Season 2 of League of Legends is shaping up to be one of the busier mid-year drops Riot has put together. A fresh dev update from Pabro and Meddler dropped on April 14, covering everything from a Demacia-set story arc starring Vayne to a complete rethink of how Arena works and, finally, WASD controls going live in Ranked.
What the Arena overhaul actually looks like
Standard Arena games are going away. Riot is replacing them with Events, which are structured rotations that change the core rules of how Arena is played. Three Events are confirmed for Season 2: 3x6 (six teams of three instead of the usual pairs), Bravery (your only draft options are Bravery picks or a Crowd Favorite), and Swift Arena (four teams of two with faster games).
Two map changes arrive alongside the mode overhaul. A brand-new map called Petricite Grove is being added, and the existing Ancestral Woods is getting adjustments. The visual variety alone should help Arena feel less repetitive for players who have been grinding it since launch.
The bigger mechanical addition is Augment Levels, which let you supercharge individual augments by making them stronger or adding entirely new effects. The example Riot gave: Fan the Hammer firing additional missiles at higher levels. Over 20 new and reworked Guests of Honor are also coming throughout the season, including Nocturne (who creates dark zones across the map) and Shaco (who makes all augment rolls random tiers). More than 30 new-to-Arena Augments are on the way, some ported from ARAM Mayhem and some built specifically for Arena.
Classic keystones and item changes
Here's the thing: Riot is bringing back two keystones that have been absent for years. Deathfire Touch returns this season, and Stormraider's Surge comes back as a direct replacement for Phase Rush, sitting in the same slot as an alternative movement speed rune. For players who built around Phase Rush, that is a meaningful swap worth paying attention to when the patch notes land.
On the item side, Dusk and Dawn are getting adjustments, two new starting items are being introduced, new omnivamp boots are coming, and both Trailblazer and Opportunity are being removed from the shop entirely. Riot is also flagging a broader push to support alternate builds, specifically calling out things like AP Ezreal, ADC Kennen, and attack speed Xin Zhao as the kind of creativity they want the item system to reward.
The next new champion is confirmed as a mid-lane AP assassin. No name or release patch has been announced yet.
WASD finally cleared for Ranked
After extensive testing, WASD movement controls have reached a win-rate performance level close enough to point-and-click that Riot is comfortable taking them into Ranked. There is still a small gap, with point-and-click holding a minor advantage, but it is no longer significant enough to keep WASD out of competitive play. The feature goes live in patch 26.9.
Champion-specific keybinds are also arriving in the same patch, meaning you can configure different bindings for each champion in your pool rather than using one universal layout.
The season structure and what else is coming
Season 2 is intentionally shorter than usual, running 6 patches instead of the standard 8. Riot is trimming this one to make space for a longer season later in the year. The thematic thread running through it follows Vayne hunting demons on the outskirts of Demacia, with motion comics releasing throughout the season to flesh out her backstory.
Role quest adjustments are also live this season. Top lane rewards now give more experience for teamfighting rather than split pushing, and mid lane is swapping its empowered recall for a 6% bonus AD and AP. The intent is to stop penalizing roaming and proxying in roles where those are normal, expected behaviors.
On the social side, a Discord integration is rolling out in beta for players in the US, Canada, and Brazil, letting you link Riot and Discord accounts to invite friends to in-game parties directly from the client. Your Shop returns May 5th, and the Blue Essence Emporium follows on May 13th.
For players who want to keep up with all the patch-by-patch changes as Season 2 unfolds, browse the latest gaming news and guides for ongoing League of Legends coverage as each update drops.
