League of Legends is finally getting an updated client and a bunch of social features that allow players to set up clubs and parties.
League of Legends' client has been in the tooth for quite some time. Since Riot Games expects to make other games in the future, LoL's new client will be supporting those future titles, too.
"The League client was definitely built with League of Legends in mind, that's our game and that's what we're trying to showcase here. In the future, we also view it as being the Riot-level platform. When we do have multiple games, players will experience them all through this similar platform. Even if your friends are in other games, you'll still be able to have things like chat channels and clubs go across all the games," says Greg Street, lead game designer for League of Legends.
When LoL friends do get together, Clubs and Parties is where they'll be at in the game. In the future update to League, new social features will make it easier for friends to have more fun playing together.
First, a new club system will be available for players to take advantage of, where they create the Club name, decide who becomes a part of it, and pretty much control every other aspect of their digital social circle within LoL.
Players are also free to join as many clubs as possible - there is no limit. One could be a part of a super hardcore Club of League players and still be a member of a more casual Club of players that just get together once a week for some light gaming.
To keep in touch with friends across a multitude of Clubs, Riot built in a persistent chat room that spreads across log-in sessions with a player's clubmates. It's a feature that naturally makes it easier to set up games. At the same time, members who do become a difficult part of the club community can also be kicked out by Club Leaders. For the time being, Riot says Clubs will have a 100-member limit.
Besidies clubbing, League of Legends' parties can be set up so that LoL friends can stick together between games. Unlike Clubs, one player can host a party and invite friends to a group chat that persists throughout games but not log-in sessions. After a game, parties can still stick together, keep their group chat and go for another round at the Rift.
Parties are public by default so a player's friends will see a player's party in their friend's list, making it easier for everyone to jump in together in a few clicks. Like Clubs, Party Leaders can close parties and make them invite-only.
Besides a new client and new social features, League of Legends will also soon have an accompanying mobile app dubbed the League of League Friends App. The app syncs conversations across all devices so no one ever misses a beat of trash talk, and of course, features push notifications to ensure no friends are ever left out of a late night game.
