Legends of Runeterra‘s open beta launched in January of 2020. Since then, Riot has received an abundance of positive feedback from players to help them understand the pros and cons of the game. It’s also helped them figure out what features need to improve.
Now, Andrew “Umbrage” Yip, the design director for Legends of Runeterra, has provided a list of upcoming game changes. These are based on player suggestions for the game. Yip also mentions some new features being added in the near future, including new card backs, guardian and board cosmetics, emotes, and much more.
Adjustments to champions and wildcards
For starters, reward distribution from vaults will no longer be completely random. Riot wants to fix the ratio at which Runeterra players receive champions from this system. Doing so will help players experience different deck styles at a faster rate.
On the other hand, Riot has noticed many players not utilizing their wildcards. Instead, they save these due to feeling they won’t receive another for a long time. So, the team has decided to evolve the progression system. They want to add new features for players that encourage the use of wildcards.
Improving deckbuilding
Another improvement Riot wants to make to Legends of Runeterra is in deckbuilding, as well as in other out-of-game assets. With deckbuilding, Riot wants players to be comfortable and understand all of the functions. So far, adding additional text to cards has helped. They plan to continue making such adjustments for crafting and currency clarification.
The goal for Runeterra has been to provide players with a fresh gameplay experience. There are monthly updates on cards, various mix-and-match opportunities, a slow progression system, and no “bad cards”. However, some deck combinations have been causing issues. For example, Riot has noticed decks with the Fearsome and Elusive traits lacking counters when compared to other decks. They are looking to fix this by adding cards to increase interaction.
Shadow Isle and champion-based deck adjustments
Meanwhile, a further problem Riot plans on fixing for Legends of Runeterra is the Shadow Isle region. Riot feels the weakness they set for Shadow Isles has worked as more of a strength. Players have found a way to utilize cards like Mark of the Isles to mitigate the frail traits. So, the devs want to balance out the region.
The last changes they plan to make focus on specific champion playstyles. They have noticed Kalista, Vladimir, and Shen have low play rates, as all three champions have limited variants. In order to fix this, Riot will adjust these champions’ corresponding follower cards. Doing so will increase the number of interactions players will have with the champion during battle.
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