Wild Rift News January

Welcome to the first Wild Rift News of the new year! We hope you’re enjoying spending time with your friends and family playing games together and maybe making some resolutions for 2023! Personally, we’ve made the resolution to try and not play so much Yuumi and Sona and diversify our champ pool, maybe with some Thresh or Pyke…but we’ll see how that goes. We’re also excited to bring you a patch full of Lunar New Year goodies and events to help with those celebrations you may be having with your friends and family!

PATCH 4.0 RUNDOWN - RISING SPARK

CHAMPIONS

Zoe is planned to be released during Patch 4.0 on January 12 00:01 UTC

Zeri is planned to be released during Patch 4.0b on February 24 00:01 UTC

Things were a little dark and broody with some of the champions we released at the end of last year, so we’re switching things up and kicking off this year with a spark of sparkle! Adding some mischief to the Rift is Zoe, the Aspect of Twilight. She’s ready to bring some glitter, cheer, and chaos to the Mid Lane or the Support role. Take portals, steal spells, and snipe enemies with this new mage. Also we really hope she wins…she's so cute! Later in the patch, you’ll also be able to bring some mizeri and electricity to the Dragon Lane with Zeri, the Spark of Zaun! Zip and zap your foes with this speedy new carry!

GAMEPLAY

Over the past few patches, we’ve been exploring different aspects of the game, and this patch we wanted to take a look at the three-act gameplay structure for Wild Rift, where players can feel the ramp-up from early, to mid, to late game. We’ve noticed that there’s some room for improvement in the later stages of the game, so this patch we’re looking to increase the opportunities for comebacks while maintaining the fast and exciting gameplay of Wild Rift.

INHIBITORS*

The first update that we’re making is adding inhibitor respawns. When the inner turret is destroyed, an inhibitor will respawn after a certain amount of time at the place where the inner turret was destroyed. Inhibitors cannot attack, and when there is an inhibitor present, enemy super minions cannot spawn in that lane. Destroyed inhibitors will also respawn after a certain amount of time. This addition should help the game still feel winnable even if you lose an inner turret early, and will give you and your teammates a chance to focus more on facing off against the enemy team and less on their minions flooding into your base.

*Please note that the changes to Inhibitors & Turrets won't be live during the initial 4.0 Patch, but you can expect to see them in one of the following balance patches during the update!

TURRETS*

Continuing with our adjustments to the late game state, we’re also adding a mechanic that will limit turtling in your base.

Once you reach 22 minutes in game, your outermost turret in each lane will start to burn and lose 25 magic resistance and 25 armor. Then they continue to burn and start to lose 3% max health every 3 seconds. However, you and your team will still need to group up and end the game together or with your minions as the turrets and inhibitors in the opposing team's base will no longer take burn damage once their health drops below 25%. We don’t expect this effect to trigger often, but we want you to feel the urgency of pushing your advantage or try to make a comeback through team fights rather than waiting and turtling in your base to try and farm up.

We’ll be keeping a close eye on these changes this patch, and look forward to hearing how these new updates feel and impact you in your games!

*Please note that the changes to Inhibitors & Turrets won't be live during the initial 4.0 Patch, but you can expect to see them in one of the following balance patches during the update!

TANK UPDATE

New patch, new role update! Last patch we were focused on changes to the Jungle, this time though we’re going to be shifting our focus to the Baron Lane and making highly requested adjustments once again to the fighter role…just kidding! We’re making updates to our beefy friends, the tanks! We know this update has been highly requested and we’re happy to be bringing it to you in Patch 4.0. We can’t wait to hear how it feels once it goes live!

We know that tanks can make game-winning plays and can be the backbone for their team, but sometimes their teammates can’t really see the impact that they are having. So we want to make tank players more visible to everyone in their games. In general, the current tank items provide a lot of utility but since their effects are often subtle, it’s difficult for you and your teammates to see when you’re using them well. So let’s jump in and see what the shopkeeper will have in stock for the tanks when the update drops.

DAWNSHROUD

We’re launching a new item for Wild Rift: Dawnshroud! This item is perfect if you’re an aggressive tank support looking to get ahead through laning. When you immobilize a champion, Dawnshroud’s passive will damage and reveal nearby enemy champions. This effect will also trigger if you are immobilized.

RANDUIN’S OMEN

We’ll also be taking a look at Randuin’s Omen and giving it a new passive. Once you’re hit by a critical strike, you’ll gain stacks of Determination for 5 seconds. Once you attack a champion, you’ll be able to consume your Determination stacks and heal for the amount consumed. This change will mean that you’ll need to attack to make full use of your damage reduction instead of passively gaining it, which will reward you even more for good decision making.

FROZEN HEART

We’ll also be making adjustments to Frozen Heart’s effect. Basic attacks and magic damage you deal, or that are inflicted upon you and your nearby allies, will apply a stack of Chill to enemy champions. Stacks of Chill will slow enemy attack speed, up to a cap. We hope that with a stacking debuff instead of an effect with constant uptime will make Frozen Heart’s impact more noticeable overall.

SPIRIT VISAGE

Finally, we’ll be rounding out our tank improvements with some balance adjustments and updates to Spirit Visage. Our designers will cover that update in the Patch Notes!

You’ll also continue to see updates like these patch to patch, as we are constantly looking at each role so that we can continuously improve the general game health.

ALL RANDOM ULTRA RAPID FIRE MODE (ARURF) AND LUNAR NEW YEAR MAP

During the Rising Spark patch, we’ll also be bringing back a classic: All Random Ultra Rapid Fire Mode! Start those finger stretches and get ready to queue up and play a completely random champion with super-speedy spells!

To celebrate Lunar New Year, we’ll also be decking out the Rift with Lunar New Year accents, including a themed cannon in ARURF! We are also getting into the spirit and adding a new effect for the holiday—whenever you slay a foe, fireworks will shoot into the air!

EXECUTE SMITE

In ARURF, we will also be introducing something new to test out, Execute Smite. In the champion select screen, you’ll be able to select Execute Smite, along with two other spells. However, Smite will no longer be a selectable spell in this mode.

Whenever you damage a monster and cause its health to fall below Smite’s total damage, the spell will automatically trigger, effectively smiting the camp for you. There’s no cooldown for this effect, so you don’t have to worry about accidentally wasting it at a camp before you and your team go take Baron.

We know that this change is new, but this is just our first test of Execute Smite, and the final version may end up being a little different depending on where our playtests land. But jungle mains, keep a lookout for this new update in your ARURF games this patch!

QUALITY OF LIFE

We have a few quality of life updates coming this patch. We’ll be sharing a few here, but as always all updates big and small will be listed in the upcoming Patch Notes!

ARAM TITLES

ARAM titles have been in the game for a few patches now, and we’re going to be adding some new sub-tiers to some of the titles so that it will be easier to track your climb.

ROLE LEADERBOARD

Are you the best support in your friend group? Starting this patch, you’ll be able to prove it! We’re adding a Role Leaderboard, where you can compare your role score with your friends. You’ll also be able to see the top players for each role in your region—the best of the best will even receive a special title. Will you rise to the top and prove to be the best in your region?

ROLE SCORES

With this new update, we’ll also be adjusting how role scores work as a whole. At the start of a new ranked season, your role scores will reset. But, you’ll gain a boost for role score gains in the future based on your performance from the previous season.

RANKED MODE & REWARD IMPROVEMENT

We are also introducing a new and immersive layout to the Ranked Mode Select that will celebrate players’ best champions and most recent stats. In addition to this, we’ll also be making improvements to the Ranked Reward Tracker and Ranked Store contents. There will be more fun stuff to earn as you make your climb!

LOADOUT

We’ll also be making some adjustments to loadouts, so that they reflect popular builds instead of default builds.

XBOX GAME PASS & LOGIN

Xbox Login will be live this patch! If you link your Xbox account, you’ll receive a Random Emote Chest! The Xbox Game Pass is also live, and subscribers will receive in-game benefits—all Wild Rift champions unlocked and a 20% XP boost!

ETC DEVICE UPDATE

When Patch 4.0 launches, we will be deprecating our support for older devices that use the ETC texture format. If this affects you, you’ll receive a notification and email from us!

RANKED

It’s time to make a splash and climb the ladder! Ranked Season 8 is right around the corner, and of course a new Ranked season means a new Glorious Crimson skin! This season, you’ll be able to earn Glorious Crimson Nami from the Season Rewards tab. You can also pick up her Weapon Augment Upgrade from the Ranked Store. Good luck in your games!

WILD PASS

Another villain is on the loose and ready to take this Wild Pass by a storm! Supervillain Graves will be your reward for reaching the end of Wild Pass Season 8! You’ll also be able to pick up the Augmented version!

EVENTS

This patch it's time to celebrate the Lunar Year and head to the Lunar Feast! We’ll be celebrating the New Year with delicate treats, delicious meals, and our friends. In this event, you’ll make groups and deliver Lunar New Year treats to the Mythmaker champions through their cozy but of course bustling food stall! You’ll earn lots of goodies so make sure you don’t miss this celebration! There will be more information about the event once it goes live that you can read about on our Player Support Page. Later in the patch we’ll also have a PROJECT event when PROJECT Zeri zips onto the Rift!

MYTHMAKER WORKSHOP

In addition to the Lunar Feast, you can also get crafty in the Lunar Papercutting Workshop with Caitlyn. Get your scissors ready to snip and fold Lunar Papercuttings with Caitlyn and earn skins, rewards, and other goodies! In the Mythmaker Workshop, you’ll be able to buy scissors for 400 Wild Cores, convert them to papercuttings, and redeem items with your papercuttings! The items you can obtain with your scissors are:

One of the skins you can earn is Special Edition Mythmaker Caitlyn! You will earn her by opening 15 boxes (scissors), or by earning 92 Lunar Papercuttings! You can also use your Lunar Papercuttings to redeem the following:

SKINS

The cat’s out the bag and class is in session! Put on your best attire and get your scissors ready so you can cut your way to some stylish victories with the latest attire coming in Patch 4.0!

Releasing in Patch 4.0*

• Dragon Fist Lee Sin
• Firecracker Vayne
• Mythmaker Caitlyn†
• Mythmaker Caitlyn Special Edition†
• Mythmaker Gwen†
• Mythmaker Seraphine†
• Mythmaker Camille†
• Mythmaker Zoe†

Releasing in Patch 4.0b*

• PROJECT Lucian
• PROJECT Master Yi
• PROJECT Renekton
• PROJECT Zeri†

Releasing in Patch 4.0c*

• Battle Academia Leona
• Battle Principal Yuumi

*We’ll keep you updated if anything moves

† First to Wild Rift Skins

WILD FOR WILDLINGS

CREATORS

Patch Notes will be out in a few days, here’s who we’ll be watching for the full run down!

WHAT THE JESS

UBAMAN

SCELY

FAN ART

We love fan art, it’s one of our favorite things to look for socials and see whenever new content comes out. We’re excited to see all your fan art from the upcoming Mythmaker and Lunar New Year celebrations, but we also still love looking at the art that you created during last year’s Lunar New Year celebration! Here were some of our favs! And yes, we really did bookmark these a year ago. Our bookmarks are full of all your amazing creations!

PAINTOVERS

To celebrate the Lunar New Year, we also wanted to share all champions dressed in their best Mythmaker attire!

We want to wish you and your loved ones a Happy Lunar New Year! We hope you enjoy Patch 4.0 and we’ll see you on the Rift!