Yasuo’s on our radar as a champ who’s probably too strong at present. Now that we’ve got most of the pre-season follow up work done, we’ll be putting more focus back onto general champion balance. That means for patch 7.1 (the next patch we’re currently working, which will likely go out in early January) or 7.2 we’ll be looking at champs like Yasuo, Hecarim, Syndra, etc.

For Yasuo specifically the first job’s going to be an assessment of whether he’s performing better than he should for his intended strengths and weaknesses. That’s both in terms of time in game (e.g. laning/early strength versus late strength) and circumstance (e.g. when snowballed, or when paired with specific allies or against specific enemies). We haven’t started diving this yet, so there’s not much specifically to share. But Yasuo will probably show up in a patch note sooner rather than later.

Yes! We are definitely going to keep updating old splash art.

Like we said a few months ago , all champions selected for VGUs (Visual and Gameplay Updates) will continue to get their entire catalogue of splash art updated or refreshed. This is a standard that we set with Poppy late last year. Warwick is the next VGU on deck.

We are also going to continue retroactively updating the skin splashes of past VGUs and VUs that didn’t include them the first time around. This includes nearly every rework before Poppy. We’ve hit a lot of them already (Trundle, Tristana, Nidalee) but there are several left (currently, the next one slated is Karma). The reason we’re prioritizing past VGU skin splashes specifically is that there are often significant design differences between the splash and in-game model; after we fix these disparities, we will likely start prioritizing skin splash reworks based purely on their distance from our modern quality bar and style.

Lastly, you will occasionally see standalone base splash updates that aren’t tied to a VGU or any other content. There are a handful of base splashes left that do not meet our modern quality bar and we would love to update them in order to show a more unique, iconic and refined vision of the champion fantasy. A couple of recent examples are Darius and Fiddlesticks.

If I could bottle each champ into a fine perfume, here’s what I’d imagine:

Tickle your nose hairs with the unmistakable singed notes of gunpowder, twirled with an unexpected sweet kick of licorice, for a scent that’s sure to make you bite your lip in anticipation — for better or worse: JINX

Like a hard-earned cocktail of gasoline and soured milk, this wild cologne is just the slap in the face you need after a long day to wash away all the near-misses and remind you of blue skies and big clouds: CORKI

Wrap your arms around the silky notes of wet stone and lingering shampoo. Breathe in deep and never let go: TARIC

Just a couple dabs at the nape of your neck and the rusted metal bouquet of chains begins to awaken the kerosene undertones of this frightfully intoxicating scent. Give over to it: THRESH

From out of nowhere, the taste of leather tightens around your throat as you try to breathe. As you give in to your fate, the cool, soft scent of night-blooming jasmine drags you away: VAYNE

Like poking your head through a ring of smoke, woody tobacco wafts over you then dissipates, leaving only the refreshing lift of peppermint: GRAVES

Become unraveled with the haunting aroma of salt and bone. A scent so solitary and independent, it must be AMUMU.

How can spring and autumn happen all at once? Drape yourself in a blanket of violets and walk barefoot through a forest of fallen leaves, simply by opening a bottle of AHRI.