Three years ago, League of Legends history was made when Gangplank died.
It was the thematic culmination of Riot’s Bilgewater: Burning Tides event, in which all sorts of scoundrels played out a dark fantasy of piracy and revenge. It was one of League’s best events, combining a fun storyline with a ton of new in-game elements that gave the game a major lift. And now, with a new Bilgewater champion coming down the pike, Riot has teased another Bilgewater event for this summer called Curse of the Drowned.
Not many additional details were released in the post on Riot’s developer blog, however. Most of the post concerns upcoming changes to the ARAM game mode, which desperately needs a refresh. We don’t even have an exact timeline, although the last event took place in the latter half of July 2015. For now, it looks like the bulk of the event will be focused on the ARAM game mode, including some event-only tweaks to runes and items.
Related: Big changes coming to League’s ARAM mode in Patch 8.11
The last Bilgewater event was a tremendous success. In addition to a ton of new lore, players got access to more skins, a revamped ARAM map, and unique mission rewards. And in the middle of it was Gangplank, who was actually disabled from the game after Miss Fortune killed him in cold blood. The event was one of the best Riot has held for League, and it would be amazing to see that amount of content and creativity return to the game this summer.
Start practicing Graves, Illaoi, Twisted Fate, and the other Bilgewater champions, and don’t forget to learn a few tricks on Pyke as well. League’s next event could be right around the corner.