If there’s any one overarching thematic element that’s coming to League of Legends during the 2024 ranked season, it’s the Void.
The always-purple, monster-heavy region of Runeterra is invading Summoner’s Rift next season, and with it comes a whole new host of enemies, landscaping changes, and overall updates to Summoner’s Rift and all of its inhabitants. From new versions of Baron Nashor, a rideable Rift Herald, and traditional jungle camps becoming even harder to take down, the 2024 ranked LoL season is packed with new updates.
Here are all of the Void-themed changes you can expect to encounter in your LoL games starting next year.
Baron Nashor evolves into a three-headed beast
The most infamous and powerful monster to emerge out of the Void in League of Legends is, without a doubt, Baron Nashor, so you know Riot had to give him a fresh look coming into 2024. Next ranked season, the purple worm will be bigger and badder than ever before, with three different forms that he can take on, similar (but not exactly along the same lines) to the different Elemental Drakes that were introduced to the game several seasons ago.
Next year, you should expect to face off against the Hunting Baron, Territorial Baron, and the All-Seeing Baron, each of which have a different set of abilities. Furthermore, the terrain and surrounding area of the Baron’s pit changes depending on which version of the Baron spawns during a game.
Rift Herald gets some new friends. Oh, and you can also ride it.
Like the Baron, the Rift Herald will also be getting a bit of an update in 2024. Next year, players should expect to fight only one Rift Herald per game, as the first one that spawns in each contest will be replaced by a new set of monsters called “Voidgrubs.” These new additions to the Rift will still help you take down towers by giving you a stacking damage buff more suitable for the early-game.
The Rift Herald will still spawn as usual at the 14-minute mark, providing teams with her familiar summonable, tower-charging active effect. However, the Herald’s biggest change will come in the form of a new ability that allows you to ride Shelly and charge her into a tower for a bit of extra damage.
Blue buff, red buff, and scuttle crab are all leveling up
Next season, jungle camps will be getting an upgrade, with some of League’s most noteworthy camps receiving all-new evolutionary forms that trigger halfway through games.
Red and blue buff will receive Void-based evolutions that make their effects get sent out team-wide, while the Scuttle Crab will be evolving into a much tougher-to-kill version of itself that gives even more vision when taken down. These new, evolved jungle monsters will hopefully give players even more neutral objectives to fight over in the later stages of the games, as their rewards are most definitely worth pursuing.
The grounds crew got to work on Summoner’s Rift
In addition to all of the monster-based changes coming to the Rift in 2024, the map itself is also getting a few changes, with many additions and alterations being made to its terrain. League players should expect the bushes leading into side lanes from the river to get repositioned more away from the walls of the lane, while the bushes leading into mid lane to actually get cut back in size.
Moving forward, there will be fewer spaces to hide in bushes, and even more obstacles to work around, especially around major objectives. Next season, you’ll find the walls around Dragon and Baron pits will be extended, and finding cover while battling around those objectives could be tougher. In some spots, you should expect Summoner’s Rift to be more open, while in others, you’ll be cloistered and struggling to step from place to place. You’ll want to get accustomed to the new Rift, as the layout of the map is definitely different from what you’re used to playing on.
If you want to get a head start on all the new changes coming to League in 2024, you can head to the PBE today, Nov. 20, and start experimenting with the work Riot has done to the game.
