LoL Preseason 2020 brings changes to dragons, jungling, and more

Riot Games marked League of Legends’ monumental 10-year milestone with an exceptional Riot Pls broadcast that unveiled transformative updates.

As one of the world’s most played competitive titles, League boasts millions of weekly active participants and a global esports ecosystem with dedicated international followings.

The anniversary announcements introduced sweeping changes that will redefine strategic gameplay for years to come.

In-game rewards, events, and more coming after Riot Pls

Starting October 17, players can earn exclusive anniversary commemoratives through a 10-day login campaign. Your Shop returns with enhanced offerings including potential legendary skin appearances.

Ultra Rapid Fire mode makes its final 2019 appearance with unrestricted champion access enabled for the celebratory period running from October 28 to November 8.

Riot also revealed the Riot Social Impact Fund, continuing their charitable support worldwide while allowing regional communities to vote on beneficiary organizations.

To commemorate this philanthropic endeavor, Dawnbringer Karma releases with all revenue directed to the fund.

2020 Preseason: Rise of the Elements revealed in Riot Pls

Preseason 2020 launches with Patch 9.23 in November, fundamentally altering League’s core mechanics. Beyond providing lasting stat enhancements, dragons now dynamically reshape Summoner’s Rift geography, ensuring distinctive match experiences.

Infernal Drake incinerates vegetation and demolishes terrain structures. The resulting open landscapes enable novel flanking routes and escape pathways.

Ocean Drake saturates the battlefield with vitality, enlarging current brush clusters and generating additional concealment areas. Honeyfruit vegetation proliferates throughout jungle regions beyond river boundaries.

Cloud Drake generates wind streams traversing jungle corridors that accelerate champion mobility.

Mountain Drake triggers seismic rock formations across the map, modifying traversal routes.

Drake slaying continues to provide permanent attribute improvements, though these bonuses undergo significant recalibration.

Cloud drake now reduces ultimate ability cooldowns while Mountain enhances armor and magic resist values. Teams securing their fourth elemental drake obtain a “Dragon Soul” persisting throughout the match.

• Infernal Soul: Tri-second attack intervals trigger area-of-effect detonations dealing adaptive damage that scales with additional damage modifiers.
• Ocean Dragon Soul: Damage infliction activates health and resource restoration over three seconds.
• Cloud Dragon Soul: Ability usage against opponents reduces all ability cooldowns.
• Mountain Dragon Soul: Champions avoiding damage for five seconds gain persistent protective shields scaling with various bonuses.

Dragon Soul type determination relies on team dragon dominance. For instance, two Ocean and one Mountain drake kills yield Ocean Dragon Soul acquisition.

Only one Dragon Soul becomes available per match. Following Dragon Soul claim, Elder Dragon emerges with substantial mechanical revisions.

Elder Dragon empowerment grants champions an automatic execution capability.

Visual indicators materialize above enemy health bars, and when champions drop below designated thresholds, Elder Immolation instantly eliminates them. Standard defensive abilities like Stopwatch or Taric’s ultimate can negate initial immolation attempts, though secondary exposure guarantees elimination.

Map changes and new gameplay arriving in LoL Preseason 2020

Patch 9.23 introduces symmetrical alcove structures in top and bottom lanes. These recessed areas provide additional combat positioning and ambush opportunities based on situational demands.

Additional brush clusters emerge opposite Baron and dragon pits, expanding tactical possibilities. Champions can utilize these areas for transition interception or invasion preparation while creating novel vision control locations in enemy domains.

Jungle modifications significantly impact Krugs camp viability. Beginning with the preseason update, Krugs experience value reduction while Gromp gains increased significance. Consequently, junglers access diversified routing alternatives and achieve level three through varied camp sequences, balancing clear speeds across red and blue side starting positions.

The overhaul incorporates respawn tracking icons for all jungle camps, enabling improved pathing preparation.

Top lane isolation during early phases diminishes lane dominance relevance compared to other positions. To amplify solo lane game impact, base minion experience values increase for accelerated leveling, while shared experience reductions slow bottom lane progression.

Lanes will function differently after LoL Preseason 2020

Updated gameplay incentivizes teams to prioritize bottom lane control for dragon dominance. To encourage top lane focus, Rift Herald appears earlier with potential respawn opportunities for early acquisitions.

Support equipment undergoes substantial preseason modifications. Supports acquire single items that automatically upgrade upon reaching designated milestones. While sacrificing certain statistics, these changes facilitate earlier core item completion.

Ancient Coin removal in Patch 9.23 aims to promote aggressive support playstyles. Supports now generate income through specific items without requiring nearby allies.

Spear of Shojin exits the game entirely. Lethality itemization receives adjustments providing additional construction alternatives for AD assassins and fighters.

Riot withheld precise numerical values for these alterations, indicating Public Beta Environment testing commencement. Rise of the Elements deployment with November’s Patch 9.23 initiates a revolutionary League of Legends epoch.

No reproduction without permission：Game Guides Online » LoL Preseason 2020 brings changes to dragons, jungling, and more Complete guide to League of Legends 2020 preseason changes including dragon souls, map updates, and strategic implications