League of Legends Classic's second patch arrives without any new champions, but Riot game designer David "Phreak" Turley says the next one will have them. Speaking to PCGamesN, Phreak confirmed "another multiple champion drop coming in the next one" after patch 1 added Akali, Kennen and Shen, and said the plan is "to generally drop champions in batches" grouped by theme rather than by chronological release date. "We had the ninjas in the previous patch, we'll have another linked set of champions next."
Riot has reversed its thinking on Classic's roster
Phreak said expanding the champion pool is a high priority and that player feedback drove the change. "We are putting a lot more of our resources into getting more champions out. That has been pretty strongly one of the biggest points of feedback is you guys want to see more champions." That is a reversal for the Classic team, which initially assumed a smaller roster would keep the mode approachable.
There was some initial thought that 'There's some champs we don't think should make the cut because they're just not that interesting or not that different.' All those plans have basically changed. We are trying to build out the roster as fast as we can.
Phreak said Riot "broadly speaking" has more game designers than artists, so champions needing heavier art adjustments take longer, meaning upcoming batches will lean toward those closest to their live versions.
What patch 2 changes
The update introduces champion and role swapping in champ select, adds two more rune pages, boosts IP gain by roughly 2.5x, doubles Classic XP gain, and makes about half the runes cheaper. "Every single minor rune has been made cheaper," Phreak said, with minor runes now costing the same as primary runes. He cited worldwide feedback that rune unlocks were too slow, though around 10% of players said the rate was too fast. A recommendation feature for players confused by runes and masteries is in progress but unlikely to land in patch 2.
Patch 2 also brings the first vote for The Council, Classic's community voting system unlocked at rank five, with "around seven or eight questions." One will ask whether trinkets improve the Classic experience. Battle pass rank adds voting weight, with additional votes at levels 15 and 25.
On balance, Annie, Ashe, Dr. Mundo, Garen, Jax, Kayle, Lux, Miss Fortune and Sivir receive buffs, while Ahri, Blitzcrank, Evelynn, Ezreal, Gragas, Heimerdinger, Tristana, Tryndamere and Twitch are nerfed. Innervating Locket gets cheaper and stronger, regaining its 10% cooldown reduction "from back in the day"; Feral Flare and Wriggle's Lantern lose attack damage but gain attack speed; and the HP5 Quintessence runes, which were half what they should have been, have been doubled.
Art work rounds out the patch with a lighting update and "a sweeping set of changes to textures, decals, and some props across the map" aimed at feeling more period accurate to the Season 3-era League that Classic emulates. Tooltips displaying outdated values are being corrected, with about 65% of the roster already fixed. Phreak did not give a release date; PCGamesN expects patch 2 on Wednesday, August 26 based on Riot's usual update schedule.