League of Legends started the new year on January 9, 2025, with a fresh season. As usual, there are several changes and also new mechanics that are meant to shake up the game. One of them primarily rewards players who play well early on. This bothers some players. They fear that it will lead to more frustration.
What feature is being discussed? The new LoL Patch 25.S1.1 marks the start of the new season Welcome to Noxus
. In addition to classic nerfs, buffs, and new skins, new mechanics have also come into play. On one hand, there is the new Jungle monster Atakhan, and on the other hand, a new buff mechanic called Deeds of Strength
.
The team that first achieves 2 of the 3 successes (first kill, first tower, or killing 3 epic monsters) receives a free upgrade for their shoes that provides more stats. If you have at least 2 legendary items later in the game, you can upgrade to another shoe upgrade with gold, which this time not only provides better stats but also passive abilities.
If a team has achieved the Deeds of Strength
, the other team can no longer receive the shoe upgrades. Some players criticize the new feature, believing it will lead to even more frustration.
Players believe the new system offers fewer comeback opportunities
What is the problem with the new feature? In a new reddit thread by user rekscoper2 with over 1300 upvotes and almost 500 comments, players criticize the new feature. The thread creator sees a problem in that players, who were already frustrated by how hard it is to achieve a comeback later in the game, will now become even more frustrated.
- Users like Spirited_Season2332 believe that the feature will lead to more players giving up.
- The user SageKT shares his own experience. He says that in his recent games, teammates have already given up by minute 15, and the toxicity when losing the
First Kill
was high. - User Duosion clearly states:
Of all the new features in the patch, the shoe upgrade tied to one team is the one I hate the most.
Other players do not see it as harshly but criticize that First Kill
is a factor for Deeds of Strength
. They would prefer it if at least this success were replaced.
One must wait and see how the feature performs
Is the new feature really a big problem? At this moment, it cannot be said as the feature has only recently been released on the live servers. However, one must also admit that this is a new aspect that may make teams that dominate early harder to stop.
League of Legends is already a game that rewards teams well for early successes. Also, the Deeds
that must be achieved are not equal in value. Achieving the first kill is significantly easier than taking the first tower or defeating the first 3 epic monsters.
This can, of course, lead to frustration and significant demotivation if the opposing team reaches the first kill first. This could also influence the meta. If one wants an early kill or tower, they will choose a champion that is strong early on.
However, one does not need to demonize the mechanic yet. Due to the 2-week patch rhythm, Riot can test the feature and adjust it if necessary. Whether the feature will have a significant impact will be seen in the next 2 weeks. In conjunction with the new season, Riot also released a new epic cinematic: LoL shows epic battles between champions, hinting at great evil in the Arcane universe
