League of Legends Is Testing a Big Client Performance Upgrade

League of Legends got its latest patch this week which meant that there was plenty to look forward to in terms of buffs, nerfs, and changes otherwise, but it also meant that another test server update happened to preview what’s coming next. Part of that PBE update included an upgrade for the League client itself, a topic which has long been a point of discussion within the community among those who would like to see some of the client’s issues resolved.

That client update was announced on the LeaguePBE subreddit (via PCGamesN) where most of the changes coming to the PBE servers are catalogued. Within the post, QA Engineer Riot Aotus said that Riot Games “upgraded the Chromium version that the League Client runs on.” While the changes made in the latest patch on the live servers are much more apparent in-game because they directly affect gameplay, Riot Aotus said these client updates shouldn’t really be apparent through any visible changes – players should simply see the client running better on the PBE servers.

In the same post, the QA Engineer encouraged people to check out the client update on the test servers to see if everything is working as expected so that it can continue to be prepped for the live servers.

“However, we need to ensure that all areas of the League Client are still functioning as intended,” Riot Aotus said. “As you check out 11.17 on PBE, please keep an eye out for any bugs or unexpected behavior while interacting with the League Client. We are specifically looking for things that haven’t been seen on live and are new to the build (your best guess is totally fine too!).”

Riot Aotus also referenced the seventh Client Cleanup post from Riot Games where the team working on the client talked about different areas that were being worked on. There, the developers said that working on the Chromium Embedded Framework was “the single most impactful individual change” that could be made to the client.

“As mentioned last time, one of the big projects we’re working on is updating the client’s version of Chromium Embedded Framework (CEF)—the web browser at the heart of the League Client’s architecture,” the post said. “We understated its importance last time, so to be more direct. Updating CEF is the single most impactful individual change we can make to improve the client, both in terms of direct benefits and unlocking our ability to make other improvements.”

League’s new client update is now testing on the PBE before heading to live servers in the future.