Ready to dive into a new League of Legends season? Lol Season 14 has landed, and it's not just a fresh coat of paint. Riot Games has delivered some significant overhauls, from map adjustments and new objectives to a completely revamped ranked system. Get ready to adjust your strategies and learn the ins and outs of the changes that could make or break your climb this year..
At a glance:
- Lol Season 14 launched on January 10, 2024 (most regions).
- The ranked system now features three splits per year.
- Expect major map adjustments focused on lane fairness.
- New Voidgrubs replace the initial Rift Herald.
- The ranked MMR is being upgraded to TrueSkill 2.
Season 14: A New Era for Ranked
One of the biggest changes coming with lol season 14 is the shift in the ranked system. Forget the single, year-long grind. We're now looking at three distinct ranked splits annually.
Three Splits, Three Chances for Glory
This new structure aims to give players more opportunities to engage with ranked play and earn rewards. Each split will have its own progression, rewards, and reset, allowing you to jump back in more frequently. Tunjangan DPR Naik? Simak Ini That means more chances to reach your desired rank and snag those Victorious skins.
- Split 1: January - May 2024
- Split 2: May - September 2024
- Split 3: September - January 2025
Victorious Skins: Rewarding Seasonal Climb
Speaking of Victorious skins, the award criteria has been altered to reflect the introduction of splits. You'll now earn Victorious skins per split if you reach Gold rank or higher. The first of these, Victorious Tryndamere, is expected to release in patch 14.4, slightly delayed to give rioters time to work on it.
TrueSkill 2: Improving Ranked Accuracy
Beyond the split structure, the MMR system itself is getting a major upgrade. Riot is transitioning to Microsoft's TrueSkill 2 system, designed to provide more accurate matchmaking and ranking. This system goes beyond simple wins and losses, considering factors like player experience, in-game behavior, kill participation, and even instances of leaving games. The initial focus is on more accurate placements for new accounts, so your climb should be less of a placement roulette. TrueSkill 2 was partially implemented during the season's launch, using a Riot-made system. The rest of Riot's system will be fully replaced during the season.
Map Changes: Balancing Summoner's Rift
Riot has made significant adjustments to the Summoner's Rift map in lol season 14, designed to address longstanding imbalances and create a more level playing field for both red and blue sides.
Mid Lane Safety
The mid lane has been tweaked to provide more protection for less mobile mages. These changes aim to make the lane safer and more accessible, encouraging players to pick mages that have been historically underplayed due to lane vulnerability.
Top Lane Agency
Top laners should rejoice! The map adjustments are designed to give you more agency over early top-side objectives. These changes should make it easier for top laners to impact the game beyond their own lane, empowering them to influence the outcome of early fights and objective control.
Bot Lane Parity
The bot lane has seen changes to lane entrances and brush positions, aiming for parity between the two sides. This should eliminate any inherent advantages one side might have had, creating a fairer and more balanced laning phase.
New Objectives: Voidgrubs and More
Season 14 introduces new objectives that reshape the early and mid-game strategies, most notably, the Voidgrubs.
Voidgrubs: Tower-Pushing Power
Voidgrubs are a new objective that replaces the first Rift Herald spawn. Three Voidgrubs spawn at 5 minutes and despawn at 13:45 (13:55 if in combat). Eliminating these critters grants your team the Hunger of the Void buff, increasing damage to structures.
- Killing one Grub grants a party-wide stack of the Hunger of the Void Buff.
- At 5 stacks, your team spawns 1 Voidmite to help when attacking towers (15 second cooldown).
- At 6 stacks, your team spawns 2 Voidmites.
Voidgrubs add a new layer of strategic depth to the early game, enticing teams to contest them for significant tower-pushing power across all lanes.
Rift Herald: Ride Into Battle
The Rift Herald has gotten a major facelift in lol season 14. Now, instead of just dropping it and hoping for the best, you can pilot the Herald. Right-click to mount and steer the beast, demolishing towers in your path. The Herald only has one charge unless you've destroyed a tower or inhibitor, in which you will gain another charge. The Herald will be automatically cast if you don't use it before it expires. Killing it also provides empowered recall and grants team members gold shared from turrets and turret plates.
Voidborn Buffs: Enhanced Jungle Control
After 20 minutes, the Blue Sentinel and Red Brambleback respawn as Voidborn Sentinel and Voidborn Brambleback. These Void-infused buffs provide enhanced effects to the entire team, but they don't transfer upon death. This encourages teams to maintain control of their jungle and fight for these powerful enhancements.
Draconic Buffs: Enhanced Personal Power
Draconic Sentinel and Brambleback appear once the Elemental Rift is locked in and give a version of their buff to the champion that slayed them, also dropping a duplicate buff at their original spawn location. After 20 minutes, they respawn as Voidborns.
Voidborn Scuttler: Vision Control
After 20 minutes, the Scuttler Crab gets a Voidborn makeover. Upon death, it reveals all champions in a large area and reduces the HP of wards to 1, granting significant vision control in the late game.
Baron Nashor: Evolved Threat
Baron Nashor receives three new potent forms: All-Seeing, Hunting, and Territorial. Each form has unique abilities and modifies the Baron pit, creating varied challenges and adapting to the evolving state of the game. Prepare to adjust your Baron strategies based on which form spawns!
Champion Adjustments: Winners and Losers
As with any major season update, several champions have received buffs and nerfs in patch 14.1. Here's a quick rundown of some notable changes:
Buffed Champions
- Corki: Increased damage output, making him a more potent threat in the mid-game.
- Ezreal: Reduced cooldowns and mana costs, allowing him to be more active in lane and skirmishes.
- Hwei: Increased scaling, giving him more late-game punch.
- Lux: Increased survivability and utility, making her a more reliable support option.
- Naafiri: Increased mobility and damage, enhancing her assassination potential.
- Zac: Improved sustain and engage potential, making him a more formidable tank.
- Zed: Increased damage output, making him a more dangerous assassin.
Nerfed Champions
- Aphelios: Reduced scaling, decreasing his late-game carry potential.
- Fizz: Reduced damage output, making him less bursty in the early game.
- Gwen: Reduced damage output, making her less dominant in extended fights.
- Kayle: Reduced scaling, delaying her late-game power spike.
- LeBlanc: Reduced mobility and damage output, making her less slippery and bursty.
- Singed: Reduced damage output, making him less effective at pushing lanes and disrupting teamfights.
- Taric: Reduced durability, making him more vulnerable to burst damage.
- Teemo: Reduced damage output (both Q and R), making him less of a lane bully.
Item Adjustments: Shaping the Meta
Lol season 14 brings significant changes to itemization, with several items receiving buffs and nerfs that will likely shift the meta.
Buffed Items
- Essence Reaver: Reduced cost and increased Spellblade damage, making it a more attractive option for AD casters.
- Heartsteel: Increased health, solidifying its role as a core tank item.
- Hubris: Increased AD and duration of Eminence, rewarding aggressive playmaking.
- Profane Hydra: Reduced cost and increased damage, making it a more efficient wave-clearing and burst damage option.
- Ravenous Hydra: Increased lifesteal, enhancing its sustain potential. Adjustments to cast time, now using the user's auto attack animation.
- Stridebreaker: Increased AD and attack speed, making it a more appealing choice for bruisers. Breaking Shockwave's movement speed has also been increased.
- Tiamat: Increased Crescent damage, improving its early-game wave clear and farming potential. Adjustments to cast time, now using the user's auto attack animation.
Nerfed Items
- Rocketbelt: Reduced damage, decreasing its burst potential.
- Stormsurge: Reduced damage, making it less effective as a burst item.
- The Collector: Increased cost, making it a less efficient early-game purchase.
- Titanic Hydra: Reduced AD and health, decreasing its overall effectiveness.
- Trailblazer: Increased cost and reduced health, making it a less attractive option for tanks.
Anti-Cheat: Vanguard is Here
A controversial change, Riot is now implementing the Vanguard anti-cheat system (previously used in VALORANT) for League of Legends. Vanguard is an invasive kernel driver anti-cheat and will be required to play League of Legends.
Mastering Lol Season 14: Tips and Strategies
With all these changes, how can you get ahead in lol season 14? Here are some tips and strategies to consider:
- Adapt to the Map Changes: Understand how the map adjustments impact lane matchups and jungle pathing. Adjust your strategies accordingly.
- Prioritize Voidgrubs: Contesting Voidgrubs can provide a significant advantage in tower pushing. Coordinate with your team to secure these objectives.
- Master the Rift Herald: Practice piloting the Rift Herald effectively to maximize its impact on the game.
- Control Voidborn Buffs: Secure Voidborn buffs to gain a significant advantage in teamfights and objective control.
- Adapt Your Item Builds: Analyze the item changes and adjust your builds to optimize your champion's performance. Consider experimenting with new item combinations to discover hidden synergies Simak Ini.
- Stay Informed: Keep up with the latest patches and balance changes to stay ahead of the curve.
Common Questions About Lol Season 14
Still have questions about lol season 14? Here are some common concerns addressed:
- When does lol season 14 start? January 10, 2024 (most regions).
- How many ranked splits are there in lol season 14? Three.
- What are Voidgrubs? New early-game objectives that replace the first Rift Herald and provide tower-pushing power.
- What is TrueSkill 2? A new MMR system designed to provide more accurate matchmaking and ranking.
- Will Vanguard be required to play League of Legends? Yes.
Your Next Steps in Season 14
Lol season 14 is a season of significant change, offering fresh challenges and opportunities for players of all skill levels. Embrace the changes, adapt your strategies, and get ready to climb the ranks! Now's the time to hop into the game, experiment with the new objectives, and dominate the Rift, or perhaps read up on the new changes more here.