Happy new year, folks!
Welcome to Season 2022. We’re kicking off the new Ranked season with a soft reset, changes to decay, and some visual updates. We also have a few champion and item balances, changes to Teleport, plus a couple of beautiful new Elderwood skins. Well, let’s get right on to it, shall we?
Check out how TFT is kicking off the year at the TFT patch notes here!
PATCH HIGHLIGHTS
Elderwood Gnar and Elderwood Rek’Sai will be available January 6, 2022.
CHAMPIONS
DIANAPassive AP ratio and monster damage ratio increased.
Many have come to enjoy Diana jungle since our changes earlier this year, even while she’s been distinctly underpowered. We’re putting some power back into that role while giving her a bit of a buff that she can also use in mid.
PASSIVE – MOONSILVER BLADE
AP RATIO 40% ⇒ 50%MONSTER DAMAGE RATIO 250% ⇒ 300%
Q mana cost and cooldown reduced.
Gangplank’s Parrrley is not as powerrrful in lane after Grasp was nerfed on him, so we’re letting him use it morrre often.
Q – PARRRLEY
MANA COST 60/55/50/45/40 ⇒ 55/50/45/40/35COOLDOWN 5 seconds ⇒ 4.5 seconds
Unburrowed E base damage adjusted. Burrowed E cooldown increased late.
Rek’Sai is a bit too strong in skilled play, especially when she maxes E first. We’re targeting exactly that while leaving her normal Q max builds relatively unchanged. (As a reminder, E – Furious Bite‘s damage gets doubled and converted to true damage at maximum Fury stacks.)
E – FURIOUS BITE
PHYSICAL DAMAGE 50/60/70/80/90 (+85% bonus AD) ⇒ 55/60/65/70/75 (+85% bonus AD)
E – TUNNEL
COOLDOWN 26/23/20/17/14 seconds ⇒ 26/24/22/20/18 seconds
Armor growth reduced. E cooldown increased.
Sona’s been overperforming in skilled play and pushing the limit in other brackets ever since Archangel’s Staff was changed in preseason. We’re tapping down on her power by slightly reducing her durability and ability cast frequency.
BASE STATS
ARMOR GROWTH 3.3 ⇒ 3
E – SONG OF CELERITY
COOLDOWN 12 seconds ⇒ 14 seconds
ITEMS
ECLIPSEDespite being weak overall, Eclipse was the strongest lethality Mythic before preseason. We overdid its buffs a bit in 11.23, so we’re partially reverting those. (This change also applies to its Ornn Masterwork item, Syzygy.)
EVER RISING MOON COOLDOWN (MELEE) 6 seconds ⇒ 8 seconds
Force of Nature’s payout was a bit too hard to reach due to the stack duration. It’s also been a bit weaker than its counterpart, Spirit Visage, so, naturally, we’re adding more force to make it the heavy magic resist item.
ABSORB STACK DURATION 5 seconds ⇒ 7 seconds
DISSIPATE MAGIC DAMAGE REDUCTION 20% ⇒ 25%
Immortal Shieldbow has made some marksmen and fighters a bit too, um, immortal. We’re bringing it down a bit so that there are larger tradeoffs to consider when comparing it to other marksman Mythics. (Its Ornn Masterwork Item, Bloodward, will now have 65 AD and the same changes to Lifeline.)
ATTACK DAMAGE 55 ⇒ 50
LIFELINE SHIELD 300-800 (based on level) ⇒ 275-650 (based on level)
Wit’s End has been powerful as an early defensive and offensive option for attack speed champions. However, considering its threat as a DPS item, its build path and stats counter magic damage a bit too much, too early.
BUILD PATH Hearthbound Axe + Negatron Cloak + Long Sword + 750 gold ⇒ Hearthbound Axe + Null-Magic Mantle + Pickaxe + 675 gold (total cost unchanged)
MAGIC RESIST 50 ⇒ 40
SUMMONER SPELLS
While League of Legends is indeed a team game, it generally evolves in phases—as the game progresses, you interact with your team more. Lane phase lets you flex your individual skills, but it also needs some outside influence to keep things from getting too predictable. However, right now, there’s too much disruption happening too early and too often. This is especially the case with frequent Teleport fights in bot lane. And this isn’t bad for bot laners only; top and mid players also lose out on the ability to express their laning skills in the same way. Currently, it often feels like bot lane gets decided by outside influence, and mid and top get decided by the influence they have on bot lane (rather than on how well they play their own lane).
Teleport also tends to crowd out other summoner spells because, when wielded properly, it flexibly offers both safety and a high level of game influence. Today, you can use it to quickly get back to your own lane and farm, but you can also use it to intervene in other lanes. In an effort to bring back some balance, we’re reshaping the spell by tempering its offensive capabilities early, and then upgrading it later on to retain its exciting mid-to-late game impact.
UPDATED TELEPORT COOLDOWN 420-210 seconds (based on level) ⇒ 360 seconds at all levels
NEW UNLEASHED TELEPORT Teleport can only be used on allied towers. Once tower plating falls at 14 minutes, Teleport transforms into Unleashed Teleport, which can target allied towers, minions, wards, and certain allied constructs (same as Season 2021 Teleport)
NEW UNLEASHED TELEPORT COOLDOWN 240 seconds
JUNGLE
CHEMTECH DRAKE
The Chemtech Drake terrain is meant to enable both teams to make aggressive and risky plays. We’re adding a few Scryer’s Blooms in defensive locations around the terrain, which should especially help losing teams better contest and set up fights in their own jungle.
RANKED SEASON 2022
Ranked Season Start & Split 1
The Summoner’s Rift Ranked Season 2022 begins on Friday, January 7, 2022! Check the table below to see what time it starts in your region. There will be a soft reset of 5 divisions for initial seeding. (For example, Gold I will become Silver II.) Honor has also been reset for the season.
| Region & Local Major City | Local Time | PST Time |
|---|---|---|
| OC1 (Australia/Sydney) | January 7, 04:00:01 AEDT | January 6, 09:00:01 PST |
| JP1 (Asia/Tokyo) | January 7, 04:00:01 JST | January 6, 11:00:01 PST |
| KR (Asia/Seoul) | January 7, 04:00:01 KST | January 6, 11:00:01 PST |
| CN (Asia/Shanghai) | January 7, 09:00:01 CST | January 6, 17:00:01 PST |
| PH (Asia/Manila) | January 7, 04:00:01 PST | January 6, 12:00:01 PST |
| SG (Asia/Singapore) | January 7, 04:00:01 +08 | January 6, 12:00:01 PST |
| TW (Asia/Taipei) | January 7, 04:00:01 CST | January 6, 12:00:01 PST |
| TH (Asia/Bangkok) | January 7, 04:00:01 +07 | January 6, 13:00:01 PST |
| VN (Asia/Ho Chi Minh City) | January 7, 04:00:01 +07 | January 6, 13:00:01 PST |
| RU (Europe/Moscow) | January 7, 04:00:01 MSK | January 6, 17:00:01 PST |
| TR1 (Europe/Istanbul) | January 7, 04:00:01 +03 | January 6, 17:00:01 PST |
| EUN1 (Europe/Warsaw) | January 7, 04:00:01 CET | January 6, 19:00:01 PST |
| EUW1 (Europe/London) | January 7, 04:00:01 GMT | January 6, 20:00:01 PST |
| BR1 (America/São Paulo) | January 7, 04:00:01 -03 | January 6, 23:00:01 PST |
| LA2 (America/Buenos Aires) | January 7, 04:00:01 -03 | January 6, 23:00:01 PST |
| LA1 (America/Mexico City) | January 7, 04:00:01 CST | January 7, 02:00:01 PST |
| NA1 (America/Los Angeles) | January 7, 04:00:01 PST | January 7, 04:00:01 PST |
This also marks the beginning of the Summoner’s Rift Ranked Split 1. The exclusive rewards for Split 1 are as follows.
- Vex Summoner Icon
- Vex Emotes
- Vex Champion Permanent
- Series 1 Eternals Capsule
For more information about Ranked Seasons and Splits, check out the Player Support page here.
Changes to Apex Tier Decay
Decay rules for the Apex tiers (a.k.a. Master, Grandmaster, and Challenger) are changing in Season 2022. These changes are intended to correct misplacements and improve the matchmaking experience. (Note that these only apply to Apex tiers. Diamond decay rules are not changing this season.)
UPDATED BANKED DAYS FOR APEX PLAYERS 10 days ⇒ 14 days
UPDATED DECAY RATE 250 LP per day ⇒ 75 LP per day
UPDATED APEX DECAY FLOOR Platinum I ⇒ Diamond II
For more information about placements and decay, check out the Player Support page here.
Visual Updates
We’re laying the groundwork for the new Challenges feature, which will arrive later this year. You’ll see some visual updates to your ranked identity and game lobbies starting this patch.
- NEW Ranked Armor has transformed into Ranked Crests! Check out your rank’s fresh new look in your profile, ranked page, game lobby, and friends list.
- NEW Ranked Crests also have ~*ambient magic*~! Yay!
- UPDATED Loading screen borders have been updated to match the new Ranked Crests.
- UPDATED Several parts of the game lobby UI have been rearranged for clarity.
FORGE GOD CLASH
In celebration of Ranked Season 2022 Start, there will be a special Forge God Clash tournament with the following special Forge God-themed rewards.
- 3 Trophies
- 3 Banners
- 5 Team Logos
Forge God clash will only take place on one weekend. Team formation opens on January 10, with matches taking place on January 15 and 16. Forge God Clash is not part of the regular Clash season. You’ll still be able to earn Forge God-themed rewards, but your Clash VP track won’t be affected.
The first Clash tournament of Season 2022, which will count towards the VP track, will be in patch 12.4!
BUGFIXES & QOL CHANGES
- UPDATED Champion Select: Pick order in champion select is now randomized for each match in all draft pick queues!
- UPDATED Behavioral Systems: Intentional Feeding Detection has been improved to evaluate more variables and will go live to all regions this patch.
- NEW Objective Bounties: Targets with active Objective Bounties now have different health bars to indicate their bounty status
- Akshan’s W – Going Rogue camouflage now lasts indefinitely when he is inside Chemtech Fog (in addition to near terrain and inside brush)
- Fixed a bug where Kled would sometimes respawn with an incorrect amount of health
- Fixed a bug where Kled could sometimes get hit by missiles immediately before or while dismounting, even though he should be untargetable in those moments
- Attacking an enemy marked by her W – Yordle Snap Trap or E – 90 Caliber Net will no longer incorrectly grant stacks toward Caitlyn’s Passive – Headshot
- Fixed a bug where Caitlyn would sometimes be able to change her Headshot target while casting E – 90 Caliber Net
- Fixed a bug where, if a champion got caught in Caitlyn’s W – Yordle Snap Trap at the same time as her E – 90 Caliber Net, Caitlyn’s extended Headshot range would get canceled
- Axiom Arc’s ultimate cooldown reduction passive will now scale correctly with the Ultimate Hunter rune
- Fixed a bug where, at maximum stacks, Lethal Tempo’s bonus attack speed would sometimes persist against non-champion targets
- Fixed a bug where Bard’s Meeps would become targetable after he traveled through Hexgates
- Fixed a bug where Bard’s R – Tempered Fate did not interact with Glacial Augment correctly
- Watchful Wardstone and Vigilant Wardstone’s tooltips will now include the number of wards they currently have placed
- Vi’s Passive – Blast Shield will now activate properly on all structures
- Fixed a bug where Kindred’s R – Lamb’s Respite would heal champions more than it was supposed to
- Fixed a bug where, if Lucian was silenced, his basic attacks would not have Passive – Lightslinger effects
- Fixed a bug where Pantheon’s Q – Comet Spear would incorrectly go on full cooldown if interrupted within its tap-cast time
- Pantheon’s Q – Comet Spear range indicator has been fixed and will change between its tap-cast and hold-cast versions accurately
- Fixed Sylas’ interactions with Lux’s stolen R – Final Spark and Miss Fortune’s stolen R – Bullet Time
- Fixed a bug where, if Vex died while casting a consecutive R – Shadow Surge, its cooldown would not reset
- Fixed a bug where Talon’s Q – Noxian Diplomacy could sometimes hit untargetable enemy champions
- Consuming Skarner’s Crystal Venom mark from his E – Fracture will correctly deal bonus damage
- Heimerdinger’s Q – H-28G Evolution Turret‘s deactivation sound effects have been restored for several of his skins
- Heimerdinger’s E – CH-2 Electron Storm Grenade‘s explosion sound effects will no longer play multiple times upon hitting an enemy