On January 23, 2025, the League of Legends world is eagerly anticipating many awaited changes with the release of patch 25.S1.2 — a new champion Mel, as well as an impressive lineup of skins. In this article, we've gathered all the information about the update.

Mel – Advisor from "Arcane"

Mel will become a new champion inspired by a character from the popular series "Arcane". She will appear in the game on January 23 at 22:00 Central European Time. The champion offers unique gameplay and opportunities that will delight fans of her story. More about the champion can be read in a special article. 

"Storyspinners" Collection

Along with Mel, new skins themed around "Storyspinners" will appear in the game, along with a new honor level 5 skin. Here is the full list:

• Honor Guardian Shen
• Storyspinner Jhin
• Storyspinner Nami
• Storyspinner Jarvan IV
• Storyspinner Cassiopeia (prestige edition)

Transition from OpenGL to Metal on macOS and DirectX Changes

The League of Legends development team continues to improve the technical aspects of the game. The update implements a transition from OpenGL to Metal for macOS users, which should significantly improve client performance and stability. On Windows, changes have been made to the use of DirectX, aimed at optimizing the graphics component and enhancing FPS.

Vanguard on Mac

The anti-cheat system Vanguard is now also available on macOS, providing a higher level of protection for players. This is an important step towards equal conditions for all users regardless of their operating system.

Militia

With the introduction of the update, the effect area of "Militia" has been significantly expanded. Now players will be able to stand anywhere on the fountain platform while waiting at the base. However, to balance the change, the developers have reduced the effect duration.

• "Militia" effect area: covers the entire fountain platform.
• Effect duration: reduced from 7 seconds to 6 seconds.

Victory of Power: New Rules for Team Fights

The triumph system has been reworked. Instead of "First Blood Triumph," which was awarded for the first kill, a new "Bloodshed Triumph" is introduced. Now this reward will be given to the team that first kills three champions.

• "First Blood Triumph": removed.
• "Bloodshed Triumph": awarded for the first three enemy champion kills.

The developers explained that the change is aimed at eliminating the excessive impact of early skirmishes and jungle invasions.

Atahan: Form and Reward Changes

Having gathered enough match data, the developers adjusted the mechanics of determining Atahan's form and slightly weakened the effect of "Bloody Roses."

Atahan Forms:

• Regular players will more often see "Insatiable Atahan."
• Professional players will more often face "Ruinous Atahan."
• Activation threshold in normal and ranked games: reduced by approximately 20%.
• Points for champion kills: significantly decreased, while points for damage dealt remained unchanged.
• Insatiable Atahan: gold from activating the "Retreat" effect increased from 100 to 200.

Bloody Roses:

• Experience from one rose reduced from 25 to 23.
• Adaptive strength from petals now decreases faster — maximum effect reached with 34 petals instead of 39.

These changes aim to achieve better balance between regular and professional games, as well as to enhance the strategic component of interacting with Atahan's mechanics.

A.R.U.R.F. 

The popular mode A.R.U.R.F. is once again available to players! This time, the action takes place in Noxus, where all updates introduced in Summoner’s Rift have been adapted for this mode as well.

When does the game start?

The mode launches on January 23, 2025, at different times for different regions:

EUW, EUN, RU, TR, and ME1 – at 18:00 Central European Time.

OCE, JP, NA, LAN, LAS, BR, KR, VN, TW, PH, TH, SG – at 22:00 Central European Time.

In patch 25.S1.2, players will gain new content, mechanic improvements, and performance optimizations. The main changes include innovations for different platforms and the A.R.U.R.F. mode, as well as reworked game mechanics.