After teasing earlier in the year that League of Legends’ jungle would soon host some pets that’d follow junglers around and assist them in and out of combat, Riot Games revealed our first look at these helpful critters this week in a preview of 2023 plans for the game. Three different jungle pets were revealed alongside a new Smite system called “Avatar Smites” which is attached to the jungle pet players choose and replaces the current Smite system which consists of Challenging Smite and Chilling Smite.
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The three pets are the Noxian Embercat, the Ixtali Ixamander, and the Ionian Cloudleaper. Players in the jungler role will buy one at the start of a match just as they would buy either Emberknife or Hailblade currently, and by killing monsters in the jungle, these pets get “treats” which allow them to upgrade the player’s Smite and grant players additional buffs.
“The jungle is a dangerous place and it’s dangerous to go alone, so take one of these jungle pets by purchasing them in the in-game shop as an egg!” Riot said. “These pets will acquire ‘treats’ through monster kills and slowly over time as the game progresses which will help them evolve. Once evolved, pets will give their owners Avatar buffs which empower them with different abilities.”
The first visuals for these jungle pets as well as more in-depth previews of what they can do can be seen below.
Jungle Pets
- Noxian Embercat: This will be the pet of choice for junglers looking to play more aggressively. It will provide slows and bonus damage.
- Ixtali Ixamander: This jungle pet is perfect for junglers looking to frontline and tank for their teams. It will provide a shield based on your health that provides bonus slow resist and Tenacity when broken.
- Ionian Cloudleaper: This jungle pet will be great for junglers looking to rotate and move around the map more quickly. It will provide bonus movement speed.
These new jungle pets and plenty of other changes will spend a good while on the PBE servers first before they’re released live, so expect to see these effects and their individual values tweaked over time.
