On July 25, the newest edition of Ask Riot was published on the Nexus page of League of Legends. In this edition of Ask Riot, they answered four main questions. The first focused on the possibility of a new ultimate skin for League of Legends. The second talked about the recent nerfs to Akali in League of Legends. Other topics include the design process of Little Legends and how the developers choose to take care of bugs.
When is the next ultimate skin
For those who aren’t familiar with the ultimate skins, these are intended to be unique and bring new mechanics into the game. An example of this is Pulsefire Ezreal. That was the first League of Legends skin to receive a unique recall animation and redesigned graphics on his abilities. Another would be DJ Sona, who has a mechanic that allows her to play music in-game to all players.
The developers explained in the Ask Riot post that another ultimate skin will likely come in the future. However, it will not happen in 2019. After releasing Gun Goddess Miss Fortune, they want to do more for the ultimate skin lines. Riot also wants to return to creating new mechanics to go along with these champions, rather than just making them look visually unique.
The recent nerfs to Akali
When a champion is nerfed, it’s usually because they’ve crossed our predefined thresholds for measuring when a champion is too strong or too weak. These thresholds are broken down into four groups of players (average, skilled, elite, and pro), and these groups have pretty disparate player needs. – Riot Repertoir
I wanted to highlight this part of the blog, as it explains how they find which champion needs changes. For a more in-depth look, you can find the champion balance framework on the Nexus website.
Riot further explained that Akali is a unique champion, with 90%+ presence in professional play. She also sits at around a 43% winrate in the solo queue brackets. The explanation for why Akali has seen so many changes is that they are having a hard time finding the right middle ground. Riot wants her to perform well enough in solo queue without breaking the competitive meta. Similar champions to Akali in this situation are Galio and Irelia, who also see regular balance changes while remaining popular in competitive play.
Why certain bugs remain for long periods of time
In the history of League of Legends, certain bugs have existed for months on end. This often happened with champions that saw very little play but had dedicated player bases that found the problems. Riot explained that, as the developers have limited time, they constantly have to prioritize the highest impact bugs first. This sometimes results in certain bugs staying around for a long time, despite being relatively simple to fix.
Little Legends of Teamfight Tactics
The final aspect discussed in this edition of Ask Riot surrounds the Little Legends of Teamfight Tactics. The question asked why the team didn’t use Yordles and other small champions as Little Legends. Instead, Riot developed these creatures from other sources in the League universe.
The Delivery Lead of the Little Legends, Riot Stephiroth, explained that while these characters could represent what the Little Legends are, Riot was not sure yet about the direction they would want to take it in the future. They also weren’t sure what the community wanted the Little Legends to be. Riot Stephiroth ended his answer with this.
So keep bringing your feedback, because we’re paying attention to what you’re asking for and looking for opportunities to make new, awesome stuff. – Riot Stephiroth
That’s all for this Ask Riot recap. If you want to read more about League of Legends, check out the upcoming changes for the upcoming Teamfight Tactics patch 9.15.
