Riot Games has officially unveiled the details for Season 2 of League of Legends, and the spotlight is firmly on the region of Ionia. Themed around the fan-favorite Spirit Blossom universe, the new season introduces a lush, visually stunning Ionian map, several impactful gameplay changes, and refinements to some of the systems introduced in the Noxus themed Season 1.
Here is the full Dev Update video from the League Of Legends Youtube channel down below:
One of the biggest changes involves the demon Atakhan. Gone are his split forms as Season 2 now consolidates him into a single variant: Thornbound Atakhan. Tied narratively to LeBlanc and the Black Rose, this new form represents his captured state and brings more clarity and purpose to the objective. When slain, Atakhan now grants not only all remaining Bloody Roses on the map, but also purifies players’ Bloody Petals into Spirit Petals, amplifying their effects by 25%. Additionally, the Spiritual Purification buff rewards the slayer’s team with a powerful area effect upon takedowns that slows and damages enemies while dropping bonus Spirit Petals.
Riot is also slowing down early-game objective pacing. Void Grubs now only spawn once per game—later than before—to create more room for early laning. Rift Herald gets an earlier spawn at 15 minutes with reduced complexity and faster encounters by removing her “Gaze” mechanic. These changes aim to make objectives feel more deliberate and less overwhelming mid-game.
Bounties are also getting a philosophical overhaul. Riot wants to ensure bounties only reward comebacks, not punish early success. In Season 2, champion bounties will only appear if a team is clearly winning across gold, experience, and objectives. Additionally, base kill gold now scales slightly with level to subtly aid trailing teams, and bounty calculations have been tuned for better responsiveness.
On the quality-of-life front, Season 2 introduces role swapping in champ select, automatic Smite for junglers, and World Atlas for supports to reduce game-start errors. Lane swap penalties have also been refined and tied to support items, preventing abuse without impacting standard roam play.
Other notable changes include a new death screen with less gray and a “channel switch” option to spectate teammates, as well as new audio stingers for kill streaks inspired by Valorant, creating more satisfying feedback for multi-kill moments.
League's second season of the year kicks off with Patch 25.09, bringing both cosmetic and mechanical freshness to the Rift. With Ionia as the backdrop and Spirit Blossom energy in full bloom, Riot is aiming for both beauty and balance—just don’t forget to check the full patch notes before diving in.
What are your thoughts on the update? Are you excited for the next season of League Of Legends? Let us know your thoughts below, and as always stay tuned to Gamefragger.com for more video game news!