Champion Spotlight: Darius, the Hand of Noxus

Welcome to the Darius Champion Spotlight, summoners! Darius is a front-line melee fighter who wades into battle, dishing out tons of punishment. Whether buffing himself for hitting multiple enemies, slowing and then pulling fleeing victims back in, or finally crashing down for a killing blow, Darius is ready to make a grand entrance into the League. For those interested in executing the competition, take a look at the Darius Champion Spotlight!

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Darius Patch Notes

New Skins in the Store

• Lord Darius
• Blackthorn Morgana
• Tyrant Swain

PvP.net v1.60

• Normal Draft Mode
  • Normal draft has changed so that premade groups are not prioritized over solo players
    • Solo players have a 20% chance of being the team captain with banning powers and first pick, regardless of the premade status of the rest of the team
    • If a solo player is not team captain, the player will be given a random slot in the pick order
    • If players group up before a game, their host absorbs all of their chances, i.e. the host of a 4-man premade has an 80% chance to be captain
• Ranked Solo/Duo Queue
  • The Free to Play rotation has been removed from Ranked Solo/Duo Queue
  • Unlocked Champions that appear on the Free to Play rotation will still be playable
• You may now rename your buddy groups by double-clicking the name of the group
• Fixed a bug where some buddies would appear to be level 0 with no information
• Fixed a bug where the sound at the end of Champion select would play too loudly
• Fixed a bug where swap offers in Champion select would persist into your next game

League of Legends v1.0.0.140
Darius, the Hand of Noxus

• Hemorrhage (Passive) - Darius aims his attacks strategically, causing his target to bleed. This effect stacks up to five times.
• Decimate - Darius swings his axe in a wide circle. Enemies struck by the blade take more damage than those struck by the shaft.
• Crippling Strike - Darius's next attack severs a crucial artery. As the target bleeds out, their movement and attack speeds are slowed. Crippling Strike's cooldown is lower the more bloodied the target.
• Apprehend - Darius hones his axe, granting him passive armor penetration. When activated, Darius sweeps up his enemies with his axe's hook and pulls them to him.
• Noxian Guillotine (Ultimate) - Darius leaps to an enemy Champion and strikes a lethal blow, dealing true damage. This damage increases for each stack of Hemorrhage on the target. If Noxian Guillotine is a killing blow, its cooldown is refreshed.

Ashe

• Ashe's art update
  • New model for Classic Ashe
  • Updated and improved models for Woad Ashe, Shewood Ashe, Frelijord Ashe and Queen Ashe
  • All new animations and updated VFX for base and skins
  • Updated splash art
• Hawkshot now displays total gold retrieved by the skill in the tooltip
• Adjusted Frost Shot's projectile speed to match the basic attack projectile speed
• Fixed a bug where Frost Shot's attack frame was slower than the basic attack

Caitlyn

• Fixed a bug where Caitlyn would appear to attack during Ace in the Hole

Cho'Gath

• Rupture
  • Added red/green rings to indicate which targets will be affected
  • Launch delay reduced to 0.65 seconds from 0.7 seconds

Dr. Mundo

• Sadism now returns 40/50/60% of Mundo's health instead of 40/55/70%

Fiddlesticks

• Dark Wind now deals 50% increased damage to minions

Fizz

• Fixed a bug where Playful / Trickster would prevent Fizz from casting spells for longer than intended

Gangplank

• Parrrley now displays total gold earned by the skill in the tooltip

Hecarim

• Rampage damage to minions increased to 66% from 50%
• Devastating Charge now requires less distance traveled to get the full effect

Lulu

• Glitterlance
  • Damage adjusted to 80/125/170/215/260 from 80/130/180/230/280
  • Ability power ratio reduced to 0.5 from 0.6

Malphite

• Health per level increased to 90 from 82
• Increased Malphite's travel speed during Unstoppable Force

Morgana

• Soul Siphon Spell Vamp reduced to 10/15/20% from 10/20/30%

Nautilus

• Fixed a bug where Riptide would continue to deal full damage on subsequent hits to slow immune targets

Renekton

• Cull the Meek's fury-enhanced swipe trail is now properly red

Twisted Fate

• Loaded Dice will now show total gold earned by the skill on a per-unit basis on the buff tooltip

Xin Zhao

• Fixed a bug where Three Talon Strike did not take Critical Damage modifiers into account

Items

• New item: Athene's Unholy Grail
  • 80 Ability Power
  • 36 Magic Resist
  • 15 mana regeneration per 5 seconds
  • 15% cooldown reduction
  • Unique Passive: Restores 12% of your max mana on kill/assist and increases your mana regeneration by 1% per 1% mana missing
• Phantom Dancer movement speed reduced to 12% from 15%
• Zeal movement speed reduced to 6% from 8%

Summoner's Rift Graphics Updated:

• New textures across the entirety of Summoner’s Rift
• Changes to the color palette to differentiate the upper and lower jungles from one another
• A new shopkeeper has arrived to service all your Champion’s item purchases
• New animations on many monsters including the Ancient Golem, the Lizard Elder, and Baron Nashor
• HUD now displays the number of creeps you have killed
• Minimap has improved so that map icons and player icons display more clearly
• Significantly improved game performance on low end machines and at lower quality settings
• Improved the visual quality of the in-game HUD

Co-op vs. AI

• Bots will no longer kill themselves by chasing enemies onto the summoning platform
• Fixed a bug where Shen Bot did not learn all of his abilities
• Fixed a bug where Ashe Bot would occasionally get stuck toggling Frost Shot repeatedly
• Fixed a bug where Bots would use Cleanse on knockup, and knockback abilities

Spectator Mode

• Spectators can now view the spectator UI and use Timeshift controls after the game has ended
• Spectator Mode will now run at full speed when alt tabbed in windowed or borderless mode
• The mouse cursor will now hide in spectator mode after a period of inactivity
• The spectator HUD will now remember chat visibility settings between games
• Significantly reduced CPU usage of the Featured Games module
• Improved the algorithm for selecting Featured Games to include more Normal and Ranked Team games with extremely skilled players
• [EU ONLY] Featured Games will now pull more evenly from top level games in both EUW and EUNE
• Fixed a bug that caused Featured Games to occasionally show completed games
• Fixed a bug where fast forwarding up to live could break spectator mode
• Fixed a bug that could cause Directed Camera to miss kills in some situations

General

• Towers will now alert you with a tone and a particle when you are being targeted
• Added a confirmation dialog for the quit button in champion select for Custom Games
• All spells attempted to be cast while crowd controlled (stunned, snared, etc) will now cast immediately at the end of the effect
• Improved particle scaling on characters like Dragon or Baron Nashor
• Fixed a bug where players could not spam emotes to their heart's content
• Fixed a bug where units would remain highlighted after death
• Fixed a bug where inputs made while the shop is open would translate onto the battlefield (unintentional pings, pathing, etc)

New Item: Athene's Unholy Grail

In the Darius Patch, we’ll also be rolling out a new upgrade option to the classic Magic Resistance item Chalice of Harmony. To help keep Chalice a viable item choice late into the game, we wanted to add a late game upgrade aimed specifically at Ability Power carries who might have trouble keeping their Mana high. With that in mind, we’ve added the option to add some damage stats later in the game by upgrading to Athene’s Unholy Grail.
The Chalice Conundrum
The added Magic Resistance from Chalice of Harmony combined with the heavy Mana Regeneration granted by its unique passive makes it an attractive option for an Ability Power in a disadvantageous position – particularly one that is heavily reliant on the Crest of the Ancient Golem. In the event that you find yourself behind your lane opponent with the enemy team invading your jungle, a timely Chalice can give you the added durability you need to rally. Meanwhile, the rapid Mana Regeneration can function as a sort of surrogate golem buff, allowing even the most heavily Mana reliant caster to continue fighting effectively.
Unfortunately, while Chalice of Harmony might be the right item choice to fuel an early game comeback, without any damage stats mage players often sell it as the game wears on or simply avoid buying it altogether. For this reason, we decided to offer the option to pick up a little a little extra bang for your buck by upgrading to Athene’s Unholy Grail.
My Cup Runneth Over
To give Chalice of Harmony the staying power it needs to carry on into late game, we decided to add the option combine it with Fiendish Codex to build Athene’s Unholy Grail. With some added Ability Power and Cooldown Reduction, Athene’s Unholy Grail can easily function as a core item for mages interested in picking up some additional durability.

• +80 Ability Power
• +36 Magic Resist
• +15 Mana Regen per 5 seconds
• UNIQUE Passive: 15% Cooldown Reduction
• UNIQUE Passive: Restores 12% of your max Mana on Kill or Assist.
• UNIQUE Passive: Increases your Mana Regen by 1% per 1% Mana you are missing. Does not stack with Chalice of Harmony.

Moreover, in addition to the passive Mana Regeneration afforded by Chalice of Harmony’s unique passive, Athene’s Unholy Grail also has the added benefit of granting a significant Mana bonus upon scoring a kill or assist. This can keep an aggressively ganking Ability Power carry topped off and in the field, as well as grant some additional staying power over the course of a protracted team fight.
I’ll Drink to That!
With the addition of a few offensive stats and a new, offensively focused Mana Regeneration mechanic, the new upgrade to Chalice of Harmony should make it a more attractive option for casters early on in the game. Upgrading to Athene’s Unholy Grail, can help you convert that early game comeback into late game staying power.

New Free Champion Rotation (Season Two: Week 26)

Greetings Summoners! This week’s 10 free champions have been rotated.
Here are this week's free champions:
Week 26 (this week):

See you on the Fields of Justice!

Corporate Mundo Fix Staff Attitude, Then Put Skins and Champions on Sale!

Corporate Mundo send out many memos today. Explain Mundo’s bold new vision for company’s future. Staff whine over tiny details like “100-hour work weeks” and “no air conditioning during daylight hours.” So Mundo call feedback meeting, let them speak their mind, then beat them unconscious with briefcase. Whining stop. Tiny details now embraced by all.
With staff attitude corrected, Mundo moving forward with vision… starting with new sale! Buy skins and champions for Mundo, let Mundo give happy profit report!

• Shaco exploit creepy clown brand to great effect. Mundo ban floppy shoes and rubber noses from workplace in order to keep Mundo’s terror in check. He available now for 487 RP.
• Gangplank take ruthless advantage of Casual Friday by dressing like pirate every time. Buy him for 487 RP, or else Mundo make him wear tie!
• Yorick dig graves and hope to restore family legacy. No growth potential in that. Mundo unload him on you for 487 RP.

• Blood Moon Akali wear scary mask, give Mundo the creeps. You pick her up for only 487 RP.
• Ionia Master Yi display proud cultural legacy of Ionian island city-state… then butcher enemies like crazed mongoose. He on sale for 487 RP.
• Almost-Prom King Amumu had evening ruined when bucket of pig’s blood dumped on his head. Mundo not sure what happened next… but you buy him for 260 RP.

Champions and skins only on sale from May 22 through May 25. Then Mundo count up profits and enjoy new perks. Buy for Mundo, money bags. Bold new vision not work unless you do.

Darius Patch Preview: Gameplay Changes

Welcome to the Darius Patch Preview, summoners! In this video, we'll be looking into some changes coming into League of Legends in the Darius update. While the Patch Preview doesn't talk about the newest champion, we will discuss our visual update to Summoner's Rift, a re-built heads-up display, a sneak peek at the new Ashe model, new feedback from turrets, changes to Normal Draft and Solo/Duo Ranked, as well as a brand new item! For more information about these updates, take a look at the video!
Head to the video on YouTube to change your subtitles. Remember to comment on the video and subscribe to the Riot Games YouTube channel!

Summoners Raise €376,884+ for Make-A-Wish®

Summoners,
Two weeks ago, we invited you to join us in supporting fellow summoner Joe and Make-A-WishŸ by purchasing Joe’s favorite champion Jax and his Jaximus skin with RP.
Since then, more than 140,000 summoners participated, totaling more than €376,884 in sales – 100 percent of which will go to Make-A-Wish America and Make-A-Wish International in Joe’s name.
Riot Games and Make-A-Wish would like to thank you for your generosity, and thank Joe for being an incredible inspiration.
Check out a few more photos from Joe’s visit to Riot Games:

Joe, Paul “Pabro” Bellezza, Andrew “Tamat” Beegle and David “Phreak” Turley check out his welcome sign in our Santa Monica HQ’s lobby.

Joe and a bunch of Rioters in our HQ’s PC Café after a match.

Joe, Brandon “Ryze” Beck, Marc “Tryndamere” Merrill and David “Phreak” Turley face off against a team of Rioters in our HQ’s PC Cafe while other Rioters watch.

Stream Live LoL Tournaments This Weekend!

Summoners!

As if this weekend weren’t packed enough, three more great League of Legends tournaments will be streaming live from all over the world! Take a look at the information and schedules below, and tune in for all the action.

OGN Spring Season Championship

Korea’s number-one eSports League comes to a close this Saturday with a battle between fire and ice. Team MiG Frost faces MiG Blaze in the OnGameNet Champions Spring Grand final! Both teams emerged victorious in a highly competitive field that included Korea’s best teams along with Counter Logic Gaming and FnaticRaidCall. Now they face each other for all the marbles, and only one MiG can emerge triumphant.

The championship match begins on Saturday, May 19 at 1:00 am Pacific Time and should continue for four hours after that.

View broadcasts live from Own3d Stream and Twitch.tv Stream

Check out OGN’s official website for information on the two teams.

IvyLoL Season One Championship

IvyLoL’s inaugural season comes to an end this Sunday with a championship battle between two collegiate teams. The brutal schedule featured teams from over 75 North American colleges and university, fighting through a 10-match season, Regional qualifier and 16-team final playoff. Two contenders remain standing: the University of Texas at Austin and University of California at Irvine. They will meet online to determine the championship. The winners receive a Premiere League prize package containing $15 in Riot Points, a Triumphant Ryze skin and a Champion Skin Bundle for each player. (The losers must content themselves with $15 worth of Riot Points apiece.)

The action kicks off on Sunday, May 20th, beginning at 7:00 pm Pacific Time.

Watch the action on Own 3D TV
Get details on the tournament at IvyLoL’s home page.

Reign of Gaming Invitational

Team Curse’s Reign of Gaming Invitational continues this weekend with the first part of the round of eight. Four teams from North America and four teams from Europe face off in a best-of-three format to determine who travels to San Francisco for the finals. Only two teams from each bracket can move forward, so the competition will be no-holds barred.

Matches begin on Saturday, May 19, featuring six of the remaining eight teams. The best-of-three matches follow the schedule below:

• 19:00 CET: Team L. vs. Team NaVi (Europe)
• 21:00 CET: exHCL vs. Absolute Legends (Europe)
• 23:00 CET: Team Epik vs. Counter Logic Gaming (North America)

Check out the LoLPro Main Page for all the info.

Look at the official tournament bracket.

Remember to Enter the Noxus Noms Food Creation Contest!

Summoners!
Interested in creating a delicious treat for our Noxus Noms Food Creation Contest? You’re not too late! Give your food a League of Legends theme and take pictures for all the world to see! For inspiration, RiotCupcake baked this terrific cupcake:

We know you guys can top that and we want to see it! You could win great prizes from Astrogaming and GUNNAR, as well as Riot Points. Check out the full announcement for more details, but act soon! The contest ends at 11:59pm on Wednesday, May 30. We can’t wait to see what you’ll cook up for us!

Hextech Galio Price Reduction

Summoners!
Galio’s wardrobe keeps growing more extensive, so to help you fill out your own closet for the Sentinel’s Sorrow, we’re reducing the cost on one of his classic skins. If you’ve ever thought that your gargoyle could use a tune up, you can send him on down to the foundry for a steamwork overhaul at a reduced price.
Hextech Galio (originally 975 RP) is now permanently available for purchase at only 520 RP. There’s a mechanic standing by in the League of Legends Store to help overhaul your favorite Demacian tank today.

Champion Sneak Peek - Darius, the Hand of Noxus

If you’ve ever been frustrated by your progress in a given position, you might want to look to Darius, the Hand of Noxus, for inspiration. In order to secure his own advancement, this determined champion has repeatedly employed the foolproof method of lopping his boss’ head off. So whether you believe that the road to power is paved with the headless bodies of your enemies, or you simply think that a good beheading is a rather expedient method of dealing with red tape, we think you’ll agree that Darius makes a fine addition to the League of Legends.

* Riot Games does not endorse participation in any beheadings, decapitations or other incidences of fatal mayhem. In the event that you should experience sudden bouts of Machiavellian violence or rapid and very explicable career advancement, please consult your doctor or therapist. By purchasing Darius you absolve Riot Games of responsibility for any maniacal rampages that may ensue.

Mundo Crush Coffee Machine, Then Announce New Sale!

Corporate Mundo love fresh cup of Joe each morning. Fill him with pep, get him into right mood for big business deals. But coffee machine not work today. So Mundo smash. Co-workers not get coffee. Caffeine withdrawal make them more animal than man, and they stab each other with letter openers. Productivity suffer. Mundo’s interns must clean lots of blood off walls.
Now Mundo must order new sale to boost numbers, buy new coffee maker. Open wallets and pick up new champions and skins!

• Singed burn victims with hideous chemical concoctions. Also make good espresso. Possibly two are connected. Buy him for 292 RP.
• Ezreal obsessed with wanderlustno good with directions. That why he take four hours to come back with lunch order. Mundo give him to you for 487 RP
• Heimerdinger heading up R&D department for Mundo. He is certain nothing can go wrong. Even so, Mundo sell him to you for 487 RP.

• Mundo right. Something go wrong. Blast Zone Heimerdinger is proof. Buy him for 260 RP.
• Mundo think Hired Gun Graves big-time stock broker. Instead, he actually carry gun. You can have him for 260 RP.
• Totemic Maokai deal with stock market voodoo in unusual fashion: with actual voodoo. He improve portfolio for you for only 260 RP.

Sale begin on May 15 and last until May 18. Buy soon, money bags! Interns getting twitchy without coffee!

New Free Champion Rotation (Season Two: Week 25)

Greetings Summoners! This week’s 10 free champions have been rotated.
Here are this week's free champions:
Week 25 (this week):

See you on the Fields of Justice!

Tune In to Exciting League Tournaments This Weekend!

Summoners!

If you want some exciting League of Legends matches to watch this weekend, we’ve got your back. Three great events will stream live on May 12 and May 13. Check out the details below!

Solomid EU Invitationals
Solomid.net opens their doors to their first European tournament, in which eight teams – attending via invitation only – will compete for a prize pool of 1500 Euros. Attending teams include Against All Authority, Counter Logic Gaming EU and Absolute Legends, as well as Team SoloMid itself. The tournament kicks off on Saturday, May 12 at 4:00 am Pacific Time (13:00 CEST), and continues on Sunday, May 13 at 4:00 am Pacific Time (13:00 CEST). Follow all of the action at SoloMid.net.

Reign of Gaming Invitational
LoLPro joins forces with Team Curse to produce this all-new event, joining 16 teams from North America and another 16 from Europe in a no-holds barred battle for supremacy. Two finalists from each region will win plane tickets to San Francisco for the championship round on May 19 and 20. You can watch each match on Twitch TV, and Reign of Gaming’s home site will carry match recaps as well as live coverage. The schedule for this round runs as follows:

Saturday, May 12: North America

• 12:00 pm PST/21:00 CEST: TD vs. CLG
• 2:00 pm PST/23:00 CEST: Epik vs. Team Curse
• 4:00 pm PST/01:00 CEST: Dig/Lzh vs. Legion
• 6:00 pm PST/03:00 CEST: Orbit vs. Team SoloMid

Sunday, May 13: Europe

• 15:00 CEST/6:00 am PST Teamless vs. Sypher
• 17:00 CEST/8:00 am PST Moscow Five vs. exHCL
• 19:00 CEST/10:00 am PST Navi/LLL vs. Against All Authority
• 21:00 CEST/12:00 pm PST AL.eu vs. SK/Eclypsia

Check out www.LoLPro.com for a schedule and a list of the teams.

Go4LoL Monthly Finals
Go4LoL rolls on with weekly tournaments open to any team who wishes to participate. The monthly finals take place on Saturday, May 12 starting at noon Pacific Time (21:00 CEST), featuring winning teams from the previous month’s weekly tournaments. They will compete for $500 in prize money, on top of their previous winnings. Go to NESL’s home page for information on the tournament brackets and watch the live streaming on Twitch TV’s NESL page.