League of Legends News

7/15 PBE UPDATE: PROJECT: ASHE LOGIN THEME

The PBE has been updated! Today's update includes more tentative balance changes and a login theme for PROJECT: Ashe!

Sources: Payment problems and mismanagement led to Origen staff exodus

In a wave of tweets earlier this week, several Origen staffers announced they were leaving the organization. The vague proclamations from the staffers—“Nullien," “HenzDesigns," Ioana Popa, “BasedKina," “ShuBi," and general manager Marck “Papab3ar” Hernandez—hinted at deep troubles within the organization, but did not go into the specific issues that caused them to leave.
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Ssumday: “We were supposed to go for Tahm Kench, but we made a typo which made us lock in Teemo by mistake.”

KT Rolster claimed a 2-1 victory over the Jin Air Green Wings, perhaps reclaiming its grip over the fabled “summer buff” after a recent losing streak. Just like the CJ Entus game yesterday, Teemo made a second appearance by mistake, forcing KT’s top lane Kim “Ssumday” Chan-Ho to play the Yordle. According to Ssumday, the ‘T’eemo was supposed to be ‘T’ahm Kench, writes Inven’s Kim Hong-Jae.

CJ Entus coach apologizes for Teemo pick. "I am also largely responsible for this incident.”

Thursday’s League Champions Korea match between CJ Entus and Longzhu Gaming contained one of the most peculiar moments of the entire summer split.
Link

Nexus Siege is live on NA 

Explodification abounds in this round-based attack and defense mode. Rush to crack (or defend) the base with brand new, 100% safe-for-testing™ siege weapons.
Link

League of Legends Community

Props to Hybrid - by SinnerSanguis

OG is struggling a lot internally and on stage this split, but Hybrid really amazes me. He gets replaced in G2, which would affect every player, and has to start the split with an unfamiliar team and ADC. Worse of all, he had 3 different ADCs this split.
But he still manages to show up on stage and is a super reliable player, despite this rough split for him. I am truly amazed by his perfomance.

In the last year, GP, MF, Fiora, Poppy, Shen, Taric and now Ryze have been reworked, both visual and gameplay. What are your opinions at this point after months of testing them? - by  SoloToplaneOnly

This is a question for anyone who have mained or extensively played the champions that has been reworked the last year.
I'm curious what your thoughts are as of right now. What is that one thing that really bothers you about the champion and what is a positive change Riot did with the champion?
Full list:
Gangplank - 2015-07-22
Miss Fortune - 2015-07-22
Fiora - 2015-08-06
Poppy - 2015-12-09
Shen - 2016-01-28
Taric - 2016-04-19
Ryze has just been released, so everything is probably not fully tested jet by the community, but if you want to say something about now compared to his last rework, 2015-04-28, then feel free to do that.

More info about the upcoming Replay System - by  chinaexpl0it

This is really important for me and for any moderators reading this:
I haven't downloaded any replay nor done any harmful actions towards players
First Leak about the Replay System reddit link (I guess it's part 2)
I took some screenshots and uploaded them to Imgur album
Unsure: You will be able to Rename and Delete the replay file from the client.
Half sure: You will be able to play the replay from the Match History, at the End of Game (stats) and also from the "Replay Browser".
I saw something in the code regarding a Replay Browser, so it's worth talking.
Sure: You will be able to download the replay after the check is complete.
Sure: You will be able to play any replay file unless they are private (You can play them if you participated to the game)
If somehow you need to copy them, here's all the strings that I got so far:
Download Replay
Replay Unavailable
Unable to retrieve replay at this time. Try again later.
Cannot Watch This Replay
Currently unavailable for download. Try again later.
Checking...
Downloading...
Checking for replay file. This could take up to a minute.
The current version of the game does not match the version of your Replay. Please try a Replay from the current patch.
Replay Currently Running
Watch Replay
You currently have another replay running. To watch this replay, please exit out of the open replay and try again.
This was a private game. Only the game participants and spectators can watch this replay.
Replay Download Failed
Replays are only available for download within one hour of game end.
Downloaded replays can also be watched from Match History.
Note: This is part of the PBE client code, things might change in the future.

Kog'Maw is a "Caterpillar", His Dad is the post-cocoon "Moth" - by  caveo_rattus

Kog'Maw is analogous to a caterpillar in the sense that his only imperative is to continuously feed until he attains a certain size, so he can cocoon and transform. He's always talking about being hungry, must feed, etc. Like a caterpillar, his "adult stage" form would then be akin to a moth or butterfly, the form his dad already exists in. This would make sense as supposedly riot has said Kog'Maw's dad is like a moth or something similar. One of his vocals says "Terror Coming, Daddy Coming", which I think is a reference to them eventually releasing his dad as champ.
Possible images of the dad.
Pic 1Pic 2I dunno if this is the new champ being teased in-game, but my guess is it will eventually be released in some form.

Butcher's Bridge: What to do with it? - by  Carryusdarius

Butcher's bridge is probably the most confusing thing Riot has ever made.
Unlike our friend Magma chamber, which was half a never-to-be concept, and half a little mini-map used at a tournament, Butcher's Bridge was a full-blown map.
Yet, despite the big production, unique assets, and popularity, it came around for a month last year and has never been heard of again.
Why? I can see some of the featured modes with assets being unfortunately lost to the archives (Black-market Brawlers, for example, had unique assets in its announcer and the brawlers themselves) but Butcher's Bridge was seemingly as big of a map as The Howling Abyss:
Announcer with full voice lines Textured map Background Models Turrets with unique animations and sounds Shopkeepers
Based on this, Butcher's Bridge literally had the makings of the fabled "premium map skin" people speculated about, or a much more modern take on the old seasonal SR maps.
So... Why would they do that much work with such high production values, and then just leave the whole thing on the sidelines? Are we only using it for the Bi-annual Runeterra pirate event? Because frankly I could've seen it coming back when Illaoi released, as despite her particular story being focused on the Shadow Isles, it did take place in Bilgewater and involved Gangplank.
My thoughts are to do what most have suggested here and elsewhere: make it a rotating theme for ARAM, or let us "buy it" for so many riot points and it becomes an option to be the map for ARAM or something on that order. I doubt they'd do anything with inconsistency between players, so it's unlikely we will ever see official play where I have one map skin and you have another, but I could see it being an option (and thus cheaper since I doubt they'd do a 3k RP price for something that isn't usable on demand).
I can't see any reason why something as complete and well-made as Butcher's Bridge would just disappear though. Were they concerned that the cheap would just woodn't hold up over a very long time?
Was there some technical stuff under the hood they didn't do for BB since it was short term?
I don't see any of these being viable answers because the map felt so complete, hell, it even had harpoon-gun turrets!!
Thoughts?

Best Bans by Tier in Each Region (Patch 6.14): A Statistical Analysis - Sona Edition - by  Aqua_Dragon

The way people choose bans is based heavily in frustration, popular opinion, and potential power. But these often lead to inaccurate choices to maximize the chances of winning.
So /u/Jonnyy9, /u/warwickofwallst, and I decided to make www.bestbans.com to calculate a ban list for each tier solely based on winrate, pickrate, and banrate which is partially added to pickrate.

As a rule of thumb, optimal ban strategy i.e. the strategy that maximizes your probability of winning is to ban champions that are both high win rate and high play rate.
In reality, ban rate is not only a function of win rate and play rate, but also of perception of power, transparency of power, frustration, and risk-aversion.
~Riot Jules
The pictures are data from North America, Ranked. Data for any region may be found at the Best Bans website, and adjusted at the top right corner.
These are what should be banned, not what are being banned.
This list is primarily about consistency, not power. Strong champions can be inconsistent.
Banrate is taken into account; Pickrates adjust for banrates.
Look at your team's pre-picks when banning; some compositions handle particular champions better.
BronzeSilverGoldPlatinumDiamond
Full table of champions on www.bestbans.com
These pictures are only for NA. Data for most regions found on the site.

Observations

  • Sona is the new supreme, dominating the #1 spot in absolutely every tier besides Diamond, which will be rectified as people begin catching onto Sona's absolutely monstrous consistency. Their Winrate is easily exceeding 55% in every tier, though surprisingly their banrate is only about 5%. How many days will it take for the permaban status to arrive?
  • Ryze is seen as freelo right now. Freelo for the enemy team, maybe. Despite having a winrate of 36%, their banrate is an absolutely massive 56%. When Ryze eventually gets buffed, we will likely see a slew of uninformed opinions calling them unnecessary.
  • Hecarim continues to dominate every tier besides Diamond, taking the top 2 spot. Will Hecarim become the new Blitzcrank, appearing on every one of these lists for months before receiving a nerf? However, while Hecarim's influence is high, it's certainly not oppressively so. Unless something causes a massive increase in pickrate, the pony may be around for a while, though it's tough to tell considering their massive 62% banrate.
  • Ashe continues their top-8 dominance alongside Hecarim, being the most consistent ADC around. Their Influence has remained roughly stable for about a month now so they may just remain this way for a long while more.
  • Vladimir, Irelia, Zed, and Swain all maintain 44%+ banrates, though their actual consistencies leave much to be desired with winrates that are all low (46%) to just barely average (51%). All four represent a group that is likely banned more for their frustration than their actual consistency, and it will likely take the upcoming Sona permaban status to remove one of these from their half-banned status.
  • Malzahar is a little tricky to evaluate from the graphs alone. Their Diamond winrate seems to have been relatively unscathed, but they received a hefty winrate drop in just about every other tier. The erratic nature of their winrate makes it tough to evaluate exactly where their final winrate resting point will be.
  • Bronze isn't a champion, but take note of the actual Influence of the top 12 Bronze picks. Be cautious about taking to heart anything past the first few top choices; the rest are shifting around wildly due to their extremely low Influence scores (3!!)
The list is what should be banned, not what is being banned.Because the list is based on averages, the list is most useful when you know very little about either team or know little about compositions. Influence is defined as: How many times you will lose to a champion per 10,000 games compared to the average.
As with any bans, you only get the true benefit by making sure your team isn't intending to play the banned champion. Otherwise, you are denying the enemy team AND your team the chance of playing a consistent power.
The list does not show what is good, strong, or overpowered. It is an evaluation of which champions are the most consistent. To be consistent is different from being strong or good. It means a champion has both a good winrate and a good pickrate so that, on average, you will lose to the champion more often than you win against them.
Many champions are considered strong because their potential power is very high (Azir) but if people can't tap into that strength, then even a strong champ is inconsistent.
Similarly, even champions considered manageable or decent (Blitzcrank) can have extreme consistency that makes them worthwhile to ban.

Why use these suggestions?

It bears repeating that the list isn't intended to replace specific banning, but is rather intended for use in an information vacuum. You should largely follow the list when you have little understanding of compositions or don't know what champions either team is running, a fairly common occurrence.
Legitimate reasons for circumventing these suggested bans:
  • The enemy can pick a champion that counters a composition your team has planned
  • You know for sure yourself or your team is playing a champion that counters a suggested ban Zed isn't so scary when you know Malzahar is on your team
  • There's a high chance the enemy team has a champion specialist who will be much weaker if their primary champion is banned
Reasons to circumvent bans that are not legitimate:
  • Because a champion is "overpowered." Bans should not be based on a champion's strength, but on their win consistency. Even if Tahm Kench could theoretically win 100% of the time with perfect play, that situation is so rare that it doesn't change that Kench wins only 46% of the time on average. Winrate reflects consistency, not strength.
  • Because your teammates will be annoyed. Let’s assume that your teammates get ticked off every time Tahm Kench is picked by the enemies. Even with this “buff” caused by annoyed teammates, Kench still only wins 46% of the time. Let your teammates be annoyed; avoiding the ban is still likely the most statistically advantageous chance of success. Reconsider only if it not banning a champion is very likely to put a teammate on extreme tilt.
  • Because a champion is annoying to fight. As annoying as certain champions are, if you're trying to maximize your winrate then it's still not a smart idea to ban them simply for being obnoxious. Most obnoxious champions have crippling weaknesses that cause their winrates and/or pickrates to be fairly low. Only if the frustration a champion causes is significant enough to impact your winrate should it even be a consideration.
  • Because you want to ban champions from your own team. If your teammate pre-picks a champion, you can always look up your own teammates and see if their history on the champion defies the average. If your teammate doesn't pre-pick, then you deny the enemy team the same chance of picking the banned champion which will work in your favor regardless. ...also, the champions you think you should be banning from your own team Yasuo, Vayne, Zed, new champions aren't the right choices anyway.

Methodology

All information is compiled over a four day average from op.gg. In specific regions, Lolking provides more accurate pickrate data per tier, and data is used from Lolking in those instances. The data is calculated every day around midnight GMT-7.
Influence is defined as: How many times you will lose to a champion per 10,000 games compared to the average.
The Influence calculation is done as follows:
10,000 x (WR - 50%) x (PR / (100% - BR)
Thanks for reading! I hope you will find this useful.

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