League of Legends pre-game lobby changes: Release date, features and more

League of Legends is set to receive a new look in season 12 (Image via League of Legends)
League of Legends is set to receive a new look in season 12 (Image via League of Legends)

League of Legends is bringing forth a wide variety of changes in season 12.

Amongst those changes, one of the most interesting is a revamp of the pre-game lobby. The pre-game lobby starting from finding matches to loading screens, has been the same for quite some time. It feels quite stale and dull at this point.

Riot Games is switching things up a bit and providing players with a more visually attractive pre-game lobby. While these changes are still quite some time away from release, Riot is providing a detailed look into what players can expect in 2022.


Everything League of Legends players need to know regarding pre-game lobby changes

Riot Games is adding new features to League of Legends. One such feature is the introduction of challenges, where players will be presented with certain activities to complete and earn titles.

When they reach certain tiers, they obtain titles like the Dragonmaster. However, Riot Games felt that they should incorporate these changes into the pre-game lobby so that players can flaunt their hard-earned achievements.

The first major change is the introduction of crests to showcase rank. Earlier, the rank was presented in the form of an armor. However, now they have changed it to a crest, as shown in the image below. It is cleaner and looks much more elegant.

Changes to ranked crests (Image via League of Legends)
Changes to ranked crests (Image via League of Legends)

Apart from that, players can view challenges in the same place as the tiers they have reached and the current rank in those challenges.

Secondly, they have added titles which are presented below the name of the summoner. Players can gain titles by completing challenges from season 12 onwards.

Season 12 is also bringing changes to identity themes. The identity option will now have various subsections like icons, borders, titles, and challenge tokens. Also, the changes that players make will reflect on the left-hand side, as shown in the image.

Identity options for season 12 (Image via League of Legends)
Identity options for season 12 (Image via League of Legends)

Finally, the loading screen after the champion selection process is also changed. They have made the loading screen much slimmer. They have also adjusted the way mastery points and ranks are displayed. The player cards now have three different sides.

The first side will display the champion's name along with any form of equipped skins. The second side will show the player's rank, and the third side will display the mastery points earned on that champion. Players can simply rotate by clicking on them.

New loading screens (Image via League of Legends)
New loading screens (Image via League of Legends)

As for the release date, the changes will not hit the main client until early 2022. Riot Games is still working on them and will soon hit League of Legends’ PBE (Public Beta Environment).

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