“Voice skins” are also on the way.
When League of Legends launched, Barack Obama was in his first year as president, the Black Eyed Peas were dominating the airwaves, and the iPhone 3GS was cementing Apple’s status as a smartphone leader. In all the years since, the game has been played without team-wide voice chat. Now, after 17 years, Riot Games is finally adding it.
League of Legends is a game where split-second coordination can make all the difference. But until now, its built-in voice chat was limited to predefined groups: those who queued together before a match. Starting with patch 26.20, players in North America and Oceania can speak with anyone on their team. The company says other regions, including Korea, Latin America and Brazil, could follow if the early rollout goes well. (Brazil and Latin America are separate regions on Lolservers.)
The success of all this will largely depend on how Riot handles moderation. Will this actually lead to better planning, or just more venom? The company’s first guarantee against the latter is a demand of honor. Players will need to be Honor Level 3 or higher to speak; everyone just listens. For those who don’t know it, Honor is LeagueThe evaluation of player behavior: it changes depending on their behavior and the post-match vote. The company says it will continue to refine the system to “better reflect in-game behavior.”
“Voice skins” are also on the way, which allow you to change the way you speak in chat. The company says voice effects will remain understandable during chaotic combat. Riot hasn’t specified which skins will be available, but the game’s cast of characters would be a logical assumption. Riot says the patch also brings better noise cancellation, faster connections, and improved stability.
And how did the announcement go? League of Legends’ community known to be critical? Let’s say cautiously optimistic. “I’m glad they’re trying voice chat,” one user posted in the Lol subedit. “It may not work, but at least there was an attempt.” Another added: “I’m optimistic that voice chat will remind people that your teammates are human and lighten the mood.”
Elsewhere, says Riot LolThe next act will focus on music. The first music-related reveal is expected to arrive tomorrow. Hardcore gamers can follow all the updates in the video below.
