As Season 7 finishes and Season 8 begins in only a matter of weeks, players are already looking to the new changes coming to LoL. So far there have been several pre-season patches which have brought significant changes already. However, with Season 8 not starting until as late as January, there are still plenty of new changes to come.
To see how League of Legends will be changing over the upcoming season, we’re taking a look at all the major updates and changes coming to the Rift. From the small changes to the big changes, League of Legends is having a massive overhaul and revamping several of its outdated features. Here’s what you need to know about the upcoming changes and how they’re going to affect Season 8.
No More Influence Points
The first major change for Season 8 is the removal of Influence Points. These points have been in the game since day 1 and date all the way back to 2009. IP has been an important in-game currency used to buy runes and champions, but now it’s time is up. Heading into Season 8, Influence Points are being replaced with a new currency called Blue Essence. Although Blue Essence will essentially do all the same things as Influence Points, this new change marks the end of an era in LoL.
Instead of players having to use various currencies to purchase cosmetics and champions, players can now use just 1. This new currency takes a lot of the confusion out of the game and makes it easier for players to purchase in-game rewards. For new players, this is definitely a positive.
Riot Points will still remain in the game and allow players to buy skins and champions, but Blue Essence will be the free alternative. To celebrate the release of the new currency, Riot introduced a temporary Blue Essence store full of rare skins. One of the rarest skins available was the Urfwick 2017 which cost a mind-blowing 150,000 Blue Essence. However, in all fairness, the skin is still incredibly popular and rare. Only a few thousand LoL accounts have it in their collection which considering the number of people that play LoL, is not a lot!
The removal of Influence Points from League of Legends is just one of the many major changes coming to Season 8. Since we’re on the topic of major changes, let’s take a look at the next update: new boosting options. Yes, getting good at League of Legends will require new skills.
New Boosting Options
Since the launch of League of Legends, players have been able to pick up various boosts in game to enable them to gain more IP and XP. Since IP has been removed from the game, this also means several boosts have been removed too.
Traditionally players could pick various 1 day, 1 week and 5 win IP boosts to grant them more IP when playing games. However, all of that has now been changed. For the start of Season 8, players can now buy several new XP boosts that have never been available before. These new boosts include 3 win, 5 win and 15 win options which allow players to get even more wins for their money.
In addition to these new boosting options, there has also been an enormous price hike. Before IP boosts were removed, a 1 day XP boost used to cost 150 RP. However, today the same boost costs 290 RP, almost a 100% increase! This suddenly means gaining XP fast in LoL suddenly became a lot more expensive. To explain why Riot have increased the price of their XP boosts, we need to take a look at the next major change coming to LoL.
Unlimited Leveling
The final major change coming to League of Legends for Season 8 is the ability to level up indefinitely. Since the game was released in 2009, players have always been capped at level 30. Once a player reaches level 30 they stop gaining XP and the whole leveling experience stops. Considering it takes several months to get to level 30 with the player unlocking lots of summoner spells on the way, once they reach level 30 this all stops. For many players this is disappointing.
Well, luckily things are about to change! Starting from the pre-Season of Season 8, players will now be able to level up indefinitely. This means there is no level cap in place, allowing players to level as high as they want.
Going beyond level 30 might sound exciting but that’s not all. In addition to uncapping the levels, Riot are also giving summoners rewards at certain level milestones. These rewards include things such as shards, skins and other in-game cosmetics. With plenty of rewards up for grabs, players are eagerly racing each other to the next reward. This new level of competitiveness has brought the love back to the game for many players and has been seen as a positive addition.
As you can see, Season 8 is looking like it’s going to be the most competitive season to date. With so many new updates and changes, these updates are definitely exciting news for players.
