Riot will make changes to new item icons after community backlash

League of Legends players have voiced strong concerns about the visual clarity of recently introduced item icons during the preseason updates. Many community members reported significant challenges in quickly distinguishing between different items during intense gameplay situations.

The core issue stems from excessive visual similarity between multiple item icons, creating confusion during critical decision-making moments. This problem becomes particularly pronounced when players need to make rapid item purchases or upgrades in the heat of battle.

Gameplay design director Mark “Scuffy” Yetter confirmed that Riot has taken immediate action based on this player feedback. The development team recognized that icon differentiation directly impacts gameplay quality and player experience.

Our first pass of adjustments to item icons based on your feedback.

Goal is to improve:
-Icon clarity (clearer silhouette, less noise)
-Icon differentiation (more color separation)|
-Rendering polish

Here’s a preview of the work in progress: pic.twitter.com/O5A32je4FH

— Mark Yetter (@MarkYetter) November 17, 2020

Riot’s redesign initiative targets three specific areas where current icons fall short. First, silhouette clarity ensures players can recognize items at a glance without reading text descriptions. Second, color separation helps create distinct visual identities for different item categories and build paths.

The rendering polish component addresses technical visual quality, ensuring icons maintain their integrity across different display settings and resolutions. This comprehensive approach demonstrates Riot’s understanding that visual design directly affects gameplay functionality.

From a technical perspective, the improvements focus on reducing visual noise that can obscure key identifying features. This is particularly important for new players learning item builds or veterans adapting to meta changes.

Professional game UI designers emphasize that effective icon design requires balancing aesthetic appeal with functional clarity. Overly complex icons may look impressive in isolation but fail during actual gameplay when scaled down and viewed quickly.

The initial preview showcases adjustments to 58 different item icons, with potential for additional revisions based on ongoing community testing. The scale of this update reflects how widespread the icon recognition issues were across the item ecosystem.

Early results demonstrate measurable improvements in icon distinguishability. The updated designs feature stronger shape differentiation and more intentional color coding systems.

When scaled to in-game shop dimensions, the revised icons maintain their distinctive features much more effectively. This addresses one of the most common complaints where original icons became blurry or indistinguishable at smaller sizes.

For optimal item recognition, experienced players recommend focusing on silhouette shapes first, then color coding, and finally specific details. This hierarchical visual processing approach becomes second nature with properly designed icons.

This icon overhaul represents just one aspect of Riot’s comprehensive preseason feedback response. The development team has maintained an aggressive schedule of hotfixes addressing both visual issues and gameplay balance concerns.

The upcoming Patch 10.24 will incorporate these visual improvements alongside targeted champion adjustments and item balancing changes. This integrated approach ensures consistency across the gameplay experience.

Mark Yetter’s preview of Patch 10.24 indicates substantial changes are still underway. The inclusion of Amumu adjustments and Cosmic Drive modifications suggests broader systemic refinements beyond just visual elements.

10.24 Preview with changes
-A few additions (Amumu, Cosmic Drive, Icons)
-It’s so much that we needed 2 images

Keep the feedback coming, were steadily moving closer to a stable state, pace feels pretty good so far. pic.twitter.com/RQUqfeUiXS

— Mark Yetter (@MarkYetter) November 17, 2020

This rapid iteration cycle demonstrates Riot’s commitment to community-driven development. Players providing specific, actionable feedback can directly influence game improvements during these preseason adjustment periods.

No reproduction without permission：Games Guides Website » Riot will make changes to new item icons after community backlash Riot Games responds to community feedback by overhauling 58 item icons for better clarity and gameplay experience