Runes Reforged Path Summaries

RiotSparkle·Nov 6, 2017·1 votes·142,430 views

Hey folks!

With the patch notes for 7.22 releasing today we figure it's a good time to talk a bit about how Runes will work and what they are again. :)

So without further ado:

**The Basics **

https://i.imgur.com/bJwGPly.png

Rune pages can be created or edited in champion select
You will pick one primary path and one secondary path for your rune page
You will slot in a total of 6 runes:
- 1 keystone and 3 runes from your primary path
- 2 runes from your secondary path
Each primary path gives a small stat bonus. Right now they are the same for each combination of paths, but that could change in the future.

Path Summaries

Here's a visual TL;DR for each Path and all the runes within it. For more detailed versions, be sure to check out the official patch notes!

Sorcery https://i.imgur.com/GuxRgXI.png

Resolve https://i.imgur.com/uL3EJaP.png

Precision https://i.imgur.com/yMJ3eiO.png

Domination https://i.imgur.com/5BOSCG0.png

Inspiration https://i.imgur.com/myimeN0.png

Happy to answer any Qs you may have and look forward to seeing you all on the Rift soon for Preseason!

167 Comments

AristeasNov 6, 20173 votes

Hello! Thanks for making runes accessible to all without a large time and grind gap :D. Since your work on Runes Reforged is done "maybe with some maintenance for balance, what do you want to be able to focus/improve on from here?

RiotSparkleNov 6, 20176 votes

Well for me personally (as an Experience Designer), there are definitely more things to add in on the UI front. We've talked about this before but things like an End of Game stats section for runes and sorting/hiding preset pages for the Inventory screen will be coming shortly after launch. I think these are really important things to improve the overall experience of runes!

Pro Tip - If you want to see your runes stats for launch after the game, the stats for runes will be available in Match History through Profile --> Match History

patmax17Nov 7, 20172 votes

Hi! First, let me say I love how much effort you put into UI design for League, I play a few other games and sometimes my pain is real for how bad and counter-intuitive or confusing an UI they have >.<

I'm not sure if you are the right person to ask this, but I have a problem with champ select UI in aram, it happened a few times now that I wanted to change runes/masteries for my selected champ, but instead wasn't paying 100% attention and misclicked the "reroll" button. Who can i talk to about this?

Drunk TsundereNov 6, 20173 votes

I notice that each of the words associated with each slot are pretty cool. Did those come from a word cloud where you all at Riot discussed which concepts are related to the main paths?

RiotSparkleNov 6, 20174 votes

Oh hey, glad you noticed the slot names! We actually came up with those based on memorable things about the slot - the idea was that hopefully the names make it easier for players/us/whoever to talk about particular choices (without having to say like "The third slot in Precision" and whatnot).

Drunk TsundereNov 6, 20171 votes

Oh, that's cool. So I might say "Supports really like Magical Footwear in the Tomorrow slot."

btw, how does Magical Footwear interact with Cassiopeia, out of curiosity?

RiotSparkleNov 6, 20171 votes

Yeah! That how we hope they will be used. :D

Also re: sneks and boots question. There are couple champions who just straight up can't use some of the runes like this (not like "oh this is bad on champ X" but actually can't use). :c

We actually have a fallback swap if we detect you with a rune you just straight up can't use in the loading screen - so for Cass I believe we switch you to Future's Market in instead. There will be a little chat notification to tell you what happened, but we don't want you to be down a rune for the whole game.

Shuyin178Nov 6, 20172 votes

Will the same thing happen with Udyr when he has "The Ultimate Hat"? If so, what does his swap to?

RiotAzuBKNov 6, 20172 votes

Yup. To my knowledge each row with an "unusable" rune has a universally usable rune. In the Ultimate Hat row, that rune is Nullifying Orb, so if you take either Ultimate Hat on a champion without an ultimate or Manaflow Band on a resourceless champion, you'll get Nullifying Orb.

Fyzz51Nov 6, 20172 votes

The slot names for Domination are the same as Resolve, is that a mistake?

RiotSparkleNov 6, 20172 votes

DANGIT. Yes, it is. I will re-upload that image haha. Domination's slots are called:

Keystone
Malice
Tracking
Hunter

Frontline FuryNov 6, 20173 votes

I hate to criticize it before even getting to try it, but i felt this had to be said. Celestial body is terrible. Who would EVER take this? WHY would you ever take this? It feels like a "noob trap" like the old tier 1 runes. Sacrificing 10% (TEN PERCENT) damage for TEN minutes in return for 100 health? At least make it, like, scaling health - or even % max HP! 100 health in return for 10% reduced damage is absurd!

ITakeYoSandwichNov 6, 20172 votes

It's for lanes you're definitely losing anyway, like Vayne into Caitlyn. A huge chunk of HP early game so it's much harder to bully you out of lane, in exchange for some of your trade damage, so that Cait can't make use of it herself.

DokkaebiNov 6, 20172 votes

I heard that Deathfire Touch users are getting compensation for the loss. Is that true?

RiotAzuBKNov 6, 20171 votes

We're not looking to directly compensate champions for losses that aren't explicitly well-understood (see: base damage comp for abilities with bonus AD ratios). The plan is to holistically evaluate champion performance in the new world and adjust accordingly, just like we've always done throughout the year. If all DFT users are suffering similarly in performance, that work might look like a systemic solution (for instance, if they're having marginal success with Arcane Comet's refund, it can be tuned in a fashion that favors them more explicitly), or it might look like individual champion work.

NefasNov 6, 20172 votes

Why isn’t it an option to look to create another Keystone if Comet just doesn’t work?

RiotSparkleNov 6, 20172 votes

It is an option! Meddler has mentioned before that we do want to explore the possibilities of adding new keystones (or even swapping) in the future.

Adding a new keystone is definitely long term work though, since it does take time and many iterations to create new keystones and make sure they play nice with everything else in the system.

NefasNov 7, 20172 votes

Seems like the intent is the brute-force Comet no matter if it makes sense for DoT DFT users or not, whether it makes sense as an extension of their kits or if it’s just a mage runes and they are mages so they will be artificially pushed to it.

OptymismNov 6, 20172 votes

I've been banned recently (I deserve it), and I created a new account to play so I don't miss playing LoL. The thing about the new Runes that I don't understand and I don't see stated anywhere, is:

Do I need ANY level to get Rune "slots"? If I'm level 1, can I get access to everything? Or is it like the current Mastery system, where I need to level up so I can get keystones, etc.

RocketRelmNov 6, 20171 votes

I'm fairly sure that new accounts will have full access to everything in this system, same as a veteran lvl 30 account. I think that was one of the driving goals of this change.

RiotSparkleNov 6, 20174 votes

Kind of!

Lower level accounts will unlock customization as they level up (i.e the ability to choose the rune that's slotted in). It's not like the current system, because you will always have a rune in each slot, but there is an element of progression. The system will be fully unlocked by level 17 (so a level 17 account and a veteran level 30 will be the same).

Shuyin178Nov 6, 20173 votes

Wait, Runes Reforged was pretty much advertised as everything about the system being available from the start. I've been trying to keep tabs on everything regarding it, but I don't believe I seen anything regarding anything like this for Runes Reforged.

HäxelNov 7, 20172 votes

you will still have ingame 8 runes like any other guy. But you can't choose from all runes. Like the 5 customrunepages you will at the begin only have them, than unlock a bit of changing runes and farther at lv17 you can edit fromm all runes like any other guy. It is so for having new players not already having to understand from the start to customize from 60 runes. it is similar to how you not have all summoner spells available at lv 1.

SonicÐeHedgedawgNov 6, 20172 votes

So my only real concern so far is Ultimate Hat. It feels like it should stack up every X seconds that your ultimate is on cooldown, not every time your ultimate is used.

It's already disproportionally useful on champions with a shorter ultimate cooldown anyway since shorter CD is, by design, going to be more useful on an ability that doesn't have much punishment for not waiting until the perfect time to use it, it just feels like a champion like Kassadin being able to stack this up to full instantly in ADDITION to getting a lot of use out of it is kinda crazy compared to someone like Karthus who would honestly love to be able to ult more often, but has to wait a prohibitively long time to stack this, or, worse, champions like Evelynn who can be gated by their ultimate cooldown, but have way too much trouble stacking this to be useful

SonicÐeHedgedawgNov 6, 20172 votes

Question that's probably more is an opinion than an objective question:

I'm looking at how I'm going to build Evelynn post Runes Reforged, and I'm trying to wrap my head around what breakpoints to be looking at to decide whether electrocute or dark harvest is right for me. I know dark harvest scales better into late game, and Eve kinda powerfarms for the first 6 levels of the game so she doesn't use the early game power of electrocute as well as most, but she also kinda stalks around to position for ganks, so only having 20 seconds after a camp might not be enough early. What have y'all found internally?

Also: DO SCUTTLERS COUNT FOR STACKING THIS???

RiotRiot StashuNov 6, 20177 votes

Heyo! I'm a designer on Runes Reforged, and also designed the Evelynn update :3 This is a tough question, and we've been pretty split between these runes. I think they are both good, and the better choice will be determined by other circumstances.

Evelynn has great synergies with Electrocute since she can proc it really fast with her Q. This allows her to get the snowball rolling quickly, which helps rush her to her powerful mid game.

On the other hand, Evelynn also makes good use of Dark Harvest with her E. Lich Bane + Dark Harvest + Runic Echoes = insane damage in the late game. However, as you said, DH takes longer to get going, and isn't especially reliable in the early game. The 20 seconds is enough to convert a gank off a scuttle (yes, it does work on scuttle!) or a nearby small camp (raptors to mid lane, krugs to side lanes) if you hustle straight from the camp to the lane, but Evelynn is more of a opportunistic ganker so this can be challenging.

Overall, I think Electrocute gives Evelynn more of what she needs when she needs it (burst damage early/mid game) and while Dark Harvest scales better, Electrocute scales decently enough on its own to be the better choice on average. That said, in games where you expect there to be a lot of kills, Dark Harvest is almost definitely the better pick, since it gives Evelynn a more powerful teamfight presence in the late game and allows her to turn getting a single kill (something she excels at) into multiple (something she is bad at).

TDLR; They're both good, but I expect electrocute to be better in most situations, with Dark Harvest trumping it in games with a lot of kills.

RiotSparkleNov 6, 201711 votes

~ I USED THE PHONE A FRIEND OPTION ~

kullehhNov 6, 20171 votes

cant wait to try new runes on live server

RiotSparkleNov 6, 20172 votes

Me tooooo!

Shuyin178Nov 6, 20171 votes

How exact do "Adaptive" stats work? From what I understand you get one based off of the AD or AP you are building, but what about champions like junglers who don't build AD or AP out of the gate? Do they get AD Adaptive stats or nothing?

RiotSparkleNov 6, 20174 votes

It's based off of whether your AP or AD stats are higher for your champion (if you don't make any item buys to affect/control that).

EDIT: You will never get nothing though. :)

PokladnicaZlaNov 6, 20171 votes

Quick question. I'm a bit unfamiliar with the runes for now,but if ˝adaptive˝ runes are accessible early,how would that work on AP champions? I mean,most of champions have lower AP than AD at early stages in the game.

EXAMPLE: I'm a lvl 1 Evelynn with Riverwalking in th eriver.I have ~56 AD and ~30 AP,will I get additional AP or AD?

Faint of HeartsNov 6, 20174 votes

If your starting runes give you AP, you get the adaptive AP. It is bonus usually, not total ad.

ModThe DjinnNov 6, 20171 votes

[{quoted}](name=Riot Sparkle,realm=NA,application-id=A7LBtoKc,discussion-id=HwyQtLAE,comment-id=00060000,timestamp=2017-11-06T21:10:07.536+0000)

It's based off of whether your AP or AD stats are higher for your champion (if you don't make any item buys to affect/control that).

EDIT: You will never get nothing though. :)

Out of curiosity, how does this affect characters who may have more of one stat than another due to build at a point in time, but scale better with something else?

Imagine, say, a Kog'Maw who is rushing Guinsoo's Rageblade but who really prefers the AD, or a Jax who is getting Guinsoo's or Hextech, but who may get more damage from AD.

Is there a breakpoint where it starts calculating, or is it just based on the highest you've purchased at any one time once purchases begin?

Admittedly, this is a weird edge case and all but a few champions have really simple answers, but those few intrigue me.

Avatar OcingNov 6, 20171 votes

And is it possible to make hybrid builds ? Gaining AD and AP instead of only one of it.

Shuyin178Nov 6, 20172 votes

With Adaptive you get one or the other.

Shuyin178Nov 6, 20172 votes

A question a friend of mine had I didn't even think of myself. With "Magical Footwear", if you have 6 items already in your inventory at 10 minutes for whatever reason, do you get the Slightly Magical Boots after a slot opens up or will you miss out on the item altogether?

RiotSparkleNov 6, 20173 votes

You will receive the boots as soon as you have an open slot.

kayakninjaNov 6, 20172 votes

What happens if you sell your magic boots? Do they get re-magicked if you buy another pair? Wondering the same thing about Predator too, for that matter.

CrountyNov 6, 20173 votes

Yes they remain magicked for the whole game.

NinjestrNov 6, 20171 votes

do the runes replace the masteries? have been really apying attention to the pbe updates

50ShadesOfÀDCNov 6, 20171 votes

Can adaptive bonus change?Lets say i build Ez AD and i get AD bonus then i decide to sell my items and buy AP items.Will i still get AD bonus or will it change to AP?

RiotRiot ReinboomNov 6, 20173 votes

It will swap over.

CyberBaltNov 6, 20171 votes

Hey, can you clarify how minion dematerializer works? Like is it +4% more damage on the first minion, then +5% on the second minion of the same type, etc.? Or is it +4%, then +1% for each additional minion of the same type?

RiotRiot ReinboomNov 6, 20171 votes

+4% and an additional +1% per type. So after killing two casters, you deal 6% more damage to casters from then on.

BobaFlautistNov 6, 20171 votes

Wait wouldn't that be 5%? First caster gives you 4%, second gives you an additional 1%? How does it work out to 6%?

Shuyin178Nov 6, 20171 votes

After you Dematerialize the 1st minion, you get a base 4% to that minion type + 1% per "stack" of that minion type. So because you have 1 "stack" you get +1% added, making the 1st use give you a +5% on every minion of that type from that point on.

BobaFlautistNov 6, 20172 votes

If that's the case, then the word "Additional" should be removed from the tooltip.

Right now, per the patch notes, it reads "Absorbing a minion increases your damage by +4% against that type of minion permanently plus an extra 1% for each additional minion of that type absorbed."

"Additional" in this context usually implies "beyond the first*.

TomiMan7Nov 6, 20171 votes

Hey

So did You guys consider the bonus ap/ad/as/hp that you get for each tree, be made like so you could allocate them as you like? For example for sorcery you get 10ad/15ap (i dont know i guess that much) adaptive. What if as a mage i want the 10 ad early game and the ap later on? Or what if you guys would give points instead of raw stats? That way i could allocate them like so:+5ad for CSing and +10ap for poking? or +10ad until 10minutes after that +15ap? Thoughts?