League of Legends 2018 Year Recap

Joy to the MOBA World

Every new year that passes by, new waves of content appear from the creativeness of the Riot team. In this League of Legends 2018 Year Recap we’ll discuss some of the events that made an impact on us. Keep in mind though, that not everything that they throw at us can be favorable to all the player base. Some new content may not hit the “spot,” but still can be worth a word or two in this article.

There are many elements to consider in the past year; we’ll start with the game-changing updates. After the discussion of how they change the meta of the game, there will be another thing to consider; like the new champions, the reworks, and custom games. Besides all those elements, there’s always room to talk about Esports.

After all that reviewing, we can take a little room to venture in what new things may come in this year. What goals can the Riot team make to improve League of Legends? Also what goals you may consider to level up your experience in this game?

So relax and enjoy, pour yourself a nice cup of coffee/tea, and ride with us between the subjects in this article.

Game Changes 2018 Year Recap

Season 8

When the new season started this year, it created lots of controversy due to the radical changes that came up with it. The role of the League of Legends ADC was drastically unimproved. People that loved the carry role were forced to change into the “APC” format. Some people were able to adapt, others weren’t so lucky and began to complain. During the rest of the year, Riot was able to replace some of the damage made. But things were the same for a long time.

ADC Nerfs

Pretty much everything that made the League of Legends ADC powerful was nerfed to the ground. To some players, it felt like Riot wanted to remove the role it from the game. These changes, modified vital elements of the ADC, such as:

Base Stats: Their primary stats went too low. The numbers were so close to the ground that it took hard work in making last hits. Players now had to wait a bit longer to kill the minions and be precise.

Items: The equipment wasn’t able to provide enough base stats to keep a carry somehow relevant from the late game. Critical damage got nerfed as well.

Abilities: Ranged characters that try to find the items to boost their spells weren’t that much convenient as their magician counterparts.

Overall Performance

In this 2018 Year Recap, even though all these changes, ADC’s tend to appear in different matches; from time to time, some players enjoy playing these champions. The problem now is that you rely even more on the performance of your support.

New Champions 2018 Year Recap

Kai’Sa

This Lady-Bug-Thing was a light in the dark to us after all those ADC nerfs. Like you may guess, this champion was the answer when the top lane went downhill. Being an APC, she was able to “rain down” all of her “void” abilities to everything around the map. Long range nukes? You got them. Astonishing mobility? You got it as well. At first, there was no answer but to surrender when you saw someone picking Kai’sa on the enemy’s team. Don’t believe me? Well check the tournaments after her release, and you’ll see the higher percentage of the picking rate.

Now if you are one of those players that like to hunt for your pray, look no further. Just look for the enemy’s icons on the map, activate a couple of abilities and you’re there. Even if they try to run away, things won’t go too good for them. With another push of a bottom, you’ll be able to nuke them out from far away. This champion was a proposal from Riot after the meta changes in the Season 8 patch. If you were one of the lucky ones that were able to unlock her, you probably had a good time in 2018.

Pyke

What happens when you have no other choice but to play support in the match? You pick this champion. With all those abilities that he possesses, you’ll be able to inflict damage if your carry is somehow not in the mood. This support probably came to life after the backlash of the ADC nerfs. Just buy a couple of wards and go berserker afterward. Thanks to the “gold sharing,” your carry probably may give you less flame while he/she is sitting motionless in the lane. Now you get the idea if your teammates do nothing but complain, well with Pyke you’ll be able to do their work instead.

Thanks to the abilities that give him mobility and the hook thing (yay another champion with it), you’ll practically teleport in the entire map. So, no worries, play it at its high potential and let the enemy team always keep an eye on you for the rest of the match.

Neeko

This champion can turn herself into any character available in the game. Creative minds can have a blast making some mischief in the middle of any match, by creating chaos between lanes. Neeko can also give you the option to disengage whenever things may go ripe on you. She’s able to participate in entirely different roles that League of Legends has to offer. In the same time, this champion can be appealing to either defensive or aggressive players alike. Paired with more stun from your teammates and you’ll have a less rough time to land everything accordingly.

Overall Review

In the 2018 Year Recap, we had a total of three champions. All of them have something in common between them, that is their versatility and the damage output through their abilities. Looking at their characteristics, you can easily be aware of Riot’s mentally through 2018. That is no more “right-clicking.” This type of strategy may have upset only the player base that focusses in playing ADC, which may be the 1/5^th percent between all the population. Taking that in perspective, it wasn’t that bad at all. Those players even have the choice to change for the “APC way,” keeping the role mechanics but changing their playstyle.

The rest of the community had almost no interference.  These player’s roles were practically the same all over the past year. So, if you are one of those players that don’t care about “carry” stuff, you probably kept playing like you always did. But if you think about it, all those ADC players got screwed from their collection perspective. If they just kept their focus in that role, and only got champions with those characteristics, they probably got a rough time since you aren’t able to obtain all those shards spent in those particular champions.

Champion Reworks 2018 Year Recap

Swain

Too many parts of this champion got an update to the point that it doesn’t feel the same. This “Swain” is an entirely different character. Before the rework, his relevance was not ideal; after the significant changes though he’s practically still in the same spot. The only thing familiar to all those “Swain Mains” was the ultimate and some Ravens from here and there. Although these changes aren’t favorable game-mechanical wise, the artwork and the new effects look pretty neat. There’s now a devil hand and some red tint over there that make him stand out from the rest.

The hard work is complete though. With some little changes between numbers in his abilities and he can be more famous than before. Depending on the path that Riot takes in this year, Swain probably may see the light of the day more often.

Irelia

Everything was beautiful and shining when the rework of this champion came out. The artwork looks astonishing, the ability effects look superior, and the new game mechanics made her shine. Sadly, not everything that’s good lasts forever, and recently Irelia got a few nerfs. These changes made huge impacts to the point that the official Riot’s video of the rework is no longer relevant. This type of changes can easily raise some eyebrows from the gaming community. The players that main this champion is probably in a roller coaster that sadly is in a wrong spot at the moment.

Hopefully, things may get better in the future, and probably Riot may tone down those nerfs for a bit. To all those Irelia’s mains, there is no other choice but to pray for the best.

Aatrox

The “trill” that the old Aatrox was famous with is now gone forever. Before the rework, you were able to play under the edge and take a couple of enemies without losing the last little bars on your health bar. This kind of gameplay made him a little more unique from the rest; sadly, his days were over once the popular opinion about him, was not favorable.  Now with the rework, although he got better animations in and out the fights, he’s now more “generic.” With the (not so) recent changes, Aatrox gains a little bit of health back from physical damage.

The little population that calls themselves “Aatrox Mains” felt betrayed. The champion that recently bought for 6300 shards was no longer in the game. Like I said before, you aren’t able to reclaim your shards once you bought something. Feeling betrayed, some players left the game, while others have this champion in the “do not touch” drawer.

Akali

There was a time when this champion was known for her “high risk, high reward” type of playstyle. You had the chance to go hunt and kill one of your enemies, and if they stick together, you were able to go for more. Everything is now different thanks to the rework. This time around you rely too much on your cooldowns, especially for your ultimate. When you’re trying to learn Akali, you’ll soon find out that after using your abilities, you have no other choice but run. If you an enemy with you, that’s great; if not, you won’t be able to try again from about 80 seconds.

Another problem that the “Akali mains” have right now is her scaling. When the match enters the “late game,” the damage reduction from the items decrease the effectiveness of Akali. Plus, if you add the numerous team fights in that phase of any match; you’ll probably notice that aiming all your abilities to a single target wouldn’t help that much.

Nunu & Willump

Besides the great work from Riot in making a better model for this champion, plus the effects. The changes in the gaming mechanics were a top spot this time. With the new characteristics that Nunun & Willump possess now, everything is looking better for them. Besides, no one can deny that it feels a lot of fun to master every single ability. The roles can be more precise this time; you now have the option to be one active support with the crowd control that this champion contains.

Almost all of the mains from this champion seem to share the same opinion of this rework. They are that this time they hit the spot with everything. They now have the chance to have a champion that looks great, it’s fun, and potentially create a lot of struggle to the enemy’s team.

Ezreal

It seems that doing this rework, Riot made almost no changes in the gaming mechanics. Besides the great new model and effects, they only made some adjustments to one of his abilities (W.) The reason behind the thoughts in this procedure may be that this champion is doing great. Being skill based, Ezreal still can be seen recently in tournaments and lots of random matches before the rework. Riot probably thought that “it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” except of course of the offensive ability.

The player base that focusses on this champion was favorable to the changes. The new ability made Ezreal more effective in dealing damage and farming for the required items.

Overall Review

Artwork

We all can agree that Riot always stands out in this particular matter for this 2018 Year Recap. With all those new models from the “classical” champions that still look better, and the astonishing special effects. There are other things to consider when the rework takes place, that is the number of skins before the changes. If one of the selected champions contains more than five different skins before its new model, they have to change as well. Plus, if there are new abilities, the effects need to share the style and lore as well.

Game Mechanics

From the previous reworks, you can tell that the effectiveness of Riot in this subject is about 50-50. One of the reasons that probably took effect in the assertiveness of the game mechanics probably was the recent patches. After the Season 8 began, and the early “meta-changes” were on the servers, there was some time for everything to settle. “Right-clicking” was now ineffective, and the rework champions had no such characteristics. It about half of the year for Riot to make things more efficient. The problem though arises in the uncertainty of the future. We can only hope that new patches won’t be too harsh on these reworks.

Player Reception

There is no denying that the game mechanics from these reworks were the essential part of it. No matter how good the new models are, or how flashy the new special effects may be; you need to have fun. And of course, the “fun factor” primarily relies on the winning chances you have. If the abilities have the right mechanics, and the effect remains the same through all the match; you’re on the right path.

 Best Game Mode for 2018

Odyssey

This Custom Game felt sort of like an ARPG (Action Role Playing Game). The only thing that lacks (and it’s crucial for those types of games) is that there’s one theme map and there aren’t many mob differences. Which made it repetitive pretty quickly. Though, it was an excellent addition in League of Legends; you were able to practice the champions available and have fun for a couple of hours. This custom game gave a lot of possible improvement for future special events with the same theme that can have more variety and replay value.

Esports – the Best tournament for 2018

Worlds

League of Legends Worlds made a great impression to us all with the fantastic plays the pros gave us. The variety towards the Meta made it more diverse and fun to watch. Especially in the top lane, where multiple choices made an impression. With future updates, we can hope that even more options appear in pro tournaments. There was a massive dominance from China and Europe regions as they broke the hopes for the other areas of this particular tournament.

Things to come in 2019

Champions

We already saw another acquisition for this year (Sylas) and the new exciting mechanics that he possesses. With him, we now have three different characters that use some copy skills. We saw this first with Zoey and her “summoner’s spells” steal ability, and Neeko with her chameleon specialty. This time around, Sylas can steal the enemy’s ultimate. All of these three elements bring another level of entertainment for all the player base. Due to the requirements of the abilities, we can say for sure that every match that you play with them is somewhat different.

For the rest of the year, anything can happen. Depending on the “meta-changing” patches in this season, we may get some champions that can easily adapt to the “new” mechanics. As the past year, where the abilities became more important to win games, the new acquisitions had terrific things to do in their repertoire.

Game Modes

Before we venture in the possible outcomes from this part of the article, there are other things to consider. For example, the game engine. If Riot can update this meaningful part of the game, the possible custom modes that we may get can be limitless. Imagine with me bigger maps or different playstyles that we can get in the same League of Legends game. Something that can help us grow the amazing lore behind every character in the game.

Meta

This time around, Riot probably may probably try to get in the middle ground when it comes to balance. There are already some hints about the buffs for the ADC role. We can only hope that every position in the League of Legends game is somewhat relevant for the entire season. If they can achieve this almost impossible task, there may be only good news for the whole player base. Plus, the esports part may look even better for us. The more options for the professional players in every tournament, the more entertained it can get. You’ll never know what team compositions may appear in every match.

New Year’s goals

Smurfing Around

One of the exciting things we always have when the new season arrives is to play the ten matches that will probably chain us for the rest of the year. There’s still uncertainty about what rank we may get and start climbing from it. When we queue, we can only hope that decent teammates can cooperate for the victory. Sadly, this probability isn’t high enough. And most of the time, the rank we get is not satisfactory enough. In the old days, we had no other option but to accept the consequences and try to climb up as fast as possible. Now though, things can be more tricky for our advantage.

With the option of a smurf account, you’re able to try your luck again and calibrate for a better rank. Or find one that already contains the level that suits your needs.

Ranking up

There are lots of things to consider when you’re trying to go higher in the “food chain.” Some paths may make the road a little bit complicated, while other options can improve your rank quickly. Here are some tips that may help you in this endeavor:

• Always be aware of the Meta changes: There are still champions or changes in roles that can guide you in picking what can give you an easy victory.
• Try to master at least two different roles: Even though you’re able to pick whichever position you want before the queue, you’ll never know what may happen in the game. Some teammates may try different things, and you may be forced to change your performance to win.
• Watch esports tournaments regularly: Always check what champions are banned all the time, and how the professionals move in the map according to their roles.
• Know how to counter the enemy’s picks: This is probably the essential thing you need to master to go higher in ranks. When you counter pick your enemy’s strategy, they probably get a harder game and give up quickly.
• Have a positive vibe: Your attitude can help you in achieving goals efficiently. The more cooperative and emphatic you’re in a game, the better your teammates may become. Either you win or lose, remember to have fun.
• Learn how to “read” the progress of a match: During the game, there may be some misplays that reduce the effectiveness of one player. Stuff happens and not every game can go to everyone’s favor. When you notice that one of your teammates is having a hard time, try to help somehow. For example, if your Jungler gets caught off-guard and dies more than once, provide some opportunities for Ganks.

Champions to get

Before you jump in and buy one character that may look good for you, learn more about him/her/it before spending those shards. As I said, once the shards leave your account, they are gone forever. Check first if that champion can be played in your favorite roles, or if the abilities suit your playstyle, and if the meta complies.

Conclusion

It’s always great to check and review what stuff made the news in the last year. With all those upsides and downsides there is nothing else but to learn what went through in the middle of everything. Some of the best gaming companies out there always tend to review the feedback from their player base. The more satisfaction they can get from their community, the better. Because after all, those people are the ones that keep the glory of the video game and keep their wallets full.

In this 2018 year recap, we can evaluate for sure that the gaming mechanics are the ones that “take the cake.” The artwork employees from Riot are always on the top, but the balancing people may need a bit more tune. But fear not, with every year that passes by in the history of League of Legends, the better it gets. The majority of the champions tend to look better, and the complexity of their abilities makes them fun to play or watch.