Riot Games Unveils Plans for Season 1: Prestige Skins, Mel Release, Esports Calendar, Game Mode Updates

Riot Games has unloaded onto us their latest Dev Update, detailing their plans for Season 1. They went over content to expect, the planned introduction and design of latest champion Mel Medarda, future plans for Seasons, expected new skins for champions, the LoL esports calendar, game mode updates, and so much more. Let’s get into it.

League of Legends Enters New Era with Season 1

As reported back in September, League of Legends will see 3 ‘uniquely-themed seasons’ each year with one ranked reset (taking place at the beginning of the year) tying it all together.

Each season will include a total of 8 patches, split into 2 acts. Furthermore, each act will have its own Battlepass. A small UI visual update will also take place, decluttering the home page on the launcher for better visual clarity on the season and new content.

Mel Medarda Enters Summoner’s Rift: New Mechanic, Projectile Reflection

Mel Medarda will be the 170th champion added to League of Legends. The last addition was, funnily enough, her mother, Ambessa, making this a touching reunion. With Mother’s Day coming up… well, there’s an idea there.

Mel Medarda is the next champion to land on Summoner's Rift. (Credit: Riot Games)

We already went over Mel’s reported abilities in another article, so check it out for more details on her abilities, and familiarize yourself with LoL’s newest champion before she touches down on Summoner’s Rift.

The important thing to know, though, is that she will be the first champion introduced with Projectile Reflection, a new mechanic.

Previously, we’ve had champions such as Yasuo, Braum, and Samira with Projectile Blocking. You throw something at them, say a rocket. Rocket gets blocked. Projectile Reflection will take said rocket and throw it back in your face.

Mel's ability 'Rebuttal' will be the first ability with the Projectile Reflection mechanic. (Credit: Riot Games)

Riot also confirmed that the reflected projectile will carry the same properties of the original cast. An Annie Disintegrate with her passive Pyromania will return to stun her instead, for instance.

Mel will be unlockable for free as one of the seasonal missions for Season 1. She is set to release in Patch 25.S1.2 or Patch 15.2 if you’re old-school, so keep an eye out!

Seasons: Where to Next?

According to the season lead and creative director for League of Legends, the strong reception to the metagame “The Spirit of the Hearth-Home” back in May 2024 to introduce Aurora has encouraged the team to produce more content like it.

Aurora was first introduced in "Spirits of Hearth Home", paving the way for future champion teasers and introductions in a similar manner. (Credit: Riot Games)

In their short section, they hinted at the creation of a new genre of minigame, for us to expect later this year.

More importantly, they touched on the adoption of the new seasons system, discussing the thematic elements that came with ‘Welcome to Noxus’ as well as the possibilities of where they could head to next. They made special mention of the possibility of Alternate Universes as a possible future destination for Seasons to visit, so, it is entirely possible one of the many worlds that the skinlines inhabit could be a future inspiration.

LeBlanc Visual Rework

After the visual rework of Viktor, the Machine Herald, to bring him more in line with his Arcane counterpart, Riot has taken it upon themselves to visit LeBlanc next.

The head of the Black Rose has long needed a visual update and there seemed no better time than while visiting Noxus this season. Thankfully initial looks into the VGU have been met with significantly more positive responses compared to when Viktor received his.

LeBlanc is receiving a visual update in 2025. (Credit: Riot Games)

4 Confirmed Prestige Skins for 2025

Season 1 ‘Welcome to Noxus’ has already revealed the Masque of the Black Rose Skinline, with Ezreal, Elise, Samira, Renata Glasc, Vladimir, and Katarina. However, it has also been revealed in the latest update, that along with Katarina’s confirmed prestige, Darius will also be receiving a prestige skin.

Katarina and Darius will receive Prestige skins in 2025, unlockable through the Battlepass. (Credit: Riot Games)

Both prestige skins will be earnable through the Battlepass. Whether that will be on the paid track or free has not been confirmed. Moreover, Cassiopeia and Qiyana will also be receiving Prestige skins this year. Both champions’ prestige skins will be purchasable with Mythic Essence.

Cassiopeia and Qiyana are also set to receive Prestige skins in 2025, unlockable through Mythic Essence. (Credit: Riot Games)

Older thematic skinlines will also see a return. Cafe Cuties was named in particular as one line confirmed to return in 2025. This is Riot’s answer to delivering non-seasonally tied skins with the seasons format.

Shaco will receive his first legendary skin, and it will be cat-themed. Riot staff even got some of their cats to act as vocal talent, making it truly one-of-a-kind. It was also confirmed that despite there being only 1 rank reset, there will still be 3 Victorious skins. They will remain their own thematic, unaffected by the season.

Shaco is set to receive his first Legendary skin in 2025. (Credit: Riot Games)

New Exalted Skin for Sett and Mordekaiser

Sett and Mordekaiser are the two champions confirmed to be receiving Exalted skins this year. The introduction of Arcane Fractured Jinx last year was the first in the new Exalted skinline, the new highest tier for League of Legends skins.

Riot has confirmed that Radiant Serpent Sett will be the first exalted skin of 2025, inspired by the Lunar Year of the Snake. The other champion set to receive an exalted skin is Mordekaiser, however, they haven’t given many clues on what shape that could take. The one hint they gave?

“He’s going to be coming to the rift in a way that Runeterra hasn’t seen in like a bajillion years.”

Perhaps some super sleuths out there will figure it out, but we at Strafe are pretty stumped.

Sett is the second champion to receive an Exalted skin. (Credit: Riot Games)

Updated Calendar for LoL Esports

As previously reported, Split 1 for all major leagues will be utilizing Fearless Draft. First Stand, the new first international tournament of the season, will also utilize Fearless Draft. Riot has confirmed that the winning team for this event, will earn a second bye for their region for MSI.

This will allow that second team to also advance straight to the Bracket Stage of MSI 2025. First Stand is set to take place in LoL Park Korea this year, followed by MSI in Canada. Confirmation has also come through for Worlds 2025. Play-Ins and Swiss Stage will be in Beijing, Quarterfinals and Semifinals in Shanghai, and the Grand Finals will be held in Chengdu.

Furthermore, here’s a brief calendar for international events for 2026 and 2027.

• 2026
  • First Stand: Brazil
  • MSI 2026: South Korea
  • Worlds 2026: North America
• 2027
  • First Stand: South East Asia
  • MSI 2027: Europe
  • Worlds 2027: South Korea

Check out our article here for the starting times of all the major leagues this year. Don’t miss the opening matches for your region!

Game Mode Updates: Rotation and Arena

Firstly, Riot has now decided to make a guarantee that there will always be an additional game mode available for players, besides Summoner’s Rift and ARAM. This first rotation will see the return of ARURF (All Random Ultra Rapid Fire).

Furthermore, Arena will be getting massive updates as well, firstly to match it thematically to this season, as well as to introduce the new mechanic, Guest of Honor.

Visually, Arena will be updated to reflect the Noxus theme of Season 1, with Gladiator Pits entering as the inspiration for the new look. The new Guest of Honor mechanic will allow players to vote on a famous Noxian to alter the rules for that game, replacing the previous cameos mechanic.

Noxus' Gladiator Pits will be making an appearance in this Season's Arena. (Credit: Riot Games)

Ultimately, 2025 promises to be an exciting year for League of Legends. With such a long list of changes coming to the game, we can't wait to find out what new directions Riot Games have in store for us for the remainder of the year!

Follow Strafe Esports for all the latest League news and our X account for the latest content and coverages. Also, stay tuned to Strafe YouTube for exclusive interviews, press conferences, and more.

Featured Image Credit: Riot Games

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