The world of Summoner's Rift is undergoing major shifts in LoL Season 14, with major updates coming to LoL map, objectives, and gameplay pacing. After over half a decade without significant overhauls, Riot Games has unleashed their most ambitious set of changes yet. From dramatic alterations to the Baron Nashor pit and Rift Herald mechanics to sweeping lane and jungle modifications, the way you play League will never be the same.
This season introduces innovative new terrain across the map, with adjusted brush placements and pathways aiming to increase diversity in viable champion picks for each lane. The early game also evolves thanks to a new Voidgrub objective in the Baron pit rewarding early invades and skirmishes. Perhaps most dramatically, the long-static Baron Nashor has been transformed into a variable and interactive late-game challenge in one of three possible randomized pit configurations.
Between the map, geometry changes opening up new macro strategies, evolving early-game incentives, and intensified late-game boss fights, Season 14 promises intense and engaging new gameplay. There's never been a better time to master the updated Summoner's Rift. Read on to break down all the impactful updates coming to League of Legends this season.
LoL Map Changes
The Summoner's Rift map has undergone massive updates across all lanes and the jungle in LoL Season 14. Riot's overarching goals were to improve gameplay diversity through champion balancing across roles, enable more dynamic macro strategies, and increase map objective excitement. To achieve this vision, they implemented targeted layout modifications focusing on brush placement, pathway routes, and objective terrain.
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Top Lane
The top side of Summoner's Rift has been updated to reduce early jungle gank dominance and enable more 1v1-focused gameplay. The lane brush has been pulled back closer to the river, giving top laners more safety against river ganks. The walls around Rift Herald have also been adjusted to delay the objective's spawn until 10 minutes, preventing early demolishment of top towers.
Riot has also added new terrain called the Voidgrub pit in the Baron area, which provides incentives for the top laner to roam down for skirmishes, especially if they have an early advantage. Overall, the top side changes open up carry and split-push champions that previously struggled with heavy jungle pressure.
Mid Lane
For mid-lane, Riot aimed to improve safety for immobile mage champions vulnerable to ganks. To accomplish this, the lane brushes have been positioned further back away from the river entrances. This gives mid-laners more time to react to river threats before being engaged.
New sideways jungle paths were also added near the blue and red buffs to enable safer roam routes between mid and the jungle. Rather than having to constantly push up and rotate through risky river areas, mid-laners can now connect with their jungler and side lanes via these new paths.
The changes open up picks like Orianna, Viktor, and Anivia who previously struggled in the high-threat gank jungle meta. Mid and jungle now have more opportunities to collaborate on invades, crabs, and ganks without requiring the mid-laner to push up dangerously far. It also enables mid to safely follow their lane opponent and set up counter roams rather than losing track of them in unwarded river areas.
Bot Lane
The bottom side of Summoner's Rift has been mirrored evenly across sides, adjusting brush and entrance positions for parity. This aims to remove inherent blue/red side imbalances that have impacted bot lane strategy for years.
A new gank approach was added from the red jungle but paired with defensive river brush placement to offset this risk. This enables jungle variegation while limiting new cheese gank paths that would overwhelm bot lane.
The dragon pit area was also updated with more dynamic walls and terrain for multi-angle contests around objectives. This prevents scenarios where the team with initial control can zone enemies away from a single chokepoint. Now, vision control and flanking carry more importance compared to simply rushing to establish front-to-back control.
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LoL Baron Pit: Voidgrubs, Mecha Herald, Baron Revamp
The early, mid, and late-game PvE objectives are receiving complete overhauls in LoL Season 14. Riot set out to improve pacing and excitement around neutral monsters with innovative new designs. We’ll explain how the updated Voidgrub, Mecha Herald, and Baron Nashor mechanics will shake up the meta.
Voidgrubs
The new Voidgrub objective replaces Rift Herald in the Baron pit for the opening minutes of a match. Voidgrubs and their parasitic Voidmite spawn will continuously emerge from the pit and must be warded off to eventually release Herald later on.
The Voidgrub provides an early-game team fight and skirmish zone rather than purely a split-push reward. Each Voidgrub killed grants stacking buffs, so invading to cull the horde rewards coordination and aggression. This adds a new variable objective to fight over in laning phase beyond standard ganks and farming.
Mecha Herald
Once the Voidgrub horde is defeated, the Rift Herald spawns as normal around 10 minutes. However, interacting with Herald has completely changed - now champions directly hijack Herald's charge by jumping onto its back!
The player riding Mecha Herald steers the charge toward enemy towers themselves rather than relying on AI pathing. This enables pinpoint demolishing of objectives but comes with the massive risk of commandeering Herald.
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LoL Baron Nashor Revamp
The Baron Nashor pit itself now has three possible configurations that change every game. The Territorial Baron and All-Seeing Baron. Adaptability and vision control will be key no matter which pit layout you encounter.
Baron Nashor has also been completely reworked visually and mechanically. His character model and animations have been upgraded to match modern champion standards as a menacing Void Leviathan. Each possible pit features a specialized version of Baron suited to that particular environment.
His abilities range from rupturing Void explosions in the confined canyon pit to conjuring spreading Void zones in the maze pit. From appearance to abilities, Baron finally captures the epic presence expected of a raid boss.
Conclusion
The scope of changes coming in League of Legends Season 14 proves Riot's commitment to evolving gameplay and freshening up the player experience. From the map geometry modifications enabling new macro tactics to the overhauled objectives, Season 14 delivers engaging new dimensions to master.
While it will take time to adapt to the new brush, pathways, Voidgrubs, Mecha Heralds, and Baron Nashor pits, these updates bring rewarding new challenges for competitive and casual summoners alike. After over five years without significant changes to Summoner's Rift, Riot's bold new vision ushers in an exciting modern era for League.
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