Riot has released the patch notes for the upcoming League of Legends 6.22 update, which leads into the 2017 preseason with changes to the Ranked system, brings a class update to Assassins, and the addition of "some much-overdue features in Replays and Practice Tool."
"Unlike a full-scale update (like Yorick or Poppy), class updates aren’t targeted at reinventing characters from the bottom up. They’re for taking a group of champions that feel a little too similar and making them more distinct while improving their overall game health," Riot explained in the lead-in to the patch notes. "While Assassins may receive top-billing, there are plenty of other gameplay changes in pre-season’s supporting cast. The notes are plenty long on their own, so we’ll let you scour the pages below to learn all about them."
And they're not kidding. There's a lot going on here and you're going to have to hit up the full patch notes to see it all, but highlights (apart from the many changes to Assassins) include refinements to stealth mechanics, the addition of a new Ward (and the removal of another), new Ward rewards, and—this one sounds especially cool, but is also controversial—the "living jungle," which will introduce plants to the Rift.
"We want to make Summoner’s Rift feel more alive and that’s where Plants come into play. Plants create new ways for teams to take control of the map and approach objectives, as well as how you engage in future fights. Different plants spawn in on the map during certain parts of the game in order to provide interesting combat situations and rewarding players who adapt to them," Riot explained. "Plants have evolved pretty significantly during their time on PBE, and we’ll continue iterating on them throughout pre-season. We’re excited to see how you use them!"
The League client is also being updated to open beta—more on that in the FAQ—although you won't be forced to update right away if, for some reason, you don't want to. The ranked queue changes for 2017 are also broken down in this post, and obviously a number of bug fixes are on tap. New skins and chromas will be released during the 6.22 patch as well, which you can lay eyes on below.
Karthus Lightbane
Jayce Brighthammer
Bard Bard
Sejuani Dawnchaser
Worldbreaker Hecarim/Worldbreaker Nasus
Worldbreaker Trundle/Worldbreaker Nautilus
