It's preseason time. Of course, this year the preseason will only be on the PBE, but it's still exciting to see what Riot is going to ship for LoL Season 14.
For the 2024 League of Legends season, Riot wanted to do something big. To make sure the game doesn't get stale or boring, Riot usually tackles some big changes in the Preseason and this year, they're going all-out making multiple changes to the League of Legends jungle and it's monsters.
The top half of the jungle will finally receive some changes to try and make the top side more impactful after ADC's have been ruling over Summoner's Rift. So, let's check out what is in store for Season 14.
LoL Season 14: Jungle Monster Changes
With many of these monster and creature changes, Riot is trying to bring in more game to game variance, while also giving the top lane more agency with better objectives.
Baron Changes In Season 14
Baron is going to be getting a visual overhaul, as was shown during the Season 14 trailer during the 2023 League of Legends World Championship. Baron is looking much more fierce and like some eldritch horror creature, which is what the Void is all about.
But he isn't just getting a visual overhaul. He's also going to be receiving a new pit that will be able to change. Baron will have 2 new variations that it can transform into at 20 minutes. Each variation will bring a different Baron pit to the forefront.
- Hunting Baron (base pit)
- Territorial Baron (wall pit)
- All-Seeing Baron (tunnel pit)
The baron buff will not change, though, meaning teams will have the same baron buff no matter which of the three barons spawns. The only thing it'll affect is the pit and how it'll look.
For now, there are also no plans for the elemental rift system to have an effect on the baron pit, meaning that the pit changes come independent of the elemental dragons.
Rift Herald Changes – Introducing Void Grubs
During the preseason, which will only be on the PBE server this year, we are also getting some major adjustments to the Rift Herald. Right now, we have "Shelly" and "Shirley", but in 2024 that will change, because the first Rift Herald is getting removed from the game and is being replaced by a new jungle monster.
Void Grubs Explained
Riot is going to be adding in Void Grubs, which will be a brand-new objective. There are 3 Void Grubs which will spawn at the 5-minute mark together. Each Voidspawn will have a respawn timer of 4-minutes after it's taken down.
A max of 6 Void Grubs will spawn in total. Killing them will give players small buffs to take down structures. Getting all 6 Void Grubs will also spawn small Void Mites to help take down towers.
Rift Herald Changes Explained
Looking for a quick rundown of the bigger changes coming to the Rift next year? Check out our 2024 Gameplay Preview here: https://t.co/LuHsx4derq pic.twitter.com/ze73mkK7XU
— League of Legends Dev Team (@LoLDev) November 20, 2023
The Rift Herald will spawn at 14 minutes for the first time. When taken, there will be some new use cases for it. Instead of just dropping it down in the lane and watching Shelly take the tower, players can now jump on her and take her for a ride.
This is similar to the sleigh from Nexus Blitz. You'll be able to use this new Rift Herald to knock down towers, especially if you're on her back. You have to be careful, though, since you might run into opponents who can block her charge, though they take damage and are airborne.
The Void Consumes Summoner's Rift – New Camps
Not only will we receive new monsters with the Void Grubs, but other camps that we know and love will also receive some major changes on Summoner's Rift which will add more game variance, as well as make stealing buffs all the more fun.
The Blue Sentinel, Red Brambleback and Rift Scuttlers will be getting some new powers thanks to the Void. Starting at 20 minutes, the Void will consume some of the camps, recreating them and turning them into the Voidborn Sentinel, Voidborn Brableback and Voidborn Rift Scuttler.
These objectives will be harder to kill, but the reward will be much stronger than the usual ones.
LoL Season 2024: When Will These Changes Go Live?
These are all the major jungle changes that will hit the Rift in LoL Season 14. These changes will go live with the start of the League of Legends season in LoL Patch 14.1, which is set to drop on January 10, 2024.