Rank Up

League of Legends Season 12's first patch has officially been deployed, spilling a number of buffs, nerfs, and tweaks into the game. With ranked placement matches starting on January 7, players have just a handful of hours to get acquainted with these new changes before they start affecting their rank. Getting a handle on these changes and how to make the most of them early in the season will set you up to climb the ranks down the line. Here's some tips to help you get promoted in Season 12 of League of Legends, as well as some champions and items to check out.

Teleport Has Been Reworked, And It's Affecting Everything

Teleport has become a mainstay for top laners in the past few seasons, but it underwent a massive transformation in Season 12 that may make it less desirable. Previously, Teleport allowed players to teleport to turrets, minions, wards, and traps. Now however, players will only be able to teleport to turrets for the first 14 minutes of a match. After that, the spell will be replaced with an upgraded version called Unleashed Teleport that works as the spell previously did.

Top laners, and even mid laners to some extent, have relied on teleport during the laning phase to jump into bot lane or into jungle fights and turn the tide in their team's favor. Now Teleport's usability in the laning phase has been severely nerfed, and it's likely that we'll start seeing a shift away from top and mid laners using it. At the very least, we will see a transition from players using Teleport aggressively and offensively to a more defensive and calculated approach.

If you're a top laner, now is the time to start using different, more offensive summoner spells. Taking both Flash and Ignite with you into a fight in top lane may help you defeat enemy players who are still keeping Teleport in one of their spell slots. Bot laners should be aware that the laning phase will probably be much more isolated than in the past, and unless they're camped next to their turret backup likely isn't on the way.

Teleport Has Been Reworked, And It's Affecting Everything

League of Legends Season 12 introduced two new dragons, the Chemtech Dragon and Hextech Dragon. The Chemtech soul gives you a brief second life after death, and the Hextech soul causes basic attacks to deal electric damage. It's easy to overlook slaying dragons, especially when solo queuing. But locking them down for your team is an easy way to prevent the enemy team from getting buffs, while also earning your team some experience. Make sure to ward around a dragon to prevent an enemy jungler from stealing the final blow.

It's Time To (Re)learn Jungle Paths

Whether you're a longtime League of Legends player or new to the scene, Season 12 will require you to learn some new jungle paths. Before Season 12, being a jungler meant dropping everything after the first Rift Scuttler spawned just after 3 minutes into a match, and stomp it out for its massive amount of experience. Now however, the experience dropped by the Rift Scuttler has been reduced by 80%, making it not as vital. Instead of detouring for the Scuttler, start experimenting with different camp routes that don't prioritize a stop by the crab.

Best Champions For Each Role In Season 12

While Season 12 is just beginning, there are already some champions that are standing out in their respective roles. These champions are well suited for the recent changes, and should shine in the upcoming season. Here's some of the best champions for each role:

  • Top Laner: Shen
      • Shen has historically been a solid pick for top lane, and he's shaping up to be just that for Season 12. Get his ult early, and you'll be able to teleport around the map without worrying about the enemy top lane chasing you.
  • Jungler: Talon
      • Talon has been dominating high elo matches, and had to be nerfed down a bit for Season 12. Still, even with a reduced monster damage multiplier he's still a great pick for his quick-escape ult and mobility.
  • Mid Lane: Vex
      • Vex has become a staple in the mid lane, and barring drastic changes midway through the season, will continue to be for Season 12. Her approachable yet powerful kit makes her a dominating force in her lane.
  • Bot Lane: Jinx
      • Jinx continues to be a solid pick for the bot lane. While Jinx builds do rely on the now nerfed Immortal Shieldbow, this change will affect most bot lane champions equally and shouldn't disproportionately affect her.
  • Support: Blitzcrank
    • Blitzcrank's hook ability is simply unparalleled by other support champions, putting him in a class of his own.
Items To Check Out In Season 12

While in general you'll want to tie the items you use in League of Legends to the champion you're playing, there are some items that are simply better than the rest. Here's a few to check out in Season 12:

  • Immortal Shield Bow:
      • Despite a pretty hefty nerf, the immortal shield bow is still a powerhouse. It provides 50 bonus attack damage and a 15% bonus attack speed. Combined with a 12% life steal, the Immortal Shield Bow is a top pick for top laners.
  • Galeforce
      • While the Immortal Shield Bow went from 55 to 50 bonus attack damage this season, Galeforce still gives players that extra 5 damage. This, coupled with a 20% bonus attack speed makes it a viable replacement for the offense-heavy champions now lacking that extra firepower.
  • Luden's Tempest
      • Luden's Tempest gives your other legendary items 5 extra magic penetration, as well as adding bonus magic damage to hit targets and nearby enemies. For magic heavy champions, it's a great item to build towards.
  • Force of Nature
    • While not a widely lauded item, Force of Nature has received a buff this time around and may be worth a look for support players looking to change things. It now gives players a 7 second move speed buff and reduces incoming magic damage by 25%.

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