The End of the 2018 Ranked Season Means Pre-Season is Here
The 2018 ranked season of League of Legends ended yesterday, signaling the start of the pre-season. In a recent tweet, a Riot staff member shared the dates for each major pre-season patch and the beginning of the 2019 season.
What to Expect During Pre-Season
The pre-season will run from now until Jan. 23, which is when the new season officially begins. This means that the pre-season will last for about a month and a half.
Important Dates for Pre-Season and the 2019 Season
The dates for pre-season and the 2019 season are as follows:
- Nov. 21: Pre-season launches with gameplay changes
- Ranked changes, including tiers and placements, start to roll out with Patch 8.24
- Jan. 23: The new season officially starts with Patch 9.2
What to Expect in Pre-Season
Although the pre-season has technically started, there won’t be any major updates until Nov. 21. These updates will mainly focus on gameplay changes, with ranked ladder changes arriving in the subsequent patch, likely two weeks later.
While the gameplay updates in this year’s pre-season aren’t as groundbreaking as last year’s Runes Reforged update, there are still significant changes. These include the addition of outer plating to towers, minor reworks for certain tank champions, and adjustments to the jungle experience. And these are just a few of the upcoming changes.
Ranked Changes: The Bulk of This Year’s Pre-Season
This year’s pre-season is primarily focused on ranked changes. There are several significant changes happening, such as reducing each tier’s ranks from five to four, introducing the Iron and Grandmaster tiers, and implementing positional rankings. The ranked system in 2019 will be markedly different from what players are used to.
The next patch, Patch 8.23, which marks the beginning of the pre-season, arrives next week.