Riot Games inaugurated the 2024 season of “League of Legends”, the most loved MOBA in the world and the most played title on PC, together with the LoL eSport. This event marks the official start of the competitive season, for both amateur and professional players, and represents an opportunity to keep the public informed on the news planned for the current year. “The start of the season is a significant time as we set the stage for the weeks and months ahead, giving players a preview of the content our team is developing,” said Andrei van Roon, Head of League Studio. “We hope you're excited by what we've shown so far and what 2024 has in store for us. This year is even more special as we celebrate League's 15th anniversary in October! Good luck on your climb and welcome to the season 2024.”
2024 promises a series of updates for players, including new “Arcane”-inspired gameplay features and characters, changes to the Champion Mastery system, the return of the Arena, and a new game mode, among many other new features. Additionally, League of Legends eSports announced changes to the qualification rules for its two global tournaments, the League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) and the League of Legends World Championship, and unveiled the Hall of Legends, a sort of virtual LoL honor roll. The opening of the new season will be marked by a video in the typical style of The Call, Ruination and Warriors, set for January 10th. Below, we'll provide more details on new features and updates coming soon.
As previously announced, the second season of “Arcane” will be released worldwide in November. Coinciding with the release of the new season, Ambessa Medarda, who first appeared in season one, will make her entrance onto the League of Legends scene in the second half of the year. At the same time, new gameplay features and skins inspired by “Arcane” will be introduced, along with an update for one of the series' most beloved champions, all available in League of Legends. In the meantime, you can preview the new season on YouTube.
The Skarner Appearance and Gameplay Update (VGU) is almost complete and will be released in the first half of the year. After that, the team will focus on two more updates: one will concern a character who appeared in “Arcane” to make it more faithful to the portrayal of him in the series, and Shyvana, who will receive special attention when it comes to gameplay. Additionally, Champion Smolder, the Fiery Prince, will be available for testing on the PBE starting January 9th. Further details on this sample will be provided later. After Smolder, players can look forward to a famaya mage with medium attack range in a single lane as the next champion.
Throughout 2024, Rammus and Olaf will receive new skins. The prestige skins for the first half of the year will be dedicated to Rakan, Ezreal, Kindred, Evelynn, and Kayle, in that order. Lee Sin's skin catalog will be extensively updated, and the Art and Sustainability Update (ASU) will be available to players in early May. Teemo's ASU will take longer than expected, and further details on the timing will be provided later. The Moon Festival, the first event of the year, will bring the introduction of a new skin line called “Heavenly Roar” and the return of the “Porcelain” theme. These skins will launch in patches 14.3 and 14.4 and will include champions such as Lee Sin, Ezreal, Kai'Sa, Master Yi, Diana, Janna, and Smolder. Additionally, there will be updates for previous Legendary skins, including Brolaf, Corporate Mundo, and Dragon Trainer Tristana, who will receive borders.
The team is committed to improving the ranked system to evaluate player skill more accurately, with the goal of reducing matchups between players of very different skill levels and balancing the loss and gain of League Points ( PL) in the new season. Additionally, changes to the Champion Mastery system are expected in the first half of the year. Vanguard is a new initiative aimed at addressing player concerns about bots, smurfs, and scripts negatively impacting the ranked gaming experience. This system will allow real-time pausing of matches and a refund of PL lost by players in matches with identified cheaters.
Arena mode will return in the first half of the year, with major improvements including an increase in the number of teams in a match, going from 4 teams with 2 players to 8 teams (16 players total). Interface changes, new maps and other improvements will be introduced. Later this year, a new game mode will be introduced that will provide a different take on the core League gameplay and offer a more relaxed experience for playing with friends. LoL eSport will raise the stakes even further for MSI and strengthen the connection between this tournament and Worlds. For the first time in history, the winning MSI team will get a guaranteed place at the World Cup, which will also be considered an extra place for its region. Furthermore, the region with the second best result will receive an extra place in the World Cup.
In the 2024 season, the LEC, LCS, LCK, and LPL leagues will have three basic Worlds slots, while the PCS and VCS will continue to have two slots each, and the LLA and CBLOL will retain just one slot each. MSI 2024 will be held from May 1 to 19, 2024 in Chengdu, China, while Worlds 2024 will take place from September 25 to November 2, 2024 in multiple locations, including Berlin, Paris and London. Finally, to honor those who have made a lasting impact on the game, eSports, and the community, LoL eSports will feature the “Hall of Legends,” a virtual LoL honor roll. A jury of eSports industry experts will vote to select the first Legends, who will be celebrated both in-game and beyond. Further details will be shared later.
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