Lethal Tempo might be making a return to League of Legends, but with major changes, according to Riot Games.
In 2024, one of the most impactful updates to the game was the removal of Lethal Tempo. This change happened during the Mid-Season update, which also saw the removal of the Predator keystone and introduced several item adjustments.
So, why was removing Lethal Tempo such a big deal? It was widely considered the most overpowered keystone in the game. Lethal Tempo gave its user a stacking Attack Speed boost, offering an incredible 30% to 96% bonus Attack Speed for melee champions and 21.6% to 48% bonus Attack Speed for ranged champions.
Attack Speed as a stat is highly valuable for a wide range of champions in League of Legends. It scales exceptionally well as the game progresses, and Lethal Tempo provided a massive boost without requiring any items. As a result, certain champions became incredibly strong when use this keystone.
Because of these issues, Riot Games made the decision to remove it in Patch 14.10. Its removal helped to balance out some of the champions that had become problematic due to its effects.
Despite removing it, Riot Games has now announced that they are considering bringing back Lethal Tempo in the future. In a recent interview, Riot Phroxzon, the Lead Gameplay Designer for League of Legends, revealed that the team is planning to reintroduce the keystone to the game.
In the interview, Riot discussed the negative impact Lethal Tempo had on game balance. They explained that certain champions became too dependent on the keystone, to the point that it shaped their identity more than their actual abilities. This was especially noticeable in the early game, where the keystone gave champions a huge advantage.
Riot’s goal is to bring back Lethal Tempo in a way that doesn’t make it as overpowered as it was before, but still allows it to feel impactful and useful. However, how exactly they plan to achieve this has not been fully detailed yet.
There is still a lot of anticipation around the changes they will make to make it more balanced.
As we get closer to Preseason 2025, Riot is expected to release more information about the keystone and the planned updates. Players are eager to see how Riot will rework Lethal Tempo and what it will mean for the overall balance of the game going forward.