League of Legends players already know that the upcoming preseason will bring another massive overhaul to the item system, but it appears that other, more visually evident changes may also be making their way into the game soon.
In an unlisted video showcasing the sound effects of the ward that was recently released with the newest additions to the Coven skinline, Summoner’s Rift looks slightly different than the version that players have been battling upon for a number of years. While it’s unclear if these map changes are in active testing or are from a build of League that is no longer in use, some of these alterations to the map’s terrain seem to address long-standing issues with the jungle that Riot Games has acknowledged.
Though the clip is short and only shows the center of the mid lane, there’s clearly a number of significant updates shown. The river appears to have been widened slightly, with the brush that normally separates it from the mid lane itself having been pushed back. Additionally, a wall can now be seen either blocking off the path from mid to the blue buff entirely or making it more narrow, which would likely remain true on the opposite side.
A peek at the game’s minimap in the bottom right corner of the video, much of which has been covered with text, showcases what is seemingly an open Baron pit, no longer encased in walls. It’s unclear if the dragon pit would also have its walls taken away, though this would make fighting for either objective a much more dangerous feat.
All of these changes would alter the way that players traverse Summoner’s Rift, having potentially the biggest impact on junglers who may now need to locate alternate paths from camp to camp with additional terrain blocking their stride. This would also create the need to address the Elemental Rifts created by defeating two dragons due to each physically altering the map in some capacity once activated.
As of now, Riot has not indicated that Summoner’s Rift will be undergoing any changes whatsoever in the coming months, nor have any significant updates to the preseason plans been provided outside of the removal of Mythic items.
Dot Esports has reached out to Riot Games for comment on this discovery.
