On the evening of October 8th, Riot released more information about the mechanics that will appear in the Pre-Season 2022 phase. According to Riot, this will focus on enhancing the overall power of all types of meta. In addition to adding new items, what the League of Legends community is most interested in is Riot’s announcement of the introduction of 2 new Elemental Dragon buffs: Hextech Dragon and Chemtech Dragon.
For Hextech Dragon, when players defeat this dragon, they will receive skill cooldown reduction and attack speed. Upon obtaining the Dragon Soul, the entire team will receive an additional electric bolt that slows down similar to the previous Statikk Shiv. If Hextech Dragon alters the terrain, it will create technology gates, which can be likened to Bard’s Magical Journey but at a higher upgrade level.
Regarding Chemtech Dragon, this buff is described by Riot as a dark version of Hextech Dragon. Upon defeating Chemtech Dragon, the entire team will gain increased damage when low on health. When obtaining the Dragon Soul, defeated players can shift into a Zombie state for a short duration. In this state, players can still use abilities and continue to fight, but the screen will turn gray similar to when you have “fallen”. When Chemtech Dragon alters the terrain, Riot describes this dragon buff as polluting the ground and creating camouflage zones. Many gamers joke that Riot has “lightly buffed” Rengar, as the Thrill of the Hunt particularly enjoys the camouflaged corners of the map, especially the bushes.
With the addition of the new Dragon buffs, Riot Games continues to deliver a Pre-Season filled with major changes. Not to mention the tweaks to Mythic items that have been hinted at earlier, the addition of 2 new Dragon buffs can significantly alter many metas in League of Legends, as Dragon buffs have been a mechanic that has existed for a long time and greatly influence gameplay in League of Legends. Moreover, many experts even evaluate Dragon buffs as more important than Baron, as this buff lasts throughout the match and the benefits it provides can be truly game-changing, potentially altering the battle instantly.