The ranked season in League of Legends is well underway, with players eagerly grinding through games to achieve higher ranks. However, the pursuit isn’t just for fame and glory; Riot Games rewards players who earn enough split points with exclusive skins.

These Victorious skins are highly anticipated among ranked players, who are always curious to see which champion will receive one each split.

Typically, the Victorious skin is awarded to a champion that has significantly impacted the game mode during that particular split. In the past, champions like Maokai, Aatrox, Graves, and Orianna have received these prestigious skins. Now, Sona will join the elite group of champions with a Victorious skin, as her new skin has been spotted in the PBE store.

SkinSpotlights, a well-known community source for in-game content, showcased that leaked Victorious Sona is available for testing on the PBE servers. Riot Games uses the PBE to test new content before its official release, so the skin is expected to be available on live servers soon.

While details about the leaked skin’s design are still scarce, the Victorious skin line usually features a consistent aesthetic. These skins are often shiny and incorporate shades of gold and other metals to accentuate the champions’ features.

However, the most recent Victorious skin for Kog’Maw deviated slightly from this theme, so Sona’s skin might also present a unique look.

For Sona players eager to obtain the skin once it goes live, there are specific requirements to meet. Players in Gold rank or higher need to earn at least 80 split points, while those in Silver rank or below must accumulate 1000 split points to unlock this new cosmetic.

The root of the problem was found to be a problematic exploit centered around Skarner’s iconic kidnap skill. The rework, which was finally released at the beginning of 2024, transformed the Crystal Scorpion into a formidable presence on Summoner’s Rift.

The champion is now capable of slamming players into walls and dragging enemies around with his ultimate. However, top lane players discovered ways to exploit this ability, leading Phreak to address the issue and discuss the overall success of the champion’s rework.

Phreak, who is in charge of League’s live balance team and led Skarner’s rework, recently admitted in a YouTube video previewing Patch 14.14 that he wished he had done a better job with the champion.

In the video, Phreak went over all the balance changes for Skarner and warned that the champion would be experiencing a lot of changes in this update. The most anticipated change is the removal of the ability to cast his E backwards.

This exploit allowed the scorpion to grab opponents from behind and slam them into walls. With the new changes, Skarner will have to face his enemies directly if he wants to grapple with them, which was how the ability was originally intended to be used.

Until the changes are implemented, players can still chain Skarner’s ultimate and his E to drag enemies into turret range, effectively guaranteeing a free kill in lane. The problematic mechanic had caused his win rates (and ban rates) to spike significantly in the past few months.

With the removal of the playmaking Skarner mechanic, Phreak hopes that players will begin to appreciate the rework of the scorpion and reduce the frequency of banning him in high-level play. Phreak also briefly mentioned that the team is considering other changes to Skarner’s kit but did not provide any specific details.

Arena to receive major updates in upcoming patches

This was announced by Riot’s lead gameplay designer, Matt “Phroxzon” Leung-Harrison, on Twitter. He outlined the changes coming in Patch 14.14, specifying which champions and items would receive buffs or nerfs.

Notably, Phenomenal Evil and Urf’s Champion are among the Augments that will be significantly strengthened in the next patch, while Duskblade and Prowler’s Claw are slated for nerfs. Champions that have been particularly dominant in Arena, such as Garen, Naafiri, Pyke, Zed, and Master Yi, will also be targeted for nerfs.

Looking ahead to Patch 14.15, Riot designers Riot Rogue Fool and Riot Twin Enso have been teasing new Augments over the past week. Some of the new additions include Fire Sale, which allows players to sell all of their non-quest items for 100% of their worth, and Ultimate Roulette, which replaces the “Flee” summoner spell with a random Ultimate spell.

Another new Augment, Fruits of your Labor, enhances the healing effect of flowers. Although only a few Augments have been revealed so far, there is still a long way to go until their release on July 31 as part of League Patch 14.15.

Riot has been making continuous efforts to improve the Arena game mode and potentially make it a permanent fixture, providing an alternative to the regular 5vs5 Summoner’s Rift. Currently, only ARAM has maintained its place as a permanent game mode, while other alternative modes like Twisted Treeline and Dominion have been either replaced or removed.

With these ongoing updates and improvements, Riot aims to keep the Arena mode fresh and engaging for players, ensuring it remains a popular and exciting option within the League of Legends ecosystem.

Patch 14.14 is set to introduce a variety of brand-new Anima Squad skins, available at standard RP prices of around 1,350 RP. This is a refreshing change compared to the more expensive Faker’s Hall of Legends skins and bundles.

According to Riot Phroxzon, this patch will also bring numerous balance changes across champions, items, and summoner spells. One notable focus will be additional tweaks to the Teleport, aiming to make the gameplay more exciting as the 2024 World Championship approaches.

Moreover, this update will see the debut of Aurora, the Witch Between Worlds. She is expected to bring powerful magic and abilities that can rival those of any mage in the game.

League of Legends Patch 14.14 early notes

Champions buffs

• Aphelios
• Cho’Gath
• Hecarim
• Jayce
• Sion
• Zed

Champions nerfs

• Bel’Veth
• Brand
• Corki
• Jax
• Kindred
• Lillia
• Nidalee
• Rumble
• Tristana
• Zyra

Champions adjustments

• Aurelion Sol
• Irelia
• Milio

System nerfs

• Absorb Life
• Warmog’s

League Patch 14.14 is scheduled to go live on July 17, aligning with the 2024 schedule. This update promises to bring significant changes and fresh content, enhancing the overall player experience in the upcoming season.

Throughout its decade-long history in League of Legends, the Summoner Spell has undergone numerous changes. Now, it is once more under adjustments. Riot Games is concerned about how top laners can easily dominate their lanes using the Rift-hopping spell and aims to reduce its power and influence.

On July 8, League balance boss Matt “Phroxzon” Leung-Harrison acknowledged that this rework has been anticipated for a long time.

“It’s been a long time coming, but we’re investigating changes to Teleport to resolve its ability to wash lanes, while also still avoiding the bot lane party”

There are two main challenges in Phroxzon’s balance plan as the League team works on the Spell in preparation for the 2024 World Championship.

First, any significant changes made in Season 14 could potentially bring back the “bot lane” issue, where Teleport allows tanky top laners to join the bot lane fights too easily—a situation Riot wants to avoid.

Second, the team has yet to find a solution that works well in testing.

Phroxzon didn’t specify the exact changes Riot has been testing, and he likely won’t reveal them soon. However, he did describe the attempts as “inelegant.” We can expect to learn more about some of these planned changes later this week.

Riot has a long history of altering Teleport and its effects. Since the League alpha, the spell has seen over 100 changes. Notable updates included making it uncancellable in Season 9 and an overhaul in Season 12.

Currently, Teleport has a base cooldown of 360 seconds and transforms into a more versatile Unleashed Teleport at the 10-minute mark.

The League balance team hopes that the upcoming changes to Teleport will help create a more interactive and balanced top lane experience for players.

The win rate imbalance between the Blue and Red sides in League of Legends isn’t just your imagination. Riot Games is aware of this issue, though it’s not as pronounced in lower Elo levels. They are actively working on solutions, but it will take some time.

This week, the LoL community has been upset about the imbalances between the two sides on Summoner’s Rift. The uproar began after a fan investigated and gave win rate statistics.

Although this issue has recently gained more attention, balance boss Matt Leung-Harrison mentioned that his team has been looking into this for a while and is already working on changes.

On July 7, Leung-Harrison stated on Twitter that they are “working on optimizing red/blue side balance” but warned that it will take some time to resolve. He also pointed out that the imbalance primarily affects higher-tier players in ranked play, while lower-tier players are less impacted.

In lower ranks like Bronze, Gold, and Emerald, there is a slight imbalance, but it usually balances out over time. However, in higher ranks such as Diamond, Master, and Challenger, the difference between the 2 sides becomes more significant.

The statistics support this: in low-tier Elo games, the blue side wins 51.1% of the time, which is fairly balanced. In Emerald and higher, the red side’s win rate increases to 49.4%, while the blue side’s win rate drops to 50.6%. In Diamond and above, the red side’s win rate dramatically increases to 52.9%, with the blue side’s 47.1%.

Riot’s most likely solution will involve changes to League lobby matchmaking. Historically, Riot has assigned the red side a higher average MMR to compensate for the disadvantage of playing with less favorable camera angles and map perspectives.

While Riot has not confirmed when these changes will be implemented, Leung-Harrison’s comments suggest it will take some time.

Riot Games’ senior engineering manager for League, Riot H28 G Evo, announced yesterday via Twitter that the PBE servers are nearing their capacity limits. As a result, the developers will be keeping an eye on the situation and may introduce queue timers for solo queue players.

This isn’t something new for players familiar with Riot’s games. The PBE often hits its maximum capacity, especially when new modes like Teamfight Tactics are introduced, particularly with the release of new sets on the testing server.

Riot is managing the situation to ensure that as many players as possible can enjoy Swarm and that the mode is ready for its scheduled release on live servers.

Swarm is set to be released in less than three weeks, on July 17, alongside Patch 14.14 and the new League champion Aurora. Riot wants to ensure that Swarm is in the best possible condition to avoid any delays, and several crucial bug fixes are being applied to the PBE server.

Swarm is a PvE mode in League of Legends that plunges players into a chaotic bullet-hell survival adventure. Players must fight off waves of Primordians, sea creatures from the Anima skin line.

While Swarm can be played solo, it is recommended that players team up with a party to explore the various maps and complete several challenges as they strive to protect the world.

The introduction of League of Legends’ 168th champion, Aurora, a charming Vastaya bunny mage from the Freljord, might be the last instance for a while where players encounter such a heartwarming character with a sweet appearance on the Rift.

In discussing how Aurora became a beloved project for the League development team, lead champion producer Lexi Gao provided a sneak peek into the future additions to the game in an interview with Dot Esports. Gao mentioned that the upcoming champion releases would feature much “darker” themes compared to the latest champions like Aurora, Hwei, and Smolder.

Although Gao didn’t elaborate further, League players have started speculating about which champions she might be referring to.

Earlier this year, Riot Games confirmed that Ambessa Medarda from the animated series Arcane will soon be joining the League roster to celebrate the release of the show’s second season on Netflix this November.

While details about the warlord’s abilities are scarce, her Noxian background and possible storyline in Arcane’s second season suggest she will be a ruthless champion. It’s anticipated that her abilities might be comparable to those of Darius or Katarina.

The League universe is vast and filled with intriguing characters, making it exciting to explore some of the more sinister and eerie concepts. The possibilities include inhumane celestials, deepwater horrors, ghostly spirits, or even bloodthirsty demons. These are just a few examples of the dark inspirations Runeterra offers to the League development team.

While recent champions have their unique themes, they are not as dark as older champions such as Fiddlesticks. Riot tends to create more humanoid figures as they are easier for players to relate to, but there is still a rich pool of cruel human characters in Runeterra that could be transformed into horror-like champions.

Although the upcoming patch is relatively minor, it does feature one significant change related to the Golden Item Remover. The release date for TFT Patch 14.13 is scheduled to coincide with the main release of the next patch for League of Legends on June 26, 2024.

TFT Patch 14.13 Notes

Golden Item Remover Change

The Golden Item Remover is a new feature in Teamfight Tactics, allowing players to repeatedly remove items from their team. To enhance its functionality, the developers are introducing a quality-of-life change that will automatically convert regular removers into reforgers.

Balance Changes

In addition to the changes to the Golden Item Remover, Patch 14.13 includes a small number of balance adjustments. These adjustments involve nerfs and buffs to various traits, units, augments, and items within the game.

Traits

Fated

• Ahri AP bonus decreased: 30 >>> 27
• Syndra damage bonus decreased: 11% >>> 10%

Inkshadow

• Damage Amp & Reduction increased: 5/15/20% >>> 5/16/22%

Sniper

• Damage per hex increased: 8/17/33% >>> 8/18/35%

Champions

Kai’sa

• Attack speed increased: 0.8% >>> 0.85%

Items

Cursed Blade

• Disabled

Luden’s Tempest (Artifact)

• AD and AP increased: 35 >>> 40

Prowler’s Claw (Artifact)

• AD increased: 30% >>> 40%

Rapid Firecannon (Artifact)

• Attack speed increased: 60% >>> 75%

Augment

Silver Ticket

• Now grants 3 gold

Built Different II

• HP increased: 220/300/380/480 >>> 240/330/420/530

Ethereal Blades

• Damage amp decreased: 100% >>> 85%

Mulched

• Damage amp increased: 5% >>> 8%

Storied Champion

• Ability bonus true damage reduced: 50% >>> 45%

Riot Games has been focusing more on updating champions in League of Legends recently. Earlier this year, they released an update for Jax, finally rolled out a rework for Skarner, and are currently working on an overhaul for Shyvana.

It’s encouraging to see that Riot continues to revamp older champions. The next champion slated for a visual update appears to be Miss Fortune, as a new VFX update has been leaked.

Upcoming VFX Update for Miss Fortune

From the footage, it is evident that Riot is enhancing the visual appearance of Miss Fortune’s abilities. Her bullets are now larger and more noticeable, and the effects are more prominent and impactful, making her abilities stand out more during gameplay.

However, this version does not seem to be fully polished yet, as some elements still appear a bit rough. It is likely that Riot is continuing to work on refining these updates.

As for the release date of the VFX update, there is no confirmed information available at the moment. Therefore, we will have to wait a bit longer to see the final version of Miss Fortune’s revamped visual effects.