1/25 PBE Update: Swain In-Client Lore, Non-English VO, & More Tentative Balance Changes

The PBE has been updated! As we continue the 8.3 PBE cycle, today's patch includes Swain's in-client lore, non-English VO, and more!
Continue reading for more information!

Table of Contents

• Continued Swain Champion Update Testing
• Balance Changes
• Context & Notes

Continued Swain Champion Update Testing

As the Swain champion update continues testing on the PBE, today's update brings us his in-client Lore:

"Jericho Swain is the visionary ruler of Noxus, an expansionist nation that reveres only strength. Though he was cast down and crippled in the Ionian wars, his left arm severed, he seized control of the empire with ruthless determination... and a new, demonic hand. Now, Swain commands from the front lines, marching against a coming darkness that only he can see-- in glimpses gathered by shadowy ravens from the corpses all around him. In a swirl of sacrifice and secrets, the greatest secret of all is that the true enemy lies within."

 Swain's non-English VO lines were also added:

• Brazilian Portuguese
• Czech
• French
• German
• Greek
• Hungarian
• Italian
• Japanese
• Korean
• Latin American Spanish
• Romanian
• Spanish
• Turkish
• Polish

Kalista

• Attack range lowered from 550 to 500

Rengar
[Context 1 / Context 2 - Rengar has many changes already in testing on the PBE!]
[Note: Same changes from 1/24, just copying here!]

• Savagery (Q)
• Changes from [Grants 30% Attack Speed for Q attack] to [grants 40% attack speed for next 2 attacks (Q + attack after)]
• No longer partial resets after the Q attack 
• (Pressing Q is still a full reset) 
• Q animation speed has been adjusted to better match when the damage comes out 

• Bola Strike (E)
• [New] Now has 60% AP ratio

• Thrill of the Hunt (R) 
• Enemy champions revealed by Thrill of the Hunt (by being closest to Rengar) stay revealed for the spell's duration (even if another enemy moves closer) 
• Closest leap bonus changed from [100/175/250 (+.8 bonus AD, +.8 AP) physical damage] to [Rengar gains full ferocity at start of leap]
• (he can cast empowered spell in the air)

Context & Notes

1) Check out Swain's designer and playtester, Wav3break and KingCobra, on the Beyond the Rift podcast with Scarra and Imaqtpie!

"We're trying something new this time for Swain: @wav3break (designer) and @RiotKingCobra (playtester) are going on @BeyondtheRift to talk with @scarra and @Imaqtpielol 

Tune in now! https://www.twitch.tv/imaqtpie #LeagueofLegends #BeyondTheRift #Swain"

2) Riot August provided a 1/23 changelist and 1/25 changelist for Rengar! [Note: With tonight's later than usual deploy, looks like the 1/25 changes came through today!]

"1/23 patch notes 

Q -
Q bonus attack speed on swing:: 15% >>> 30% (this means the Q will "cast" faster)
Q animation speed has been adjusted to better match when the damage comes out 

R -
Base Damage:: 150/250/350 >>> 100/175/250
Enemy champions revealed by Thrill of the Hunt (by being closest to Rengar) stay revealed for the spell's duration (even if another enemy moves closer) 

Explanations:
--A number of Rengar players were observing that the Q felt sluggish, so tweaking it a bit to make it feel snappier. Tell me what you think
--R damage was straight too high if you compare it to the damage numbers he got from the old crit so we're taking the base down a bit, may need to also hit the ratio going into the future.
--Vision changes are trying a way to give Rango MORE vision on the ult without giving him complete information unless he works for it. Hopefully it will improve his ability to feel like a hunter while still allowing for the possibility of errors due to incomplete scouting. This specific change is highly experimental and may be iterated away from. 

We're currently looking into getting a few of his missing sounds back, I just need to create the hookups (more complicated than you'd think). 

More tweaks to come over the next week, thanks for all the feedback."

"Patch notes for 1/25 PBE build:

Q -
Grants 30% Attack Speed for Q attack >>> now grants 40% attack speed for next 2 attacks (Q + attack after)
No longer partial resets after the Q attack (Pressing Q is still a full reset) 

E -
Added a .6 AP ratio 

R -
Closest leap bonus: 100/175/250 (+.8 bonus AD, +.8 AP) physical damage >>> Rengar gains full ferocity at start of leap (he can cast empowered spell in the air) 

Sounds -
VO for gaining ferocity is back
VO for gaining bonetooth stacks is back
Q VO efforts are back
Third Thrill of the hunt VO is back (Uaghhg)
Full Ferocity SFX is back
Added new Q sound for cast and attack (both regular and empowered versions)
Heartbeat sounds on ult should be fixed (they were bugging out)

Context: 

I noticed that the partial reset I put on Q was causing Rengar to freakout during his combo and do some weird stuff, so I removed it and returned the old AS buff for 2 attacks. This hopefully makes Q feel even smoother AND gets rid of a ton of bugs that were popping up during combos. 

The bonus damage on the ult was making Rengar's initial undodgeable hit deal quite a bit of damage. We think its overall healthier if you can at least flash the bad things that are about to happen to you, so trying a different leap bonus (full ferocity). Hope is that this makes Rango less binary (he has empowered options if he jumps in and things don't go as planned) AND makes him less frustrating to play against as he isn't doing nearly as much damage in that first undodgeable instant. May also open up room to buff Q damage in the future. THIS CHANGE IS EXPERIMENTAL, WE MAY ITERATE AWAY FROM IT. 

E AP ratio accomplishes 2 things for AP Rango: 1) it compensates for the loss of the R AP ratio. 2) It makes a portion of his burst combo dodgeable. Hope is that this will make the build more maintainable going into the future. AP Rango bursts you with spells, AD Rango murders you with Q and basic attacks. 

Finally, Matteo, Rengar's sound designer, has been reading up on your feedback and decided it would be a good opportunity to get some choice VO lines back in where appropriate. Tell us what you think."

2) Make sure to check out Meddler's quick gameplay thoughts for January 24th, including lengthy thoughts on top lane, as well as thoughts on Pro play!