The League of Legends 5.5 Patch Has Caused a Problem

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The League of Legends 5.5 Patch was released on March 11th and with it came a laundry list of game changes including champion tweaks, bug fixes, graphical interface changes, and some brand new items. Unfortunately one of the cool new items doesn’t work like it’s supposed to.

Riot Games has been teasing their new +120 ability power item for awhile now. Ever since they removed Deathfire Grasp from the game, it needed a replacement. The newly Luden’s Echo is supposed to be that replacement. Luden’s Echo costs 3,100 gold and gives you +120 ability power, +7% movement speed, and has a passive that works similar to Statikk Shiv but with damage dealing abilities rather than basic attacks. It’s not quite a Deathfire Grasp but is still a useful item. At least, on the maps you can build it correctly.

League of Legends 5.5 Patch

Luden’s Echo normally builds out of a Needlessly Large Rod and an Aether Wisp. The problem is, the Needlessly Large Rod can’t actually be purchased on some game modes. Shops on The Crystal Scar (Dominion) and Twisted Treeline do not have a Needlessly Large Rod available to purchase as a standalone item. The only way you can even find it on the shop is by going into the recipe for an item that requires it (Luden’s Echo for example). It doesn’t exist as its own item that you can find by categorizing the shop via ability power for example.

Normally requiring a few extra clicks wouldn’t be that much of an issue but even if you find it via the Luden’s Echo recipe, you still can’t buy one! Double clicking the Needlessly Large Rod does nothing. No matter how many times you click the darn thing the shopkeeper just won’t let you have it. It’s unbuyable. This means you can only acquire a Luden’s Echo by first buying an Aether Wisp to knock 850 gold off the steep 3,100 gold price tag. Then you need to save up a hefty 2,250 gold to finish off Luden’s Echo from Aether Wisp alone.

Considering it has already been several days since the patch was released, Riot Games is most likely not even aware of this issue. The fact this glitch doesn’t happen on Summoner’s Rift or Howling Abyss just further goes to show how neglected The Crystal Scar and Twisted Treeline truly are. I have reached out to Riot about the problem but as of this writing have yet to hear back. Hopefully it gets sorted out quickly because as it is, Luden’s Echo remains out of the price range of most Dominion and Twisted Treeline players, requiring 2,250 gold at one time to get one. That is a shame because the Echo is a really fun item to mess around with. At least Bami’s Cinder works though.

League of Legends DJ Sona Ultimate Skin Announced

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League of Legends‘ favourite silent support champion is being given an Ultimate Skin. DJ Sona will feature a wide array of new particles, textures and sounds for both Sona players and the rest of her team. Whenever Sona uses an ability, she changes the music track, allowing other players to listen on her DJ-style music by clicking a button next to her summoner icon. This newest Ultimate skin blows past skins like Pulsefire Ezreal out of the water, because not only does it feature unique sound effects, graphics, animations and an entirely new design, it allows other players to appreciate it as well.

Not to mention, her new dance:

League of Legends Players With Good Behavior Getting Free Stuff

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If you demonstrated positive behavior in 2014, you’ll receive a mystery gift sometime this week.

Christmas may have come and gone, but League of Legends developer Riot Games is not yet finished handing out gifts. In a post on the developer’s website last night, Riot explained that players who demonstrated positive behavior in 2014 are being rewarded with free stuff.

From Riot: “Over the next few days, we’ll be rewarding positive League of Legends players with a classic Mystery Gift as thanks for being such an awesome part of our community. If you haven’t received a chat restriction, ranked restriction, 14-day ban, or permanent ban in 2014, and you meet the requirements to receive a Mystery Gift (you’re Level 5 or higher and there are at least 10 skins you don’t own), you’re on our list!” Read More →

League of Legends Champion Velkoz Cooldown Reduction Item Build Guide

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As is the case with any League of Legends champion, what matters is not just who you’re using, but also how you use them. This is especially the case for Velkoz, the popular Ability Power-based Mage.

One way you can get the most out of Velkoz is by building him so that you maximize Cooldown Reduction. If you reduce the duration of your spell cooldowns by the maximum of 40 percent, you’ll be able to use your spells much more often than usual. You’ll be a bigger threat overall.

With that in mind, here is our recommended Cooldown Reduction build for Velkoz. Of course, you should start out with basic boots, and probably some health and mana potions. Eventually, convert those to Sorcerer’s Shoes, which increase your movement speed, and provide you with an extra 15 Magic Pentration. After that, here’s what you should build.

By starting out with Athene’s Unholy Grail, you’re already halfway home because it gives you 20 percent Cooldown Reduction. Plus, it offers other very useful attributes, including mana regeneration, magic resist, and 60 Ability Power.

Morellonomicon

Now to finish off the process of maxing out Cooldown Reduction. By combining Morellonomicon with Athene’s Unholy Grail, you double your reduction from 20 percent to 40 percent. Plus, Morellonomicon also gives you 80 Ability Power, and increased mana regeneration as well.

By taking care of Cooldown Reduction with just two items, you can focus on building up your damage with the final two vacant item slots, which brings us to our next item.
Rabadon’s Deathcap

Now that you’re already well on your way to maxing out Cooldown Reduction, this is the time to invest in an item that will provide you with the ability to deal heavy damage. Say hello to Rabadon’s Deathcap, which gives you 120 Ability Power, and increases your Ability Power by 30 percent on top of that.

Simply put, this is one of the most powerful items a mage can get in League of Legends.

Void Staff

By now, you and any other mages on your team should be dealing plenty of damage. In fact, the opposing team might try to counter you by building items with heavy magic resistance. That’s why you should get Void Staff now, which provides you with 70 Ability Power, and 35 percent Magic Penetration.

By getting Void Staff, you virtually ensure that no amount of magic resist will prevent you from dealing substantial amounts of damage.

Liandry’s Torment

We recommend Liandry’s Torment here for the same reason. This item gives you 50 Ability Power, an additional 15 Magic Penetration, 300 Health, along with a damage-over-time effect equating to two percent of an enemy champion’s current health, and four percent against enemies champions whose movement is impaired.

The extra health gives you a bit more survivability.

By combining all of these items, you give yourself the maximum amount of Cooldown Reduction possible, 35 percent Magic Penetration, 30 Magic Penetration, and enough Ability Power to tear through all but the tankiest champions.

League of Legends Shooting Blow Darts at Rocks

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Oct. 19, 40,000 fans poured into a soccer stadium in Seoul, South Korea, to smack thundersticks and roar with glee at the fourth annual League of Legends World Championship. Millions more followed along on TV or via online streams—Riot Games, the American company that makes League of Legends, has yet to release this year’s viewership numbers, but last year’s championship attracted a worldwide audience of 32 million. By the end of the evening, a team of five young Korean dudes sponsored by Samsung had taken the “Summoner’s Cup” and the $1 million top prize.

All of which left me with two questions: 1) Is rooting for Samsung akin to rooting for U.S. Steel? 2) Why, exactly, is this video game—and competitive gaming more broadly, known by its practitioners as “e-sports”—so wildly popular?

League of Legends boasts 67 million active monthly players. Broadcasts of its professional title matches draw more global eyeballs than an NBA Finals game. While this year’s event was held in South Korea, and South Koreans make up a healthy chunk of the game’s fan base, a sellout crowd also watched last year’s championship at Los Angeles’ Staples Center. And yet, I could only find one Slate employee who’d ever played LoL before last week. Many among us had no idea what League of Legends even was, beyond a vague sense that it must be some sort of fantasy dealie.

To find out what we were all missing, I downloaded the game and started playing it obsessively. I logged on for match after match, day and night, until my fingers cramped and my eyeballs ached. I assaulted turrets. I was repeatedly “ganked” by “junglers.” I got called a noob more times than I care to remember. And I stand before you today as … a distinctly awful League of Legends player. But I have come to understand the game’s appeal. I now believe that e-sports will dominate our recreational future.

First, a primer. League of Legends is a computer game you can play on a PC or Mac using a mouse and keyboard. The standard game features two teams of five players each. Those teams clash on a square battlefield, starting from opposite corners. Each five-player unit defends its home base and attempts to destroy its enemy’s—kind of like capture the flag. There are three wide-open “lanes” that players can use to traverse the game board between the bases, and which serve as frequent venues for head-on fights. In between them lies a knottier “jungle” that players can roam through guerrilla-style. There are strange monsters and medieval fantasy weapons and magic armor. That kind of scene.

The first time I played, I faced an immediate dilemma: Which character should I be? There are currently 121 “champions” listed on the game’s information page. Each possesses different skills and vulnerabilities. Some are “tanks” that can sustain a lot of damage. “Marksmen” dish out death from afar but are fragile under fire. Which champion best suited my LoL personality?

Teemo Read More →