The LoL dev team recently revealed some exciting updates about what's on the horizon for 2024! Jeremy “Riot Brightmoon” Lee, Andrei “Meddler” van Roon, Eduardo “Riot Cadmus” Cortejoso, and Selina “ChooChoo Trainnnn” Liu shared updates on the long-awaited ASU for Lee Sin, the game’s beloved monk warrior, and also revealed some quality-of-life changes coming to Champion Mastery.
But that’s not all! It was announced that a brand-new PvE game mode will arrive later this year, alongside the triumphant return of the popular Arena game mode, now expanding to an 8-pair format.
Lee Sin ASU is coming soon
Unlike comprehensive VGUs (Visual and Gameplay Updates), ASUs (Art and Sustainability Updates) focus on modernising a champion's visuals without changing core gameplay mechanics. This means improvements to models, animations, VFX, voice acting, and more. Lee Sin, a popular pick in both casual and competitive play, offers great skill expression, but his outdated visuals are in dire need of a refresh.
Lee Sin's current design struggles with a generic silhouette and unclear hitboxes. His ASU aims to fix these by fully incorporating his iconic ponytail into his base model and ensuring better readability by improving emote animations.
Additionally, the team is working to make Lee Sin's movements feel more grounded and inspired by real martial arts, while still preserving the core gameplay that his mains have honed over the years, and love. The team is committed to delving deeper into the concept of Ionian martial arts, drawing inspiration from and consulting with real martial artists to make Lee Sin worthy of being the greatest martial artist in the realm.
The dev team is targeting Patch 14.9 on 1 May 2024 for the release of Lee Sin's ASU.
Arena returns with an 8-pair format
Initially released as part of the Summer 2023 Soul Fighter event, Arena took the LoL community by storm, quickly becoming a fan favourite. Arena enthusiasts will be glad to hear it's returning for a third iteration this summer, packed with new twists!
Previously, Arena pitted four duos against each other in multiple rounds on changing maps. Between rounds, players could acquire unique Arena items and select TFT-inspired augments. The new update ups the ante with an eight-pair format (2v2v2v2v2v2v2v2), with additional arenas! This larger format offers a deeper strategic layer compared to the previous version, while still maintaining the core duo format for fun with friends.
Additionally, there will also be a new class of items: Prismatics, which will completely alter how Arena plays!
New PvE game mode announced
LoL has had a tradition of offering limited-time PvE game modes that provide a break from the competitive intensity of PvP. Remembered fondly, game modes like Star Guardian and Doom Bots offered a way to enjoy League without the pressure of facing other players.
The developers are bringing back that same stress-free fun with a brand new "bullet heaven survivor" PvE game mode, arriving during this year's summer event!
Other exciting updates
Champion Mastery is also receiving some much-needed updates. Champion-specific titles in the updated Champion Mastery system have been made permanent. It will also be easier to gain Mastery with the new system, since it will no longer factor in team performance, prioritising individual performance.
That's a wrap on the key takeaways from the recent LoL dev update video! Interested in learning more about LoL? We've got you covered. Check out all the champion and item changes released in LoL Patch 14.7.
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