2XKO Closed Beta patch notes

2XKO's Closed Beta experience will be the first real test of the game for fans on PC, and it will include plenty of key changes from the last alpha.

Before diving deep into the changelog (it's long), let's take a look at the major highlights of the new patch. The closed beta will have new champions, game modes, and more for the chosen players to enjoy.

Table of contents

• 2XKO Closed Beta Champion updates
  • Ahri
  • Braum
  • Darius
  • Ekko
  • Illaoi
  • Jinx
  • Yasuo
  • Vi

2XKO Closed Beta patch notes highlights

If you have played the earlier Alphas, Beta will feel different. At the heart of the new content are fresh champions for players to get, but there's more waiting for them to explore.

New Champions

Blitzcrank will be playable for the first time, as revealed earlier this month. Similarly, Vi will be another new champion on the roster. The existing list will feature Ahri, Braum, Darius, Ekko, Illaoi, and Yasuo, and they will be available by default. Jinx, Vi, and Blitzcrank can be unlocked using Credits or Champion Tokens. While Credits are earned by completing missions, Champion Tokens are obtained after completing the First Fight tutorial.

https://youtu.be/m7YGL0I-00w

Champion Mastery

Prepare to take on champion-specific missions to obtain unique rewards. The Closed Beta will have the following set of rewards available for every champion.

• A full set of avatar clothing. This can contain 5-7 pieces depending on the champion.
• 4 player titles.
• 4 stickers.
• 1 animated sticker.
• 2 player cards.
• 3 champion taunts.
• 1 Mastery chroma.

Additionally, you can experience Replays and go through dedicated Tutorials within the client using the Learn tab.

Game modes

https://youtu.be/EtNwvBo8QcI

One of the most significant additions to the Closed Beta is the Offline modes. These modes will be helpful for competitive scenes, allowing players to organize tournaments. The Closed Beta also features a Ranked mode starting on Sept. 18.

Cosmetics

Different cosmetic items will be unlocked and obtained during the Closed Beta. While there won't be any skins for Champions, you can use Credits to purchase other Cosmetics, namely:

• Different Chromas for Champions to choose from.
• Player Cards will allow you to customize your player profile and how they appear.
• All stages except Annihilator's Reach are unlocked by default. However, Annihilator's Reach can be purchased and unlocked from the Collection tab.
• More taunts can be unlocked from Champion Mastery.

2XKO Closed Beta Core Gameplay changes

Based on the players' feedback from Alpha Lab 2, the core gameplay will have plenty of changes. The changes can be broken down into four key areas:

• Better match pacing.
• Better counterplay for certain defensive options
• Better comeback potential via adjusted Fury and Break meter generation.
• Tweaks to gray health generation and Super meter rules for better engagement.

Super Meter

• Super meter resets between rounds. By default, teams start each round with one bar of Super meter.
  • If a team is using Juggernaut or Sidekick Fuse, they'll start each round with two bars of Super meter.
• After a successful parry, damage scaling on the next hit landed is now slightly reduced. (It'll deal a bit more damage than it did before.)
• Low parry no longer applies damage scaling to the next hit landed.

Break Meter

• Break meter now starts at 75%.
• Break meter bonus while getting hit by long combos has been increased.
• Break meter bonus no longer increases during Handshake Tags or cinematics.
• On champion KO, no longer receives bonus 50% Break meter.

Defense Tools

• Backdashing, jump blocking, Retreating Guard, and pushblock are all slightly less powerful.
  • Pushblock now has a longer cooldown, and the pushback distance has been decreased.
  • Retreating Guard travel distance has been decreased.
• All attacks from Assist champions are now mid attacks. (i.e. Assists can never be low or overhead.)
• Counter hits now grant meter, a damage boost, and additive hit stun.
• Counterhit  and  attacks now grant an untechable state against airborne opponents.
• Counterhit  attacks now grant additional air hit stun.
• Fury Break has been buffed. Duration, chip damage from normal and special attacks, ground speed, and defense boosts have all been increased.
• Crossup protection has been reduced from three frames to one frame.
• Get-up attack is now easier to punish from an air block.

Additional Changes

• Gray health (champion health that can regenerate while tagged out) recovers more slowly.
• Attacks generate less gray health overall.
• Super damage and minimum scaling (the floor for how much an attack can deal after being reduced by damage scaling) has been increased.
•  and  attack proration (damage reduction on hitting the same move repeatedly within one combo) has been reduced.
• When Assist champions take damage, 75% is dealt as gray health. The rest is unrecoverable. (Previously, 100% of damage to Assist champions was dealt as gray health.)
• Throws deal more damage, have a longer recovery time, and cause a counter hit state on whiff.
• Throwable volumes are more consistent.
• Throws now have new visual effects to show the tech window more clearly.
• Forward and air throws now cause a hard knockdown. Grounded recovery rolls can now be thrown.
• Limit Strike no longer causes a hard knockdown.
• Air throw landing recovery has been reduced.
• Air throws are now consistent across champions and hit slightly behind.
• You can no longer Handshake Tag when a throw doesn't connect with an opponent.
• Chain-dashing is easier.
• Backdash travel distances have been reduced for all champions.
• Jump startup has been slowed from three to four frames
• Timing restriction on Double Down has been removed. (You can now enter Double Down at any time during the point champion's Super.)
• Juggernaut Fuse has been buffed.
  • While using Juggernaut, gain more Break meter on a clean hit. Pushblock now costs Break meter instead of Super meter, and pushblocking pushes both champions.
  • On a clean Eject hit, the Juggernaut player will recover a small amount of gray health. The Ejected opponent will lose a large amount of their gray health.

Quality of Life

• When landing an attack, pressing ( Dash,  parry, etc.) will now properly result in a Parry or Dash, rather than another attack.
• You can now enter Training mode directly from any online lobby by opening the menu. This also works when in a duo. Doing this will remove you from the lobby you were in.
• When queue times are long, our matchmaking system will look for opponents from other lobbies. If you find a match this way, you'll see a hologram of your opponent's avatar in your lobby.
• You can now enter the Casual or Ranked lobby directly from Training mode by opening the menu. This also works when in a duo.
  • Known bug: if you enter Training mode from the main menu and choose "Go to Casual Lobby" or "Go to Ranked Lobby" from the Training mode menu, you'll return to the main menu. These options only work if you use them in a Casual or Ranked lobby.
• The controls menu has been completely revamped. Remapping controls should take less time across any compatible peripheral.
• In-game player reporting is now enabled. It can be accessed from the Avatar Interaction menu in lobbies, Match History, the Social panel, and chat messages.
• In-game player blocking is now enabled. It can be accessed from the Avatar Interaction menu and Match History.

2XKO Closed Beta Champion updates

While there are two new Champions, the older ones would also feel different from the last time you played them in Alpha Lab 2.

Ahri

• Air normals have received hitbox adjustments.
  • Mid-air  is slightly worse, mid-air  is slightly better, and mid-air  is more stable and more consistent with visuals.
• Stalking Dart () now shoots straight forward after a delay, instead of tracking opponents.
• Wild Flares () now causes the opponent to enter a tumble state.
• Bounce! () startup has been reduced.
• Charm () can now be used in the air.
• Charm () now projectile pierces Assists and other projectiles.
• Charm () has a brand new cinematic.

Braum

• Health has been slightly reduced.
•  and  attack recovery has been reduced.
  • Braum should be strongest with a proactive teammate, but his neutral was a bit too risky to survive on his own.
• Concussive Blow () startup has been reduced.
• Fight, Mighty One () startup has been significantly increased.
  • Unbreakable version now causes crumple.

Darius

• Health has been slightly reduced.
• Cut Down () has a new animation that's harder to read. (It's not actually faster. Let the reaction wars begin.)
• Cut Down () is cancelable into supers
• Grievous Wheel (previously ) has been moved to  and now has a shockwave projectile.
  • This makes it harder to safely mash Darius's reversal on defense, while making room for his new projectile.
• When playing on the Noxus stage, additional soldier NPCs will spawn in the background.

Ekko

• Mid-air [] now pulls in grounded opponents on block.
• Flip It () startup has been reduced.
• Attempt #37 () has a brand new cinematic
• Charged Chronostrike ([]) now passes through opponents on block, and is now -1 on block.
  • We wanted to give Ekko more sauce and decided that enabling this was both really fun and had adequate counterplay with Retreating Guard, team pushblock, and reversal throw.
• Chronobreak ([]) is now safe on block.
• Phase Dive (/[]) now passes through opponents in the corner.
• Timewinder no longer hits knocked-down opponents.
  • Previously, Timewinder hitting knocked-down opponents made Ekko's more advanced combos drop based on slight timing differences, and this move OTGing was never a good situation for Ekko.
  • This change makes his combos more stable and leads to fewer frustrating drops.

Illaoi

• Health has been slightly reduced.
• , , and Riptide () have been nerfed by reducing distance traveled and increasing the amount of time that hurtboxes linger.
  • Illaoi shouldn't rely on these moves so zealously.
• Harsh Lesson () startup has been reduced.
• From the Depths () can now be charged to have Nagakabouros strike from below at any distance, which tracks the opponent's position and summons a tentacle on contact.
  • This change keeps opponents on their toes and gives Illaoi more access to tentacles, so she's less feast-or-famine.

Jinx

• Watch Your Head! () is slightly faster, and is now cancelable into specials on hit.
• Fly Clappy, Fly! () and Flame Chompers! () have less recovery.
  • Clappy (monkey bomb) and Chompers (bomb with teeth…?) were powerful, but it was hard to justify using them over using jump-back Fishbones! These changes make Clappy and Chomper more useful in neutral and open up more combo applications.
• Clappy will no longer trigger on knocked-down opponents, and if it happens to occur, it will OTG.
  • We want Clappy to help your combos, not hurt them!
• Flame Chompers! () cannot hit until landing and activating. The tossed version took up too much space for the impact it has on contact, especially in her Assist.
• Flame Chompers Assist ( or ) now uses the "kick" version of Chompers as opposed to the "toss" version.
  • This increases Jinx's corner pressure and mixup potential, and being able to juggle Chompers midscreen allows for more fun teamplay interactions.
• You can now hold  or  during Fishbones, Hop! (, any variation) to adjust the launch arc.
• Zaaaapp! ( Super) now hits OTG.

Yasuo

• Sweeping Blade ([]) charge startup has been reduced, and it now steals corner.
• Recovery of Calm () movement follow-ups—Zephyr Step ( > ) and Updraft ( > )—has been reduced.
• Turbulent Wind () projectile has received visual and behavior cleanups to address weird edge cases.
• Windwall and Turbulent Wind (, ) whirlwind now hits OTG. Cool new routes!
• Launcher adjustments.  forward movement range has been decreased, and its recovery has been increased.
  • This was a very strong button, which sometimes failed in a primary intended use case (anti-air); both should be more in line now.

Vi

• Vi's damage at Evo was pretty wild. We've normalized her damage, particularly around normals, Footwork () suite, Crater Maker (), and Crater Maker Assist ().
• Blast Shield () leading to a combo was problematic. The intended follow-up is now Relentless Force ( Super).
• Footwork > Hook ( > L) was too strong in neutral with too little recovery. It now has more recovery.
  • We want players to dodge and weave, but Hook was too abuseable.
• Footwork > Knuckle Down ( > ) can now be properly anti-aired with .

The post 2XKO Closed Beta patch notes appeared first on Destructoid.