Introduction
Greetings Champions!
As the dust begins to settle on v0.18, our biggest update of the year, you might be expecting a little Balance Patch for v0.18.3.
Nope! Update v0.18.3 has one of the most highly anticipated features among the Predecessor community: Ranked Mode. That's right, players will be able to truly test their mettle against the best of the best in the most competitive experience Predecessor has to offer. The question is, do you have what it takes to #BecomeParagon?
Of course, that's not all we've had cooking in this patch. You can expect a whole slew of balance adjustments since the 6 item shake up of v0.18, alongside a range of incredible new skins and bundles heading into the store.
So what are we waiting for? Kick your feet back and let's dive in!
Store News
New Skins
Summer Fun Twinblast
Summer’s finally arrived! So grab your board and catch some waves with Twinblast’s Summer Fun [Legendary] skin.
Lotus Knight Greystone
Lord Greystone gets a suave new look with his Lotus Knight [Epic] skin.
Holy Grux Pelt Khaimera
Prove once and for all who the most ferocious warrior of all is with Khaimera’s new Holy Grux Pelt [Uncommon] skin.
Bundles
Summer Fun Twinblast Bundles
The only thing better than catching some rays on the beach, is catching them in style! The Summer Fun Twinblast Bundle has you covered with TWO separate bundles:
Summer Fun Bundle:
◆ Twinblast (Hero)
◆ Summer Fun Twinblast skin
◆ Summer Fun Twinblast Profile Icon
◆ Summer Fun Twinblast Profile Banner
◆ Summer Fun Twinblast Spray
Summer Fun Variant Bundle:
◆Twinblast (Hero)
◆Summer Fun Twinblast skin
◆Gunmetal Summer Fun Twinblast Variant (Timed Exclusive)
◆Pastel Summer Fun Twinblast Variant (Timed Exclusive)
Lotus Knight Greystone Bundle
We couldn’t give Greystone a strapping new look without an equally strapping new bundle!
Bundle Contents:
◆ Greystone (Hero)
◆ Lotus Knight Greystone Skin
◆ Lotus Knight Greystone Spray
◆ Lotus Knight Greystone Banner
◆ Lotus Knight Greystone Icon
Holy Grux Pelt Variant Bundle
Khaimera’s been giving Grux a hard time lately, with not one, not two, but THREE variants in the Holy Grux Pelt Variant Bundle. #SaveGrux
Bundle Contents:
◆ Khaimera (Hero)
◆ Holy Grux Pelt Khaimera Skin
◆ Amethyst Holy Grux Pelt Khaimera Variant (Timed Exclusive)
◆ Malachite Holy Grux Pelt Khaimera Variant (Timed Exclusive)
◆ Topaz Holy Grux Pelt Khaimera Variant (Timed Exclusive)
Dreadlord Argus Variant Bundle
It’s not just the new skins getting variants either! Argus, Mad Mage of the Soulstorm, is getting two new variants to his iconic Dreadlord skin, in the Dreadlord Argus Bundle.
Bundle Contents:
◆ Argus (Hero)
◆ Dreadlord Argus Skin
◆ Hornet Dreadlord Argus Variant (Timed Exclusive)
◆ Blood Ivory Dreadlord Argus Variant (Timed Exclusive)
Ranked Mode
Do you have what it takes to #BecomeParagon? Get ready to prove it in the most competitive Predecessor experience so far: Ranked Mode.
In Ranked Mode, you’ll go solo or team up with a duo partner and face-off against other players within a similar skill level to gain Victory Points (VP) and climb the ranks from Bronze to Paragon.
When & Where
Starting weekly from the 15th of June, players who are above level 30 and own at least 20 Heroes will be able to select Ranked Mode in the game mode selector and queue up during designated 8 hour time slots for both EU and NAE servers.
During this initial rollout of Ranked Mode availability will be limited to these 8-hour timeslots in order for us to iterate and improve on the experience following the live data, with the intention of rapidly increasing availability over subsequent weekends.
More info can be found on our dedicated Ranked Mode page
Draft Phase
When a match is found and you enter Hero draft, things work a little differently to our regular game mode.
The first screen you'll be met with is the Hero ban screen, where each team selects a single Hero to ban for the match. You and your teammates will all vote for one Hero you don't want to go up against, and the Hero with the most votes will be taken out of the subsequent selection screen. If two or more Heroes are tied on votes, the system will randomly pick one of them to ban.
The draft will then proceed as normal with one key difference: mirror picks are disabled. Once a player locks in a Hero they become the only player in the match that can play that specific Hero.
Once everyone has picked their Hero, the match begins!
Ranked Tiers
As mentioned before, winning matches will earn you VP (Victory Points), but losing matches will lose you VP too.
To be promoted into the next tier, you'll need to earn 100+ VP to enter into a promotion state.
If you win your next game while in a promotion state you'll be promoted to the next tier, carrying over any additional VP beyond the 100 you needed to level up.
If you lose this game, you'll of course lose some VP. If that loss takes you under 100 VP, you'll need to earn some more before getting a chance at a promotion again.
Example:
RGSACE is Rank Silver 1 with 110 VP and is now in a promotion state.
If he wins his next game, he'll be promoted into Gold 3 and carry over 10 VP plus the VP he earns during the promotion match.
If he loses, his VP will instead drop. Let's say he now only has 99 VP, meaning he'll need to play another match and win in order to get another chance at a Rank promotion.
Leaderboard & Prizes
Players who have over 100 VP in the Diamond 1 rank will #BecomeParagon and earn their rightful place on the Leaderboard (coming soon to our website).
Rewards will be distributed at the end of the season based on your highest rank achieved as well as your current rank at the time the season ends.
Ranked | Pre-Season 1
Ranked Mode is launching in Pre-Season 1, our first iteration of this new competitive game mode.
We have plans to add much more to the mode through the coming months as we progress towards the first official, full Season 1, such as an intent phase, Hero & Role swaps in Draft, and more!
As this is the first roll-out for Ranked Mode, your feedback is essential in helping us shape this competitive experience into the best mode possible for all players wanting to take on the challenge to #BecomeParagon. Please share your thoughts on our social platforms after you've played a few matches and let us know what you think Ranked Mode still needs over the next few months!
For more details, check out our dedicated Predecessor Ranked Mode page.
Note
◆ Everyone will start at the same Rank of Bronze 3 and work their way through the various ranks up to Paragon.
◆ Ranked Mode uses a different MMR to regular matchmaking. Everyone will start Ranked Mode at Bronze 3, the lowest Rank, and their matchmaking (based on their rank) will change from there.
Additional Changes
◆ Hero Gold Bounties now appear on the Scoreboard.
◆ Various Heroes have had their Recommended Items Updated.
Gameplay Balance Changes
Overview
◆ Tower Damage increased, Core Damage decreased.
◆ Inner Tower and Inhibitor Health decreased.
◆ Monster Health Scaling decreased.
◆ Outlier Hero adjustments.
◆ Marksman Crestline increased Attack Speed and Lifesteal.
◆ Several anti-Tank effects reduced in strength.
◆ On-hit Items effectiveness reduced.
◆ General buffs for several Tank items.
◆ Other Ability Haste redistributions for various items to allow for better build combinations.
All of this, plus loads of Hero & Item balance adjustments, Brawl balance changes and bug fixes! Check out the full patch notes right here to see all of the detailed changes!
That's everything for now Champions, what do you think?
Let us know your feedback over on our Discord server or the Predecessor Subreddit.
Until next time!
Steggs
Senior Community Manager @ Omeda Studios