Rift Herald finally relevant after patch 7.9

Riot Games recently made huge changes to the Rift Herald buff in League of Legends to make it relevant in all levels of play.

The Rift Herald in League of Legends was initially introduced at the end of Season 5 as another objective for teams to play around. Prior to Patch 7.9, the Rift Herald spawned at 10 minutes in the Baron pit and provided a 20-minute buff. The buff provided a champion 5% damage reduction (while isolated), bonus damage after a small build up and the buff was retained even if you were killed.

Sadly, the Rift Herald introduced in Patch 5.22 didn’t really have that effect. The buff wasn’t worth the effort of contesting the objective. Rift Herald was usually only killed when a team’s top lane was dominating and there were no other available objectives. Clearly, something needed to be done.

Riot Games, always looking for ways to improve League of Legends and make every objective of the game a point of contention, introduced a huge buff to the Rift Herald.

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What does the new Rift Herald do?

The new Rift Herald, when defeated, drops the Eye of the Herald item. This buff will last until you use it or until 4 minutes pass. The Eye replaces the trinket for whoever picks it up.  Don’t worry, it’s only for the duration of the buff, but important not to forget. I’ve seen people go to ward/sweep only to use the Rift Herald by accident and blow the buff.

Eye of the Herald grants you the following:

• You have empowered recall (4 seconds instead of 8).
• After channeling the item for 3.5 seconds, it summons the Rift Herald to your location.

The Rift Herald will head to the closest lane and target minions and towers. When she gets close to a tower, she will charge up dealing 150 damage and 25% of her current health. The healthier she is, the more damage she does. Protect her and she will wreck towers for you. She will continue to attack until killed. It is also important to note that the Rift Herald is susceptible to all forms of crowd control.

Okay! I know all that! Now what?

Play around the Rift Herald as you would the dragons or any other objective. Having pressure in top lane and mid lane will make it easy to secure the Rift Herald. This will be easier if the enemy jungler is dead. As with the dragons, it’s best to have your jungler there to smite it for the kill so nobody steals it. I recommend giving the buff to your jungler – this will keep the enemy team guessing where the Rift Herald will pop up.

Don’t use it right away, but you only have four minutes so don’t let it expire.

Use it when:

• The opposing laner has backed or been killed.
• Your team has grouped to a single lane (usually mid).
• The enemy team is grouping by another objective (i.e. Dragon or another tower).

Waiting for one of these opportunities will help maximize the pressure you put on the lane.

Make sure you have a minion wave pushing when you summon the Rift Herald. If the tower you are attacking is low on life, even better.

Make sure you factor in any crowd control the enemy team has into your decision. If a Morgana can snare it outside of tower range and focus it down, that would be a waste. If their crowd control is away from the lane, that might be a good time to use it. They don’t have crowd control? Even better!

Next: A strategy guide in perfecting “The Tankmo”

With League of Legends constantly evolving, it is important for us, the players, to evolve with it. Learning to use the Rift Herald will give you, and your team, a good advantage in the game, and improve your chances of winning.