Lissandra, official ARAM map and more in LoL patch
Riot has released Lissandra, Freljord skins and Howling Abyss official ARAM map!
Winter has come, the fabled official ARAM (All Random All Mid) map for League of Legends has finally arrived in a massive patch. Accompanying the patch is a beautifully crafted promotion page introducing the lore around the three warring tribes of the frozen north. Perfectly timed for the release of the new champion Lissandra, the Ice Witch, and the redesigned Sejuani and Trundle.
The official ARAM map Howling Abyss has arrived in the winds of change. A tale of three tribes battling for the Freljord has unravelled; Avarosan, Winter's Claw and Frostguard. Pledge your allegiance to their leaders Ashe, Sejuani or Lissandra, respectively.
Jumping into the map myself. The differences to gameplay that I saw (though admittedly I don't play much ARAM) were the health nodes healing less, the platforms not healing, there is a global buff to mana regeneration and experience while healing is reduced by 20%, and the camera perspective is different due to the ground being lower - it takes a few rounds to get used to it.
In addition, a new system for rerolling your randomly selected champion has been introduced. playing games will not only net you IP, but it will also reward reroll points, 250 reroll points will give you one reroll, which randomly selects another champion if you didn't like the one you had.
The map itself is a piece of art. The shops are different, as you can see in the screenshot below, and the teams battle on a battered bridge hanging perilously over an abyss.
If you enjoyed the atmospheric music in the background while reading the lore on the promotion page, you will be happy to know the howling soundtrack is also in the backdrop of the map while playing. The sound of the northern wind flailing the chains hanging from the bridge really completes the feel of the map.
If you are subscribed to Riot on YouTube--you should be--you will have noticed they released not just a spotlight for the new champion Lissandra, but also a spotlight for Sejuani and Trundle, who have been redesigned to compliment the new Freljord lore. In addition, Blackfrost Anivia, Ice Drake Shyvana and Runeguard Volibear skins have been added.
Now all that's left to do is select one of the three tribe summoner icons in-game and win 10 games with it to unlock it permanently. Careful though, if you turn your back on the tribe by selecting another tribe icon you will reset back to 0 wins!
There are plenty of easter eggs hidden in plain sight, best go find them (or read community sites). Be sure not to miss the arty lore promotion page!