League of Legends Preseason 2022 Patch 11.23 Rundown – Hextech and Chemtech Drakes, New Mage Items, and More

With the release of patch 11.23 for League of Legends, comes the preseason for the 2022 ranked year. Your rank won’t change just yet, but once Season 12 starts you will have to play 10 placement games matched relative to your MMR at the end of the preseason. Your placements will start at a lower rank than what you were last season, but the game’s ranking system will aim to move you towards the rank it believes your skill is at.

Along with the two new drakes, the Hextech and Chemtech drakes, comes new mythic and legendary items for more build variety. Unfortunately, AD Bruisers and ADCs were not granted any new items, but the rune Lethal Tempo was buffed which will aid attack speed-based bot laners nicely.

The end of season rewards for the 2021 ranked season will be distributed by December 16, alongside Clash end of season rewards.

Jungle Changes

• Chemtech Drake Buff – Grants up to 5% bonus damage per stack against enemies with 340-1020 (your level 1-18) more current health than you.
• Chemtech Dragon Soul – When a team obtains the Chemtech Dragon Soul, they receive a buff that grants them a brief second life upon their next death. Champions revive with 80% of their base health + 50% of their bonus health and gain 75/30% (melee/ranged) decaying Move Speed. Revived champions take 40% less damage, deal 33% less damage, and take damage equal to an ever-increasing percent of their starting health every 0.25 seconds.
• Chemtech Rift – Gas zones emerge in four jungle locations that camouflage any champion within it. Champions within the zone deal up to 10% more damage to enemies who have more current health than them. Maximum damage is achieved when at 340-1020 (based on the attacker’s level) less health than them.
• Camouflage – Camouflaged enemies are not revealed by regular vision wards, but are revealed by Control Wards, Scryer’s Blooms, and effects that reveal invisible units. They’re also revealed while you’re standing near them.

• Hextech Drake Buff – Grants 5 Ability Haste and 5% Attack Speed per stack
• Hextech Dragon Soul – When a team obtains the Hextech Drake Soul, they gain a chain lightning slow on their next basic attack or ability that deals 25-75 true damage (based on champion level 1-18), bounces to 3 additional targets, and slows units hit by 45/35% (melee/ranged) (+5% per 1000 bonus health, +1% per 100 AP, +3% per 100 bonus AD) for 2 seconds (8 second cooldown)
• Hextech Rift – Pairs of Hex-gates appear across the map which allow champions to quickly travel from one location to its paired counterpart. Hex-gates are activated with a brief channel that can be interrupted by immobilizes or damage. Each pair of Hex-gates has a 30 second individual cooldown per champion

OBJECTIVE BOUNTIES

Objective Bounties have been added into the game as a way to give losing teams a chance at getting back into the game. These grant extra gold as a reward for completing set bounties, such as destroying enemy turrets and inhibitors, or taking neutral objectives such as the Rift Herald, Dragons, and Baron Nashor. In order for the winning team’s lead to not be overwhelmed by this, the losing team will need to claim multiple objective bounties in order to have a significant impact on the team’s gold deficit.

“Objective Bounties activate only when a team is sufficiently behind and objectives that’ll pay out bounties are highlighted on the minimap for both teams. If the losing team takes an objective with an active bounty, each of its members will receive Objective Bounty gold.” – Riot Games

“Objective Bounties are calculated in the background based on four factors: XP lead, Gold lead, Dragon lead, and Turret lead. When they activate, each objective available to the team that’s behind gains a bounty.” – Riot Games

Bounties start at the following, and are split evenly between all five members of the losing team.

• Baron Nashor & Elder Dragon: 500 gold
• Drakes & Rift Herald: 500 gold
• Outer Turret: 250 gold
• Inner Turret: 400 gold
• Base Turret: 400 gold

As the losing team falls farther behind, these base amounts can increase up to an additional 60%. The exact bounty for each reward will be visible under the losing team’s objective icons in the tab-menu.

Objective Bounties activate 15 seconds after a team falls below the threshold and deactivate 15 seconds after they rise above it. This deactivation timer extends if the losing team remains in combat with an objective that has an active bounty.

New Items

• Total Cost: 2800 Gold
• Build Path: Lost Chapter + Kindlegem + Amplifying Tome + 265 gold
• Ability Power: 70
• Health: 250
• Mana: 600
• Ability Haste: 20
• Safeguard (Passive): You are Safeguarded, reducing incoming champion damage by 75%. Safeguard persists for 1.5 seconds after taking champion damage (40 second cooldown, restarts upon taking damage from an enemy champion)
• Poise (Passive): While Safeguarded and for 3 seconds after it’s broken, gain 10-40 (based on your champion’s level) ability power
• Mythic Passive: Grants all other Legendary items 1% Move Speed and 8 ability power

• Total Cost: 2500 gold
• Build Path: Kindlegem + Aegis of the Legion + 300 gold
• Health: 200
• Ability Haste: 20
• Armor: 30
• Magic Resist: 30
• Coruscation: After immobilizing champions or being immobilized, cause that target and all nearby enemies to Repent, increasing the damage they take by 12% for 5 seconds
• Mythic Passive: Grants all other Legendary items 5 armor and 5 magic resist

• Total Cost: 3000 gold
• Build Path: Serrated Dirk + Caulfield’s Warhammer + 800 gold
• Attack Damage: 55
• Ability Haste: 25
• Lethality: 10
• Flux (Passive): Whenever an enemy champion dies within 3 seconds after you’ve damaged them, refund 25% of your ultimate’s total cooldown

• Total Cost: 3000 gold
• Build Path: Hextech Alternator + Needlessly Large Rod + 700 gold
• Ability Power: 100
• Health: 200
• Cinderbloom (Passive): Damage to champions benefits from 10-20 magic penetration based on the target’s current health. (Maximum value at 1000 or less health, minimum value at 2500 or more health.) Gains the maximum magic penetration if the target was recently affected by shields

• Total Cost: 2600 gold
• Build Path: Tear of the Goddess + Kindlegem + Ruby Crystal + 1000 gold
• Health: 400
• Mana: 500
• Ability Haste: 15
• Awe (Passive): Gain bonus health equal to 8% mana
• Mana Charge (Passive): Strike a target with an ability or auto attack to consume a charge and gain 3 bonus mana, doubled if the target is a champion. Grants a maximum of 360 mana at which point this item transforms into Fimbulwinter

• Build Path: This item upgrades from Winter’s Approach upon reaching Mana Charge‘s maximum bonus 360 mana.
• Health: 400
• Mana: 860
• Ability Haste: 15
• Awe (Passive): Gain bonus health equal to 8% mana
• Everlasting (Passive): Slowing (melee only) or immobilizing an enemy champion consumes 3% of current mana and grants a shield for 3 seconds, absorbing 100-200 (+5% current mana) damage (8 second cooldown). The shield is increased by 80% if more than one enemy is nearby

Tank Item Changes

• Immloate (Passive): Now also executes minions that would be killed by one more tick of Immolate

• Snowbind (Passive): Basic attacks a create frost field that slows enemies. ⇒ Basic attacks create a frost field for 1.5 seconds that deals 20-100 (+0.5% max health) magic damage to all enemies in the area. Enemies that move across the field are slowed (slow rate and cooldowns unchanged)
• Immolate (Passive): Unchanged
• Mythic Passive: Unchanged

• Supercharged (Active): Unchanged
• NEW – Refuel (Passive): Moving and dealing damage fills up the Chemtank. At 100 stacks, your next basic attack deals 40-120 (+1% max health, +3% Move Speed) magic damage to all nearby enemies (increased by 25% against minions and 175% against jungle monsters).
• REMOVED – Immolate (Passive): Deals magic damage to nearby enemies upon taking or dealing damage
• Mythic Passive: Empowers each of your other Legendary items with 5 Ability Haste and 50 health

• Total Cost: 3200 gold (unchanged)
• Health: 350 (unchanged)
• Ability Haste: 20 (unchanged)
• Armor: 30 ⇒ 35
• Magic Resist: 30 ⇒ 35
• Flametouch (Passive): Unchanged
• Immolate (Passive): Unchanged
• Mythic Passive: Empowers each of your other Legendary items with 5% slow resist, 5% tenacity, and 50 health

• Total Cost: 2700 (unchanged)
• Build Path: Giant’s Belt + Negatron Cloak + 900 gold ⇒ Kindlegem + Spectre’s Cowl + 650 gold
• Health: 400 ⇒ 450
• NEW – Ability Haste: 10
• Magic Resist: 60 ⇒ 30
• Unmake (Passive): Immobilizing enemy champions increases the damage they take by 15% for 5 seconds ⇒ Curse nearby enemy champions, reducing their magic resist by 5 + 1% bonus health (max 20). For each cursed enemy, gain 7 magic resist

• Health: 350 (unchanged)
• Magic Resist: 60 ⇒ 70
• Movement Speed: 5% (unchanged)
• Absorb: Taking ability damage grants bonus Move Speed and magic resist, stacking up to 5 times. Each unique ability gives 1 stack ⇒ Taking magic damage from enemy champions grants a stack of Steadfast (max 6) for 5 seconds. Enemy immobilizing effects grant an additional 2 stacks
• NEW – Dissipate: While at 6 stacks of Steadfast, take 20% reduced magic damage and gain 10% increased Move Speed

• Health: 400 (unchanged)
• Base Health Regeneration: 300% ⇒ 150%
• Ability Haste: 10 (unchanged)
• Pledge (Active): Unchanged
• Sacrifice (Passive): While your Worthy ally is nearby and you are above 30% of your maximum health, redirect 15% of the damage they take to you. If they are below 50% of their maximum health, gain 35% bonus Move Speed towards them ⇒ While your Worthy ally is nearby, redirect 10% of damage they take to you and heal for 8% of the damage they deal to champions. If they have less than 30% health, redirect 20% of damage they take to you instead

• Total Cost: 1500 gold ⇒ 1400 gold

• Total Cost: 3300 gold ⇒ 3200 gold

• Combine Cost: 200 gold ⇒ 300 gold (total cost unchanged)

MAGE ITEM changes

• Total Cost: 3200 gold ⇒ 2800 gold
• Build Path: Kindlegem + Lost Chapter + Blasting Wand + 250 gold ⇒ Kindlegem + Lost Chapter + Amplifying Tome + 265 gold
• Ability Power: 80 ⇒ 70
• Health: 250 (unchanged)
• Mana: 600 (unchanged)
• Ability Haste: 20 (unchanged)
• Glaciate (Active): Unchanged
• Mythic Passive: Grants all other Legendary items 15 ability power ⇒ 10 ability power

• Ability Power: 70 ⇒ 60
• Health: 350 ⇒ 450
• Azakana Gaze (Passive): Dealing ability damage burns enemies for (2% for melee / 1.2% for ranged) max health magic damage every second for 4 seconds. No longer grants bonus resistances while enemies burn
• NEW – Dark Pact (Passive): Gain 2% of your bonus health as ability power

• Total Cost: 3000 gold (unchanged)
• Build Path: Tear of the Goddess + Amplifying Tome + Needlessly Large Rod + 915 gold ⇒ Tear of the Goddess + Kindlegem + Blasting Wand + 950 gold
• Ability Power: 65 ⇒ 60
• NEW – Health: 200
• Mana: 500 (unchanged)
• Awe (Passive): Grants ability power equal to 3% bonus mana ⇒ Gain Ability Haste equal to 0.5% bonus mana
• Mana Charge (Passive): Unchanged

• Build Path: This item upgrades from Archangel’s Staff upon reaching the maximum 360 bonus mana
• Ability Power: 65 ⇒ 80
• NEW – Health: 250
• Mana: 860 (unchanged)
• Awe (Passive): Gain ability power equal to 3% bonus mana ⇒ Gain Ability Haste equal to 1.3% bonus mana
• Empyrean (Passive): Increase your maximum mana by 5% (+ 2.5% per 100 AP) ⇒ Restore health equal to 40% of mana spent, up to 25-50 +10% ability power per cast. Toggles can restore the same amount per 1 second

• Total Cost: 3000 gold (unchanged)
• Build Path: Fiendish Codex + Kindlegem + Ruby Crystal + 865 gold ⇒ Fiendish Codex + Aether Wisp + Ruby Crystal + 850 gold
• Ability Power: 80 ⇒ 75
• Health: 200 ⇒ 250
• Ability Haste: 20 ⇒ 30
• NEW – Movement Speed: 5%
• Spelldance (Passive): If you have at least 160 ability power, gain 20 Ability Haste and 20 bonus Move Speed ⇒ Damaging a champion with 3 separate attacks or spells grants 20% Move Speed (decaying to 10%) and 40 ability power until leaving combat

• Total Cost: 3000 gold (unchanged)
• Build Path: Hextech Alternator + Needlessly Large Rod + 700g ⇒ Hextech Alternator + Fiendish Codex + 1050 gold
• Ability Power: 115 ⇒ 85
• NEW – Health: 150
• NEW – Ability Haste: 15
• Hypershot (Passive): Now also applies Hypershot to slowed enemy champions

• Total Cost: 2700 gold ⇒ 2800 gold
• Build Path: Blighting Jewel + Blasting Wand + 700 gold ⇒ Blighting Jewel + Blasting Wand + 800 gold
• Ability Power: 70 ⇒ 65
• Magic Penetration: 40% ⇒ 45%

• Focus (Passive): Unchanged
• Drain (Passive): Killing a unit restores 6 mana. If you can’t gain mana, restore 3 health instead ⇒ Restore 0.75 mana every second. Damaging an enemy champion increases this amount to 1.25 mana every second for 10 seconds. If you can’t gain mana, restore 50% of the value as health instead

• Total Cost: 1050 gold (unchanged)
• Build Path: Amplifying Tome + Amplifying Tome + 180 gold ⇒ Amplifying Tome + Ruby Crystal + 215 gold
• Ability Power: 40 ⇒ 25
• NEW – Health: 150
• Revved (Passive): Unchanged

• Total Cost: 3200 gold (unchanged)
• Build Path: Ruby Crystal + Hextech Alternator + Blasting Wand + 900 gold ⇒ Amplifying Tome + Hextech Alternator + Blasting Wand + 865 gold

• Total Cost: 3200 gold (unchanged)
• Build Path: Ruby Crystal + Hextech Alternator + Blasting Wand + 900 gold ⇒ Amplifying Tome + Hextech Alternator + Blasting Wand + 865 gold

LETHALITY ITEM CHANGES

• Total Cost: 3200 gold ⇒ 3100 gold
• Build Path: Serrated Dirk + Caulfield’s Warhammer + 1000 gold ⇒ Serrated Dirk + Caulfield’s Warhammer + 900 gold
• Nightstalker (Passive): Bonus AD on next basic attack against an enemy champion deals 65 (+25% bonus AD) ⇒ 75 (+30% bonus AD) for melee / 55 (+25% bonus AD) for ranged (all else unchanged)

• Total Cost: 3200 gold ⇒ 3100 gold
• Build Path: Serrated Dirk + Long Sword + Vampiric Scepter + 850 gold ⇒ Serrated Dirk + Long Sword + Vampiric Scepter + 750 gold
• Ever Rising Moon (Passive): Cooldown for melee champions reduced from 8 seconds ⇒ 6 seconds (all else unchanged)

• Total Cost: 3200 gold ⇒ 3100 gold
• Build Path: Serrated Dirk + Caulfield’s Warhammer + 1000 gold ⇒ Serrated Dirk + Caulfield’s Warhammer + 900 gold
• Sandswipe (Active): The dash deals 65 (+25% bonus AD) ⇒ 75 (+30% bonus AD physical damage (all else unchanged)

• Total Cost: 2900 gold ⇒ 3000 gold

RUNE CHANGES

• First Strike (Passive): Basic attacks or abilities against an enemy champion within 0.25 seconds of entering champion combat grants 5 gold and First Strike for 3 seconds, causing you to deal 10% extra damage against champions, and granting 100% (70% for ranged champions) of bonus damage dealt as gold. 25-15 second cooldown (levels 1-18)
• Not Second Strike: If an enemy strikes you first, First Strike still goes on cooldown without providing any of its bonuses. (Unlike Banshee’s Veil, subsequent damage won’t keep restarting the cooldown)

• REMOVED – Prototype: Omnistone (Passive): Periodically grants a single use of another random keystone. After a keystone is used or has expired, another random keystone is granted

• Glacial Augment (Passive): Basic attacks on-hit periodically slow enemy champions ⇒ Immobilizing an enemy champion will cause 3 glacial rays to emanate from them towards you and other nearby champions, creating frozen lines for a few seconds that slow enemies for 35% (+5% per 10% heal and shield power) (+2% per 100 AP) (+2% per 100 bonus AD) and reduce their damage by 15% against your allies (not including yourself). The frozen lines last for 3 (+100% of the final duration of the immobilizing effect) seconds
• REMOVED – Freeze Ray (Passive): Slowing an enemy champion with an item active creates a frozen line that slows all enemies within

• REMOVED – Lethal Tempo (Passive): After 1.5 seconds upon damaging an enemy champion, you gain bonus attack speed and your attack speed cap is increased for 3 seconds. Attacking a champion while the effect is active extends the duration to 6 seconds
• NEW – Lethal Tempo (Passive): Gain (15% for melee/5% for ranged) attack speedfor 6 seconds when striking at least one enemy champion with each auto attack. This effect stacks up to 6 times. While this effect is at its cap, also gain (50 for melee/100 for ranged) attack range and increase your attack speed cap from 2.5 to 10

ULTIMATE SPELLBOOK RETURNS

Ultimate Spellbook is an extra gamemode which is returning to Leauge of Legends. Malphite’s ultimate has been removed from the gamemode, and the following champions’ ultimates have been added:

• Akali
• Blitzcrank
• Caitlyn
• Camille
• Dr. Mundo
• Evelynn
• Jinx
• Kindred
• Orianna
• Serpahine
• Urgot
• Vex
• Vi
• Viktor
• Xin Zhao

Junglers will be locked into taking the new “Auto Smite” when loading in, and once they choose an ultimate ability when in game Auto Smite will be replaced, allowing them to take an additional summoner spell and the ultimate, as opposed to smite and an ultimate.

• Auto Smite: When fighting Epic Monsters, Rift Scuttlers, or Allied Buff Monsters, Auto-Smite automatically executes the monster once it reaches the threshold health at which a regular Smite would last-hit them

A new jungle item is also being introduced, only available in Ultimate Spellbook. This item has the same stats as the other two jungle items, but has a different criteria for upgrade.

• Obsidian Edge – Stats & Effects: Grants the same stats as Hailblade and Emberknife, except for…
• Obsidian Edge – Auto Path (Passive): Triggering Auto-Smite 5 times consumes this item, granting all of the item’s effects permanently as well as increasing Auto-Smite’s threshold and damage to 900

The only dragons that will spawn in this gamemode are the new Hextech and Chemtech Drakes.

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