Season 3: Be Prepared

Riot has been slowly doling out bits and pieces of information regarding Season 3, and you may well have noticed a distinct lack of posts highlighting them. I've already indulged in pure speculation, and I'm avoiding any further vague prognostications until we have a complete picture. Once all the changes hit the PBE you can expect a quick review of my wildly inaccurate predictions, followed by more thoughtful analysis.

In the meantime, it's clear that the breadth and scope of the impending changes will result in a fair amount of chaos. Much of what you currently know about the game will suddenly be wrong, from viable junglers to competitive top lanes to proper AP builds and more. To adapt, players across the Elo spectrum will be forced to leave their comfort zones and venture into the unknown.

The first step in preparing for this age of upheaval is realizing there's no substitute for experience. Analysis and theory are a supplement to, not a replacement for, playing the game. Even the most incredible of theorycrafters must eventually test their models against the reality of the game itself. Being mentally prepared to dive headlong into the unknown is critical; if you become afraid to play you'll never adapt.

With that in mind, take the time to familiarize yourself with all the new changes before they hit the live servers. Once the changes are on the PBE you can expect websites such as surrenderat20.net to have comprehensive lists to review, and I'll obviously be doing my own analysis here. You don't want to be that player who sits in the fountain for the first few minutes of the game reading tooltips and gawking in confusion, so take advantage of the many resources out there before you're staring down opponents wielding powers you cannot comprehend, let alone combat.

If you've been following the news Season 3 looks to be an exciting time for League of Legends. Be prepared to approach the game with the same intrepid curiosity (though not the same innocence) as when you first played.