Hello Champions! We’re very excited for V1.8, and we can’t believe it’s finally here - the final update of the Ashes of the Damned Story arc! We’re ending it with a bang - not only because of our brand-new Hero, Akeron (one of the biggest and most complex Heroes we’ve ever created), but also because this update delivers plenty of exciting new content for you to experience and explore, including:
World Shift – experience the map change due to an apocalyptic event, and work strategically around it.
A new Hero, Akeron – our most complex (and terrifying) Hero design thus far!
The infernal tide is turning! As we start to shift away from our demonic theme of the last few patches, the Wrath of the Ascended skin line and Battle Pass bring a radiant fury that's as bright as it is powerful.
Ranked Split 1 of Season 1 will end, with seasonal rewards distributed to eligible players.
Did somebody ask for…new server locations?
Updated map visuals.
Store Overhaul
Various fixes, improvements, and balance changes.
Let’s explore the details, shall we?
New Hero: Akeron– the Demon King
Akeron is the ruler of the mysterious Demon Realm, a being who has sought entry into Sylmara for as long as history remembers. The entire order of Koru Shinzo was established to prevent him from ever gaining a foothold.
For ages, they succeeded… until recently. Through Renna’s betrayal of Koru Shinzo’s ideals, Akeron finally achieved what he had long struggled to do: manifest a horrifying physical presence. Now unleashed, he wields both his otherworldly powers and his terrifying form to their fullest advantage on the battlefield!
Stats
Health: 700 (+120 per Level)
Health Regen: 1.8 (+0.28 per Level)
Mana: 360 (+59 per Level)
Mana Regen: 1.3 (+0.11 per Level)
Attack Speed: 105 (+1.2 per Level)
Physical Armor: 30 (+3.65 per Level)
Magical Armor: 30 (+1.8 per Level)
Physical Power: 60 (+3.5 per Level)
Movement Speed: 715
BAT: 1
Abilities
Pact of the Devourer [Passive]
Effect: Akeron gains up to 100 stacks of Hunger, lasting 1s and refreshing on application. Each stack provides him with 0.25% Ability Haste. Akeron gains Hunger each time he hits an Enemy Unit with a basic attack or ability. He gains additional Hunger when hit by an Enemy Hero’s basic attack or (once per) ability. When Akeron reaches max stacks, he becomes Awakened for 10s, maintaining the Ability Haste, granting him 5% (+0.75% per level) Damage Mitigation, and granting his abilities extra effects.
Flay [Basic Attack]
Effect: Melee basic attack dealing 60 (+85%) physical damage.
Hellfirel [Primary]
CD: 14/13/12/11/10
Cost: 60
Effect: Akeron rears back, opening his maw and launching the Demon’s Eye forward. The Eye moves slowly, revealing Enemies it passes and firing off 10 (+10% Ability Haste) fireballs in semi-random locations around it. Refire the ability to pause the Eye mid-flight. Each fireball deals 15/35/55/75/95 (+9% Bonus Physical Power) (+12.5% Magical Power) magical damage and Slows Enemies by 10%, up to a max of 40%. If an enemy is within range, the Eye will fire an additional homing fireball at them. Each subsequent hit on the same target deals 20% less damage, stacking up to a 80% reduction.
When Awakened, the number of fireballs is increased.
Web Lash [Secondary]
CD: 18
Cost: 50
Effect: Akeron fires a web, stopping on the first target hit and causing various effects depending on the target’s type.
Ground: Spawns a web for 3s that Slows by 35%.
Heroes or Units: Damages for 45/80/115/150/185 (+60% Bonus Physical Power) (+80% Magical Power) magical damage and Roots for 1/1.1/1.2/1.3/1.4s, also creating a web field.
Walls: Lashes to it for up to 5s. While on a wall, Akeron can use abilities or leap to the ground, dealing 60/90/120/150/180 (80% Bonus Physical Power) (+50% Magical Power) physical damage, Knocking Up, and Stunning Enemies for 1s.
Using the jump input while on the wall allows Akeron to leap straight down.
When Awakened, the leap’s Range is increased.
Crushing Maw [Alternate]
CD: 8/7.5/7/6.5/6
Cost: 40/45/50/55/60
Effect: Akeron deals 70/90/130/150 (+80% Bonus Physical Power)(+50% Magical Power) physical damage in a cone. Enemies close to Akeron take 1.5x damage and have their Armor reduced by 5/7.5/10/12.5/15% (+10% Bonus Physical Power) for 5s. Akeron also heals for 15/25/35/45/55 (+3/3.5/4/4.5/5% Max Health). The heal is reduced on Units, is increased on kill, and subsequent hits heal for 25%.
If an Enemy is killed, Akeron reduces his non-ultimate active cooldowns by 0.5s. If the Enemy is a Hero, Akeron becomes Awakened.
While Akeron is on the wall, his ability becomes a roar, affecting the area around him.
When Awakened, Akeron gains Armor equal to the Armor reduced.
Consume [Ultimate]
CD: 130/120/110
Cost: 100
Effect: Akeron Slows himself by 35% while Pulling and dealing 20/30/40 (+5% Bonus Physical Power) (10% Magical Power) magical damage to all Enemies in a cone every 0.25s for 5s.
If an Enemy Hero collides with Akeron, he bites them, dealing 50/60/70 (+60% Bonus Physical Power) (+40% Magical Power) physical damage while healing for 2/2.5/3% Missing Health + 50/60/70% of bite damage dealt.
Akeron Executes Enemies bitten under 10% (+0.03% Bonus Physical Power) (+0.02% Magical Power) of their their Max Health.
Each time Akeron successfully executes a hero, he gains 5 Bonus Physical Power and 5 Magical Power permanently, also healing for 1.5x the bite value.
When Awakened, the Pull strength is increased and the base Execute threshold is raised to 15%.
Augments
Insatiable Hunger
Related Ability: Passive
Type: Utility
Effect: Instead of decaying over time, Hunger regenerates over time and is not gained by hitting abilities. Additionally, Awakened lasts twice as long.
Roar of Torment
Related Ability: Ultimate
Type: Crowd Control
Effect: Consume now Pushes instead of Pulls and deals 200% increased tick damage, but can no longer bite.
Death From Above
Related Ability: Secondary
Type: Mobility
Effect: Akeron can fire an additional web projectile from the wall once, allowing him to leap from wall to wall or to Root from the wall.
Store News
Store Overhaul
We’ve heard your feedback: in V1.8 we’re rolling out further improvements to the in-game shopping experience. The Store menu has been refined for easier navigation and better visibility of the items you’re looking for. The game will also do a better job of recognizing what you might be interested in purchasing - and if you’re lucky, you might even see a discount on your dream skin!
We’ve also improved the flow of opening Loot Cores. You’ll now be able to open a Loot Core immediately after purchasing it. In addition, the Loot Core purchase menu has been cleaned up to look more polished and to clearly showcase the available bundles. You can now check the latest Loot Core drop probabilities directly from this menu.
Pricing Update
(Please note that this section has been added on September 2nd)
Quantum Loot Cores
The price of a single Loot Core is now standardized at 300 Platinum across all bundles.
Skin Variants
As announced in the V1.7 Patch Notes, skin variant prices were adjusted for newly released variants. With V1.8, we’re extending this adjustment to all existing variants, so older variants now follow the same structure.
Rare Variants: 400 Platinum
Epic Variants: 500 Platinum
Legendary Variants: 600 Platinum
Thank you for your continued support as we work to ensure the long term sustainability of our studio.
Skins
Redeemer Twinblast [Epic]
Little known fact: action movie skills do come in handy while resisting the demonkind. You need to look the part though.
Redeemer Shinbi [Epic]
Wonder if she's going to pick up harp music now.
Redeemer Wukong [Epic]
It’s not your first battle, and it won’t be your last. But for this fight, you can march in with armor forged just for you.
Deity Akeron [Uncommon]
Akeron might be new to this realm, but his godhood goes back millennia. This is is his holy sacred form.
Bundles
Wrath of the Ascended Bundle
- Wrath of the Ascended Battle Pass
- Shinbi [Hero]
- Nephalim Redeemer Shinbi [Skin Variant]
- Evil Shinbi [Icon]
- Evil Shinbi [Banner]
Akeron Deity Bundle
- Akeron [Hero]
- Deity Akeron [Skin]
- Akeron’s Premium Affinity
- Hysterical [Overhead Emote]
- Deity Akeron [Banner]
- Deity Akeron [Icon]
Wrath of the Ascended Battle Pass
A brand-new Battle Pass arrives with this patch! After several dark, demon-infested months, it’s only fair we bring content that shines a light on the other side - those resisting the Demon King and fighting back against his reign.
This Battle Pass delivers everything you’d expect from such a theme: a powerful mix of striking Sevarog skin, exclusive skins variants, profile cosmetics, emotes, sprays, and currency to spend on whatever you choose.
As always, there's a basic Battle Pass experience that can be accessed for free by every player, and it can be upgraded to a Premium one.
Here’s what you can unlock in this Pass:
Timed Exclusive Redeemer Wukong Skin
Exclusive Redeemer TwinBlast Variant
Timed Exclusive Redeemer Sevarog Skin (Free)
Exclusive Redeemer Shinbi Variant
Redeemer Jump Pad & Recall VFX
600 Opals (200 Free)
11 Quantum Cores (4 Free)
4 Exclusive Sprays (1 Free)
4 Exclusive Overhead Emotes (1 Free)
10 Ion Cores (7 Free)
10,000 Amber (7,500 Free)
5 Exclusive Banners (1 Free)
4 Exclusive Icons (1 Free)
Wrath of the Ascended Battlepass will run from September 2nd to November 25th (12 weeks).
We're also introducing a new main menu soundtrack to befit the celestial theme.
World Shift: Cataclysm
We've been working hard to make the core Predecessor experience more exciting, adding a new layer of "oomph" to make matches feel more varied and cinematic. Whilst we are still hard at work on a new map, World Shift gives us a way to put some of what we've been cooking up directly into players' hands. This allows us to run both projects in parallel, adding variety to the game right now while we continue to shape the future of Sanctuary behind the scenes.
When a world shift is triggered by killing the new Shaper, which appears at the 15 min mark in matches, an event will transform the map, bringing dramatic environmental changes. This feature is coming to all current modes: Quick Match, Nitro, and Ranked.
This initial release introduces a single World Shift: Cataclysm, where the sky splits open and meteors rain down on the map. It's more than just cosmetic though; the subtle changes have a major impact on gameplay. We've added new paths, strategically placed rocks that create new chokepoints and alter lines of sight, and Geysers that launch players to previously inaccessible areas. While these map changes are subtle compared to future themes, we're excited to see how they will shift mid-to-late-game strategy, and how players respond to the feature as a whole.
Looking ahead, we have big plans for World Shift, including improvements to Cataclysm, and a completely new Shift for our major update in November. From that patch onwards, there will be a possibility of one of several different Shifts being triggered during a match.
We know this is a big change, so we want to roll things out gradually, and keep closely monitoring player feedback and data to make adjustments as needed.
World Shift Mechanics Breakdown
A cataclysmic event heralds the start of a new phase for Predecessor. This is one of our most ambitious updates to date and will dramatically shift how the match plays out.
A new enemy has been added to the game, the mysterious Shaper. Defeating its Seedlings and then the Shaper itself begins a sequence of events that tears a rift in the sky, opening the way for the meteors of Ashkerath.
This apocalyptic event transforms the way you play, as meteors crash down and begin reshaping the world around you.
Avoid the fiery meteors hurtling toward you, explore the singed world and claim what you can from it. Master the effects of the first of our World Shift events and victory will be yours.
New Monsters
A new monster pit has opened up where the River Bugs once dwelled. Displaced from their home, the Bugs have migrated across the river to establish a new colony.
Seedling
Abilities:
- Basic Melee Attack: Deals bonus physical damage based on the target's current health.
- Basic Ranged Attack: Deals higher base damage than its melee version.
- Primal Roar (Passive): Every few attacks, the Seedling unleashes a nova, dealing minor damage and applying a small pushback to all nearby enemies.
Spawning and Rewards:
- Initial Spawn: Two Seedlings spawn at the start of the match. They are relatively easy to defeat and grant Gold and XP to the killer.
- Empowered Respawn: Once both Seedlings are defeated, a 4-minute respawn timer begins.
- After the timer, a single Seedling spawns in one of the new pits found in either side of the River. - With each subsequent respawn, this Seedling grows in size, power, and the rewards it provides. They also alternate the pit that they spawn in.
Stats:
- Physical Power: 30 (+6 per Level)
- Health: 2500 (+375 per Level).
- Physical Armor: 30 (+2 per Level).
- Magical Armor: 30 (+2 per Level).
- Melee Attack Range: 350u.
- Ranged Attack Range: 1600u.
- BAT: 0.9.
- Model Size: 100% (+7.5% per Level).
- Pulse Damage: 100 (+15 per Level).
- Kill Gold: 120 (+20 per Level).
- Kill XP: 250 (+20 per Level)
- Reward CS: 5.
The Shaper:
- Initial Spawn: 15m (Always spawns, replacing the Seedling, like Mini/Orb)
- Respawn Time: 4m
- Reward: - Triggers World Shift Event on First Death, Transforming the Map. - Gold: 300 Global Gold. - XP: 250 Global XP.
At the 15-minute mark, the jungle objective evolves. Any active Seedling is removed from the map and is permanently replaced by the Shaper.
Abilities:
- [Passive] Immolate: The Shaper constantly deals damage to all nearby enemies when in combat.
- Ranged Attacks: Retains the powerful, long-range basic attacks of the empowered Seedling.
- [Ability 1] Tremor: The Shaper stomps the ground, dealing heavy damage and slowing enemies in a wide area. This ability can be completely avoided by jumping at the moment of impact.
- [Ability 2] Fissure: The Shaper targets all nearby champions, creating volatile zones beneath them. After a brief delay, these zones erupt, dealing damage and launching targets into the air. Constant movement is required to evade the delayed explosion.
Rewards:
- The Shaper triggers the World Shift Event on First Death, Transforming the Map.
- Upon defeat, The Shaper grants a 300 Global Gold and 250 Global XP to the slaying team.
- A special Seedling will spawn in each lane and begin pushing toward the enemy base.
Respawn:
- The Shaper has a 4-minute respawn timer and will continue to alternate its spawn location between the two mini pits.
Stats:
- Physical Power: 24 (+3 per Level)
- Health: 3000 (+1250 per Level).
- Physical Armor: 90.
- Magical Armor: 75.
- Melee Attack Range: 350u.
- Ranged Attack Range: 1600u.
- BAT: 1.5.
- Kill Global Gold: 300.
- Kill Global XP: 250.
- Reward CS: 15.
- Immolate Damage: 10 (+3 per Level) each second.
- Tremor Damage: 102 (+12 per Level).
- Fissure Damage: 120 (+20 per Level).
- Fissure Slow: 40% for 2s.
Lane Seedling:
- Killing the Shaper rewards your team with 3 Seedlings that accompany the next wave of minions spawned, one per lane.
- These Seedlings are effective pushers and can easily threaten the enemy team’s Towers if ignored.
Stats:
- Physical Power: 20 (+4 per Level).
- Health: 2000 (+150 per Level).
- Physical Armor: (40 +4 per Level).
- Magical Armor: -40.
- Attack Range: 600 (+400 for Hero Combat).
- BAT: 1.
- Hero Damage Modifier: 45%.
- Minion Damage Modifier: 110%.
- Tower/Inhib/Core Damage Modifier: 60%.
- Kill Gold: 50 (+3 per Level).
- Kill XP: 80.
- Pulse Damage: 100 (+15 per Level).
Gold Plants:
For this World Shift, Gold Plants are being introduced. You’ll find several in each jungle quadrant, in the river, and one in each side lane.
Defeating a Gold Plant drops 5 gold orbs, each worth 12 gold, for a total of 60 gold to the player who collects them.
Geysers:
Volcanic Geysers will spawn in multiple locations of the map. These will launch players atop them for 2s after a player steps on top of one. After the 2s duration, they will then be inactive for a set period (8-12s based on the Geyser location) before becoming active again. These will offer new opportunities for all Heroes to scale heights and traverse walls.
Meteorites
A bombardment begins as meteorites streak across the sky before slamming into the earth with violent force. Shockwaves erupt from each impact, hurling nearby targets backward in the concussive blast. While not designed to be lethal, each strike inflicts a small amount of damage based on current health.
When the dust settles, the battlefield is permanently scarred. Super-heated rock may cool into jagged new terrain, creating cover and obstacles, or the sheer force of impact may shatter walls and structures, opening new pathways and strategic flanking routes.
What we’re launching in Update 1.8 is only one flavour of World Shift - with many more to come! We’ll be listening closely to your feedback, so let us know how you’re finding it and what you’d like to see in the future.
World Shift Map Changes
In addition to World Shift, we have made a handful of changes to the Base Map:
Some minor adjustments to Walls and Terrain to allow for various World Shift transformations to occur.
The River Bugs have been moved home to the other side of their rivers.
A new Pit on either side of Midlane has taken over the River Bugs’ old locations.
Nitro’s triple Jump Pad setup has been added to the default map!
The drop down ledge near Red Buff has been replaced with stairs.
Fog Walls have been added to the side lane Jump Overs to better convey the existing Vision Block.
The Vistas outside of the Map have been updated.
The Skybox has been updated.
Additionally, the transformed map features appropriate audio changes to underline the transformation.
Ranked Split
As we’ve mentioned previously, Ranked Season 1 Split 1 is ending with the launch of Update 1.8!
Here’s what you need to know:
Ranked Downtime: Ranked will be closed for maintenance for around before the update - it will go down around 9 pm BST on Monday, September 1st.
Rank Reset: After the reset, all players will be moved 5 divisions down the Ranked ladder.
Rewards Distribution: Ranked rewards for Split 1 will be distributed at this time.
Every player will receive a themed Season Split Banner and Icon. The type of cosmetics you earn depends on your highest rank achieved during the Split - not your final rank. So don’t worry if you’ve dropped a division or two lately!
Additionally, all players who win at least 15 Ranked matches during the Split will receive an exclusive Morigesh skin.
Below Gold: Players will receive the same base variant, regardless of rank.
Gold and above: Players will earn a skin variant that matches the color of their highest rank, in addition to the base one.
Finally, the Ranked Leaderboard will be reset.
Ranked Teams Compatibility Update
Want to play Ranked with your friends but feel too far apart in divisions? Starting in V1.8, we’ve adjusted the rules to make it easier for squads to queue together:
Bronze players can squad with friends up to Gold.
All other ranks can squad with friends within one full rank of them (A Platinum player can queue with anyone in Gold up to Diamond).
Please note: these adjustments apply to pre-made squads only.
Japanese Localization & New Server Locations
We’re very happy to announce that with V1.8, Predecessor is officially launching in Japan! Our Japanese players will be able to enjoy the game fully localized, with their own dedicated Japan server - which should also improve the experience for many players across Asia.
In addition, we’re expanding further with the launch of new server in MENA (Middle East & North Africa) — no more high ping from connecting to Europe!
Please note that until we have data showing a large enough population to sustain it, Ranked will not be available in these regions at first. We’ll be very happy to revisit this as soon as we have evidence that it can be supported.
Nvidia Update
We are excited to announce that GeForce NOW support for Predecessor is coming soon!
This allows you to stream the game from the cloud, making it accessible on a wider range of devices without needing high-end hardware. This is a huge step in making the game more accessible to our growing community.
Please note: GeForce NOW support was originally planned to launch with update v1.8. An unexpected issue has shifted the timing, but it will be arriving shortly after. We’ll keep you updated on when it’s ready to go live.
DLSS 4 Support
As of V.1.8, Predecessor will support NVIDIA's DLSS 4! It's a new rendering technology that can boost frame rates, enhance performance, and improve visual fidelity of the game. This feature has following hardware requirements:
DLSS Super Resolution: Any NVIDIA RTX GPU
Frame Generation: NVIDIA RTX 40 Series GPU
Multi-Frame Generation: NVIDIA RTX 50 Series GPU
DirectX 12 must be enabled
Players with supported NVIDIA hardware can enable:
Frame Generation (2x) - which doubles frame rates.
Multi-Frame Generation (3x or 4x) - available with the new transformation model.
DLAA - which improves native image quality.
DLSS Super Resolution - which enhances upscaled image quality.
Anniversary Rewards
If you participated in the Anniversary Event and are eligible for a reward, they will be distributed soon after V1.8 release
You’ll receive a pop-up notification once your reward has been added to your account. Please allow some time - the rewards will be distributed before the end of the week.
For details about game, Hero and Item balancing changes, please read full patch notes here.