Three League of Legends Champions Unveiled at E3

At E3 this week, Riot Games unveiled three new champions that are coming to League of Legends: Yorick the Grave Digger, Leona the Radiant Dawn and Skarner the Crystal Vanguard. Yorick is noteworthy because he's the first champion to introduce the minion summoning mechanic to the game, while Leona is the first female who is truly built as a tank. Skarner excels at crowd control and focused attacks.

Keep reading after the jump for all the details on these three champions!

League of Legends Tribunal in Limited Release

We've been patiently waiting for the launch of League of Legends' Tribunal system since it was announced back in January. It looks like our wait is almost over because the Tribunal is now in limited release! If you're not familiar with the feature, it encourages players to look over harrassment reports and punish or pardon the alleged offender. Basically, it allows the community to moderate the behavior of its peers.

While Riot Games completes the finishing touches on the system in preparation for the full launch, all level 30 summoners are currently invited to use the Tribunal to pass judgment over their first few cases. For more details, watch the Tribunal tutorial video below.

A Buyer's Guide to League of Legends: Vayne!

It's been a while now since I last wrote a "Buyer's Guide to League of Legends," but when I heard that Riot Games would be introducing a new leather-clad, crossbow-wielding demon huntress, well, you can sure that I'd be there to check her out. Of course, like any new champion, there have been a lot of posts on the forums with players demanding nerfs and buffs, but if you just want to know if Vayne, the Night Hunter is worth your hard-earned Riot Points (or Influence Points), then read on!

League of Legends Facebook Reaches 1 Million Fans

League of Legends has surpassed 1 million fans on Facebook! To commemorate this social networking milestone, Riot Games has released a special edition Riot Girl Tristana desktop background, as seen above.

As of this writing, the League of Legends Facebook page already has 1,010,045 likes and it increases with every refresh. Are you one of the many fans?

League of Legends Patch 1.0.0.116 Preview Video

Riot Games has posted a video preview for League of Legends patch 1.0.0.116. Catchy, right? Anyway, the team has completed the Alistar remake (seen above), and Fiddlesticks is also receiving some pretty big changes. Watch the video below for more details.

Riot Offers Points as Compensation for Server Woes

If you're a League of Legends player, you may have noticed that there have been some recent issues with server stability. To compensate players for any lost time,  Riot Games is awarding players who have logged into the North American or European platforms in the past month 350 Riot Points. The points will take up to 72 hours to distribute, so be patient.

As for the server issues, the team said, "the stability of the PvP.net platform remains our number one priority, and we are constantly working to reduce service impacting issues such as these."

League of Legends Season 1 Championship Planned

Riot Games has announced the details for the finale of the League of Legends Season One Championship! Here's the rundown:

"It’s time to put Season One to rest… but not before we determine the best League of Legends team in the world and award over $100,000 in cash prizes! To do this, we’ll conclude the Season One Circuit on Monday, May 2nd and shortly afterwards determine the top teams from each region. After that we’ll fly the top eight teams from around the globe to Dreamhack Summer in Jönköping, Sweden, where they will compete over the course of 3 days – from June 18th to June 20th – until only one team remains. The Season One Championship will mark the official end to Season One and will be followed by an off season."

For more information, check out the video after the jump.

Riot Games Raises Over $160,000 for the Red Cross

Marc Merrill, president and co-founder of Riot Games, presenting the check to Paul Schulz, CEO of the LA Chapter of the American Red Cross.

From March 21-27, Riot Games committed 100% of the proceeds from purchases of the in-game champion Akali and the Nurse Akali skin to the American Red Cross to benefit the Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami fund. In less than a week, over 50,000 members of the League of Legends community contributed to the relief effort, generating $162,430.

It's amazing what gamers can do when they band together for a good cause. If you picked up Akali or her skin, you're a part of that massive check in the above image.

Riot Games Hosts Sale to Aid Japan Relief

In response to the devastating earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan, Riot Games will be donating 100% of the proceeds from the sales of a certain League of Legends champion and skin to the Red Cross. Here are the details:

"From now until 12:00pm on Sunday the 27th, all proceeds from the purchase of Nurse Akali or RP purchases of the champion Akali will be donated to the Red Cross to help those in need following this tragic occurrence. You’ll also find that we’ve placed the champion Akali – along with her alluring Nurse Akali skin – on sale for 50% off to encourage donations."

This is a great way to contribute to a good cause while adding to your League of Legends collection.

Co-op vs. AI Mode is Live in League of Legends

Riot Games just announced that the Co-op vs. AI game mode is now available in the League of Legends PvP.net client. Are you craftier than a robot? Queue up and find out!

For more details on the system, check out the official FAQ or watch some Riot team members take on the bots in the video after the jump.