A long, long time ago I became obsessed with watching people play rally games beautifully. It was a blessing to see those disembodied hands sling virtual cars around with grace and precision, kicking up dirt in a way I could only dream of.
Now, though, I am going through a different phase. A less blessed phase. One where I watched the popular streamer and influencer Ludwig attempt to climb to Platinum rank in League Of Legends, all because he wanted to prove another popular streamer, who thought he couldn't do it, wrong. I know I've already put you off, so I don't blame you if you stop reading. Just know that I couldn't stop watching his streams, even as it conjured up terrible memories of a time spent doing the exact same thing at uni.
]]>The second season of animated show Arcane is due to arrive on Netflix this November. After an initial teaser trailer back in June, Netflix have now released a more substantial two-minute trailer that you can watch below.
]]>I've never played League Of Legends and I have no interest in doing so, but Arcane was superb. Set within the world of Riot's MOBA and starring several of its playable characters, Netflix's mini series was better animated and better written than any of its peers.
A second season is on the way and due to arrive this November. Its teaser trailer also refers to it as "the final chapter".
]]>The already controversial decision to add the anti-cheat tool used in shooter Valorant to League of Legends has seemingly caused developers Riot Games even more of a headache. The studio have issued a lengthy assurance that - at least as far as they know - the new anti-cheat software isn’t causing players’ hardware to end up bricked, despite various reports of major issues after its introduction.
]]>Ahhh League Of Legends, a MOBA that occupied my university years. While I'd argue climbing the ranked ladder with my housemates were some of the best game moments I've ever had, I'd also argue giving up League was necessary. I became too involved, too close to the toxicity. But now League's threatening to drag me back in with something I hadn't seen coming - a Vampire Survivors-like PVE mode. No! I must resist (I will be on it immediately when it arrives).
]]>If you're an MMORPG fan who's been waiting patiently for news of Riot Game's swing at the genre, then I'm afraid you'll probably have to wait quite a while longer. Riot co-founder Marc Merrill announced that the project has been "reset" and won't appear for "likely several years", with one of the main reasons being a "need to do something that truly feels like a significant evolution of the genre".
]]>Greg ‘Ghostcrawler’ Street, the influential developer with credits on both World of Warcraft and League of Legends - including the MOBA’s unreleased MMO - is working on a new MMORPG under his own studio.
]]>Source code for fantasy MOBA League Of Legends and its autobattler spin-off Teamfight Tactics has been stolen and ransomed, Riot Games have confirmed. In a series of tweets, the developer revealed that the code was taken in an attack on their systems last week. Demands have been made by the hackers, which Riot say they won’t stump up for. The hack is being investigated both by Riot and law enforcement agencies, but Riot insist that League Of Legends players’ personal data and information weren’t compromised by the hackers.
]]>Riot Games are attempting to get out of a silly sponsorship deal they made last year with now defunct crypto exchange company FTX. The deal involved FTX paying many millions of dollars to League Of Legends developers Riot, who have only received $6.25 million of the $12.5 million FTX were supposed to cough up in 2022. This is on account of FTX being a) bankrupt and b) formerly lead by Sam Bankman-Fried, who was arrested last week in The Bahamas. It is hard not to LoL.
]]>Riot Games are joining Game Pass next week, bringing free-to-play games including Valorant and League Of Legends with the benefit of having all characters unlocked. Other games will have other perks on Game Pass, including Riot's mobile games—a novelty for Game Pass. Sadly this offering does not include Riot's paid games, like the League spin-off RPG Ruined King. Read on for more details on what Riot are bringing to Game Pass.
]]>Valorant and League Of Legends developers Riot Games have completed their purchase of Wargaming Sydney, a support studio that’s previously worked on World Of Tanks and World Of Warships. The studio, which has been part of Wargaming since 2012, will be renamed Riot Sydney. They’ll be switching to work on Riot’s live-service games, including Valorant and League Of Legends.
]]>Riot Games have been quiet so far this year on their in-the-works Project L, a 2.5D fighting game set in the League Of Legends universe. Not so much now though, as the game’s senior director Tom Cannon has revealed that Project L will be free-to-play. You can also catch a glimpse of the newly announced hero Illaoi in the video below.
]]>Here's a thing: Riot's games are coming to Game Pass, including League Of Legends, Valorant and Legends Of Runeterra. Those are free-to-play games, which means what you'll really getting for your subscription is access to some of the bits that would normally be locked behind real money or the grind. In League Of Legends, for example, a Game Pass subscription will unlock all 160+ of the MOBA's champions.
]]>Riot Games have acquired a "significant" stake in Fortiche, the French animation studio they've worked with on League Of Legends music videos and the spin-off Netflix series Arcane. Riot's unspecified share isn't large enough to buy control of Fortiche, but they say "this agreement ensures we'll be working closely for decades to come." Fortiche's League animations have been better than Riot's games so yeah, go on, I'll take more. They're currently working on a second season of Arcane.
]]>Riot Games have outlined their strategy for their next five years, saying they think of themselves "not as a games company but as a gamer’s company." The lengthy post, credited to Riot CEO Nicolo Laurent, outlines not what they specifically intend to make, but the kinds of things they want to make and the internal changes designed to make it happen.
The post also acknowledges Riot Games' recent history, including their settlement last month of a gender discrimination lawsuit stretching back to 2018.
]]>Riot Games, the makers of Valorant and League Of Legends, have agreed to pay out $100 million (£74m) as part of a proposed settlement to a class-action suit brought against them for "systemic sex discrimination and harassment". Money will go to current and former female employees and contract workers. The suit started in 2018 following widespread allegations of a festering workplace culture, and was originally due to be settled for $10 million (£7m) until California state authorities raised objections that it wasn't enough.
]]>Following the conclusion of Arcane on Friday, Riot Games and Netflix have confirmed that the animated series based on League Of Legends will indeed get a second season. The only detail they are willing to confirm right now is that the voice actors behind Vi, Jinx, and Caitlyn will return, and I have no idea if that constitutes a spoiler or not because I've only seen the first three episodes. Check out the teasing teaser trailer below.
]]>If the new League Of Legends Netflix series Arcane has you in the mood to explore more of Runeterra, then you're in luck. Yesterday, Riot Games launched not one, but two new spin-off games. Ruined King is an RPG with turn-based combat in which you'll explore the world with a party of League champs. Then, Hextech Mayhem is a cute-looking rhythm runner.
]]>Continuing a barrage of putting League Of Legends absolutely everywhere, Riot Games today announced another game set in their MOBA's world. Launching next week, HexTech Mayhem: A League Of Legends Story is a rhythm runner made by Choice Provisions, the studio behind the Bit.Trip games. It looks a lot like Bit.Trip, with a wee wizard running and jumping and bombing in time to the beat. As well as a spread of PC stores, it'll be available inside the Netflix app. Innnteresting.
]]>The League Of Legends spin-off animated series Arcane started on Neflix this weekend, giving fans a glimpse at Jinx and Vi's rather dark beginnings. Over the last week or so, the developers have been celebrating the arrival of the show in other games too, with Jinx-themed Valorant skins and even a crossover with Fortnite. The festivities are carrying on this week in League Of Legends and Legends Of Runeterra as well, with new "interactive experiences", game modes and more.
]]>League of Legends, Teamfight Tactics, Legends of Runeterra, and Valorant are all now available via the Epic Games Store. That's all of Riot's games, in case you were wondering, which have previously been solely available on PC via their own launcher. At the same time, League Of Legends hero Jinx is hopping into Fortnite.
]]>Riot Games have announced they're disabling /all chat in matchmade queues in League Of Legends to cut back on verbal abuse. Players in the same team will still be able to type to each other, and post-match chat will remain cross-team too, so you'll still be able to throw out your "ggs". But, as of League's next patch, you'll no longer be able to see messages from enemies mid-game. Good riddance, I say.
]]>Yet another beefy trailer and launch date exploded out of Netflix's corner this weekend. Their upcoming animated series Arcane, set in the universe of Riot's League Of Legends, has gotten one of each. The new trailer down here digs into the dynamic between protagonist sisters Vi and Jinx. The release date, at least the first of them, is coming up pretty quick too, scheduled for November 6th.
]]>Sometimes when I'm reading a book or doing the dishes, I need a bit of ambience to carry me through. Lo-fi music often does the trick, so when I spotted that Riot Games Music had released a League Of Legends themed lo-fi compilation, I hesitantly dipped my ear in. And I didn't recoil! In fact, I added it to my saved albums. Now that's a seal of approval.
]]>Netflix are hot for video games lately, with their number of animated and live-action adaptations now into double digits. Their E3 stream today brought news of even more, including announcements of a Far Cry: Blood Dragon cartoon and casting for their live-action Resident Evil. It has Lance Reddick! But by and large, their stream was a weird shrug with so little information that all they had on one show was a logo. But hey, here's what they had on Cuphead, Castlevania, Splinter Cell, League Of Legends, and others.
]]>After it was delayed last year, the animated show based on League Of Legends is getting closer to a premiere. Riot have announced that the series will be coming to Netflix this autumn with a short teaser trailer.
]]>Chronoshift was a fan-made "legacy server" that recreated League Of Legends as it was ten years ago, letting people play an older version of the game that's no longer accessible.
Now the project has been shut down by Riot. In a post on the Chronoshift website, its developers say they've received legal takedown notices from the LoL developer, but only after a Riot staffer got in touch with one of them via Discord to attempt to shut down the project without the involvement of lawyers. To quote the Riot employee: "You've obviously put a lot of work into Chrono shift, but I assure you that the Chrono break is coming."
]]>Riot Games CEO Nicolo Laurent is being sued for sexual harassment by a former executive assistant who alleges she was fired from her job for refusing his advances. Riot Games have said they are investigating the claims and have hired an external law firm to lead the investigation.
]]>Riot Games have tossed out some details about what League Of Legends players can expect in 2021. The big ticket is four new champions coming throughout the year, kicking off with the Ruined King himself this month. Down the line, three other new champions will join the game as well, though their identities are still a bit of a secret.
]]>Over the hols I started watching Sweet Home, a new Korean horror series on Netflix about an apartment block's residents trapped inside while people mysteriously mutate into monsters. Seems pretty fun so far. Has some awful monsters, and definitely a character or two I like. AND THEN every time our heroes fight back, I fall about dying, just dying, positively dying, screaming with death, absolutely riddled with death, because the piece of music behind big action scenes is Warriors, the 2014 League Of Legends World Championship anthem by Imagine Dragons. DON'T TURN AWAY.
]]>Last night, my Twitter feed was all abuzz about Riot Games announcing a League Of Legends MMO. However, this excitement didn't come from the reveal itself, but more the way it was it was revealed. There was no big marketing ploy or tantalising teaser trailer, nope - a Riot executive just casually tweeted it out.
I bet their PR department are having a field day.
]]>The latest wizard in League Of Legends is Seraphine, a pink-haired pop star who has also sang with League's out-of-fiction virtual girl group, K/DA. Yesterday, a woman named Stephanie alleged that the character is based on her, and she's not happy about it. She says she had briefly dated a Riot employee who sure gave the impression that she might play some part in the game, and was unpleasantly surprised when League later added a character who at least looks a lot like her. Riot have responded saying the character is not based on any individual, and that the employee she dated wasn't in a role or department with input into the design process.
]]>The best thing League Of Legends has done in years is create a virtual girl group, who now have a whole EP out. After years of ha-ha-hilariously cheesy promotional songs like Warriors with Imagine Dragons, Riot's music team unexpectedly hit the big time in 2018 with K/DA, a group with real singers in the digital bodies of pop-ified alternate reality versions of League characters. K/DA's debut song, Pop/Stars was straight-up a banger, and found play far beyond esports stadiums. Today K/DA's first EP, All Out, launched and I think it's time Riot give up League to focus on pop.
]]>The League Of Legends 2020 Season World Championship starts next week, which means it's time for another song and music video about being really good at video games. This year, Riot's music team have drafted Jeremy McKinnon (the lead singer of A Day To Remember) and mononymous singers MAX and Henry for a song called Take Over. Does it top Warriors, the Worlds 2014 song by Imagine Dragons? No, of course not, but it does have enough pomp and bass to put up a respectable show.
]]>Chinese tech conglomerate Tencent have managed to draw the eyes of the US government for their dealings with American companies like Riot and Epic Games. Tencent own the former and have a 40% stake in the latter, not to mention ties with Activision Blizzard, Ubisoft, Discord, and more. Now, a government agency want to know how Tencent are handling the security of Americans' personal data.
]]>Of all the self-indulgent fancies which games companies blow marketing budgets on, my favourite is League Of Legends putting out K-pop from a virtual girl group of real singers pretending to be League wizards. K/DA is their name, and last night they released a new single to herald a new EP. Yes, a whole EP of songs from people kinda pretending to be video game characters. The thing is: K/DA's first song, Pop/Stars was pretty great. See what you make of the latest, The Baddest.
]]>Riot Games today kick off a new cross-game event starts today in League Of Legends and its two gamebabies, Teamfight Tactics and Legends Of Runeterra. Spirit Blossom is its name, and apparently it's inspired by "anime". Y'know, just anime, broadly anime. The event will bring new themed skins and cosmetic bits for all three games, as well as a new character and the return of Nexus Blitz mode in League.
]]>If you're looking to build a team to stop people hacking your game, why not reach out to the people who are trying to hack your game? That's an idea Riot Games had with Valorant and League Of Legends, hiding a little recruitment message inside part of their anti-cheat system. If you're poking around in their gameguts, they might be interested in your skills.
]]>The next wizard to join the the League Of Legends murderarena will be a "shy, clumsy, and self-conscious" deergirl named Lillia, the Bashful Bloom. Riot last night revealed Lillia, a jungler who'll twat enemies with a tree branch then lull them to sleep so she can harvest their dreams. A-adorable?
]]>Mere days after Riot Games publicly declared a commitment to combating racism and injustice, they've needed to launch an investigation into one of their own executives for posting some real iffy garbage about the police killing of George Floyd on Facebook. It's not the best look for a company still trying to recover from revelations of a rotten workplace culture of discrimination and harrassment. The League Of Legends and Valorant developers have tried to clean up their act and image since 2018's revelations but progress has been stuttering and here we are again.
Update: Riot now tell us that "Ron Johnson is no longer employed at Riot Games."
]]>Arcane, the cartoon set in the world of League Of Legends, will not be out this year. Riot Games announced yesterday that the global pandemic has somewhat hindered production, so they're pushing it into 2021. Riot say they are "bummed" about the hold-up but "need to balance our excitement for the story with the safety and well-being of our teams and partners." Yes, important to consider the well-being of your teams.
]]>After growing a little threadbear over the years, Volibear now has a spiffy new look in League Of Legends and some new abilities. He's here, he's hairy, and he's crackling with lightning. If you go down to the jungle today, you're sure of a big surprise - not just because of what bears usually do in the woods.
]]>Hitting the wrong hotkey during a MOBA is usually cause for great embarrassment and disparagement. For one lucky League Of Legends team recently, a slip-up miraculously turned into swift and accidental victory. League player "MarviAkaMarv" this week shared a cracking little video of a surprising win that came about after accidentally summoning a giant monster when they meant to do something far more mundane. It is not: high-level play. It is: a pretty great turn of events to watch.
]]>The wacky Pick URF mode returns to League Of Legends tonight for another few weeks, once again turbocharging wizards' abilities for intense MOBA murders. It's pretty popular. Today's also the start of Pulsefire 2020, a timecop-themed event with missions, cosmetic rewards, new paid skins, and a messy blast of other loot.
]]>Several months into a project to improve the League Of Legends client, Riot Games say they've made measurable improvements but also hit a few snags. After making progress enzoomening client startup times, Riot say it actually backslid a bit. But they're not done, they think some slowdown might be caused by the state of *frantic gesture* all this, and they have more plans for speed boosts. Maybe this time they actually will fix the client.
]]>Previously plucky independent studio Hypixel are plucky no more, having been bought by moneybags League Of Legends developer Riot Games. The Hytale creators will now be setting up their first permanent studio in Derry, Northern Ireland, before cracking on with their upcoming blocky RPG.
]]>Recently, the MOBA juggernaut League Of Legends introduced a new feature, called Eternals. Billed as a way to “highlight your accomplishments and prove your mastery”, they are essentially stat-trackers for individual champions that you play, allowing you to document both basic accomplishments such as your lifetime number of takedowns on your chosen character, as well as more champion-specific achievements, such as the number of kills secured using big boy Garen’s ultimate ability of calling down a massive sword from the skies.
As the more desirable, champion-specific Eternals are only available for real money and cannot be earned through in-game grind, it is easy to be cynical about this entire “highlight your accomplishments” thing. After all, the language of self-expression is often used by video game marketing teams to convince players that the real way they should be expressing themselves is through consumption. Capitalism, ho! It is never about you. It is always about your money.
But - but - that is not the full story. What if Riot Games actually care about your ability to express yourself? Really want you to be able to put your proud achievements on public display? What if League of Legends really is about letting you live out your dream of being your best self?
]]>With a brand new set arriving in Teamfight Tactics comes a new host of champions to combine into your desired TFT comp. Some old favourites have now gone, while new faces not seen before in TFT are making their debut. So to familiarise yourselves with the champions and their stats, here are all their stats and abilities.
]]>Much like the previous season change, Teamfight Tactics Set 3 changes the entire roster of champions in the game. This time every champion is themed around the space theme, with some champions taking inspiration from established concepts from within the League of Legends universe. So expect to see cybernetic variants of Fiora, or the "Star Guardians" that have an uncanny resemblance to the Sailor Moon team.
]]>A new season means that it's all change in Teamfight Tactics. There are new synergies to explore, new champions to buy in the shop or pick from the carousel, and items to distribute to your champions to make destroying your opponent's team a possibility.
]]>Teamfight Tactics is now in its third season, which means that we now have an idea of all of the items that will feature in the Galaxies season. Strap yourselves in, because there are some major changes.
]]>Teamfight Tactics is entering its third season and this time, we're going to space. Forget all the fantasy stuff that you knew before and embrace the universe full of cybernetics, giant dragon starships, and even a group of galactic heroes. There's a lot that's new here so we're here to get you up to speed.
]]>Much like the previous season change, Teamfight Tactics Set 3 changes the entire roster of champions in the game. This time every champion is themed around the space theme, with some champions taking inspiration from established concepts from within the League of Legends universe. So expect to see cybernetic variants of Fiora, or the "Star Guardians" that have an uncanny resemblance to the Sailor Moon team.
]]>The next TFT season is nearly upon us and everything's going a little science fiction. This isn't completely new to the League of Legends universe, as it's well established that many champions have ventured into the depths of space under the "PROJECT" and "Star Guardian" banners. With a new season coming to Teamfight Tactics comes a new gimmick in the form of galaxies. But what are galaxies, how do they affect your TFT games, and what are their effects?
]]>For wizards who wish to accumulate numbers boasting of their League Of Legends prowess, Riot Games have returned with a second crack at Eternals, the stat-tracking doodads whose planned launch was aborted last year. Similar to Dota 2's Inscribed Gems and CS's StatTrak guns, Eternals will track and show off numbers like kills and high-skill plays. It's a common idea but when Eternals hit the test servers in August 2019, players weren't best pleased with Riot's implementation. After taking some time to tinker, Riot this week reproposed Eternals, now looking more interesting stats and no longer costing big chunks of real money.
]]>The organisers behind China's League Of Legends Pro League have put the tourney on indefinite hold. The recent coronavirus outbreak, which has so far claimed 56 lives and infected 2,000 people in China and beyond, has scuppered plans to kick off week 2 of the LPL on February 5th. Instead, the esports season has been given a time-out until this outbreak blows over, and digital sports can be played without risk of potentially deadly infection.
]]>It's not easy jumping into solo queue in League of Legends. It's often an absolute car crash or personalities and playstyles, which often results in some seriously questionable decisions. What's always important to focus on, though, is yourself and your own performance. There's no point blaming everyone else, as you won't improve. Once you start taking ownership of the match result, you'll soon start climbing the ranks.
]]>When we're talking about big damage dealers in League of Legends, we can fit them into two categories: burst damage dealers and sustain damage dealers. The latter group is the one we're going to discuss in this guide.
]]>League of Legends is home to hundreds of Champions, and it's a roster that's only growing faster as the years go by. When you've just started out, the game doesn't really recommend anyone in particular, so it can be a daunting experience trying to learn the basics if you're not clued in on whose easy to play.
]]>Champions in League of Legends all go through their peaks and troughs. Some excel in the laning phase, while others gradually become stronger as the game matures, reaching their true potential when fully levelled up, and kitted out with powerful items.
]]>If the idea of deleting your opponents as fast as you can smash your keyboard captures your attention, then there's a decent chance the Assassin category of Champions in League of Legends is something you'll want to peruse.
]]>Sett is League’s latest bruiser who thrives when getting up close and personal, landing big punches, taking some himself and unleashing a big old piledriver of sorts. He’s even able to power up like Goku, which makes him one of the best Champions in the game already in our books.
]]>There's no question about it, solo queue can be frustrating - very frustrating. You're on your lonesome, you're partnered with four random teammates, and you've got to find a way of working together for anywhere up to 40 minutes. And often, it's a nail-biting struggle.
]]>Riot Games have announced the opening of Riot Tabletop, a brand new tabletop division currently working on a brand new board game, Tellstones: King's Gambit. This isn't the developer's first foray into the world of tabletop gaming, but now they finally have a dedicated team to get to work on all things board games.
"We’re gamers. That means more to us than just video games," Riot explain. "You can tell by the piles of board games, miniatures, and roleplaying books stashed around the office. So it was natural to explore what would happen if we brought the Riot perspective to tabletop games."
]]>As the botlane ADC, you're main aim is to farm up, ideally win lane and begin roaming across the tearing up single targets with Attack Damage.
]]>We're just two weeks away from getting our hands on Riot Games' shiny new League Of Legends CCG, Legends Of Runeterra, as it hits open beta on the 24th January.
The beta marks the start of the very first ranked season, in which players will be able to climb from Iron to Master rank just like in League Of Legends. It'll also bring three new guardians, six new boards, loads of updated cards, a bunch of improvements, and a friends list so you can challenge all of your pals.
]]>Just as it is in so many other competitive games, the support player in League of Legends can often find themselves feeling somewhat under-appreciated by their team. Have no doubt about the importance of this role, however, as it can be one of the most impactful roles on your team's odds of success - or failure.
]]>Nothing better defines the top lane in League of Legends than two bulky bruisers going toe-to-toe in a gruelling, slugfest of a laning phase. In the top lane you're likely to be on your lonesome, so the ability to outplay and outlast your opponent is what separates experiences top laners from those who are new to the field.
]]>As League Of Legends winds up to start its tenth season on Friday, Riot Games have dropped a new anthem for the MOBA - or an old one, really. The new season's cinematic music video is a cover of Warriors, see, the iconic (and never-bested) 2014 World Championship theme by Imagine Dragons. Now the song is all grim, choral, and bwampy, like so many other modern moody pop covers, which seems a bit of a shame. As for the new season, preparations are all set, with a new character and a whole heap of changes having arrived yesterday. Here we are, don't turn away now.
]]>One of the most interesting and challenging roles you can play in League of Legends is that of the Jungler.
]]>The most recent changes to the TFT tiers and stats have added some new champions and modified a lot of stats for every champion tier. Whether or not these changes will be sufficient to stop the tide of . Below is the TFT 9.24b tier list with all the up-to-date stats.
]]>It's been a while since the big TFT purge, but we've seen some interesting developments with the meta - mostly the dominance of a particular hyper-roll build. The next patch should be arriving within the next day or so, and there are hints that this patch will address the balance by nerfing key champions of the "Eggroll comp". Here are some things potentially coming in the TFT 9.24 patch notes, as well as the full 9.23 patch notes for those wanting to keep up t0 date.
]]>Riot Games tonight announced the first fruits of Riot Forge, their plan to have other developers make games in the world of League Of Legends. They have Ruined King: A League Of Legends Story, a turn-based RPG coming from Darksiders: Genesis devs Airship Syndicate. Then there's Conv/rgence: A League Of Legends Story, a platformer from the makers of Speed Brawl.
]]>Warding in League of Legends is an often under-apprecaited art. At first, it can seem like an unnecessary chore, but as you rise up rankings it's importance soon becomes clear. If you want to climb into Gold or above, upping your warding game is just as critical to success as increasing your champion pool, or practicing your mechanics.
]]>The other day I realised how long I'd spent in the Dota-verse. It was during my 50th hour of Dota Underlords, after 100 hours of Artifact and nearly 4000 in Dota 2. There are characters I have spent years with, albeit while treating them more as clusters of abilities than personalities. I've seen that world from half a dozen different angles, over the years, between genres and Dota 2's seasonal events. It means something to me. I'd be very interested if Valve announced they were inviting other developers to make games set in the same universe.
Valve haven't, but that's exactly what Riot have announced they're up to with League Of Legends. I know next to nothing about League and have little desire to explore more of Runeterra, but it's easy for me to imagine people feeling otherwise.
]]>Clash is League’s equivalent of Arena mode in Hearthstone or Destiny’s Trials of the Nine. If you’re not familiar with either of these two things, it’s essentially a high stakes tournament which grants you greater rewards the further you progress. To gain entry you’ll need to pay a special Clash Ticket, which don’t come around often, so once you’ve entered you’ll want to knuckle down and get as many wins as possible.
]]>We already knew that League Of Legends developers Riot Games had agreed to settle a class action gender discrimination law suit against them. Last night, the Los Angeles Times reported the figure (pending court approval) will be $10 million, or roughly £7.7 million. Once the lawyers have all been paid, this amounts to over $6 million (£4.6 million) that will be shared between female employees who've worked at the company during the past five years.
It's a win of sorts, but still comes in the wake of Riot Games refusing to acknowledge they have a systematic discrimination problem. As well as, you know, having a systematic discrimination problem. Some of those responsible still work for the company.
]]>League of Legends’ Preseason 2020 is now live, bringing with it a host of new changes to the Summoner’s Rift. Check the client and there’s also a new roadmap, which shows what Riot’s aiming to implement over the course of the next few patches. Turns out, its confirmed the next Champion to be Aphelios, and they’ll arrive in patch 12.11.
]]>The League of Legends Preseason has arrived, and with it, an absolute bucket-load of changes which are sure to shake up the Summoner’s Rift. It’s officially titled “Rise of the Elements”, and for good reason too, as the map morphs depending on which Dragon’s swooped down into the pit.
]]>Now that players have had a few weeks to feel out the Set 2 changes, Ranked matchmaking returns to a Teamfight Tactics with patch 9.23. A new season brings a clean slate, resetting everyone's ranks and bringing some significant changes to the way climbing the ranks works. More importantly: TFT added three adorable new Legends to its lineup with a banging new music video. Welcome to the battlefield, QiQi, Ossia and Melisma.
]]>If you've recently got the League of Legends bug, then you're probably aiming to join the competitive ranks, climb the ladder and seeing how you stack up against players of a similar skill level.
]]>If you're a little new to Teamfight Tactics, TFT for short, then you may be a little confused as to how players are accumulating gold, and what all the different pieces of the user interface actually mean. It's gone through a few changes in a recent patch and there are some very useful tools that you'd probably not be aware of.
]]>Riot's Rune system isn't the easiest thing to master in League of Legends, but it's well worth diving into as it can drastically alter your champion's power both in and out of the laning phase.
]]>League of Legends Ranked Season 9 is coming to a close soon, and with it, rewards will be dished out to those who reached Gold or higher, and had a decent Honor level too.
]]>If you’re starting to get serious about climbing the ladder in League of Legends, then you’ll definitely need kiting/orb walking/attack-moving (whatever you want to call it) in your repertoire of core mechanical skills.
]]>The jungler in League of Legends has one of the most unique roles in the game. They spend most of the their time tucked away in the foliage between the three main lanes of Summoner's Rift, fighting neutral monsters, gathering buffs and looking for ways to flank the opposing team.
]]>If you want to try out all the very latest Champions, map changes and item tweaks before they go live in League of Legends - or Teamfight Tactics, for that matter - then you’ll want to gain access to the League of Legends Public Beta Environment (PBE).
]]>For almost ten years, Riot Games sat on League Of Legends alone, looking content with one of the biggest games in the world. Turns out, they've been busy. Riot last night announced five new games, four of them based upon the LoL. They're making the LoL CCG Legends Of Runeterra, sportsteam sims LoL Esports Manager, fighting game 'Project L', and action-RPG-ish 'Project F'. The fifth game is surprisingly unconnected to LoL, multiplayer FPS 'Project A'.
All they need now to claim full dominion over video games is a LoL battle royale and a LoL truck simulator. They announced a LoL cartoon last night too so heck, why not a LoL theme park? Have a Runeterra Cinematic Universe. Start a LoL currency. Build a floating independent nation of Runeterra on international waters. Hop to.
]]>In last night's flurry of announcements, League Of Legends developers Riot Games revealed another two games: some sort of action-RPG-lookin' thing codenamed Project F, and a digital sports management sim named League Of Legends Esports Manager. They focused attention on the other announcements (their new FPS, card game, and fighting game) so you might've missed these two in there. Project F or Esports Manager are building upon the game that made Riot's name, helping turn LoL into an omnigenre brand.
]]>League Of Legends developer Riot Games are making a collectable card game called Legends Of Runeterra. I got to speak to some of the developers and do some shuffling myself at their Dublin offices a couple of weeks ago, and I’ve got the scoop: Yes, there are poro cards, yes, you can build a deck to synergise with them, and yes, the board features a pettable poro. It also aims to expand the story of the League Of Legends champions, prevent a stale meta from developing, and work from a business model that expressly designs out the ability for players to become whales. And did I mention the pettable poros?
“We anticipate that people will come to the game initially because players have really fond attachments to champions, and they just want to play [as them],” design director Andrew Yip tells me.
]]>Update: There's now a few seconds of footage of the game below.
As part of their 10-year anniversary celebrations for League Of Legends, developers Riot Games have announced – and everyone act good and shocked now – that they're developing a fighting game. It's currently named Project L, and it's set in the League Of Legends universe.
]]>Riot Games have said "we want to keep our broadcasts focused on the game, the sport, and the players" in a public statement preemptively warning against political protests in their tournaments. The League Of Legends 2019 World Championship is currently underway and Riot doubtless want to avoid 'doing a Blizzard'. You know, like how after a Hearthstone player voiced support for Hong Kong's pro-autonomy protests on a tournament stream, Blizzard banned him and have since been tripping over their giant clown shoes trying to recover from the PR disaster. So here's Riot trying to head it off by making their stance clear in public.
]]>Winning the League of Legends World Championships is every pro-players’ dream and this year’s competition is set to be one of the fiercest yet.
]]>A big League Of Legends tradition is to drop a new song for each year's World Championship, a battle anthem evoking the drama and dangers of clicking on wizards. A big Rock, Paper, Shotgun tradition was for Pip to squint at the new video and say "yeah, but it's not as good as the Imagine Dragons one, is it?" It is in tribute to my dear former colleague that I bring you the song for LoL Worlds 2019 in Paris, Phoenix (ft. Cailin Russo and Chrissy Costanza).
]]>League Of Legends developers Riot Games have this week agreed to settle one of the class action lawsuits levied against them, paying up to the women who sued them for gender discrimination. Hooray for those women getting what they consider to be a fair settlement; may it be all that they deserve. Boo to…well, where do we begin.
]]>Teamfight Tactics' beta is back, and there are some new rewards for you to earn. It's still free and you'll be able to unlock unique items for a limited time before they go away for good. Nows the best time to get earning those rewards, and we'll have the overview of what is in the pass right here.
]]>League Of Legends developer Riot Games have confirmed that they are working on a fighting game. The announcement came via EVO 2019, thanks to the event’s founder and Riot employee Tom Cannon. “I’m not here to say the game’s coming out any time soon,” he cautioned, “but I do feel like we’re making progress and I felt like it was only appropriate that we reset the conversation and let everybody know that what you think we’re working on, yeah, that’s actually what we’re working on.” You can see the moment clipped below.
]]>League's tossed out a lot of alternative modes over the years. ARAM (All Random All Mid) was always a blast, but do you remember the daft event ones like Odyssey: Extraction? Star Guardian: Invasion? PROJECT// Overcharge? Did any of you ever actually play Dominion or Twisted Treeline back in the day? Me neither.
Riot are done making throwaway modes - from now on, any new addition to League Of Legends is in it for the long haul. It's not just because Teamfight Tactics is a ridiculously popular auto battler. Promise.
]]>What is an auto and how do I battle it? This is going to be a tough one.
Seriously, why are all the cool kids suddenly talking about level three Dragon Knights? That would be because they are playing Dota Underlords, the best of the auto battlers. At least for beginners.
]]>According to a recent study by civil rights group the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), 74% of people who play online multiplayer games have experienced some form of harassment, with 65% experiencing “severe” harassment, which may include physical threats or stalking. And that's only the start of their downpour of awful numbers, which cover bigotry, extremist views, which games have the worst occurrence rates, and more.
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