Riot Games announced in its latest League of Legends Dev Update that voice chat will expand beyond premade parties, letting players talk with everyone on their team, Dot Esports reported. The feature is scheduled to begin rolling out in North America and Oceania with Patch 26.20.
League currently supports voice chat only among players grouped in a premade party. Riot said it is making several improvements to support the wider rollout, including better noise cancellation, faster connections and improved stability, and that moderation remains a major focus as more players gain access to voice communication.
Tied to Honor
The ability to speak in team voice chat will depend on a player's Honor level, and only players at Honor 3 and above will be able to use it. Riot said it plans to keep improving the Honor system so that it better reflects in-game behavior.
The update also introduces voice skins, which change how a player's voice sounds in chat. Riot said all voice skins are designed to remain clear and understandable, including during hectic teamfights. Voice chat will expand to further regions once Riot is confident it can support the moderation and technical requirements there.
Other Dev Update announcements
The Dev Update also covered Season 3 Act 2, which Riot said will center on music, and teased that the first musical reveal would arrive on September 9. A new ARAM: Mayhem set tied to that theme will place musical acts in games as players spawn, add further Augments and bring a separate set of missions with rewards outside the normal Mayhem progression track.
Riot said Ranked 5s would return in Patch 26.18 after its first June-to-September run, adding a strategic draft phase that shows information about opponents before picks and bans, and extending weekend queue windows. Rewards from the first Ranked 5s season are distributed in the same patch.
League Classic is receiving brighter lighting, updated map textures, increased IP and XP gains, two additional Rune Pages, a second daily win bonus and reduced rune prices, with Poppy, Xin Zhao, Shyvana, Galio and Fiora joining the mode in Patch 26.18. Riot also opened applications for the League Partner Program.