The pre-season is one of the most exciting times of the year for League of Legends players as Riot Games looks to change up the game to ring in its newest competitive season. League of Legends’ most recent pre-season leading into the game’s 12th season was no different with Riot making sweeping changes to several champions and items. Alongside the plethora of changes to many of the game’s items, characters, and runes, Riot Games also introduced two brand new elemental drakes into the game with the Hextech and Chemtech Dragons, with the latter being met with significant controversy.
The newly-added Hextech and Chemtech Dragons bring a new element to the Elemental Drake system that League of Legends has used for several years with each granting unique buffs. Killing the Hextech Dragon rewards players with increased Ability Haste, Attack Speed, and on-hit chain lightning while the Chemtech Dragon grants increased damage against tankier enemies and a resurrection passive, similar to Sion’s. The Chemtech Dragon in particular was hit with significant backlash from the game’s community, something that Riot is now looking to address.
Riot Games announced on Monday that the Chemtech Drake, Soul, and Terrain would be disabled for the time being, going into effect as soon as the update was published. Riot cited player frustration as a major factor behind the decision to remove the recent addition, referencing frustration particularly from those in a losing situation. The Chemtech Dragon has been a sore spot for many League players since the season began with League’s newest Drake being hit with multiple nerfs.
The Summoner’s Rift Team went on to say that it would be working on the Chemtech Dragon behind the scenes while it is disabled, working towards solving the issues created by the Drake while maintaining the spirit of the dragon’s original design philosophy. Riot also mentioned that much of the focus would be on the terrain provided by Chemtech Drake, and fans should expect to not see Chemtech Drake on the Rift for a significant amount of time.
Riot Games has hit the ground running as League of Legends moves into Season 12. The massively popular MOBA recently released its newest character, the run-and-gun AD Carry Zeri, and previously revealed several other plans for more champions to come throughout 2022 with both a jungler from the Void and an enchanter-type Support to come later in the year. Between the sustained popularity of League of Legends and Riot Games branching out into other media with projects like Arcane and Valorant, 2022 is set to be an eventful year for the iconic MOBA.
League of Legends is available now for PC.
