League of Legends Patch 15.1: Map Changes and Atakhan

The New Year ushers in a fresh League of Legends season, and Riot Games has rolled out the expansive Patch 15.1, brimming with exciting updates. From item tweaks and new additions to champion balancing, the introduction of Atakhan, Bringer of Ruin, and a major map update, this patch is poised to reshape gameplay and strategies for both casual and professional players.

 

Map Changes

The Season of Noxus is here! Alongside it comes a redesigned Summoner’s Rift and significant updates to the map's mechanics.

 

Atakhan, Bringer of Ruin

 

Atakhan, Bringer of Ruin, spawns at the 20-minute mark on the side of the map with the highest number of kills or deaths by the 14th minute. If no kills have occurred, his location is determined by the side that has taken the most damage.

When he appears, an arena with fresh terrain is created. Atakhan leaves behind Blood Roses that provide a permanent team power boost and grant experience. There are two distinct versions of Atakhan, each with unique abilities and buffs awarded upon defeat:

• Ruinous Atakhan spawns in games with high kill counts and frequent team fights. Defeating him grants the team additional Bloody Petals and spawns more Roses in the area for further rewards.
• Voracious Atakhan appears in slower-paced games with fewer kills and poses a significant short-term threat. His buffs include:
  • False Life: For 180 seconds, the first time a player would die, they enter Stasis for 5.5 seconds and are teleported to their team’s spawn. The would-be killer earns 1 Bloody Petal and 100 Gold.
  • Bonus Takedown Gold: Your team permanently gains 40 bonus gold on champion takedowns. Notably, this applies to all participants in the kill, meaning a full-team takedown yields an extra 200 gold distributed across the team.

Atakhan spawns only once per game, but additional Blood Roses will continue to appear on the map, often spawning on the corpses of fallen champions.

Objective Timers

Objective spawn times have been adjusted in this patch. Rift Herald now spawns at 16 minutes, Atakhan at 20 minutes, and Baron at 25 minutes, providing each objective with its own spotlight on the map.

 

Turrets

• Fortification Reduced: Damage reduction from turret plates has been decreased from 85% to 50%.
• Nexus Turrets Respawn: Nexus turrets will now respawn briefly after being destroyed, reducing the risk of backdoors and enabling more comeback opportunities in the late game.
• Turret Heat Scaling:
  • Damage scaling per shot increased from 40% to 50%.
  • Heat-up duration extended from 3 seconds to 5 seconds, meaning turret damage scales faster and sustains its peak damage longer.

 

Minions

• Total AD reduced by approximately 10%.
• Damage dealt to champions and turrets increased by about 10%.
• Now deal 2/4/6% current HP damage to lane minions.
• Cannon minions will spawn one wave later than before.

These changes promise to bring fresh dynamics to the battlefield, challenging players to adapt and rethink their strategies. Whether it’s the new Atakhan mechanic or the altered pacing of objectives and minions, Patch 15.1 is set to keep the League of Legends community on its toes.