Patch 3.2: A Curious Journey Expansion & Balance Patch, Arcade Event & Skins

The upcoming Legends of Runeterra update brings a ton of new content to the game! First of all, the new expansion ‘A Curious Journey’ will add a total of 48 collectible cards, including 4 champions – Yuumi, Galio, Udyr, and Gnar.

In addition to that, the developers have announced that they also will be nerfing some of the most meta-defining staples, such as Ahri, Kinkou Wayfinder, Iceborn Legacy, and Wounded Whiteflame.

The release of Patch 3.2 also marks the beginning of the ‘Arcade Battle’ event, which will last until March 17th. It will feature an Event Pass, traditionally split into a Free and a Premium track, with heaps of rewards available to earn, including themed cosmetics and resources to boost your card collections.

As always in the case of big events like this, we’ll see the arrival of plenty of new skins. This time we’re getting Arcade Miss Fortune and Arcade Anivia at Epic tier with full animations, while Veigar, Hecarim, Quinn, Nocturne, Ziggs, and Gnar receive Arcade-themed skins of Common or Rare tiers.

However, what makes the ‘Arcade Battle’ Event special, is that the Premium Pass owners will be able to obtain the exclusive Battle Boss Veigar skin by reaching level 30 on the track and completing a special Veigar battle encounter.

Continue reading below to get all the details of what’s coming tomorrow with the release of the new version! Patch 3.2 will be playable at approximately 11AM PT, February 16. Official patch notes are also posted at PlayRuneterra.com.

Card Updates

Our next major set of card updates is scheduled for Patch 3.4.0 on March 30, but before then, as part of the launch of A Curious Journey, we wanted to take this as an opportunity to release a small number of balance changes, along with some additional comments & context from designer Alexzandros Lee!

The start of a new set is an exciting and wild time. A full-on fiesta of whatever craziness people want to jam into a deck and take into queue. Previous meta decks, however, tend to punish that. The goal of these changes is to help address those decks enough that players don’t feel punished for trying the new things, while also making sure that as the meta gets refined it doesn’t return to the old hotness.

2|3 → 2|2

Ahri’s been an elusive target to pin down for most decks. This change makes her more susceptible to targeted removal, and makes it easier to set up blocks against her that can take her out. It also means that if the Ahri player wants to keep her alive they’ll need to invest more resources in protecting her, which should strain their mana and open up windows to disrupt the rest of their board.

5 cost Burst Speed → 6 cost Focus Speed

We loved seeing the deck building that came about from this card but we want to make it a bit less abusable. The mana cost increase should push out how early it can be combo’d with other buffs, providing a bigger window for other decks to prepare for the onslaught of Poros / Spiders / Sand Soldiers, and of course Slotbots.

We’re also moving the spell speed to Focus. While this won’t impact winrate that much because it’s commonly used pre-combat to force lethal, this does help reduce some of the play against anxiety of potential “Surprise you’re dead” situations when they could use it as a combat trick.

2|4 → 2|3

Pantheon decks are already performing quite well, and with the release of A Curious Journey he is getting further support with Yuumi. This change is aimed at pulling out some power from the Fated package to give the deck room to flourish without becoming the de facto best deck by way of its natural predators getting weaker.

The reason for this change over others is that Whiteflame tends to be a core part of the Fated deck and can easily take over games with how quickly it can grow out of range of most removal. Reducing its health should provide a bigger window where the opponent can deal with it.

4 cost 2|3 Allegiance: Summon 2 different 1 cost allies from your deck. → 4-cost 3|3 Allegiance: Summon a 1 cost ally from your deck.

Kinkou has proven to be an absolute value engine monster when paired with repeat recall. While we don’t usually like hitting the same card multiple times if we can get away with it, it’s clear that Wayfinder is a key part of the more abusive plays we’ve seen from the Ahri/Kennen/Mono Ionia decks. This change should reduce how easily they can refill the board with value while also opening up the ability for players to consider other regions beyond splashing purely for combat tricks.

The Arcade Battle Event Pass arrives tomorrow with patch 3.2.0! Just like in previous events, you can collect exclusive themed rewards by leveling up on the Event Pass as soon as the patch drops, with additional rewards available if you purchase the Premium Event Pass.

New for the Arcade Battle Event Pass, all players (both on the Free and Premium Event Pass) will unlock a special encounter against Final Boss Veigar after reaching Level 3. Then, as a special treat for Premium Event Pass holders, completing the entire Event Pass will unlock a Special quest to defeat a super-powered Final Boss Veigar!

Defeating Veigar will earn you not only Veigar’s unending hatred, but also the Final Boss Veigar skin for your very own collection. Be wary though, this evil [little] Yordle has some tricks up his sleeve!

Level up your Event Pass by earning Arcade Tokens, which are earned from Quests. Friend Challenge and AI wins still count towards each Quest (unless otherwise noted). Event ends and pass expires March 17 at 10:00 a.m. PT. Get a look at the full list of rewards available in the Arcade Battle Event Pass below!

Arcade Event Pass Rewards

Cosmetics

Arcade Anivia (feat. new level-up animation)

Arcade Miss Fortune (feat. new level-up animation)

Arcade Quinn

Arcade Hecarim

Arcade Ziggs

Arcade Gnar

Arcade Nocturne

Final Boss Veigar

The Final Stage

The final boss awaits.

This board is always equipped with an exclusive Mega Robo-Veigar Guardian, interactive elements, special visual effects, and music.

Storm

Dark Storm

Hector

Voxel Chip

Bullet Birds

Arcade Anivia

Arcade Miss Fortune

Final Boss Veigar

Eject!

Rage Mode

Just You Wait

It’s Nothing

Miscellaneous

Gnar & Yuumi have been added as selectable champions in The Path of Champions.
Region Roads for Bandle City, Freljord, and Demacia have been extended.
New archetypes, champions, and cards from A Curious Journey have been added to Expeditions.
New Challenges and Quests have been added to introduce the keywords, archetypes, and champions being added in Magic Misadventures. Additional AI decks featuring cards added in the expansion have also been added to the Vs. AI opponent pool.
The ranked season for Magic Misadventures has concluded, and A Curious Journey is underway! Collect your ranked rewards depending on your performance, including an exclusive Magic Misadventures icon from the previous season in the Loot popup on the home screen.
Startup splash screen background has been changed from red to black based on player feedback

Bugfixes

Fixed an issue where Pantheon was gaining more keywords than intended on leveling up.
Fixed an issue where Sion’s card was not highlighted gold when level up conditions are met.
Fixed an issue where Buhru Sentinel and Burgeoning Sentinel were receiving buffs from Single Combat.
Fixed an issue where Station Archivist was only placing cards from the top five cards to the top of deck.
Fixed an issue where Zed’s Level 2 Living Shadow was not correctly copying itself..
Fixed an issue where Earthshaker was not doubling Impact after reaching four stacks.
Fixed some consistency and grammar issues with card text templating.