League of Legends Voice Chat for Premade Parties Is Almost Ready

League of Legends' first and only form of native voice chat is now on the PBE for testing with a release coming within the next few patches.

The voice chat option will allow players to communicate with their premade teammates without the need for a third-party option, thus keeping everything in one spot and perhaps reducing strain on more needy computers. But for those who don't want to have their teammates screaming at them about failed ganks and missed skillshots, don't fret. Voice chat is only coming to premade parties, so unless you choose to lobby up with some friends or other online players, you won't have to listen or talk to your teammates.

"Premade voice is a voice chat system that you will join automatically once you enter a party with another person," Riot Chupaacabra said. "This means you won't be in a Voice channel with someone unless they are specifically in your party - you won't be able to talk to randos in your game who aren't in your party."

The new feature also comes with a special voice panel that'll be added to the tool bar just beneath players' lists of friends and next to the missions and chat boxes. Opening the panel will show everyone that's currently in the party who's participating in the voice chat alongside a volume bar for each player so that the rowdier teammates can be taken down a notch to everyone else's level. A voice symbol will also show when players in the party are talking so you can know who's saying what or who's got the annoying humming mic.

Once players get in the actual game, the voice panel will be shown right next to the mini-map much like it is in the lobbies. Clicking the voice button will open a the panel just as if players were checking their runes or stats with the same volume bars.

The voice chat feature is currently being tested on the PBE, but it won't be coming in Patch 8.5. An exact release patch has not been given, but Riot Chupaacabra said that it's not far from its release.