Red Post Collection: Heimer in 3.13 PBE, Context on Jinx PBE nerfs, Soraka's Passive, and new Challenger tier competition

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Heimerdinger rework coming to 3.13 PBE

Xelnath popped up on the forums to introduce 20thCenturyFaux, a Rioter in charge of gathering feedback and iterating on the upcoming Heimerdinger rework - which he confirmed will be coming to he 3.13 PBE along with Xerath!

"Hey guys, 

Have you met 20thCenturyFaux?

No? Perhaps you should. 20thCenturyFaux has been super helpful QA'ing the Xerath rework, supporting the creative team and generally chatting with you guys on general discussion. However, more importantly: 

Coming in 3.13, 20thCenturyFaux will be gathering feedback and iterating on our favorite Revered Inventor - Heimerdinger.

When 3.13 comes to PBE, Heimerdinger and Xerath reworks will be available for testing, but not necessarily be shipping in 3.13. While we're not ready to release their kits today, I want you guys to give a warm PBE welcome to Faux. This is his first time taking heavy feedback on PBE, so please do your best to help him out!

EDIT: 20thCenturyFaux desired his titled be changed to "The Donger Raiser". I have made this appropriate for ages K-12 instead."

20thCenturyFaux jumped in the conversation, saying:

"Hello! I’ve been around the forums a while but I’ve never done a formal introduction thread, which should be false by the time you’re reading this. I’m 20thCenturyFaux, and I’ll be in on this PBE iteration strat because more communication makes the Dinger more awesome.

Some random stuff about me:

• I’ve played probably 300+ different levels of DooM II
• I sometimes mix Diet Mountain Dew with bad whiskey, a crime against alcohol I will eventually be jailed for
• I need a dispenser here
• I grew up in Wisconsin, where I did terribly irresponsible things with fireworks every 4th of July. Since moving to California, I have yet to build a single sparkler bomb. This is awful.
• I get a certain awful joy out of dying in Roguelikes because I know it’s happened to tons of other people the same way
• RAISE YOUR TURRETS"

When asked if much had changed with Heimer since Xypherous's comments earlier this year, he noted:

"I think so, but I figure it's probably better to save that for when 3.13 hits PBE. Once I start talking details it'll be hard to stop xD "

As for if Heimer will be having an extended testing cycle on the PBE vs aiming for release in the 3.13 live patch, he commented:

"I'm not sure, but I know as soon as the release guys have something nailed down they tend to announce it. There's a million considerations about when to put content out--what other stuff is coming out, localization, etc.

I also don't have a ton of understanding about Production generally, haha"

Explanation on Jinx PBE nerfs

As you may have seen, Jinx got a number of nerfs in the most recent PBE patch.

Here's gypsylord with some additional info on these changes:

"Hey guys, 

Super sorry I don't have time to talk but we're trying to get Jinx out as soon as possible which means I'm spending all my time tweaking, balancing, and burning down bugs. Again, thanks for all your feedback. I've read all of it. 

Quick summary of incoming Jinx nerfs:
P
Q
W
--Mana cost increased to 45/55/65/75/85 from 45/50/55/60/65
E
--Cast range reduced to 900 from 950
--Damage reduced to 100/150/200/250/300 from 120/175/230/285/340
--Cooldown increased to 24/22/20/18/16 from 20/19/18/17/16
R
--Min flat damage reduced to 125/175/225 from 150/200/250
--Max flat damaged reduced to 250/350/450 from 300/400/500 

The damage nerfs are intended to trim excess power that Jinx doesn't necessarily care about. E is more about the snare and R is still going to deal a ton of damage to low health targets thanks to the execute.

The E range and CD changes are targeted at the situation where Jinx gets ahead in lane, runs up to you with minigun, and then throws traps WAAAAY behind you when you try to run away. This circumvents the arm time and guarantees either a snare or a ton more minigun shots. We want Jinx to be able to use E offensively but the range and frequency was making it much too effective."

Meddler musing on Soraka's Passive

In response to a summoner's ideas, Meddler has been musing about what could constitute a new passive for Soraka - note that he's talking what if's not actual plans.

"If we do end up making changes to Soraka at some point her passive would definitely be a prime spot to do some work, agree there's plenty of room there to make something more engaging. The current one's certainly not useless, there's only a tiny amount of gameplay associated with it though, and even then the power it offers is pretty hardly to directly appreciate. Would be inclined to look at passives that support her healer with some combat effects playstyle in a way that didn't buff her passive sustain (which has been the big problem we've had in the past with her)."

He continued:

"Her passive definitely offers power, particularly early on in lane and once team fights start, no argument there. It doesn't create much gameplay though. You don't stand near allies you wouldn't otherwise stand near because of it, the decisions associated with the rest of her kit instead overwhelm that as a consideration. There's also not much you can do to be a more skilled user of that aura, it's just there, and the actions that maximize it (be with your team, don't die, be in a fight but no need to be right in the center given its large range) are the actions you'll be taking anyway.

Compare that with say Nami's passive by contrast. Sure, often the extra movement speed's just be an incidental benefit, there are regularly moments though where you'll get an opportunity to use spells in a way or at a time you otherwise wouldn't if you want to access the power that passive offers you (E an ally to help them get away, even if they can't spare the time to auto attack, look to angle an ult through your team as well as the enemy's etc)."

In response to a comment that Soraka's W should heal based on % of HP missing, he commented:

"Yeah, been idling thinking about something similar as a way to reward active, skilled play and avoid passive, unhealthy sustain, agree there's a lot of potential there. Whether Soraka's the appropriate choice for that mechanic not yet sure (been thinking about supports in general a bit while we look at Season 4 associated changes). Something I'd be inclined to explore if taking a look at Soraka changes at some point though, and not necessarily just on the W."

He also mentioned his thoughts on Wish and Infuse:

"Can't see any reason to significantly alter Wish, it's a great spell and a really healthy heal (generates clutch saves, has skillful uses, has multiple use cases, comes with a significant cost). 

As far as Infuse goes mana restore to ally has been a bit problematic, particularly given there's no cost apart from the CD to Soraka so much of the time it's simply 'Push Infuse on ally without max mana or you're doing it wrong'. A healthier approach there would be something along the lines of giving Infuse a mana cost, so it's not an automatic choice to give mana to an ally, but then also reduces Soraka's other mana costs to compensate. Might result in too much transfer of agency from support to team mate though ('Spend your mana to heal someone else while they actually engage with the enemy, then give away the remainder as well') so some potential issues there too."

As for a comparison between aura items and Soraka's MR boosting passive, he noted:

"In a lot of games item purchasing results in some really significant decision making (what, when, on who). How feasible it is to properly utilize many of the auras is a big part of that decision (will I be able to get close enough to get them within Abyssal's range, can we create teamfights that take advantage of WotA's sustain enough etc). As a result I generally feel much better about our item auras than passives like Soraka's. That's not to say they're great examples of gameplay versus power, there are some solid arguments in their favor though."

He continued:

"Sona's auras are somewhat better certainly, there is some play going on there, though the decisions associated with the activation effects do often drown out decision making based on the auras. Wouldn't be inclined to put something like that on Soraka though, in part simply because that's already Sona's thing - would much rather create more distinctive niches for champions where possible than homogenize them unnecessarily. 

R.E. picking Soraka for her aura, particularly against certain comps, then yes, there is some decision making offered there. Again though it's pretty overwhelmed by all the other things that go into 'Should I pick Soraka' - how she'll match up against lane opponents, what sort of team comp you're running etc. It's definitely the best argument in favor of the current passive in my eyes, feel there's strong opportunity to do better though."

ARAM bug allowing selection of two of same the champion

Agent X91 commented in a thread today, noting a bug that currently allows two of the same champion to be rolled

" You're correct, 3.12 introduced a bug that makes this occur more frequently. We have this fixed for 3.13 - the fix should be on PBE soon. :)"

Riot and Coke Zero team up for more Challenger tier action

Riot has announced they will be teaming up with Coke Zero to bring everyone more challenger tier events and coverage!

Here's the scoop:

"We’re excited to announce the formation of a new challenger competition, in partnership with Coke Zero, that will run in tandem with the League Championship Series (LCS) when it resumes for the 2014 season in North America and Europe. 

This series supports rising teams seeking entry into the NA and EU LCS. Amateur players aspiring to go pro will now compete in weekly matchups broadcasted live on lolesports.com to fans around the globe. The new programming complements the dramatic LCS season and gives viewers even more thrilling, competitive League play. 

Running in parallel with the LCS season, the challenger series pits top-ranked teams from the Ranked 5s Challenger Tier against one another. At the conclusion of the series, the highest placed teams will join us live to play in a championship tournament for a shot at the LCS. 

We’re looking forward to shining a spotlight on the next generation of elite players as they fight to break into the pro scene. Get ready to climb the Ranked 5s ladder when the 2014 season kicks off and stay tuned for more news on the challenger series."