in a pinch and allows you to set up lanes much more quickly.

      I like to start off mid by alternating turrets and rockets. I’ve had a little trouble with some of the ranged DPS, but once you get to level four you can push minions back easily and place turrets as you will. I tend to bury mine in creeps to make them a little harder to target and keep them close enough to attack as many enemy creeps as possible. By level five you should be pressing your opponent to his tower with little trouble. Start watching for ganks – they’ll be coming if the other team is intelligent.

      From there you’re just trying to burn down that mid turret. I can easily take a turret before the ten minute mark. If your opponent leaves you alone, keep pushing. Encourage your teammates to join you if you can. I recently had a game in which I had aegis by the eight minute mark. We were knocking down the nexus before 19. It was insane.

      For teamfights you should be trying to stay out of the mix. You want to be dropping as many turrets as possible for both the damage and the MR/AR reduction and the potential slow. Whatever you do, do not underestimate that slow. It will save your ass. It will save your team. It will get you kills.

      As it stands, Heimer is an excellent pusher. I think he’s a great candidate for heavy AP builds, but I really prefer to run around blowing up turrets at level 5. If you were a Heimer fan in the past, give the new version a shot. I’d be shocked if you didn’t like it.

      Development, league of legends

      LoL: The state of Shen

      March 27, 2010 /

      Shen's Scorpion skin.A couple days before the latest patch went live I gave an overview of the ninja champ, Shen. At first glance he seemed as though he might suffer from confused design, and that his energy system wouldn’t scale well. I was reluctant to unlock him at first, but after seeing the way he changes a team fight, I decided to give him ago.

      First, I think Shen is among the more balanced champions in the game, even though he dramatically changes the dynamic of any game he’s in. His ultimate gives him the ability to prevent ganks and sometimes turn them for a kill. It’s a unique skill, despite similar abilities in someone like Pantheon or TF because Shen shields his target, actually for quite a lot. At rank one, Shen’s ult is a 450 damage shield, more than enough to soak damage output of two heroes at level 6. Shen also shields himself for half that amount, giving you a serious advantage, particularly in what used to be an even fight.

      Unfortunately that’s about it. Yes, his taunt can mess things up, but it’s short enough that it doesn’t drastically alter the course of a fight unless you’re near a tower. The rest of his skills are actually pretty boring, and that’s Shen’s biggest drawback. He’s boring. His ultimate has a fairly long cooldown – two minutes or more. The rest of the game seems to be a lot of running around waiting for a chance to use that ult.

      Part of the problem is that his CC, the taunt, is so expensive. It takes most of your energy pool to cast, which is why I recommend building him with a Rylai’s. Vorpal Blade becomes a spammable slow, basically guaranteeing no one will get away from you. The chase is long because you do so little damage, but you’re durable enough that you should almost always get the kill.

      I’ll be curious to see if he gets any changes in the next patch. The Ezreal buff surprised me, and though Shen hasn’t seen the same overwhleming negative outcry, I also haven’t seen many people singing his praises.

      Development, league of legends

      LoL: Urf the Manatee sneak peek

      March 26, 2010 /

      Urf the Manatee.It seems a little early for April Fool’s jokes, so we’re going to pretend this is serious. By pretend I of course mean hope. I hope this is real. It’s a joke that’s been running around the official forums for a little while now, including the fish and spatula weapons. Without further ado, I give you Urf the Manatee.

      Now, we’ve been releasing some pretty revolutionary champions lately with some pretty radical mechanics. If you thought that Ezreal, Mordekaiser, or Shen were edgy you’re in for a treat, because this next champion is borderline shocking. He really rocks the boat! Now, history teaches us that even the most peaceful and lethargic of creatures can be inspired to feats of great valor under the proper set of circumstances, and this courageous sea cow is just such a beast. Mightily armed with fish and spatula, Urf the Manatee stands ready to represent his fellow ocean borne herbivores in honorable combat on the Field of Justice.

      Even if this is just a spoof toon to be released on April Fool’s Day I’ll be happy. Who doesn’t want to be a manatee? I’m actually inclined to think this is real, if only because it doesn’t make sense for Riot to pollute the announcement forums with a bunch of joke posts.

      Development, league of legends

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