Swarm mode has been available for a while, and players have finally experienced the long-awaited PvE version of the game. With the launch of Swarm, we got to see what the developers’ take on Vampire Survivors looks like in League of Legends, and it has been a hit among players.

The mode features hordes of enemies and rogue-like upgrades that gradually make you stronger as you progress through each match. There is a lot to love about what Riot has introduced. The mode includes 4 different maps, each with unique bosses, a variety of champions to try out, and an upgrade system that makes the grind worthwhile.

These upgrades are essential if you want to tackle the more difficult levels. However, a newly discovered hidden feature might make things a bit easier, especially if you find yourself cornered by the Swarm.

YouTuber Vandiril discovered that the Swarm user interface (UI) still includes a recall button, and it is actually visible to the player. The recall feature allows you to channel for a short time before teleporting back to your starting point. In Swarm mode, this teleportation seems to bring you near the center of the Arena.

It appears that while Swarm’s UI has been modified to fit the new mode, it still contains elements from the original game’s UI, which is why the recall button is still present.

This feature is quite handy as it allows you to move quickly across the map. Additionally, if you find yourself trapped in a corner with no way out, recalling can be a great option to escape a difficult situation.

However, it is important to note that, just like in the regular League of Legends game, taking damage while recalling will interrupt the process. Therefore, make sure you either have an ally to assist you to keep enemies at bay while you recall.

In the recent release of early patch notes for League of Legends patch 14.10, players have been intrigued by a particular change: the reintroduction of the item Zephyr through a boots upgrade. This update allows players to acquire the item upon reaching level 15, provided they have already constructed Berserker’s Graves.

Boots have traditionally been a fundamental item in League, serving to increase movement speed for all players, followed by the option to upgrade to items like Berserker’s Graves for additional speed and stats.

However, their utility typically wanes in the later stages of extended matches, prompting players to often sell their upgraded boots in favor of more late-game items. This Zephyr upgrade test mirrors a system seen in Wild Rift, where players can opt for a third upgrade to their base boots, gaining a new active effect similar to items such as Protobelt or Zhonya’s Hourglass.

While the implementation in League differs slightly, the influence from Wild Rift is evident. The mobile game’s boot upgrade system injects dynamism into gameplay, elevating the significance of boot selection beyond mere stat boosts, which often pale in comparison to other item categories.

Although Wild Rift may not yet rival the popularity of Riot’s flagship titles, its innovative approaches to existing MOBA systems continue to resonate with the League of Legends development team.

Should players positively respond to this new item addition, developers appear poised to extend the upgrade option to other boot offerings, potentially streamlining item choices further.

The anticipated debut of the new boot upgrade system is set to commence with Zephyr as patch 14.10 rolls out on May 15.

League of Legends, renowned for its complexity with diverse champion abilities, matchups, and team dynamics, boasts a steep learning curve that can be intimidating for new players.

Understanding the complexity of the game often involves a trial-and-error approach, which may discourage new players from playing the game. Recognizing this challenge, Riot Games introduced the Practice Tool, providing players with a sandbox environment to experiment with champions, combos, and their skills.

Practice Tool receives substantial QoL updates

While the Practice Tool has been available for a considerable period, Riot is now elevating the mode by introducing new features to enhance and customize players’ experiences.

In the latest patch, one notable addition allows players to apply specific status effects to themselves. This innovative feature enables testing of various interactions without the need for another players or bots, offering options like Stunned, Silenced, Blinded, Rooted, and more. It’s worth noting, however, that these effects can only be applied to the player and not to enemies.

Players can also copy items from themselves to bots. This functionality empowers players to assess the damage they deal against units with resistance, providing valuable insights into item effectiveness and strategic decision-making.

Moreover, the update allows players to apply spell shields to units, preventing the activation of the first spell upon impact. This proves beneficial for players seeking to examine interactions with different spells without the necessity of having another player plays a champion equipped with a spell shield.

The continuous evolution of the Practice Tool underscores Riot Games’ commitment to fostering a learning-friendly environment for players of all skill levels. These new features not only expand the possibilities for experimentation but also contribute to the refinement of the experience within League of Legends.

New Display Champion Sound Notification in League of Legends

Are you frustrated by unexpected abilities hitting you, like Briar’s Ultimate catching you off guard? Well, League of Legends now offers a helpful solution.

In the most recent PBE update, Riot has included a feature called “Display Champion Sound Notification,” which presents on-screen alerts for Global/Semi-Global Abilities.

Previously, abilities like Kled’s Ultimate, Sion’s Ultimate, Briar’s Ultimate, Corki’s Package, and others only provided auditory cues to warn players. However, with this feature enabled, players will receive on-screen notifications indicating whether a champion has used a Global/Semi-Global Ability.

This update greatly enhances the quality of life in the game and improves the gaming experience for players with hearing impairments. It’s also a welcome change for those who struggle to differentiate between ability sounds.

Activating this feature is straightforward. Follow these steps:

• Enter a League of Legends game.
• Access the Options menu and locate the ‘Interface’.
• Within the ‘Interface’, you will now see a new section titled “Accessibility.”
• Look for the option labeled “Display Champion Sound Notification.”
• Select the option and close the Settings Tab.
• And there you have it!

You should now receive a visual indication whenever an enemy or one of your teammates uses a global or semi-global ability.

This feature is currently being tested on the PBE servers and will be rolled out to the live servers with League of Legends Patch 13.19. Depending on the time zone differences, this feature may already be live or will become available tomorrow.

Players are frustrated with Riot Games for not implementing a straightforward skin preview system, which would enable potential buyers to make informed decisions about their purchases.

The recent release of the Dark Erasure Jhin cosmetic has reignited this discussion, with the LoL community advocating for improvements in various aspects of skins and their associated features.

LoL players demand an in-game skin preview

The absence of an in-game preview feature was a topic of conversation on a Reddit thread on September 23.

The original poster expressed confusion as to why Riot hasn’t already introduced such a simple addition to the in-game shop. This issue is particularly significant for champions with complex mechanics, as alterations in VFX or SFX can significantly impact the feel of playing a champion.

Other users also weighed in on the matter. While the original poster was genuinely puzzled by Riot’s stance, some speculated on why the feature hasn’t been implemented.

“Because most skins are ugly if you look at them up close. That’s why. And in that case, less people would buy.”

“I presume the reason is that they don’t want you to think about it, they want you to impulse buy skins.”

One user suggested that cosmetics might not look as good up close, and previews could potentially reduce sales. Another theory proposed that Riot is emphasizing elements like splash art and backstory to entice impulse purchases of these cosmetics.

Whether Riot decides to implement this feature ultimately rests with them, but given the immense popularity of skins and their universe in League of Legends, there is certainly potential for such an addition to be considered in the future.

Briar, League of Legends new champion, initially struggled with a low win rate, then became overpowered after some hotfix buffs, and now Riot is implementing a quality-of-life update for her with this one-of-a-kind feature.

Briar is getting a one-of-a-kind frenzy bar

August “Riot August” Browning, the lead designer behind champions like Bel’Veth, Zeri, has revealed that Briar will soon have a “frenzy bar” after so many requests from the community. This bar will activate when Briar uses her “Blood Frenzy/Snack Attack” ability and will be displayed beneath her health bar.

Currently, only Briar’s players can see how long the “Berserking” effect lasts, but this change aims to provide clarity to enemy players as well, letting them know the duration of the effect.

Riot August hasn’t disclosed the exact release date for this quality-of-life improvement, but it’s likely to come in the next patch, Patch 13.19. This assumption is based on the fact that it’s a relatively minor feature and already appears polished and ready for implementation.

While Riot is addressing clarity issues, there are other champions like Tryndamere and Olaf who could benefit from similar changes. Currently, there are no indicators for enemies to gauge the duration of Tryndamere’s and Olaf’s ultimate abilities. This lack of information makes it challenging to time the perfect counter abilities and protect your carries from these scary champions.

Patch 13.19 is the Worlds patch, and as such, it brings significant changes aimed at diversifying the meta and making it more exciting to watch.

League of Legends players aren’t always the kindest type. The stress of ranked play might force players to overreact, resulting in unnecessary toxicity that upsets other players.

Toxicity has become so ingrained in League of Legends that you would consider it normal, but Riot Games wants to change that. With a crucial adjustment in the upcoming patch, the developers want to reduce the excessive toxicity levels in League.

New feature to combat League of Legends toxic players

Riot has been working on several methods to address toxicity for some time now, and one of those alternatives, which has previously been discussed, is a mechanism to keep toxic players out of ranked queue.

According to comments from Riot HuntedFork on League’s subreddit on September 6, Riot is planning to release a new feature that keeps toxic players out of the ranked queue in one of its forthcoming updates.

This implies that players with past records, chat restrictions, or other types of suspension may be restricted from participating in ranked for up to 5 games. This might happen more sooner than you realize, since Riot might implement queue lockout within the next several weeks.

This, however, will apply to leavers as well, and as a penalty, these players may be suspended for 24 hours, after which they must play at least 5 normal games to recover access to ranked.

Right now, this is restricted to 5 matches of normal games, regardless of the severity or frequency of your behaviour, but HuntedFork does not rule out the prospect of far worse penalties in the future.

The whole point of this feature is not just to reduce the general toxicity of the community, but also to discourage “account hopping,” which is when a player logs into a separate account and plays League on that account while waiting for the penalty on their original account to expire.

Some players are divided over this move, but the majority sees it favourably. Will it genuinely work and contribute to a less toxic League of Legends? Only time will tell.

A recent update in the game League of Legends has stirred up some controversy among its player base. Surprisingly, it’s not due to the seemingly overpowered buff given to Tryndamere or anything else. Instead, it’s related to changes made to the game’s AFK system.

The AFK detection system in League of Legends is designed to help players deal with situations where someone leaves or goes inactive during a match. However, the latest update to this system appears to have caused a significant problem for Yuumi players.

Yuumi players get AFK penalty for no reason

Famous League of Legends content creator Vandiril highlighted this issue with the updated AFK system. Initially, the system appeared to work as intended, correctly identifying players who were AFK at the beginning or during a match.

However, it seems that Riot Games overlooked a particular support champion when implementing these changes – Yuumi, a champion known for her passive playstyle because of her attached kit.

Yuumi players have been negatively affected by the recent changes because, for some reason, simply being their champion is not recognized as actively playing the game. This is a serious issue given Yuumi’s core gameplay involves attaching herself to an ally champion.

Now, if Yuumi players attach themselves to an allied champion at the start of a match, the game will register them as AFK and initiate a countdown. Once the timer runs out, the player is officially considered AFK, and their team is given the option to initiate a remake. If the remake vote is successful, that player can potentially lose LP for one of the most ridiculous reasons.

Riot Games has not yet announced a solution to this issue, so players are advised to frequently switch between being attached to their allies and not to avoid encountering this problem again.

League of Legends is well renowned for its Summoner’s Rift draught game mode. Summoner’s Rift has always played the same roles during its stay as a permanent mode. Riot has recently included these roles and allows players to choose which one they want to play in the lobby.

It appears that the devs are going this a step further, as a new team builder feature revealed on the PBE allows players to pick roles and even champions before entering the champion select screen.

New team builder feature in League of Legends

Vandiril, a well-known League of Legends content creator, was poking around on the PBE after discovering unreleased lobbies utilising secret game codes.

The content creator discovered various game modes that were not available through the client but could still be accessed.

These game modes included 1v1 ARURF, 28-man Teamfight Tactics, and a new draft pick. The new draught pick version has a new method that may eliminate the need for champion choose entirely, as players may choose their role, champion, and runes in the lobby itself.

In the lobby, players can choose up to two different champions and roles, as well as their skins and runes from the preferred champions menu. Once a match is discovered, players ignore the champion selection page and proceed directly into the match, utilising the preferences stated before.

The function itself appears to be a bit problematic, since everyone who did load in ended up lacking Summoner Spells, but it does show that Riot may be working on this brand-new team builder feature for players to enjoy.

Of course, because it’s so tough to acquire, there’s no finer feeling than thoroughly annihilating the opposing team and then getting it. But the game doesn’t really celebrate; all you get is the announcer saying “Pentakill,” and maybe a few of cheers in the chat from both sides.

League players want to alter that, and they have the right way to make it even more enjoyable.

New feature that would make Pentakill more satisfying

According to a post on League’s subreddit, Pentakills would be significantly more enjoyable if the official announcement was followed by the champion’s unique comment after getting it, even for champions that don’t have the kit to obtain the achievement. Normally, your champion simply mumbles the statement to themselves, and few players hear such thought-provoking lines.

Implementing this feature would be simple given that virtually all League champions have Pentakill quotes. Older champions, like as Amumu, Malphite, and Twitch, to mention a few, do not have any, though. So Riot Games would have to either reinstatement their original voice actors or fully rewrite their voice lines before we could hear it.

At the moment, the only thing that comes close to this kind of celebration of your Pentakill achievement are special animations from Legendary skins like Winterblessed Diana and Empyrean Pyke that extend across the whole Summoner’s Rift whenever they score it.

However, this is only the beginning. Riot should spice up the announcements, making obtaining it even more legendary and honourable.