League of Legends made their first debut in 2009 and till date, the game has proven it self to be the most popular esports game in the world. Throughout the history of the game, players and veterans are quite aware of how the game has changed and how much it has influenced on the League community: champions, items, buffs, maps…
These updates have occurred for a variety of reasons, ranging from pro-player interests to casual encounters.
Here are the top 10 of the biggest changes and updates Riot have made to their game that we see today:
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Updated Graphics
If you are new to the game then you would probably not notice the huge transformation that occurs between 2012 and 2014 on the Summoner’s Rift. More crisped graphics, new creeps and jungle camps designs, and even better-animated turrets have given the game an amazingly fresh look, a far cry from the aged graphics of the original game’s release.
The primary game remains largely unchanged, but everything from the UI to the map has become much easier to decipher, with the backdrop lacking some color to help the champions stand out more. It’s a fantastic shift in quality of life that has made the game look much less dated.
Set Of New Champions
Back when the game was released in 2009, there were a total of around 50 champions. Now, League of Legends already owns itself with more than 150 champions, tripling the amount.
This is mostly due to the positions being more established, as the metagame lead Riot to realize what kinds of innovations might be made for various characters.
Skins Are More Visual
Thanks to Pulsefire Ezreal, Legendary Skin had become an entirely different development, providing all new particle effects and animations at a higher cost, and many thoughts that skins of this caliber could not be so scarce.
And after the huge successful hit from the skin, Riot had given birth to many more Legendary skins like Dj Sona or Spirit Guard Udyr… or recently, Riot has introduced to us the collection of Legendary Hextech Skin that can only be obtained through opening chests.
Dragon Buffs
Dragon buffs was introduced to League in Season 5 and has gone through many changes. Today, dragon buffs will give your squad one of four separate stat boosts depending on the random elemental dragon you happen to find in its spawn point.
This, along with a game-changing Elder Dragon buff open to all teams after the last normal dragon is captured, has resulted in a more diverse range of goals for teams to pursue.
New Territories
This might be the most bizarre change to the Summoner’s map, Brush was extended in the game. Not only did certain parts of the jungle get more bent bushes to hide behind, but the top and bottom lanes alike got brand new alleyways from which champions could hide and creep.
This has made the top and bottom lanes even more dramatic, providing a new area for junglers to creep through as well as a broader variety of directions from which to collide.
Hextech Chest and Keys
Hextech Crafting is a gameplay reward system implemented by Riot for League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics PC, offering opportunities to obtain event content, skins, and champions.
This new feature allows you to access more skins, champions, wards… that you used to admire back in the days. Also, with that being said, players finally have the chance to own any skins they want without spending any large sum of money.
Role Calling
The most significant reform came in the form of an automated role system, in which you will pick which lane and location you want to play before the game begins.
It will take hours to clarify any improvement that has occurred in League of Legends’ Ranked Play portion, but simply put, it has become a much more natural structure that usually replaces standard play.
Champion Rework
Along with new characters, a long list of reworked champions has been published, in which an iconic player gets a new moveset and revised graphics to match the game’s map. This is due to the fact that the popularity of the champion has gone way too old to the meta, and Riot wish to revive the with some big rework.
Currently, Dr Mundo and Udyr has already in development for a more visual and unique playstyle that can fit in the game.
Mythic Items
One of the most recent updates to the game involves the items, which saw a massive overhaul that included the elimination of certain unnecessary items as well as a recommendation system. This was also the case with the advent of Mythic Items, which give stronger results as well as stat boosts to other items.
This has made the previous season of League of Legends even more diverse, as builds are far less monotonous as you have to design around a single range that suits your character.
New runes and keystones
The last and most underrated update worth noting is the shift to runes, which were formerly a collectible object purchased with in-game IP and RP to boost your stats.
This is most likely why rune pages were overhauled a few years back, deleting purchasable objects and instead providing players with a range of special passive buffs and effects that could be personalized for free. This are much superior to passive stat raises, and they make each player feel more customizable even before the game begins.