It’s been an odd year for League of Legends fans. While the return of Arcane has closed out the year on a high note, issues with balancing, two rounds of layoffs, controversial monetization, and the removal of the Mythic item system has left the game in a somewhat perplexing state. Innovations like Swarm have certainly been welcome, but for a lot of fans felt like side-projects instead of meaningful changes. All of this has left me feeling somewhat lukewarm about what comes next: how does Riot bring back the glory days of League of Legends? Having taken a sneak peek at what’s coming next, Season 2025 is certainly a step in the right direction, and if the team pulls it off, it may just pave the way for a very exciting future.
There’s a lot to go over in this article. As with every League of Legends preseason, there’s a slew of balancing and micro-adjustments that, sadly, I don’t quite have the space to cover here. Instead, I’ve broken this down into the main highlights: the MOBA‘s new thematic seasonal model and battle pass system, the ranked reset changes, new monsters, and Viktor’s long-awaited VGU, which has its own little twist. Note that, while Arcane Season 2 is now available in its entirety, if you haven’t finished watching it yet there will be minor spoilers in Viktor’s section.
New League of Legends seasons
Coming into 2025, Riot is introducing a new seasonal model for League. Splitting the year into three separate parts, each season will focus on a specific region of Runeterra (Ionia, Shurima, and so on). There’ll be three new champions, one per season, each hailing from the spotlighted area, pre-existing champions from that region will get some TLC, and the Rift itself will change to reflect the nation’s overarching characteristics.
The first region is, as you’ve probably already guessed, Noxus. Acting as the perfect bridge (pun intended) between Arcane and League, we’ll see the Rift overhauled to feel more aggressive, with lots of black, red, and spikes. Turrets have been replaced by huge gunmetal-gray cannons, and even our trusty shopkeeper is looking a little more goth – frankly, I think they’re adorable.
But it’s not just the look of the Rift that’s changing. Given Noxus’ penchant for tyranny and aggression, Season 1’s gameplay will reward you for playing to win. The new system, entitled Feats of Strength, means that, if you complete two of either first blood, first tower, or first dragon kill, your tier two boots will evolve into enhanced versions of themselves. After completing two legendary items, players with Feats of Strength also have access to various Noxxian-inspired tier 3 boots, which grant a small stat boost and a unique effect. Feets of Strength, anyone? No, I’m not sorry.
Atakhan, Bringer of Ruin
With the new season comes a brand new epic monster, Atakhan, Bringer of Ruin. Spawning in at 20 minutes, it appears on either the top or bottom side of the map, depending on which side has seen the most champion damage and kills. It has two forms, one for high-action games and one for low-action games. The former, Ruinous, drops a grove of blood petals when it dies (more on that in a second), while the latter, Voracious, deals a little less damage and grants a one-time use Guardian Angel-style rebirth buff.
When it spawns, it creates two new permanent walls, and its influence will cause blood roses to grow where champions have fallen. These eerie new additions drop the aforementioned blood petals that provide a small team-wide XP boost and a permanent, stacking Adaptive Force buff. It’s no secret that killing Atakhan is a pretty good idea.
The introduction of Atakhan will see Baron’s spawn timer pushed back to 25 minutes to provide a new mid-game objective and hopefully spice up what can be a relatively monotonous period of back and forth. Unlike the aforementioned Feat of Strength mechanics, Atakhan is here to stay and will become a permanent feature in both casual and professional play.
League of Legends ranked reset changes
It’s no secret that grinding through the League of Legends ranks can be a pretty frustrating experience. With numerous resets throughout the year and an oftentimes punishing LP system, I’ve found myself growing more and more tired of being excited over my final rank, only to have to start the climb all over again.
Coming into 2025, that’s changing. There will now only be one ranked reset per year at the start of the season – yes, really. Taking inspiration from the 2022 version of the system, there’ll be no more mid-season resets, but there will still be three Victorious skins on offer. These rotate in accordance with the overarching season, and you’ll need to win 15 ranked games per season to get them. While this certainly feels like it lowers the competitive barrier a little bit, it means that players who are passionate about League but can’t plow hundreds of hours in still have something to show for playing ranked.
Loot changes
Speaking of skins, there are huge changes coming to the in-game loot system, too. Hextech Chests begone – you’ve caused enough issues in Arcane. Instead of hoarding Hextech Chests, forging keys, and hoping you’ll get a skin you want, Riot’s hoping to streamline rewards by offering a season-long battle pass, which will grant thematic skins to both free and premium players.
The battle pass will run throughout the duration of the season (six passes in total per year) and has 50 levels, meaning that there’s more reason to keep playing League and decreased downtime. It’ll be charged at the same rate as event passes (1650 RP, so around $13.49 /£13.25 approximately), and aims to move most of the existing rewards systems into one compact place – for example, having a high honor means you’ll get bonus pass XP. You can also pay slightly more to guarantee yourself that season’s prestige items (not including the skin).
You can earn 12 skins via the free pass per year, half of which will mirror the theme of each respective season. While Masterwork chest and Hextech chests will be gone, this system will hopefully give you skins that are more in line with what you want, versus randomized drops that oftentimes are for champions you don’t even play.
When it comes to premium cosmetics like Exalted skins, Mythic variants, and the Hall of Legends skins, game director Pu ‘Pupulasers’ Liu tells me that they will “continue to be part of our strategy,” but that the “new seasonal battle pass structure will really serve to concentrate and focus free player rewards as well as the experience for low spenders.
“We do believe that it’s very important for players who want to invest and show off their love of League of Legends, or a particular champion or fantasy, to be able to do so. We will continue to go down that [high-cost] path.”
Viktor VGU
Last but not least, in the wake of Arcane our beloved Viktor will, indeed, be getting a visual update. Bringing him more in line with what we see in the show, he’ll look a little different in 2025 – and honestly, I’m obsessed. There’s also a small change to his existing ultimate, which now expands every time it kills someone, better representing the sheer power that The Anomaly has bestowed upon him.
And honestly, there’s even more. Nexus towers now respawn, there’s new runes, patch notes are changing – the works. While 2024’s map changes had their own impact, 2025 feels more like the League of Legends I love. The thematic seasonal model is great and better connects the game with the lore we’ve come to adore, the singular ranked reset feels less punishing, and the ongoing battle pass modernizes a tired lootbox-focused system. As someone who’s been left out in the cold a couple of times this year, 2025 is easily the most excited I’ve been about League in a while.
If all of this has you hyped too, check out our LoL tier list to see which champions to lock in. Alternatively, if you’re still coming down from that Arcane high, check out our Arcane Season 2 Act 1 review.
You can also follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides, or grab our PCGN deals tracker to net yourself some bargains.