League of Legends Season 10 officially begins January 10th. Let’s look at a couple of big off-season changes and how they’ll affect your solo queue adventures going forward! Most of these changes are by no means monumental, but that doesn’t mean there’s not much to break down or that the game won’t feel different in 2020. On the contrary.

Riot wants to make the 10th season as flexible as possible (meta-wise) and allow the millions of players across the globe the freedom to experiment and still find success. It positively impacts casual and professional play, so we’re looking forward to seeing what players can come up with!

With yet another exciting season ahead, prepare well and study the many updates to have the best chance of finding success in your placement matches!

A Different Kind of Map

Upon spawning on the Summoner’s Rift, you’ll find the map slightly different than it was in 2019. It’ll still feel like home, but these smaller differences could end up affecting your overall experience.

First, you’ll notice side lane alcoves. They don’t necessarily change the laning phase. But, if you use them in the best possible way you could escape an incoming gank or capitalize through some creative Fog of War action.

If you’re a jungler, you’ll find that your prior pathing tendencies might not be as effective as they once were. Riot adjusted camp XP and gold gains, which means you’ll have to adapt as well. Again, nothing monumental, but things will feel different.

You’ll also find a new brush in the top and bottom lane. Much like alcoves, they don’t change much, but if you’re crafty with Flashes/dashes, you can certainly use them to your advantage.

New Season Brings New Items

You’ll also find a couple of new Lethality-based items. This might not be of any interest if you’re not maining assassins or bruisers. However, it’s still important to understand everything that was released. You don’t want to get one-shot out of anywhere because you couldn’t anticipate/quantify incoming damage.

You also find that all starting support items changed considerably. How this affects the meta remains to be seen, but it’s a much-needed push in the right direction.

A New Champion Enters the Fray

The beginning of League of Legends Season 10 also coincides with the release of yet another champion (Riot’s third in just as many months). Sett is a top lane bruiser who thrives in the heat of battle. He’s not exactly the most complex champion in the world, but he brings a ton of bravado and ease-of-use. It’s certainly a refreshing change of pace after a string of bafflingly complex releases.

Speaking of bafflingly complex releases, you’ll also see a brand-new marksman in the bottom lane Aphelios, equipped with multiple lethal weapons. If you don’t study his stacked ability kit you’ll get obliterated either in close combat or from afar.

If, however, you want to learn more about Sett and his interesting brawling playstyle, you can check our Sett champion breakdown. Sett joins the fight on January 8 with the release of patch 10.1.