Games

League of Legends takes heavy swing at lane swaps, community erupts

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Riot Games is taking heavy countermeasures against lane swaps in League of Legends.

Riot Games is cracking down hard on the practice of lane swapping in League of Legends. Witness the extensive measures being implemented to combat lane swaps in LoL, and learn about the community’s responses.

LoL lane swap changes in PBE

It’s important to mention that the alterations to battle lane swaps are currently being tested on the League of Legends Public Beta Environment (PBE) server. This means it’s a new system under development, so we’re getting our first glimpse at how it might work. Furthermore, League of Legends lead gameplay designer Matt “Riot Phroxzon” Leung-Harrison emphasized that these changes are tentative and quite dramatic due to the nature of the testing process.

The system for detecting lane swaps will be implemented. This feature will activate when two teammates, both lacking a jungle item, are found in either the top, mid-lane, or adjacent zones.

The detection will occur:

  • At 1:30 to 3:30 in top lane
  • At 1:30 to 2:15 in mid lane.

There are also caveats regarding unconventional jungler (champions with Smite) counts:

  • Detection is disabled for teams without junglers.
  • Detection includes junglers if the team has two or more junglers.

What happens when a lane swap is detected?

The purpose of implementing lane swaps is to dodge unfavorable matchups in the early game lanes, keep certain opponents at a disadvantage, or boost our own champions (commonly the bottom laners). These objectives are the focus of these adjustments.

When a lane swap is detected, the defending turret:

  • Gains 95% damage reduction.
  • Will deal 300% damage to minions, resulting in one-shots.
  • Alongside defending minions, will give gold and experience from champion and minion kills to the nearest allied champion in lane.

The defending top-lane turret specifically is getting even more countermeasures:

  • Will one-shot champions
  • The defending champion under the top-lane turret (with a range of 300 units) will receive a 50% damage reduction.

Furthermore, the penalized champions will receive 50% less gold and experience points (XP) from minion kills. These penalties persist for 25 seconds in the top lane and 6 seconds in the middle (mid) lane.

These changes are expected to ship on LoL Patch 25.05, scheduled for March 5, 2025.

Riot Phroxzon explains that the current changes are merely temporary, serving as a stopgap measure while they work towards a more permanent fix, similar to their approach with the funnel and double support item strategies of the past. Essentially, he’s saying they’re seeking an efficient, problem-solving solution without overcomplicating the game in the long run, and these rules will remain in place until that solution is fully developed.

Riot Phroxzon explains that these modifications are designed to make professional games more similar to typical League of Legends matches. He points out that early-level lane swaps, from level 1 onwards, are the goal because later swaps offer fewer advantages and mimic “regular League of Legends” gameplay more closely.

Griefing Potential and other collaterals

Clearly, such modifications could offer an opportunity for players who intentionally sabotage games (griefers). These malicious individuals might merely stay in a lane, repeatedly triggering the lane swap detector, thereby putting their team at a disadvantage due to penalties. In simpler terms, if you choose to disrupt your team’s gameplay in this manner, our system will identify and penalize such behavior.

As a devoted League of Legends player, I’ve noticed an unintended consequence of the lane swap detection feature: it’s curbing some sneaky strategies, often referred to as “cheese.” For instance, a surprise level 1 gank from hidden champions like Twitch or Teemo might have been a game-changer, but now triggers the lane swap penalty. Riot Phroxzon explained that eliminating lane swaps completely would inadvertently impact these strategies, hence they’re trying to minimize the fallout by shortening the duration of such rules in mid lane and adjusting linger durations. This way, players who unintentionally traverse these lanes won’t negatively affect their teammates, he added. It’s important to note that these changes are only temporary.

LoL community reacts to lane swap changes

Nick “LS” De Cesare, a notable figure in League of Legends (LoL), expressed his views on topic X. He pointed out that the recent updates won’t eliminate lane swaps in LoL but will merely modify their occurrence. In essence, he explained that while these changes don’t touch upon the core reasons for its existence, players simply need to familiarize themselves with the new factors and adjust their strategies accordingly.

Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen, the bot laner for Cloud9, offered a more lighthearted remark: “Why don’t they simply target bot laners with headshots in real life when they move to top lane instead?

Content creator and former pro Christian “IWDominate” Rivera expressed his thoughts on X regarding potential changes in League of Legends Esports. He stated, “If this change occurs AND ‘fearless’ is eliminated, the variety of champions played during Spring could become extremely limited, leading to a potentially dull experience.” Recall, the initial experimentation with lane swaps was primarily due to the unplayable nature of certain botlane matchups at lower levels in the game.

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2025-02-22 08:11

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