Boom! Coinciding with the release of Arcane Season 2 on Netflix, Epic Games announced on M??????????????????????????onday that Jinx will join the 2XKO roster in 2025. She'll be available to play ??in a future playtest next year.

A new 2XKO trailer has dropped, showing brief snippets of the explosive character in-game. The 2v2 fighting game has her using ?a mini-gun to take out her opponents, in addition to several guns and bombs at her disposal.

"With an arsenal of custom guns, traps, and explosives, Jinx unleashes mayhem wherever she goes," explains the 2XKO website. "She e?xcels at zoning enemies, overwhelming? them with colorful destruction from afar."

You'll be able to try out Jinx and other League of Legends characters like Ekko in the upcoming playtest. You can sign up for it on the game's official website.

So far, all of the confirmed 2XKO fighters include the following:

• Jinx
• Braum
• Illaoi
• Yasuo
• Ahri
• Ekko
• Darius

This will likely be the last news update we'll receive for 2XKO this year. "This is our last check-in before Riot goes on holiday break at the end of this year," said Riot Games in a blog post. "In the meant?ime, the team will be hard at work to bring you a more polished version of the game."

We'll receive more info on Spring 2025's playtest, the game's new features and how to participate next year. This is likely going to be one of the most anticipated fighting games of 2025, which is when it launches on consoles and PC. You can now watch the first episode of Arcane Season 2 on Netflix while you wait.

The post Jinx joins 2XKO roster with her explosive moveset appeared first on Destructoid.

The first act of Arcane's second and final season is coming to Netflix on November 9, 2024. Riot Games, in celebration of Arcane's end and the beginning of their League of Legends expanded universe, dropped a cracked trailer r?ecounting the events that led us to this epic finale.

Arcane Season 2's latest trailer is a well-edited, neon-dipped love letter to the series?' colossal fandom. It reminds us why the first season is so beloved while building hype for the last emotional chapter of Violet and Jinx's story.

Arcane Season 2's new trailer recounts the tragic tale of Violet and Powder

The latest teaser for Arcane's second season knifes at the heartstrings ri?ght out the gate, bringing us back to where the series began. Through some top-??shelf editing, the trailer ebbs and flows between past and future, reminding us of who each key player in Arcane was before they, or the world, made the decisions that transformed them into the people they are. As has always been the case, though, everything in the trailer rolls back to Violet and Powder.

Arcane has always been about Violet and the girl once known as Powder. The fiery tragedy that first tore these once-loving sisters apart remains one of the most traumatic scenes I've ever watched, and the events that unfolded after the first season's six-year time skip systematically carved up any hope I and millions of other Netflix viewers had that they could ever mend their relationship. Cities clashed, magic spiraled out of control, and a fandom ship set sail before Arcane Season 1 closed, but the story always found its way back to Violet, Jinx, and the shatt??ered bond that once tied them together.

Based on what we've seen from its trailers, Arcane Season 2 will pick up where the first season left off. In case it's gotten hazy over the last two years, Arcane Season 1 ended with Jinx launching a Hextech-powered rocket into the Council of Piltover's chambers, presumably killing everyone inside and plunging the city into war with its subterranean neighbor, Zaun. This explosive finale left plenty of ling?ering plot threads drifting in the wind, and it looks like this season aims to tie them up.

From Heimerdinger's new alliance with Ekko and the Firelights to the all-but-confirmed revelation that Violet and Powder's foster father, Vander, has become LoL's Warwick, Arcane Season 2 isn't?? short on exciting directions its story could go in. I'm just as interested to see what the writer?s will do with Violet's relationship with Caitlyn, personally.

Arcane Season 2's creative team is splitting the season into three acts for reasons that will hopefully make sense once?? they arrive on Netflix. Each act will come out on a different date, one week apart. Act 2 w?ill drop on November 16, 2024, while Act 3 will go live on November 23, 2024.

The post Arcane Season 2’s releasing the monster inside with an epic recap trailer appeared first on Destructoid.

Netflix just dropped the latest trailer for Arcane ??Season 2, and I'm not sure I'm ready for it. The first season of this fantasy-steampunk was my favorite watch of 2022, and it looks like the second will be just as beautiful, thrilling, and heartbreaking as its predecessor.

Arcane Season 2 puts Vi and Jinx on a colorful collision course

??Clocking in at two minutes and twenty ??seconds, the trailer doesn't leave much room for you to breathe.

Arcane Season 2 picks up where the first season's explosive cliffhanger left off, with the cities of Piltover and Zaun plunging into an all-out civil war. With their respective stakes firmly in the ground and their sisterly bond shattered, Jinx (Ella Purnell) and Vi (Hailee Steinfeld) are all but destined to lead their respective factions ??into battle. Oh, and the magic that powers both cities' technology is apparently "waking," so the world may be on the verge of an arcane apocalypse.

Arcane Season 2 is already a work of art.

Arcane's first season gave me many reasons to love it, but I fell hard for its incredible animation. The team at Fortiche Productions, helmed by directors Pascal Charrue and Arnaud Delord, produced one of the most beautifully animated television series ever drawn. Colorful and textured, Arcane's art style is objectively gorgeous, but it also contributes to the story, helping to tell the tragic tale of the estranged sisterhood at Arcane's center.

Based on the trailer clips, Arcane Season 2??'s animators are dialing everything up to eleven. Colors pop with even greater intensity than in the first season, with Jinx's iconic powder bombs painting Piltover in rainbow hues during one scene. The all-black Hot Topic-adjacent outfit I saw Vi sporting at one point tells me that darkness will cut deeper this season. In a series revolving around class unrest, a contrast in the color scheme speaks loudly without uttering a word.

Arcane Season 2's animation will also continue the first season's habit of hiding blink-and-you'll-miss-it bits of foreshadowing between frames. Fans on Reddit already hav??e caught one pa??rticularly grim hint towards the potential fate of Heimerdinger, a character we got to see in action during a sneak preview we got back in July. I'm still combing through the trailer for plot details, and I expect fans will find more in the coming weeks.

We've known from the moment its first trailer dropped that Season 2 will be Arcane's last, and as much as it breaks my heart to see the series go, I'm glad it's going out wit?h such a bang. When the war between Piltover and Zuan starts on Nove??mber 2nd, I know exactly where I'll be.

The post Arcane Season 2’s new trailer paints a picture of Jinx and Vi’s final battle appeared first on Destructoid.

One of the most highly anticipated fighting game releases outside of the big three, 2XKO will allow players to take control of their favorite League of Legends champions in 2v2 battles where team synergy and mastery are the ke??ys to su??ccess.

But given how League's roster is composed of more than 160+ playable characters, it's a given that the large majority of them won't be featured in the spinoff. So that you can see if any of your favorites made the cut, here are all of the champions and skins confirmed to be present in 2XKO.

All 2XKO confirmed champions and skins

The 2XKO roster is currently composed of Ahri, Yasuo, Darius, Ekko, Illaoi, and Braum, with the Hero of Freljord being its latest addition. It's also worth mentioning that Jinx is all but confirmed to join the above, as glimpses of her early gameplay can be seen in a few Riot Games videos ?focused on the title. You can check out more on each of the confirmed characters b??elow, which includes a look at all of their skins.

Ahri

One of the first champions ot join the 2XKO roster and an absolute fan favorite, Ahri is a rush-down character who excels at applying pressure from both close and mid-range. She also has in her projectiles the right tools to keep opponents in ch??eck? and open them up for highly damaging mixups on both the ground and the air.

All 2XKO Ahri skins

The only announced skin for the nine-tailed fox in 2XKO is Dynasty Ahri. Like in the original game and as you can see below, apart from her overall look, the skin also changes the color of both her Foxfire orbs and effects to bright pink. Like with each champion's default look, all skins in 2XKO also have color variants.

Yasuo

Equally beloved and hated by the game's community, Yasuo is a character who excels at neutral given his ability to deflect projectiles by performing Wind Wall and the range of his normals/specials. His biggest tool, however, lies in his Calm stance, which ena??bles long-range attacks and can be canceled fr??om any of his specials for extended combos and highly damaging mix-ups.

All 2XKO Yasuo skins

Bladesong Yasuo is the only Yasuo skin revealed for 2XKO. Featuring a look that led to many Varus comparisons upon its reveal, the skin was —like Dynasty Ahri�made available for the first time during the game's August 2024 Alpha Lab test. No skins apart from Dynasty Ahri and Bla??desong Yasuo were revealed at the time of writing.

Darius

Featured as part of the game's roster since the world first learned about what would become 2XKO, Darius is a mid-range heavy hitter capable of keeping opponents locked in place through both range? and might. That is further amplified by his ability to apply the Wound effect to targets, which boosts your duo's block (or chip) damage against them. But be careful, as the effect will end and need to be reapplied after any member o?f your team takes damage.

Ekko

A mix-up machine and one of the game's most t??echnical but rewarding characters, Ekko excels through his ability to perform unthinkable reversals and cross-ups by activating his Z-Drive, which allows him to place afterimages in the field and then rewind to their position at will. As we can expect of a prodigy, he also has in his Attempt #37 Ultimate a great tool, as it can be performed as a counter to either escape tricky situations or finish a match with style.

Illaoi

Even if having in her high-damaging normals?? and more straightforward specials a great source of damage, Illaoi has in her ability to spam tentacles in the field her biggest differential, as they can either automatically attack opponents or perform follow-up??s. That allows the Truth Bearer of Nagakabouros to excel at controlling the tide of battle, all while also being capable of performing extended combos. Just keep in mind that the tentacles can be easily destroyed by a single hit.

Braum

A heavy-hitter capable of freezing opponents on the spot, Braun is a character that mixes utility with a solid defense, the latter a fruit of his ?ability to shield himself and his ally by performing Stand Behind Me. He can also acquire Unbreakable by performing certain moves, which will provide armor. Unbreakable can also be spent to power up many of his specials, such as The Heart of the Freljord, as well as his assists.

When will 2XKO be released?

2XKO is set to be released in 2025 for both PC and current-gen consoles —PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. As you wait for the game to be released, don't forget to also check out our League of Legends Swarm Tier List.

The post 2XKO roster: All confirmed champions and skins appeared first on Destructoid.

Riot Games has begun inviting players to participate in its 2XKO Alpha Lab test. If you're intereste??d and want to join the action, here's how you can secure your spot in the test.

How to join the 2XKO Alpha Lab

For now, there are only two methods to joi?n the ongoing 2XKO Alpha Lab test, and unfortunately, both?? rely on a degree of luck.

Receive an Invitation

The simplest way is to have Riot Games directly invite you. To be considered, though, you must have a Riot Account and sign up for the test on the official 2XKO website, if you have?n't already. Make sure your account is using a verified e-mail, otherwise you won't be able to complete the next step.

Once you register for the 2XKO Alpha Lab test, you'll receive an interest survey in the e-mail you used. This survey must be completed to be considered for the test. When you're done, the final step is to wait for Riot to invite you. Should you receive an invite, it will also come in the registered e-mail, providing you the opportunity to ch??oose your preferred platform to participate.

Recieve a Friend Referral

The other way you can join the 2XKO test is by friend referral. Some of those who were invited to the 2XKO test also received a referral invite they could use to bring someone else into the test. If one of these players sends you a referral, you can play in the 2XKO Alpha Lab test without a Riot invitation. To be clear, this referral is not a key. It is a literal link you must click on. Onl?y those with a Riot Account can use it to download and play in the test.

Unfortunately, there are no other known methods for joining the 2XKO Alpha Lab test, so you'll probably need to wait for an invite from Riot to get a chance to play it. The Alpha Lab test officially began on August 8 and will run until August 19?. Currently, the test is only available on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and Windows PC.

The post How to get into the 2XKO Alpha Lab Test appeared first on Destructoid.

When you're crafting the ultimate build in League of Legends' Swarm game mode, you'll want to pick some o?f the best weapons you can get. While some weapons are certainly better on some characters than others, some weapons are great to take no matter the scenario. Meanwhile, other weapons are bad no matter who you're playing as.

That can all be a bit confusing without guidance. Here's a tier list of all the weapons available in LoL Swarm.

LoL Swarm weapon tier list

Before we begin, let's set a few ground rules. For one, this tier list will not include weapons that you're given upon selecting a character. That's more suited for a character tier list than a weapon tier list.

It should also be known that, as mentioned above, not all high-tier weapons should be taken on all characters. Radiant Field, for example, is excellent on characters like Riven and Leona, but terrible on someone like ?Jinx. This should merely serve as a way to judge which weapons can give you the most bang for your buck in the right scenario. With that out of the way??, let's get started.

S Tier

• Echoing Batblades
• The Annihilator

The S Tier marks the best of the best weapons, almost always being good to have. The Annihilator, for example, is a liter??al screen wipe every 50 seconds or so, with extra XP earned once you evolve it using Exp Gain. Even for bosses, it can easily chunk them with its massive damage burst. If you're struggling to think of a fifth weapon to have in your arsenal, you'd be hard-pressed to find something better than either of these.

A Tier

• Anti-Shark Sea Mine
• Blade-o-rang
• Cyclonic Slicers
• Gatling Bunny-Guns
• Iceblast Armor
• Searing Shortbow
• UwU Blaster

A Tier weapons may not make the cut for top rank, but they're still worthy weapons regardless. The Anti-Shark Sea Mine, for example, takes a bit to get going, but once it has additional levels and its evolution, it'll be bouncing between tons of enemies f??or some easy damage.

B Tier

• Battle Bunny Crossbow
• Bunny Mega-Blast
• Paw Print Poisoner
• Radiant Field
• T.I.B.B.E.R.S.

B Tier weap?ons aren't bad, but t?ypically have a few flaws that prevent them from feeling good to use. With something like Radiant Field, it'll do decently, but is only a good choice for a select few characters. Even once evolved, it isn't anything to write home about.

C Tier

• Ani-Mines
• Final City Transit
• Lioness's Lament
• Statikk Sword
• Vortex Glove
• YuumiBot

C Tier is the worst of the weapons available, only worth taking if you absolutely must. Final City? Transit is a prime example here. While it's an interesting gimmick with a train that runs enemies over, it often requires specific scaling passives to work effectively, and attacks rather slowly. YuumiBot may be questionable to some as a C-Tier pick, but it requires Pick-Up Radius to evolve, which is just a very bad passive in a co-op-based setting like this. Grabbing experience orbs will only rarely be a problem.

The post League of?? Legends (LoL) S?warm tier list for all weapons appeared first on Destructoid.

Riven is one of the last few characters you unlock while playing through LoL Swarm. Naturally, this means she has a fair bit of potential for outputting damage through some of her sweeping attacks and overall AoE damage. Like any character, however, she's only as good as the build you make for her. Here's the best build for Riven in LoL Swarm.

The best build for Riven in LoL Swarm

Riven's main weapon, Bunny Hop, causes her to do sweeping attacks that can take out small groups early on, and larger groups as you get into the later stages of the game. She al??so sports abilities that either allow her to do an additional blast of damage or send out waves to wipe out several targets at once. The goals of this build are to further that playstyle as an area-killing machine while allowing your teammates to handle some of the bigger targets.

The best weapons for Riven

Riven's starting weapon requires Movement Speed to evolve and scales off Damage, Area Size, Movement Speed, and Crit Chance. As such, we're looking to pick weapons that evolve and scale off those passive?s. The full set below does just that:

• Bunny Hop evolved into Carrot Crash (Requires Movement Speed passive)
• Anti-Shark Sea Mine evolved into Neverending Mobstomper (Requires Damage passive)
• Searing Shortbow evolved into Evolving Embershot (Requires Area Size passive)
• Bunny Mega-Blast evolved into Rabid Rabbit Raindown (Requires Crit Chance passive)
• The Annihilator evolved into Animapocalypse (Requires Exp Gain passive)

The Annihilator may seem like an odd choice here since none of the build benefits off Exp Gain, but the weapon itself can benefit from a few of these passives. It's also just a great weapon to fit the goal of wiping out screens worth of enemies qui??te literally. In?? practice, you aren't likely to complain.

The best passives for Riven

If you've read up to this point, the passives for Riven should be quite straightforward. We want the different passives that help to evolve our weapons, though that does leave one spare passive slot. These choices should more ?than fit the bill:

• Movement Speed
• Damage
• Area Size
• Crit Chance
• Exp Gain
• Max Health

The Max Health taken here is chosen because of how aggressive you have to be with Riven. You're likely to take a lot of damage, and while th??ere are other methods of sustain, having some extra health will go a long way to not being a paperweight?? for your squad.

How to get Riven in LoL Swarm

Riven is acquired upon defeating Rek'Sai in Hard mode?? for the first time. Hard mode becomes available after completing each of the four Normal stages at least once, while Rek'Sai can be found on the starting Warehouse District map. Getting her to level 35 will also get you a new weapon, so she's well worth acquiring and using.

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Aurora is one of the final three characters that you'll unlock when progressing through League of Legends' Swarm game mode. She requires a fair bit o?f? dedication to acquire, but once you do, she can quickly get you out of sticky situations while providing some great ways for dealing with elite enemies and final bosses.

Like any character, she requires a great build to see the best success. Here's the best build for Aurora in LoL Swarm.

The best build for Aurora in LoL Swarm

Aurora is a rather unique case among the roster in that she's a character that provides more utility than anything damage-related. Her E makes you go invulnerable for a short time, letting you get out of sticky situations, while her R will trap? any foes caught in it while allowing her to teleport within the trap to deal damage and avoid attacks. This makes her uniquely suited to some interesting weapons.

The best weapons for Aurora in LoL Swarm

Aurora's main weapon, Guiding Hex, shoots out guided bolts that Hex targets. Hexed targets take bonus damage on every third cast of Guiding Hex that hits them. The weapon itself is pretty good, especially when evolved, but pairs nicely wi??th the following weapons:

• Guiding Hex evolved into Hopped-Up Hex (Requires Exp Gain passive)
• Anti-Shark Sea Mine evolved into Neverending Mobstomper (Requires Damage passive)
• The Annihilator evolved into Animapocalypse (Requires Ability Haste passive)
• Bunny Mega-Blast evolved into Rabid Rabbit Raindown (Requires Crit Chance passive)
• Echoing Batblades evolved into Vayne's Chromablades (Requires Projectile Count passive)

These weapons all go hand in hand with Guiding Hex, requiring passives that scale Guiding hex quite nicely. If you don't have The Annihilator or Echoing Batblades unlocked, you can replace these with the UwU Blaster and Battle Bunny Crossbow.

Best passives for Aurora

Her passives should be fairly straightforward given the weapon choices listed above, but we're left one or two slots open based on your available weapons. Ov??erall, your pas??sive setup should look something like this:

• Exp Gain
• Damage
• Ability Haste
• Crit Chance
• Projectile Count
• Duration

The first five passives are mainly for both evolving and scaling power on each available weapon. As for Duration, this will help increase the invulnerability time on your E which can make or break a lot of situations. If you take Battle Bunny Crossbow over Echoing Batblades, then you can switch out Projectile Count for a passive of your choosing.

How to unlock Aurora in LoL Swarm

Aurora can be unlocked by defeating 25 minibosses while playing Hard mode. These are the larger h?ealth bar enemies that drop Access Cards on death, providing a level in one of your equipped weapons or passives. This can be done across multiple matches, and you don't need to be ?the one to kill each miniboss. Once 25 die, Aurora will be yours.

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You'll need a ton of Gold if you want to farm all the possible upgrades in LoL Swarm. While technically you can just gain some Gold while playing, later upgrades require so much Gold you'll surely have to focus on farming some if you want to get deep into them. We've put together the best LoL Swarm Gold Farming build so you can efficiently far??m gold for your upgrad?es.

Best Gold Farm build in Swarm

First off, it's recommended you go with the champion Yasuo when trying to prioritize farming Gold in Swarm. Yasuo has some of the best clearing potential in the game and can also quickly dash around the map allowing him to easily farm as many Gold drops as possible with each level. After unlocking and choosing Yasuo, here's the best build for him to farm Gold in Swarm:

Gold Farming Weapons

• Steel Tempest evolved into Wandering Storms (Requires Critical Chance Passive)
• Battle Bunny Crossbow evolved into Bunny Prime Ballista (Requires Critical Chance Passive)
• Blade-o-rang evolved into Quad-o-rang (Requires Move Speed Passive)
• Cyclnoic Slicers evolved into Unceasing Cyclone (Requires Health Regen Passive)
• Paw Print Poisoner evolved into Bearfoot Chem-Dispenser (Requires Move Speed Passive)

Gold Farming Passives

• Critical Chance
• Damage
• Haste
• Health Regen
• Movement Speed
• Projectiles

Other Swarm Gold Farming tips

When it comes to farming gold specifically in Swarm, there are a couple of things you can do to make the farming more efficient. Here are the best tips for increasing your gold farming in LoL Swarm:

• Play in a group. When anyone picks up Gold, all players receive it, so playing in a group just means killing more things and picking up more Gold over the course of a level.
• If Solo, play on Story mode. In a group, play Hard difficulty. Hard will net you more Gold, but if you're Solo it will take too long to kill the mobs, making it an overall lesser Gold income rate in comparison.
• Go for Gold farming-centric Augments like Death and Taxes which gives every enemy a chance to drop Gold, or Pick-Me-Up which vacuums up all Experience Orbs and Gold on the map periodically.
• Prioritize purchasing the Gold Upgrades first as it will simply increase the amount of Gold you get while farming.
• Make sure to grab Golden Choncc or Miss Fortune to increase you overall Gold drops.
• YuumiBot makes a solid option to help pickup Gold if you're killing faster than you can loot.

The post Best LoL Swarm Gold Farming build appeared first on Destructoid.

For most players, Leona is the first non-default Champion you will unlock in LoL Swarm. She also serves as the first tank-oriented Champion for the new game mode, providing a unique style of melee gameplay. We've put together the best LoL Swarm Leona build that takes advantage of her innate tankiness a?nd ability to deal massive melee damage.

Best Leona build for Swarm

The absolute best build for Leona in Swarm revolves around her ability to deal massive AoE damage while being a tanking juggernaut. With this build, you'll add some additional defensive weapons while also building up close-ranged damage and then expanding on it with Area Size and increased Projectiles. Here is the best build for Leona in Swarm:

Best Leona Weapons

You'll definitely want to evolve Leona's Champion Weapon, Shie??ld Slam. Once evolved into Light of the Lion, she deals massive damage in a big cone while ??also marking the targets to then be detonated dealing even more AoE damage. Paired with some defense-oriented weapons like Iceblast Armor and close-range AoE weapons that are enhanced via Area Size, like Radiant Field and Ani-Mines, Leona can become a walking death machine. Here are the best weapons for Leona:

• Shield Slam evolved into Light of the Lion (Requires Armor Passive)
• Radiant Field evolved into Explosive Embrace (Requires Area Size Passive)
• Iceblast Armor evolved into Deep Freeze (Requires Armor Passive)
• Ani-Mines evolved into Jinx's Tri-Namite (Requires Area Size Passive)
• Vortex Glove evolved into Tempest's Gauntlet (Requires Health Regen Passive)

Best Leona Passives

The best Passives for Leona are Area Size for increased AoE damage followed by mostly defensive Passives like Armor, Max Health, and Health Regen. All of the chosen weapons evolve using these Passives, making it a great synergistic build. You can also pick up further damage increases like Ability Haste and Projectiles if you have the extra Passive slots to do so. Youll want to prioritize these best Leona Passives for this Swarm build:

• Armor
• Max Health
• Health Regen
• Projectiles
• Area Size
• Ability Haste

How to unlock Leona in Swarm

For most players, Leona is going to be the first Champion you unlock in LoL Swarm. All you need to do to unlock Leona is upgrade the Searing Shortbow weapon to Level 2 on any level. You can do this in a matter of minutes using one of the starter characters, Jinx or Seraphine. Doing so will unlock Leona permanen??tly, allowing you to use th??e powerful juggernaut the next time you play.

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Even though the Bullet Hell survivor genre that Vampire Survivors has created is relatively simple, if you're new to the genre, some things can be a bit confusing. In Swarm, one such ?feature that can be confusing for newer players is the Access Cards system. Here is everything you need to know about Access Cards including how to get them, what they do, and how they work with the Card Collector Augment.

What are Access Cards in Swarm?

Access Cards are special immediate upgrade drops for a specific Weapon, Champion Ability, or Passive that you already have unlocked in LoL Swarm. These Access Cards drop after you defeat an an Elite or Mini-Boss monster on any Lol Swarm level, and they drop on the ground where ?the enemy dies alongside a handful of gold coins. When you walk over the Access Card you will pick it up, and all allied players will receive a popup indicating a single random potential upgrade.

W??hen you level up normally, you get to choose from three different upgrades, with the potential to include new ones as long as you are not at your max. However, with Access Cards, it will randomly pick one single upgrade for you; there are no choices to be made with Access Cards.

In the event you have already maxed out your?????????????????????????? Weapons and Passives and have no more upgrades to obtain, you will instead be able to choose to heal 25% of Maximum Health to all allies or receive 25 Gold for all allies.

How does the Card Collector Augment work in Swarm?

One of the Augments in LoL Swarm, Card Col??lector, revolves around Access Cards. This is a default Augment that you can obtain right from the start of the game and do not need to complete and unlock requirements. With Card Collector, Each Access Card picked up after equipping this Augment grants you five percent of damage.

This can be a massive damage increase, especially if you pick up this Augment early in the level then proceed to take out Elite and Mini-boss enemies to collect Access Cards and ramp up your damage buff. However, as the description for Card Collector indicates, this only counts Access Cards picked up after obtaining the augment. Therefore, if you're in the middle of a run or near the end and choose this Augment, you won't get? nearly as much use out of it.

The post LoL Swarm Access Cards explained appeared first on Destructoid.

Briar is a very strong champion in the new LoL Swarm game mode, bringing some great survivability and plenty of area damage to wipe out hordes of enemies. With the right weapons and passives, she can quickly go from good to great and can protect her teammates from deadly swarms. Here's the best build for Briar in League of Legends' Swarm mode.

The best build for Briar in LoL Swarm

Briar's wh??ole playstyle revolves around getting in, doing massive amounts of damage to a crowd, and getting out before it becomes too overwhelming for her. While this means we want to pick weapons and passives that focus on doing damage, having a few sustain passives can go a long way in making sure you can disengage without going down.

Best Briar weapons

Briar's primary weapon, Pillory Swipe, is the bread and butter of this build. Each attack swipes in a large area, hitting anything possible while going much faster when using either of Briar's abilities. This ability evolves off Max Health, while scaling off passives like Damage, Crit Chance??, Ability Haste, and Area Size. As such, we'll want weapon??s that reflect that:

• Pillory Swipe evolved into Savage Slice (Requires Max Health passive)
• Radiant Field evolved into Explosive Embrace (Requires Max Health passive)
• Cyclonic Slicers evolved into Unceasing Cyclone (Requires Health Regen passive)
• Searing Shortbow evolved into Evolved Embershot (Requires Area Size passive)
• Bunny Mega-Blast evolved into Rabid Rabbit Raindown (Requires Crit Chance passive)

Best Briar passives

As with any good build in LoL Swarm, our passives will revolve around getting those evolutions and playing ??off what scales for the main weapon, Pillory Swipe. However, that leaves two extra passive slot?s to play around with, so we'll go for a few extra stats that can help Briar:

• Max Health
• Health Regen
• Area Size
• Crit Chance
• Ability Haste
• Movement Speed

Besides the evolve-re?lated passives, Ability Haste helps Pillory Swipe, Searing Shortbow, and Bunny Mega-Blast with scaling. Otherwise, Movement Speed reinforces that get-in, get-out playstyle men??tioned earlier.

How to unlock Briar in LoL Swarm

To get Briar for yourself, you'll want to progress past the first map into The Outskirts and survive until you beat Briar. She appears at the 15-minute mark and can be a difficult boss if you're unprepared. Her main attacks consist of firing out several cones that can cause you to flee, along with launching missiles from the top of? the screen downward.

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Jinx might be one of the two characters you start with in LoL Swarm, but she sure as hell packs a punch with the right build. She can slaughter hordes upon hordes of enemies with ease while crossing the battlefield like its nothing thanks to her abilities. If you want to make use of her in later runs though, you'll need to get a consistent build going. Here's the best build for Jinx in LoL's Swarm game mode.

The best build for Jinx in League of Legends' Swarm mode

Jinx is all about dishing out massive amounts of damage through an endless amount of projectiles, spamming enemies until they die. Her passive grants her periodic massive amounts of Movement Speed along with Ability Haste, and her abilities output massive amounts of damage. She may be rather squishy compared to the rest of the roster, but she more than makes up f??or it. With the right build, she's far better at that job

Best Jinx weapons

Jinx's Meow Meow is great on its own but becomes a DPS machine once evolved through Ability H?aste. Be??sides Ability Haste, Meow Meow also scales well off of Damage, Crit Chance, and Projectile Count. We want to play off of this to make her main weapon our primary source of damage, while still evolving our other tools. These weapons will do just that:

• Meow Meow evolved into Battle Cat Barrage (Requires Ability Haste passive)
• Anti-Shark Sea Mines evolved into Neverending Mobstomper (Requires Damage passive)
• Battle Bunny Crossbow evolved into Bunny Prime Ballista (Requires Crit Chance passive)
• Echoing Batblades evolved into Vayne's Chromablades (Requires Projectile Count passive)
• Gatling Bunny Guns evolved into Double Bun-Bun Barrage (Requires Duration passive)

Seeing as Echoing Batblades isn't unlocked until much later, you can substitute it with the UwU Blaster until you've unlocked it. This weapon evolves into t??he OwO Blaster when ?paired with the Ability Haste passive.

Best Jinx passives

As you can pro??bably guess, your passives will revolve around evolving each of your weapons and playing off what they scale. However, this leaves one or two slots open for other passives, which lets us bring in something nice to pair with Jinx's starting passive. Here's what you should be running (in order of importance):

• Ability Haste
• Projectile Count
• Crit Chance
• Damage
• Duration
• Movement Speed

That extra Movement Speed will pair nicely with that starting passive, ?since its mas??sive Movement Speed boost can thrive even better off it.

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Yasuo is one of the best Champions you can go with in LoL Swarm, bringing unparalleled mobility, damage, and rather solid survivability. Once fully built, this build can help Yasuo quickly clear massive amounts of enemies on any map across all difficulties. This is the best LoL Swarm Yasuo build in the game at the time of launch.

Best Yasuo build for Swarm

Primarily, the best Yasuo build in League of Legends Swarm centers around his weapon ability, Steel Tempest, which later evolves into Wandering Storms. This Critical Chance-focused build synergizes extremely well with other Crit-capable weapons allowing Yasuo to put out insane amounts of AoE damage. Proper use of Sweeping Blade and Wind Wall will allow you to survive the onslaught while quickly carving through lots of mobs. Here is the best Yasuo build in all of LoL Swarm:

Best Yasuo Weapons

The strongest weapon for Yasuo is the starter Steel Tempest weapon that you will evolve into Wandering Storms. Once paired with the Critical Chance passive, this weapon skill deals insane damage. Pair this with other Critical Chance capable weapons and you'll easily clear hordes of enemies throughout Swarm. You want to use these best Yasuo weapons in Swarm:

• Steel Tempest evolved into Wandering Storms (Requires Critical Chance passive)
• Battle Bunny Crossbow evolved into Bunny Prime Ballista (Requires Critical Chance passive)
• Bunny Mega-Blast evolved into Rabid Rabbit Raindown (Requires Critical Chance passive)
• Cyclonic Slicers evolve into Unceasing Cyclone (Requires Health Regen passive)
• Echoing Batblades evolved into Vayne's Chromablades (Requires Projectile count passive)

Best Yasuo Passives

Even though Steel Tempest is a big part of being effective with Yasuo, equally as important is getting the Critical Chance passive. This not only evolves Steel Tempest into Wandering Storms, but all the other weapons with this buil?d are also Critical Strike capable, making it a very strong passive for Yasuo specifically. Here are the best Yasuo Passives:

• Critical Chance
• Projectiles
• Damage
• Health Regen
• Ability Haste
• Area Size OR Movement Speed

How to unlock Yasuo in Swarm

All you have to do to unlock Yasuo in Swarm is successfully complete the Subterranean Lab level on any difficulty (including Story) and defeat the level's final boss, Bel'Veth. Load into Subterranean Lab on any difficulty either solo or with friends, and survive for 15 minutes. Afterwards, the level boss Bel'Veth will spawn which you will need to defeat to unlock Yasuo. When Bel'Veth puts lines all around the arena, note that she will then dash through all those lines in the order they appeared. Simply dodge out of the first one then move into its location, or find a safe spot that none of the lines inte?rcept in order to take out Bel'Veth and unlock Yasuo.

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League of Legends has recently debuted its newest game mode, Swarm. This is similar to games like Vampire Survivors, in that you control a small character that (mostly) auto-attacks enemies for you.

This is a tried-and-true formula, though League's implementation of it can have a little bit of confusion behind it at first. Here's how to get more passive slots in League of Legends' Swarm game mode.

Where to get more passive slots in LoL Swarm

Passive slots are awarded upon completion of certain challenges that are unlocked as you progress. You start with three passive slots, and can earn a fourth p?assive slot by getting three separate passives i??n a single game. That leaves two locked passive slots with challenges that only appear once you reach Hard and Expert mode, respectively. Once you do, you should get a challenge for each.

If you don't know already, you can unlock new difficulty modes upon completing the main set of maps. These maps are Warehouse District, The Outskirts, Subterranean Lab, and The Beachhead. This will unlock Matchmaking Island (which is the ability to queue up with random players) alongside Hard?? mode. Completing all maps on Hard mode then unlocks Expert mode.

Are extra passive slots worth the effort?

The other passive slots are absolutely worth getting. Having more passives means that you can evolve more of your five available weapons, along with having on?e extra passive to upgrade whatever you want. If you get to the point where you need a sixth passive, you should pick one that provides benefits to as many of your weapons as possible. The stats that benefit each?? weapon can be found by hovering over them.

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With the release of LoL Swarm, there nine total Champions immediately available for you to try. You only start with two—Jinx and Seraphine—but quickly unlock more. Most of the champions have their own unique playstyle as well as strengths and weaknesses, but some are certainly stronger overall than others. This is our LoL Swarm Tier List for all Champions at release.

LoL Swarm Champion Tier List

This tier list includes all nine LoL Swarm champions and is based around their overall capabilities across the board. If you build a specific way, or are playing mult??iplayer with others, the best champion for you may change based on ??the synergy with other champions.

Our S Tier champions in this tier list have survivability and high AoE kill speed making them strong options. Champions in the A Tier can handle most situations but may be lacking in a single category such as survivability, mobility, or even damage output. Champions in the B Tier are overall solid but either there are better options with other champions or they simply don't excel enough to make them worth playing. Finally, the lone character in the C Tier, Aurora, is a bit under-tuned right now and needs some buffs to be competitive with other champions. Here is our full LoL Swarm Champion Tier List for release:

S Tier

• Illaoi
• Yasuo

A Tier

• Briar
• Jinx
• Leona
• Xayah

B Tier

• Riven
• Seraphine

C Tier

• Aurora

Best LoL Swarm Champions

The current best champions in League of Legends Swarm mode are Illaoi and Yasuo. In fact, if you can play duo with a friend, if one of you plays each character you can trivialize most of the maps in Swarm?, eventually being able to just stand completely still while you clear out the entire screen of enemies as they r?each you.

Illaoi

Illaoi naturally has insane survivability while still being able to deal out massive damage, just like her League of Legends counterpart. Her ?weapon Tentacle?? Slam spawns in tentacles as she slams areas around her, allowing you to quickly and efficiently create powerful zone control.

Tentacle Smash, Illaoi's 'E' ability, slams an area in a line dealing damage and knocking enemies up into the air. This allows you to create a lane for escaping swarms of enemies while also knocking up and inte?rrupting powerful enemies like bosses. Finally, her 'R' ultimate ability Leap of Faith deals massive shockwave AoE damage around her while spawning 6 Tentacles. If you evolve Tentacle Slam for Illaoi, the size and damage of your ultimate tentacles that spawn are also increased.

Ideally, you want to build around Illaoi's tentacles and tanky nature. For weapons, you'll want to evolve Tentacle Slam while also grabbing damage-complimenting weapons like Bunny Mega Blast, Statikk Sword, Bunny Guns, Radiant F?ield, or even Vortex Gloves. You can also grab Iceblast Armor for increased survivability. As for Passives, you'll want to grab Duration, Damage, Health Regen, Max Health, Ability Haste, and Armor. This will make you insanely tanking while also allowing you to evolve all of your weapons and therefore output massive amounts of damage.

Yasuo

As Yasuo, you'll have some of the best mobility and survivability in all of Swarm while also dealing some of the best damage. The synergy between Yasuo's Way of the Wanderer passive that generates FLOW while increasing Critical Chance sets up for insanely high damage Crit Chance focused builds. Yasuo's Basic weapon Steel Tempest evolves into Wandering Sto?rms, as massive AoE damage powerhouse.

Proper usage of Yasuo's 'E' Sweep??ing Blade ability can boost your survivability with its shield while also allowing you to quickly maneuver the map and get out of sticky situations. Finally, Yasuo's 'R' ultimate ability Wind Wall is one of the strongest crowd control options in the game as it knocks enemies backwards while also blocking all projectiles from coming through.

If you choose Yasuo, you'll want to build around the fact that he synergizes extremely well with Critical Chance. You'll want to evolve Steel Tempest to Wandering Storms while using other Critical Chance weapons like Echoing Batblades, Bunny Mega Blast, Bunny Crossbow, Bl?ade-o-rang, and Vortex Gloves. When it comes to passives, you need to prioritize Critical Chance, while also going for Projectiles, Damage, Movement Speed, Health Regen, and Ability Haste.

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The Vampire Survivors bullet-hell style variant for the League of Legends universe, LoL Swarm, has officially launched today alongside the new Aurora character. As per usual in the genre, you can evolve your weapons and abilities once you level them up and pair them with a specific Passive combination. We've put together these LoL Swarm Weapons and Abilities Evolves charts so you can k??eep track of the requirements to get each evolution!

All LoL Swarm Weapon Evolves

With the launch of LoL Swarm, there are 19 total Weapons you can unlock. You will start with some weapons unlocked, and others can be obtained by completing certain achievements. Each weapon has a powered up Evolved Weapon form that unlocks if you reach Level 5 with that Weapon and also have the required Passive to unlock its evolved form. If you meet those requirements, you'll have a chance of getting the Evolved Weapon each time you level up. Here are all the LoL Swarm Weapon Evolves combinations at launch:

All LoL Swarm Champion Ability Evolves

Every Champion in LoL Swarm also has their own unique Ability with an Evolved Ability form as well as long as you reach Level 5 with that Ability and have the required Passive as well. These are all of the LoL Swarm Champion Abilities and th??e required combination to evolve them:

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Riot Games has apparently cancelled an in-development platform fighter called Pool Party. A report from Mikhail Klimentov (ReaderGrev) claims that Pool Party would have had gameplay similar to Nintendo's Smash Bros., set in the League of Legends universe.

There were around 70-80 developers working on the game before Riot Games sunsetted its development. It's also suggested that Riot Games was working on a platform fighter becaus??e they saw potential in building an esports landscape around it.

Joe Hixson, senior communications director at Riot Games, responded in a statement to Klimentov, saying that Riot Games always has a number of projects in “various phases of R&D, and spinning projects up and down happens multiple times a year.�/p>

The report also alleges Riot executives were “spooked�after the perceived failure of Multiversus, a crossover IP platform-fighting game from Warner Bros. Though Pool Party was originally envisioned as a "hardcore fighting game," it went through several revisions, including the addition of party game elements and gameplay mechanics which are “casual-friendly� It has also been claimed that the fundamental changes to the scope and vision of Pool Party left some of the staff frustrated.

The report has also claims that Riot Games offered half of the team working on Pool Party to be reassigned to a different project within the studio, and other developers were looking for new positions within the company. According to Klimentov's source, 10 have still not received an offer nor were part of the internal application process, which could imply t?hey've left the company.

None of this has affected 2XKO however, Riot's publicly announced fighting game. The company is preparing to debut a new demo at Evo 2024, and plans are in motion for a 2025 launch.

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The League of Legends universe has grown well beyond the bounds of its MOBA origins. Its characters have shifted over to other genres and game types, ranging from auto-chess and fighting games to turn-based RPGs and Netflix shows. So in that respect, Riot putting its champions into the bullet heaven genre with League's Swarm mode shouldn't be a surprise.

Officially announced today, Swarm is the new PvE game mode arriving as part of this summer's event. The full name is Swarm | Operation: Anima Squad, and as the name implies, it's not just themed around League of Legends, but specifically the Anima Squad line of skins. For those who don't play League of Legends, that might be confusing, so I'll simplify it a bit: these are multiversal versions of characters, like the different Spiders of the Spider-Verse.

In this alt-universe, the Anima Squad is a cybernetic and animal-themed team fighting against the Primordians to save humanity. You'll still see names you recognize, between old standards like Yasuo and Jinx, and newer faces like Aurora. The entire event takes place inside the League client, much like Teamfight Tactics. But while the format looks familiar, Swarm will feel quite different, whether you've been a long-time League player or just starting out.

We got the chance to go hands-on with the new game mode at a preview event amid Summer Game Fest. I've spent quite a bit of time with Vampire Survivors and the many, many games inspired by it, so I was curious to see what Riot was doing in the space. My first surprise was that Riot was building this inside the League client, rather than making it standalone.

In a Q+A with the developers of the mode, it was made there because the original prototype was built there. But also, building within the League environment offered some speed. Champions, animations, and other assets are already in the client. Teamfight Tactics was, according to them, easier to make faster within the client than without. And since this is a League event, Riot likes kee??pin??g it within that ecosystem.

Legendary survivors

In Swarm, you pick from the roster of League of Legends champions and enter the arena, where you then start walking around and fending off encroaching hordes of foes. You don't fire (most) of those skills yourself, though. They auto-fire, as you simply steer your champion around the map. And, for a League first, you utilize WAS??D for movement, while opting to either control the direction of your fire with your cursor or default to auto-aim.

Over time, the enemies get more durable and dangerous, eventually spawning special varieties of dangerous foes and even bosses. To combat this, you can pick up experience orbs that drop upon an enemy's death, choosing new abilities or boosting existing ones with a pick-three system every time you level up. If you've played Vampire Survivors, you know exactly how this plays.

Honestly, this familiarity isn't inherently bad. There's a reason many other games, not just Swarm, utilize concepts from Vampire Survivors for their own bullet heavens; the ideas are just that synergistic with the mode. Core concepts like picking up orbital projectiles to push back enemies, increasing your movement speed or fire rate, and "evolving" abilities into stron?ger versions based on attack-attribute synergies all work as well here as they've worked elsewhere. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

One neat idea are "events" that can happen in the arena, where characters like Yuumi can pop up and kick off mini-games for rewards. They can b?e pretty difficult, at times, and sometimes involve complicated mechanics to complete while avoiding waves of enemies, like kicking soccer balls? into goals. They're worth it, though, for the upgrades if you can manage them.

Where Swarm feels notably different is how its?? individual champions move, attack, and operate. More than most other games I've played in this genre, champions have core mechanics that define the way they survive in-game. Jinx is your prototypical bullet heaven character, whose machine-gun attacks and hype-up passive mean she gets the zoomies the more she kills, and shoots faster the more zoomy she is. Shoot fast, kill faster, rinse and repeat.

Swap over to Riven, though, and you're playing something completely different. The broken sword-wielder does a hop-slam attack, metered off how much she has moved. So above all, keep moving. Her abilities encourage this further, giv??ing you shields and scaling well with Armor, so you can get into the thick of the horde and still e??merge alive.

Yasuo became? a fast-favorite for several people at the preview event, I think. He loves increase?d odds to critically strike, and can start to really output damage the higher his crit chance gets. Add in his Wind Wall, which can create a barrier and hold the waves of foes at bay for ranged attackers, and he's a surprisingly effective mix of utility and damage.

Champion identity might be the silver bullet for League of Legends' Swarm mode, as each character can function in different ways. The mode is also co-op, allowing up to four players to team up and fight back against the Pri?mordians, and there's plenty of meta-progression to unlock too, between permanent upgrades to stats, new maps, a??nd more characters.

Getting animated

Riot's vision for the game mode is also noticeabl?y more colorful and cheerful than the more grim iterations of this genre. Rather than bats and zombies, you're fending off aliens in bright locales. During our preview period, dangerous projectiles manifested as beach balls that would menacingly roll towards us. I'm not sure if that's staying in, but I hope it does. There was nothing quite like hearing someone yell out "not another damn beach ball" amidst the rows of PCs.

There were times where the screen got a litt?le hard to read, thanks to how many enemies and colors were on the screen. Contrast could be a little higher, in my opinion. But for the most part, I knew where my character was, and where the enemies were. Following some of the shots and projectiles were a little harder, but it wor?ked out okay.

The character and color extends to the bosses of Swarm, too. Boss fights aren't necessarily new for the genre either, but Riot makes use of its recognizable roster once again to construct massive, active boss battles. We got to challenge the Primordian version of Rek'sai, which meant taking out tunnels and dodging underground strikes. By the time w?e got there, our squad was fairly overpowered, but it felt good to fell such a massive titan and do some light raid mechanics, dodging AoEs and focusing targets.

Swarm will no doubt benefit from the built-in audience of League of Legends, and probably appeal to anyone that loves those characters and their Anima Squad skins. As for bullet heaven genre fans, I do think there's enough here to merit downloading ?the client and trying it for the low, low price of free. While some core concepts will feel familiar, the way that champion toolkits have been integrated into the characters' actions works really well.

If anything, I'm curious to see whether it sticks around the way TFT has. The Anima Squad event kicks off on July 17 and runs through August 19, which leaves a sho??rt window for Swarm players to dig into all that's here. Riot made it sound like they'd watch the numbers, when it comes to whether this mode coul?d ever come back. But I wouldn't mind seeing Riot continue to tinker with this idea. It's a good one so far, and could get even better given time.

League of Legends' Swarm mode goes live on July 17.

_{Travel accommodations for this preview were provided by Riot Games.}

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Riot is unveiling its latest champion to hit Summoner's Rift today, and it's one they've apparently been trying to make for quite a while. Aurora is a new mage add to the League of Legends r??oster, utilizing mobility and even some tricke??ry to own the lane.

We got to go hands-on with a preview version of Aurora recently, as part of a look at what's next for League of Legends. While you could probably take Aurora into the top lane or even the jungle, she seems best-suited to the middle lane, where her spirit powers and skillsh??ots can do some damage.

Aurora is a vastaya able to see into, and move through, the spirit realm. Her whole vibe is about helping troubled spirits, and she's also unique in representing an autistic character within League of Legends.

Here's a rundown of what Aurora can do in combat:

• Passive: Spirit Abjuration

  • If Aurora damages an enemy three times with her spells and attacks, she will deal magic damage and exorcise a spirit to her, entering Spirit Mode and gaining movement speed and empowering her healing for three seconds. (For every additional spirit following Aurora, the bonuses from Spirit Mode are increased by 5%.)

• Q: Twofold Hex

  • Fire a blast of cursed energy in a direction, dealing magic damage to enemies hit and marking them with spirit energy. Recast: End the curse, drawing back the spirit energy to herself, dealing magic dealing to enemies passed through.

• W: Across the Veil

  • Hop in a direction. Upon landing, enter the spirit realm, becoming Invisible and entering Spirit Mode for several seconds. Takedowns on enemy champions reset the cooldown of this ability.

• E: The Weirding

  • Send out a blast of spirit magic dealing magic damage in an area and slowing them. Aurora will hop backwards slightly on cast.

• R: Between Worlds

  • Send out a pulse of spirit energy that deals magic damage and slows enemies. The area merges with the spirit realm, granting Aurora an empowered spirit mode, and allowing her to travel from one end of the area to the other. Enemies who try to cross the threshold will take magic damage, be slowed, and be pushed back toward the center of the area.

In my time playing as Aurora, I found her to be?? interesting, though not exactly my type of mage. She's able to pull off some tricky moves, mainly around her two mobility options—the hops on her W and E—and also "detonate" for extra damage on her Q's recast. A good damage combo would see her throwing out a Q, hitting the opponent with E and proccing her passive, then recasting Q for maximum damage.

Aurora's ultimate has interesting teamfight implications, controlling a lot of space and possibly letting her dive into a backline. I'm not?? much of a mage player, admittedly. But I could see someone who enjoys tricky, mobile fighters with a surprising amount of lane power digging Aurora.

Even if she's not my new main, though, I really do enjoy Aurora's style and design. Her designers told us during the preview event that ?the bunny design has been in the works for some time at Riot, through several ??different iterations. And now, this version of Aurora is what's ultimately seen it through.

Aurora joins the League of Legends roster in patch 14.14.

_{Travel accommodations for this preview event were provided by Riot Games.}

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As live service games grow, some publishers have been expanding even wider into realms like user-generated content. Roblox has built itself up on the efforts of developers, and Epic has been pushing Fortnite Creative with its own internal studios. But for League of Legends maker Riot Games, it seems like the compa??ny isn't interested in its MO?BA doing the same.

We attended a recent press event held by Riot Games, and got the opportunity to ask League leadership a few questions about the future of the game. Riot Games has already seen one big success in creating a game-within-a-game in Teamfight Tactics, so we asked if Riot would ever be interested in exploring UGC, outside the realm of its MOBA. Head of League studio Andrei van Roon says he's less interested in UGC for League of Legends, at least.

"You know, it's s??omething we might pursue elsewhere in Riot at some point," said van Roon. "But we feel a lot of what we've built on League, where we have strengths, what players are looking for, for us, are less about sort of building UGC platform and more about delivering particular types of experience, using these characters in a competitive or semi-competitive setting, playing to the strengths of MOBA, that action-strategy mix, etcetera."

"I think UGC is primarily a platform? and technology play," said game director Pu Liu. "And I think it's a fairly winner take all market. I think if I look at what Riot's strengths are and our competitive advantages, I'm not going to go pick that fight with Epic. Maybe Andrei, my boss, would tell me we should. But yeah, I think it's a technology platform play and not one that we're likely to win."

In the same Q+A session, Riot's League leads note what game modes like Teamfight Tactics have done for League of Legends. The auto-chess variant was built inside of League's des?ign space and li??ves, at least on PC, in the same client.

While it seems like?? Riot is interested in developing internally, it's not opening its doors to broader creation. And maybe that's a good thing; where Epic and Roblox could see lots of interest garnered through user creations, they could ?also tumble into new issues.

Still, Riot does seem keen to speak to new audiences. In the aforementioned Q+A, Liu notes that the League audience is aging up, and that League is not in the same situation it was 10 years ago. Projects like the card game Legends of Runeterra, fighting game 2XKO, and Netflix's Arcane series all feel like ways of reachin??g o??ut to new groups of fans.

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The League Of Legends YouTube channel has recently released the first teaser trailer for the hit Arcane Netflix TV seri??es. While some of seas?on 2's new additions are pretty clear, some are of the blink-and-you'll-miss-it sort. Let's look at every cool element we were able to spot ahead of the season's release.

What's new in Arcane season 2

Set in the world of Riot's MOBA League of Legends, Arcane Season 1 told the sto?ry of two sisters, Vi and Powder, who see their relationship get torn apart by the conflict between Piltover and Zaun.

As you likely know by now, season one finished in a literally explosive cliffhanger after Jinx finally uses her ult super mega death rocket on the Piltover council, a building filled with very important characters. That event will likely serve as the catalyst for everything taking place in Arcane season 2. While we don't know the exact result of the attack, there are lines in the new trailer claiming that the council is d?ead, and that Piltover will respond with wrath. So, we at least know that the big ending we got wasn't a mere fake-out intended to raise hype for season 2.

The first important change, which probably comes as a response to the attack, is that Vi will put her outlaw days behind her to join Caitlyn's Piltover police department. This piece of news disappointed the fans who only know of LoL via the show, but that's not a surprise to fans of the g?ame, where Vi has always been an enforcer.

T??wo other interesting addit?ions come from Zaun, the faction at war with Piltover. They are Warwick and Singed, who'd been teased in season 2's first look:

We get a rather ?clear glimpse of Singed, but, again, we don't see much of Warwick in ?this teaser. Still, I'm betting this can only be one character:

Most important of ?all, h?owever, is the reveal that Season 2 will actually be the final season. The show is likely to culminate with the final showdown between Vi, now with her famous gauntlets, and the former Powder, who Vi finally acknowledges as Jinx.

On t?op of Vi's Hextech gauntlets, we also get to see Caitlyn making use of her Hextech rifle to charge up and fire her ultimate.

If you're familiar with the game, you'll know that one particularity of Cait's ultimate is that even though it locks o??n to an enemy target, its projectile can be blocked by another member of the enemy team who gets in the w?ay. Will we see Vi bravely blocking the projectile meant to kill her sister? We'll see.

Though cool Hextech gadgets seem to be a big focus of season 2, Viktor and Jayce, two of the biggest masters of Hextech in the game remain to be seen. No way such important characters would've just perished in the previous series finale, right? That'd be really strange especially when considering that ga??me Vik??tor's whole thing is coming back as a cyborg.

And on top of a??ll the cool things that fans of the game can already identify, there are also a bunch of shots that are just as mysterious as? they're beautiful:

And if you feel sad for learning that season 2 will mark the end of Arcane, I'm happy to tell you that you need not fret too much. Series co-creator Christian Linke has already assured fans that Arcane is and has always been the mere starting point for many stories to be told by Riot Games and Fortiche's partnership in the future. If the final season of Arcane manages to live up to the very high standard put up by the first season, there's no doubt that the future of Riot Games' future in animation? looks very bright.

Season 2 of Arcane will hit Netflix on November 24.

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Amid claims of League of Legend's new anti-cheat software bricking PCs, Riot Games has said everything's actually working as i?ntended, adding that only a small minority of players have reported anything going wrong.

In an effort to assuage any fears of the anti-cheat software, named Vanguard, League of Legends' senior anti-cheat analyst Matt ‘K30�Paoletti took to Reddit to update fans on the situation. He stated that "the rollout has gone well," with Riot already seeing a sharp drop in bot accounts. However, there have clearly b??een enough complaints about Vanguard's implementation for Paoletti to directly address them.

For context, Riot recently rolled out Vanguard, the same anti-cheat it uses for Valorant, in League of Legends earlier this week. It didn't take long for reports to come in from players saying the software had bricked their PCs. One LoL content creator, Nick "LS" De Cesare, was among those affected, with both of his PCs refusing to turn on after installing the update. He was eventually able to get one of them working again, but ??it required some technical wizardry on his part.

According to Paoletti, despite the widespread complaints, a very small amount of LoL players have reported issues with Vanguard; less than 0.03% of them, in fact.? He also stated that most of the error codes players are experiencing can be easily resolved through simple troubleshooting, and that Riot's yet to confirm any of t??hese bricked PCs are a direct result of installing Vanguard. In addition, Paoletti denied suggestions that Vanguard is taking screenshots of players' monitors, although it can "take a picture of your game client (in fullscreen) and the region your game client occupies (in windowed/borderless) for suspicious activity related to ESP hacks."

The long and short of it is that if you've been experiencing technical issues with your computer following the update, then Riot's Vanguard software has nothing to do with it. I can't imagine those affected are wholly satisfied with that answer, especially since there's a string of comments to the post that were deleted by a moderator, no doubt because they were deemed abusive. Further down the thread, other disgruntled players have said they've already uninstalled LoL?. Whatever the cause, it's clear this dr?ama won't be dying down any time soon.

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Netflix's hit League of Legends show, Arcane, is expected to release its second season this November. To bide the time until then, Riot Games and Netflix released a small yet intriguing Arcane Season 2 teaser as part of League of Legends' 2024 roadmap that may tease a fan-favorite arrival.

In this 45-second teaser, we're treated to a haunting look at what appears to be a blood transfusion. Giving his blood seems to be Silco's doctor acquain?tance, Singed. While it isn't said who or what is being given blood outside of the gigantic beast, some fans are quick to speculate. In fact, one of the main theories from last season may help decipher who that hanging abomination may be.

My Enemy

I'll start by saying my knowledge of League of Legends starts and ends with Arcane. So, with this new Arcane teaser, I had to do some digging to find some answers. Looking through the YouTube comments of the video (as dangerous as it may be), I came across a few people bringing up a name: Warwick. One Googl??e? search later and, lo and behold, there it is! The many green vials upon the engineered beast's back and the creature-like physique are spot-on.

As for what created Warwick, one can turn to the last episode of sea?son one, "The Monster You Created". During the episode, we see Singed take the body of a Shimmer-infected Vander to his lab. Vander, for those who need a refresher, was the guardian of Vi and Jinx as well as the respected protector o?f the underground.

When we last saw him in Arcane, he took Shimmer and changed into a monster. He proceeds to save Vi and they jump out of a collapsing building. It would mak?e sense that Singed would use Vander's ?body, dead or alive, for experiments and create the perfect monster. If Vander is indeed Warwick, it seems our heroes' battle will hit a lot more close to home.

Arcane, released in 2021, follows Vi and Jinx, two separated sisters, as they try to reunite with each other in an ever-evolving world of chaos and invention. The show was lauded upon release for its spectacular animation, loaded voice cast, and incredible story. It even won Outstanding Animated Pro?gram at the ?Primetime Emmys and Best Adaptation at The Game Awards. As one of my favorite shows of 2021, it's safe to say a lot of people are looking forward to Arcane's second season's release in November.

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League of Legends publisher Riot Games debuted another in-universe music group called Heartsteel, and their debut single "Paranoia" dropped earlier this week on October 23. Alon??gside the single, several new skins are being added to the MOBA.

Despite the boy band being completely new to the LoL world, several members of Heartsteel may sound familiar. A few of Heartsteel's members are voiced by popular artists in real life; Kyan is voiced by Cal Scruby, K’San??te is voiced by Tobi Lou, Sett is voiced by Øzi, and Ezreal is voiced by Byun Baekhyun.

Heartsteel-inspired skins make a debut

Players of League of Legends will not only have a chance to enjoy Heartsteel’s music, but will also be able to mimic the looks of their favorite members with new skins for each member of Heartsteel in-game. Although each member will recieve their own skin, only Kayn and Yone will get different tiers of skins. Kayn is set to recieve a skin with a Legendary status while Yone is set to get a Prestige skin, in addition to their originals.

Fans can catch a glimpse of the new skins in Heartsteel's 'Paranoia' music video. Alongside the music video, an official skins trailer from Riot Games has ??also been released. The 'Paranoia' skins will be available to players on No?vember 8.

Riot Games has been debuting in-universe music groups for a while now. Some of their most popular groups were virtual K-pop group K/DA (2018) and hip hop group True Damage (2019). The in-universe music group approach that Riot Games has been taking is seeing a lot of success. K/DA blew many away with their debut single "POP/STARS" in 2018, which truly kicked off the League of Legends band legacy.

Heartsteel is set to make a similarly large impact on the League of Legends universe through exciting music, entertaining visuals, and taking on the ti??tle of Riot’s first in-game boy band?.

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I recently had the opportunity to speak with Rowan Parker, the Creative Director at Riot Forge Games. While some of the interview with Rowan touched on the overall design process at Riot Forge, most of the focus was on the upcoming Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story. I have to admit I had expected the interview to be rather straightforward. Based on what I had seen from the trailers for Song of Nunu so far, I thought I knew what was in store. A cozy and playful lighthearted adventure through the Freljord as Nunu, with Willump and Braum by my si?de. Surely there'd be some laughs, some gaffes, and maybe even a ??guffaw or two.

As my questioning began, Rowan was quick to remind me: Song of Nunu is being developed by Tequila Works, a developer well known for their hard-hitting narratives in titles like RiME and GYLT. Rowan ?smirked as I connected the dots ab?out what this meant in terms of what could be in store for Nunu and Willump.

"Wait, so this isn't just a happy cozy adventure?" I a???sked.

"Nothing bad coul?d possibly happen, right?" Rowan teased.?? "What could go wrong?"

A tale of a ten-year-old boy and his pet Yeti

I think Rowan said it best. Tequila Works are masters at creating intimately personal stories that know how to hit hard. I'm not quite sure how I had not perceived this beforehand. Tequila Works being the developer might, in fact, be the biggest hint into what we can expect from Song of Nunu.

Wrapping up the interv??iew, I shared some thoughts on my newfound knowledge of what's in stor??e.

"I don't know what's coming, but I feel it's?? going to hit me harder than I expected," I said.

Rowan smirked again. "I think you proba?bly could guess what's coming. The question is, what flavor is it going to be?"

My full interview with Rowan will be available on September 25, and I recommend checking it out for even more details on what to expect from Song of Nunu.

Song of Nunu is available for pre-order now on Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG.com ahead of its November 1 release. Other console releases will follow later. A warm and fuzzy Collector's Edition is also available directly through the Riot? Games Merch store for al??l confirmed platforms.

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Today's Nintendo Direct revealed that Song of Nunu: A League of Legends Story is coming to the Nintendo Switch. It centers on Nunu and Willump as they adventur?e through the dangerous wilds of ??Freljord. You'll have to climb to get around some areas, and when there's an icy slope, Nunu can use Willump as a sleigh. There'll also be puzzles to solve as you learn more about these friends and their past.

We've had a sneak-peak at the game b??efore and saw that we'll be crossing paths with Braum the protector of the Freljord. We also learned that Nunu and Willum??p are searching for the Heart of the Blue.

The single-player game is being developed by Tequila Works and published by Riot Games. You'll be able to grab it on the Swit??ch and PC on November 1, 2023. Pre-orders are available now.

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Hollywood has oftentimes tried to capture ??the magic of video games on f?ilm, and the most fun audiences have ever gotten out of it was seeing it fail stupendously pretty much every time. Still, you cannot say the same about game-to-tv-show adaptations, as those have already provided us with actual top-tier entertainment. Let's take a look at the best of the bunch.

[caption id="attachment_385596" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image By Netflix[/caption]

06. The Witcher

Okay, It's very important to establish that Netflix's The Witcher is an adaptation of Andrzej Sapkowski's books, and not of the games �Just kidding. It's pretty obvious that Henry Cavill is emulating video game Geralt because this series only exists due to the success of the games. Yes, I know damn well that the only people watching this are the millions of Witcher 3 fans out there.

It's also important to mention that the entire show (so far) is very uneven, hence landing at number six in this ranking. Still, the show does many things right �the fight choreography is awesome, and so is the costume and set design. Production-wise, this feels closer to the original Lord Of The Rings trilogy than to The Hobbit trilogy. Sadly that's not a given these days when they usu?ally just use CGI for eve?rything. It's great to see a video game adaptation putting so much work in.

Also, it's clear that the heart is there. Cavill is awesome, the same goes for Ciri, Yennefer, and Jaskier, obviously. The only real problem here is the story's aw??kward progression, but you can always come back to the first season to enjoy some fun and uncom??promising episodic monster-of-the-week action.

Oh, and that song about throwing money at Witchers is an instant classic.

[caption id="attachment_368634" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image by HBO[/caption]

05. The Last Of Us

Please don't get angry for seeing The Last Of Us merely at number five in a ranking about the best things of a specific ??kind ever made.

It’s definitely good, competent, and very ugly or beautiful whenever it wants to be. Just like the game, it picked the perfect couple of ac??tors to ?give life to the characters that could carry the massive weight of both the game's drama and the hopes that more video games could get prestige TV treatment in the future.

But is it really that big of an achievement? It feels like a very safe adaptation of a game that already played like a movie in the first place. HBO's The Last Of Us is good, but you know what else is good? Watching a vid?eo compilation of the cutscenes from the first game on YouTube. I wish we could see a future season starring a new group of main characters on a completely different adventure. Perhaps you can get Henry Cavill to star in it. I heard he likes games.

04. Sonic Boom

Sonic Boom, the game, is one of the worst games ever made. Its TV show, also called Sonic Boom, would deserve praise even if it were just a smidge above an unwatchable mess filled with inexplic??able animation errors, but no??pe, it's a genuinely good kid's show.

Many Sonic fans are aware that good Sonic games are a rarity these days, but good Sonic TV shows have always been rare. Remember that show where ??Sonic had a rock band? The kids of today don't have to suffer through that just ?to get their Sonic fix anymore.

The Sonic Boom ani??mated series gives the world of Sonic and its characters a makeover, and ties it all up with some pretty funny dialogue �if you're in the age range of people they made this for, at l?east.

[caption id="attachment_234605" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image by Netflix[/caption]

03. Castlevania

Netflix's Castlevania is probably the first truly-great video game-based TV sho??w, and legitimately one of the be??st animes of recent times.

It does a great job of fleshing out the entire Belmont clan, as well as making Dracula go from just that meme who asks "What is a man?!" into a real flesh and cold??-blood character with?? real motivation. Also, the action is unsurprisingly great.

It succeeds in all the parts where The Witcher TV show fumbled, as whereas most of the people who care about the Witcher TV show were already fans of the games, Castlevania actually brought in a lot of new fans who likely weren't even born by the time the f?irst game in the series came out.

The only possible problem stemming out of this show is how the demise of the game series might lead future generations to think of Castlevania as something that began a??s an anime, and not as one of the best 2D games of all ??time.

[caption id="attachment_344945" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image by Netflix[/caption]

02. Cyberpunk Edgerunners

Even though the Cyberpunk 2077 game we have today is miles better than what we got upon release, I think it's safe to say that Edgerunners, its? neat Netflix anime tie-in, still beats it by a wide margin.

Instead of trying to retell the events of the game via some beautiful but ultra-expensive CGI, Edgerunners gives us what I wanted out of The Last Of Us TV show.

It uses the world of the game to tell a completely new story featuring a bunch of instantly lovable new characters, a decision that ultimately enriches both the anime and the game by helping populate such a huge but otherwise empty city. No, I'm not taking a dig at how the PS4 version of Cyberpunk featured a comically low number of NPCs on the streets of Night City �I'm talking about how seeing more characters living out their stories brings life and soul to the world of Cyberpunk —�/em>and this world will nev??er have too much of th?at.