League of Legends kicks off Season 3 in Patch 25.17, continuing the story told in previous updates Spirit Blossom Beyond and Welcome to Noxus. Outside of the game, this season will also set the stage for this year’s 2025 League of Legends World Championship.
Here’s everything new coming to the Rift:
Xin Zhao Visual Update
Xin Zhao, one of League’s most enduring champions, will receive a full visual update this season. While his gameplay remains unchanged, all of his skins will be updated with a fresh new look, alongside a new Epic Xin Zhao skin releasing later in Act 1.
Xin Zhao’s current vaulted skins will be made available during patches 25.17 and 25.18. Notably, improvements have been made to Commando and Imperial Xin Zhao, which will increase their prices from 520 to 750 RP. Both skins will be available at their original price until Patch 25.17, when the visual update goes live.
Quality-of-Life Enhancements
The following improvements will be implemented to help players track game information, with similar updates planned for later this year:
- Individual timers will be added for all jungle camps.
- Summoner spell usage will be easier to track through the death recap screen.
Doom Bots
The fan-favourite PvE game mode Doom Bots returns with a new difficulty mode, new curses, new bots and a new boss. Players can also take on the “Trials of Doom”, which are in-game challenges that will be introduced each patch, each with a unique objective for Doom Bots players to overcome.
More information about Doom Bots can be found on League’s official dev blog.
WASD Controls
League will begin testing WASD movement as an optional alternative to traditional point-and-click controls, in an effort to make controls more intuitive for new and returning players.
WASD will release on PBE in a few patches, before rolling out to non-Ranked queues, and eventually to Ranked. The developers will closely monitor both WASD and point-and-click control schemes, to ensure neither offers a competitive advantage. Read more details on League’s dev blog.
Player Behavior
Starting in Patch 25.18, League will begin taking action against accounts engaged in smurfing, as well as cracking down on accounts that are suspected to be botted, sold, purchased, or shared. These efforts will be powered by Vanguard’s improved detection capabilities, and supported by player-submitted “Rank Manipulation” reports.
Riot is also further expanding tests for True Skill 2, a new matchmaking system improving MMR accuracy and placement speed, to help improve game quality in the long run. As always, players can learn more about these updates in a new dev blog.
Cosmetics
Players will be able to purchase new Prestige Skins for Sylas, Mel, Jarvan IV, and Zoe. Sylas and Mel will be available through the Mythic Shop, while those for Jarvan IV and Zoe will be available through the Act 1 and Act 2 Passes, respectively.
Machine Herald Viktor, a previously-teased legacy skin for Viktor based on his old design, will release in Patch 25.19. As a token of appreciation for existing Viktor mains, the skin will be gifted for free to players with Viktor Mastery Level 5+ as of August 4.
Finally, the 2024 Worlds Winner skins commemorating T1’s win will come out in September. Plus, speaking of Worlds…
Worlds 2025
The 2025 League of Legends World Championship will return to China in celebration of Worlds’ 15th anniversary. The games will kick off in Beijing on October 14, with the Finals taking place in Chengdu on November 9.
The highly-anticipated Worlds Anthem will release on October 10, honoring and celebrating prolific players across League of Legends’ competitive history.
Which update are you most excited for? Let us know in the comments!
