Preseason 2022: PBE Preview

A quick-and-easy reference guide for all Preseason 2022 content coming to PBE.
Game Updates
shio shoujo

Preseason 2022 is almost here! In case you missed it, we've been discussing our plans since earlier this year to prepare you for the changes that are coming in patch 11.23!

Preseason 2022 will be available on PBE starting today for an extended period of time (four weeks!) to make sure we get all the feedback and testing from you before going live with the final sets of changes in November. For an easy reference, check out all the major changes coming to League of Legends below.

Housekeeping note: Things will be in a pretty early state when you first see them, so expect changes to things like icons, item and effect names, visual and sound effects, stat values, and more as we continue to test and look through feedback during PBE. Barring massive table-flips, this preview page won't be updated after publishing. When the patch notes come out, they'll have all the final details as usual.

Dragons

Chemtech Drake

  • Standard Buff
    • Grants bonus damage against enemies with more current health than you (up to a 5% increase in damage per stack)
  • Dragon Soul
    • When a team obtains the Chemtech Dragon Soul, they receive a buff that grants them a brief second life after they die
  • Terrain
    • When the terrain transforms for the Chemtech Drake, gas zones emerge in four jungle locations. Gas zones camouflage any champion within the zone. Camouflaged enemies are not revealed by regular vision wards, but are revealed by Control Wards, Scryer’s Blooms, and other things that reveal invisible units.

Chemtech-dragon.jpg

Hextech Drake

  • Standard Buff
    • Grants attack speed and ability haste to the team that delivers the killing blow (5 Ability Haste and 5% Attack Speed per stack)
  • Dragon Soul
    • When a team obtains the Hextech Dragon Soul, they gain a unique ability that adds a chain lightning slow to their basic attacks and abilities, with a moderate cooldown
  • Terrain
    • When the terrain transforms for the Hextech Drake, pairs of Hex-gates appear across the map which allow champions to quickly travel from one location to the paired counterpart. Hex-gates are activated with a brief channel (that can be interrupted by stuns or damage) before rapidly transporting a player across the map to the corresponding Hex-gate.

Hextech-dragon.jpg

Objective Bounties

Objective Bounties activate only when a team is sufficiently behind and are highlighted on the minimap for both teams. If a losing team takes an objective with an active bounty, every member of the team receives the objective bounty gold, split amongst the team.

Objective Bounties are calculated based on four factors: XP lead, Gold lead, Dragon lead, and Turret lead. The base amounts of additional gold gained by taking an objective with an active bounty are as follows:

  • Baron/Elder Dragon - 500g
  • Dragon/Rift Herald - 500g
  • Outer Turret - 250g
  • Inner Turret - 400g
  • Base turret - 400g

As the losing team falls farther behind, these base amounts can increase by up to an additional 60%.

Objective Bounties have a 15 second warning period when coming online and a 15 second lingering duration when falling off. This time can be extended if the losing team remains in combat with an active Objective Bounty.

Items

Crown of the Shattered Queen

  • 70 Ability Power
  • 250 Health
  • 600 Mana
  • 20 Ability Haste
    • You are Safeguarded, reducing incoming damage by 50%. Safeguard persists for 1.5 seconds after taking champion damage.
    • While Safeguarded, gain 10-40 Ability Power (by level)
    • (Regain Safeguard if you haven’t taken champion damage for 40 seconds).
    • Mythic Passive: 1% Move Speed & 50 Health

Evenshroud

  • 200 Health
  • 20 Ability Haste
  • 30 Armor
  • 30 Magic Resist
    • Repentance: After Immobilizing champions or being immobilized, cause that target and all nearby enemies to Repent increasing the damage they take by 12% for 5 seconds
    • Mythic Passive: Grants all other Legendary items 5 armor and Magic Resist

Frostfire Gauntlet

  • 350 Health
  • 25 Armor
  • 25 Magic Resist
  • 20 Ability Haste
    • Immolate: Taking or dealing damage causes you to begin dealing 12 + 1% bonus magic damage per second to nearby enemies (increased by 25% against minions and 150% against jungle monsters) for 3 seconds
    • Snowbind: Attacks create a frost field for 1.5 seconds and deal magic damage to all enemies in the area. Enemies that move across the field are slowed
    • Mythic Passive: Grants all other Legendary items 100 Health and 6% size

Turbo Chemtank

  • 350 Health
  • 25 Armor
  • 25 Magic Resist
  • 20 Ability Haste
    • Active - Supercharged: Grants 40% move speed towards enemies or enemy turrets for 4 seconds. Once near an enemy (or after 4 seconds) a shockwave is emitted that slows nearby champions by 50% for 1.5 seconds (90s cooldown)
    • Refuel: Moving and dealing damage fills up the Chemtank. At 100 stacks, your next basic attack deals magic damage to all nearby enemies (increased by 25% against minions and 175% against jungle monsters)
    • Mythic Passive: Grants all other legendary items 5 ability haste and 50 health

Winters Approach

  • 400 Health
  • 500 Mana
  • 15 Ability Haste
    • Awe: Gain bonus health equal to 8% mana
    • Mana Charge: Strike a target with an Ability or Attack to consume a charge and gain 3 bonus mana, doubled if the target is a champion. Grants a maximum of 360 mana at which point this item transforms into Fimbulwinter

Fimbulwinter

  • 400 Health
  • 860 Mana
  • 15 Ability Haste
    • Awe: Gain bonus health equal to 8% mana
    • Everlasting: Immobilizing or Slowing (melee only) an enemy champion consumes 3% of current mana and grants a shield for 3 seconds, absorbing damage. The shield is increased by 80% if more than one enemy is nearby

Axiom Arc

  • 55 Attack Damage
  • 10 Lethality
  • 25 Ability Haste
    • Refresh: Whenever a Champion dies within 3 seconds of having a damaged them, refund 25% of your Ultimate Ability’s total cooldown

Shadowflame

  • 80 Ability Power
  • 250 Health
    • Damage to champions benefits from 10-20 Magic Penetration based on the target’s current Health. (Max value at 1000 or less health, Min value at 2500 or more Health)
    • Gain the max Penetration if the target was recently affected by Shields.

Cosmic Drive

  • 60 Ability Power
  • 250 Health
  • 30 Ability Haste
  • 5% Move Speed
    • After damaging champions with 3 separate Attacks or Spells, gain 30% Move Speed (decaying to 15%) and 40 Ability Power until leaving combat.

Horizon Focus

  • 110 Ability Power
  • 150 Health
    • Now also includes Slows to trigger Horizon Focus. (Rylai's Crystal Scepter also works)

Demonic Embrace

  • 60 Ability Power
  • 450 Health
    • Dealing Ability damage burns enemies for 2/1.2% max Health magic damage every second for 4 seconds.
    • Convert 2% of your bonus Health to Ability Power

Seraph’s Embrace

  • 80 Ability Power
  • 860 Mana
  • 250 Health
    • Gain Ability Haste equal to 1.3% bonus mana
    • Restore Health equal to 40% of Mana spent, up to 25-50 +10% Ability Power per cast
    • (Toggles can restore the same amount per 1 sec)

Force of Nature

  • 350 Health
  • 70 Magic Resist
  • 5% Move Speed
    • Absorb: Taking magic damage from enemy Champions grants a stack of Steadfast (max 6). Enemy immobilizing effects grant an additional 2 stacks.
    • Dissipate: While at 6 stacks of Steadfast, take 20% reduced magic damage and gain 10% increased Move Speed

Knight's Vow

  • 400 Health
  • 10 Ability Haste
  • 150% Base Health Regen
    • Active - Pledge: Designate an ally who is Worth
    • Sacrifice: While your Worthy ally is nearby, redirect 10% of damage they take to you and heal for 8% of the damage dealt by your Worth ally to Champions. If they have less than 30% Health the damage reduction is increased to 20%

Abyssal Mask

  • 400 Health
  • 30 Magic Resist
  • 10 Ability Haste
    • Unmake: Curse nearby enemy champions, reducing their Magic Resist. For each cursed enemy, gain 7 Magic resist

Runes

Lethal Tempo

  • Gain attack speed for 6 seconds when striking at least one enemy champion with each attack. This effect stacks up to 6 times
  • While this effect is at its cap, also gain attack range and increase your attack speed cap to 3.0

Glacial Augment

  • Immobilizing an enemy champion will cause 3 glacial rays to emanate from them towards you and other nearby champions, creating frozen zones for a few seconds that slow enemies for 40% and reduce their damage by 15% against your allies (not including yourself)

First Strike

  • Damaging an enemy champion with an attack or ability before they do so grants 5 gold and First Strike for 3 seconds, causing your attacks or abilities to deal 12% extra damage against champions, and granting 100% (70% for ranged units) of that damage dealt as gold

Note: First Strike will be coming to PBE a little later! Stay tuned.

Other

Rift Scuttler

We believe that the first Rift Scuttler spawn is too impactful in deciding the outcome of the early game, so we're reducing its importance and resolving the encounter more quickly. Now that it's squishier, you or your enemy can defeat it more easily and, in short, back off to safety sooner.

The first Rift Scuttler will now have 35% reduced health, grants 80% reduced XP, and has been slightly reduced in size to match its lower value.