League of Legends has officially launched patch 25.09, marking the beginning of Season 2 with significant updates including champion balancing, a newly designed rift, and the introduction of Thornbound Atakhan. The patch goes live on April 30th, bringing substantial changes to the gameplay experience.
The most impactful update for the competitive scene is the arrival of Thornbound Atakhan. This new objective will have a singular form for Season 2, replacing the previous Voracious and Ruinous versions. Thornbound Atakhan spawns on the side of the map with the most action, with Bloody Roses appearing near kills and around Atakhan’s pit.
Teams that manage to slay Atakhan gain immediate advantages through the Bloody Petal bonus, claiming all remaining Bloody Roses on the map and purifying them into Spirit Petals. These Spirit Petals provide a significant 25% boost to XP and Adaptive Force. Additionally, the team receives ‘Spiritual Purification,’ which Riot Games explains creates an effect that blesses the area around takedown targets, slowing and damaging nearby enemies while granting the team a Spirit Petal.
Patch 25.09 also modifies the Void pit encounters. One of the Void Grub encounters has been completely removed, and the Spawen timer has increased from six to eight minutes. Teams now need to kill three Grubs instead of four to obtain Hunger of the Void (single Void Mite buff), and taking two out of three Grubs earns Feats credit. Changes have also been applied to the Rift Herald and Summoned Pet.
From a visual perspective, Season 2 introduces a fresh Spirit Blossom-themed map update, giving the Rift a new aesthetic.
Champion Balance Updates Shake Up the Meta
The patch affects 12 champions in total, including several prominent competitive picks. Qwen received nerfs, with her armor growth reduced from 5.2 to 4.9. Her damage to monsters has also been decreased, along with nerfs to her Q (Snip Snip) AP scaling. Despite seeing play 14 times in the LEC Spring Split, Leona received buffs. Her passive duration increased from 1.5 to 2.5 seconds, and the mana costs of her Q and E abilities were decreased.
Other champion adjustments include:
- Annie received buffs to her Q damage, a decrease in W mana cost, and increased R magic penetration.
- Ashe saw increases to her Q damage and bonus attack speed.
- K’Sante’s W damage was increased.
- Kalista was nerfed with decreased base health and AD, though her AD growth was increased while her E damage was reduced.
- Morgana received shield strength increases for her E, along with R damage and bonus movement speed buffs.
- Naafiri had her early W cooldown increased and E AD ratio decreased.
- Orianna’s Q mana cost was reduced.
- Rengar received an update to recommended items.
- Shen’s empowered Q damage was increased.
- Yorick had his passive damage from monsters decreased.
Season 2 ranked play begins April 30th without resetting ranked progression, meaning players won’t need to complete placement games.
For more details on Patch 25.09, including item changes and Battle Pass information, players can visit Riot Games’ official blog post.
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