Summary
- League of Legends Season One will re-introduce Arena with a Noxian theme.
- Mel Medarda from Arcane is coming to League of Legends next patch.
- Season One will have eight major patches and two acts, each with their own battle pass.
It’s a time of great change for League of Legends as the confusingly-titled Season One is set to kick off. Back in my day, Season One meant Twisted Fate’s ultimate was global, but I digress.
There are a lot of changes in the new season, but one that’s sure to delight game mode enthusiasts is the return of Arena during the second half of the upcoming season. The new Arena is going to be themed around Noxus – each of the maps will resemble a Noxian gladiatorial pit and will have map-specific mechanics. A new system called “Guests of Honour” will allow players to vote on which famous Noxian they want to alter “the rules of each game.” As expected, there will also be new items and augments added to keep the mode fresh. We won’t be able to dive into Arena until the second half of Season One. For the first half of the season, All Random Ultra Rapid Fire mode will be available instead.
Mel Medara Joins The Fight
There are plenty of other major announcements for the upcoming season. As was previously confirmed by Riot, League of Legends is reverting to the old ranked system where there’s only one ranked reset at the beginning of the season (January 9). Season One will have 8 patches, with two separate Acts – each with their dedicated battle pass. This is far less balancing than Riot has done previously, but these major patches will likely be supplemented by hotfixes and micro-patches.
The new in-game boss Atakhan will spawn at 20 minutes on one side of the river, depending on which half of the map has had more kills and damage committed within it. Along with these map changes, we’re also going to be getting new items, runes, teleport changes and a new boots system called Feats of Strength.
Arcane’s Mel Medarda was already confirmed as a future addition to League of Legends, but we now have confirmation that “the Soul’s Reflection” releases during the “season’s next patch.” Mel’s kit is based on reflecting projectiles, and she’ll be unlockable for free by completing seasonal missions.
Season One promises more synergy between the in-game and lore aspects of League of Legends. Riot hasn’t given specifics besides Arena having a Noxus-themed map, but this commitment is noteworthy. LeBlanc will receive a visual update to reflect her importance in the season-long narrative and another unknown champion will receive an update later in the season. A footnote mentions that season thematics could extend to alternate universes rather than the core universe. Presumably this means the skin line universes could also be seasonal themes.
On the cosmetic front, the majority of this season’s skins will be based on the season’s Noxian theme. The first line of skins, Masque of the Black Rose, is earnable in the first battle pass. You can see this aesthetic on display in the season’s cinematic which was released yesterday. Cafe Cuties will also be making a return at some point.
League of Legends Season One commences on January 9.
- Released
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October 27, 2009