Complete guide to League of Legends Season 13 preseason changes with jungle overhaul, new items, and champion updates
Release Timeline and Key Dates
League of Legends patch 12.22 marks the official beginning of Season 13 preseason, scheduled for deployment on November 16, 2022. This major update represents one of the most substantial gameplay transformations in recent League history, fundamentally altering core systems that will define the competitive landscape for the coming year.
The global rollout initiates on Oceanic servers at 10:00 AM AEDT, with subsequent deployments across all regions throughout the day. Players should anticipate approximately three hours of matchmaking queue disablement preceding the update, followed by several hours of server downtime during the patching process.
Strategic preparation is crucial during this transitional period. The preseason window allows approximately two months for players to adapt to the sweeping changes before ranked competition resumes in January. Early mastery of the new systems provides significant competitive advantages when Season 13 officially commences.
Major Preseason Transformations
The Season 13 preseason introduces revolutionary changes across multiple game systems, with particular focus on jungle accessibility and top lane impact. These modifications aim to reduce the learning curve for new junglers while providing experienced players with deeper strategic options.
Champion classification adjustments represent one of the most impactful changes. Both Rakan and Lillia have been reclassified as melee champions, resolving longstanding itemization inconsistencies. This change enables proper functionality with melee-specific items like Relic Shield and significantly enhances Demonic Embrace effectiveness for Lillia.
The Chemtech Drake makes its triumphant return with completely reworked mechanics. When the dragon’s health drops below 50%, it gains 33% damage resistance and deals 50% increased damage. Teams securing the Chemtech Soul receive a powerful combat buff providing 10% damage resistance and 10% damage amplification when below 50% health.
Map plants undergo substantial upgrades across Summoner’s Rift. Honeyfruit transforms into Stim Fruit, providing both healing and shielding without movement speed penalties. Blast Cones now launch units twice as far, creating new engagement and escape possibilities. Scryer’s Bloom evolves into Firelight’s Bloom, granting vision cones with allied movement speed bonuses and nearly eliminating enemy wards.
Jungle System Revolution
The jungle experience undergoes its most significant transformation since the introduction of plants. The traditional jungle item system is completely replaced by jungle companions that evolve throughout the game, providing unique combat benefits and quality-of-life improvements.
Jungle companions acquire treats through large monster and champion takedowns, evolving twice during each match. The evolution system introduces strategic depth through bonus treat accumulation every 60 seconds pre-evolution and 90 seconds post-evolution, rewarding efficient clearing patterns.
Smite functionality expands dramatically, now targetable on enemy champions for 80-160 true damage based on level with a 20% slow. Smite damage scales with companion evolution: 600 at baseline, 900 after first evolution, and 1200 after final evolution with area-of-effect damage.
Three distinct companion types cater to different playstyles:
- Mosstomper: Provides damage absorption through persistent shields and tenacity bonuses, ideal for engage-focused champions
- Scorchclaw: Offers ganking power with stacking ember mechanics that trigger area slows and percent health true damage
- Gustwalker: Enhances mobility with brush movement speed bonuses amplified after camp clears, perfect for rotation-heavy styles
Jungle camp mechanics receive comprehensive adjustments. The new “Marked for Death” system automatically clears small monsters 10 seconds after their large monster dies when no champions are present. “Soft reset” mechanics replace instant camp resets, providing six-second windows where monsters regenerate health while pathing to camp centers.
Resource management improves significantly through “Parting Gifts” – large monsters now heal junglers based on missing health and restore mana based on missing mana when taken down with a companion. Junglers also deal 20% increased non-true damage to monsters on their own side of the map, discouraging early invades while rewarding proper pathing.
Itemization Overhaul
Itemization receives massive changes with four new tank Mythic items, the return of classic items, and comprehensive adjustments to existing Legendary items. These changes aim to diversify build paths and create more distinct class identities.
New tank Mythic items introduce unique combat patterns:
- Radiant Virtue: Ultimate activation grants team-wide ability haste and healing based on missing health, ideal for initiator tanks
- Iceborn Gauntlet: Replaces Frostfire Gauntlet with spellblade-powered area slows and single-target damage reduction
- Heartsteel: Enables health stacking through charged attacks that convert damage dealt into permanent maximum health
- Jack’Sho: Provides escalating resistances during combat culminating in area health drain at maximum stacks
Classic items make celebrated returns with updated mechanics. Rod of Ages returns with its signature stacking mechanic, gaining stats every minute up to 10 stacks and granting a level upon completion. Spear of Shojin reintroduces ability haste scaling with base attack damage and movement speed based on missing health.
Significant Legendary item adjustments include:
- Ravenous Hydra: Now features omnivamp stacking and cleave damage normalized for melee and ranged users
- Sunfire Aegis: Demoted to Legendary status with removed magic resistance and jungle damage bonuses
- Abyssal Mask: Gains the Eternity passive and magic resistance reduction scaling with bonus health
- Randuin’s Omen: Loses ability haste but gains an active slow and enhanced critical strike protection
Turret plates provide increased gold (175 vs 160) and enhanced resistances (40 vs 35 armor/MR), extending laning phases and rewarding successful tower pressure. Mid lane minions yield 1 less gold before 14 minutes, slightly reducing the role’s economic dominance in early game.
Strategic Implications and Advanced Tips
The Season 13 changes demand significant adjustments to fundamental League of Legends strategies. Understanding these implications separates players who adapt successfully from those who struggle during the transition period.
Jungle Pathing Optimization: The companion evolution system rewards efficient clearing above all else. Prioritize full clears that incorporate scuttle crab during its later 3:30 spawn timing. The 20% damage bonus to own-side camps makes invades riskier early game, favoring standard pathing over aggressive cheese strategies.
Common Beginner Mistakes: Avoid wasting Smite on champions during early skirmishes – the damage scales with level and companion evolution. Don’t overlook the protection buff that reduces monster damage by 30% when allies are nearby. Remember that companion selection should complement your champion’s strengths rather than cover weaknesses.
Advanced Itemization Strategies: Rod of Ages requires careful timing – purchase it when you can complete it near level 9 to maximize the free level benefit. Heartsteel users should coordinate with teams to ensure extended fights where the item can stack effectively. Radiant Virtue works exceptionally well with champions whose ultimates have natural engagement synergy.
The preseason period represents the ideal time to experiment with unconventional strategies before the meta solidifies. Test different companion choices across various champion types, explore new item combinations, and develop innovative pathing patterns that leverage the updated jungle mechanics.
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