/dev: A Swifter Swiftplay
Swiftplay is receiving notable updates aimed at accelerating teh game pace and improving the experience,especially for less-played roles like Jungle. Thes changes, rolling out with the new year, focus on reducing downtime and making early game impact more readily achievable.
Tower Changes & lane Progression
A new mechanic is being introduced to towers: crystals will gradually grow on towers that haven’t been attacked. When these crystals are hit, they will shatter, dealing bonus damage. This system is designed to empower all players to contribute to pushing lanes,similar in affect to the previous “Demolish” summoner spell,which is not being removed but is being reworked into a three-hit passive.
The intention is to make winning lane more directly translate into turret damage and game state progression. To support this, Death Timers are being significantly reduced, and homeguards will function faster and cover a greater distance in Swiftplay, exceeding even the improved Homeguards in other Summoner’s Rift queues.
Early Game & Itemization
Games will begin at level 3 with 1400 gold, mirroring ARAM’s starting conditions. the standard Doran’s blade, Shield, and Ring starting items are being replaced with Guardian’s Horn, Orb, Blade, and Hammer. Minions will spawn at 0:30, as in standard modes, but Swiftplay will also feature a cannon minion in every wave after the third, increasing the value of each wave and synergizing with the Minion Frenzy system.
Jungle Adjustments
Recognizing the Jungle role’s unpopularity in Swiftplay, changes are being made to address two key issues: punishing early clears and a frenetic pace around neutral objectives. initial attempts to make jungle clears more forgiving by directly tuning monster stats were largely reversed. Developers found that starting at level 3 with 1400 gold already provides a substantial boost to clear speed and safety, even with jungle monsters also spawning at level 3.
The primary jungle changes include:
* Faster Respawn Times: most jungle camps will respawn 15 seconds faster.
* Pet Upgrades: Jungle pet upgrades will require fewer treats – 15 for the first upgrade and 25 for the second.
These adjustments aim to make early clears more accessible for off-meta champions.
Neutral Objectives
To reduce the feeling of being constantly pressured by objectives, Grubs, Rift Herald, and Atakhan have been removed. Only Dragons and Baron Nashor will remain as neutral objectives,allowing for more time to farm or gank.
Developers will continue to monitor the impact of these changes and gather player feedback.
