League of Legends is always looking for new and fun ways to play, but the issue is always making sure they're balanced; such as limiting Teemo's Shrooms and Shaco's Jack-in-a-Box on URF.
One of the things many players have fantasised about is creating incredible combinations, and these sometimes come in the form of fun team compositions. Everyone has probably tried the Malphite + Yasuo combo at some point.
Well now, your Yasuo can use the Malphite Ultimate themselves; setting up their own huge knock-up.
League of Legends' new game mode, Ultimate Spellbook, allows players to replace a Summoner Spell with that of a Champion. This means that Yasuo's can have Malphite Ultimates on F ready to go, or the more common and frightening Amumu with Morgana Ultimate.
This not only allows players to find amazing combinations, but to also sure up the weaknesses of some Champions. Playing a Champion who is easy to kite, like Darius? Just take Olaf's or Master Yi's Ultimate to help stay on top of the opponent!
Above, you can see a player use a Nocturne Ultimate to help setup for a huge Neeko Ultimate.
However, there is a bit of luck to it all. At the start of the game, players will receive a selection of three random Ultimates they can choose one from. This Ultimate is with the player for the rest of the game, however is accessible from the start; no need to wait until Level 6. This does mean that players don't get to choose exactly which Ultimate they want, but the random element adds to the fun.
Overall this game mode offers a lot of opportunities for players to get creative, creating epic moments and game changing plays. The game is still on PBE, so things can still change to help the balance, but it is already seeming like a fan favourite.
Coming with the game mode is a number of other changes, specifically to Summoner's Rift.
We've already seen leaked images of the Ruination themed Summoner's Rift, leading us to believe this will come with the next Champion as the Ruination story continues. This map features a new Dragon in the form of the Ruined Dragon, replacing the Elementals, which stack to give increased damage to Towers as well as a Soul which will revive players similar to Guardian Angel.
The games will also be faster, helped along by the increased damage to Towers coming from Dragons, and will be closer in length to games like One For All; so approximately 20-25 minutes long. Similar to ARAM's, players will start at Level 3 and will also start with an increased amount of Gold.
Ultimate Spellbook is on the PBE, and is presumed to hit the live servers on patch 11.14; which is scheduled for July 8th. Although that may not necassarly be the date it will be released, so players have a few weeks before they can start combo-ing Leona Ultimates with Miss Fortune.
Did you notice how 'Ultimate Spellbook' is a throwback to 'Unsealed Spellbook', the Rune that allowed players to swap Summoner Spells which was removed for Season 11?
A leak shows assets for a "Ruined King" map in the League of Legends archive, and will likely come as part of the next Ruination event.
