Katarina 2012 Kit Coming to Classic
Riot is restoring Katarina's 2012-era kit for League Classic after PBE feedback. Season 3 cutoff, ability changes, and launch timeline explained.
Community Feedback Changes Katarina
When League Classic hit PBE on July 14, 2026, Riot initially included a post-2015 Katarina kit closer to her reworked identity. Classic players requested the 2012 version instead—the Death Lotus assassin with simpler dagger mechanics from early competitive League. Game Director FeralPony confirmed Riot will grant that wish in an upcoming PBE update per Insider Gaming and community dataminer reports.
The Katarina change exemplifies how PBE feedback shapes Classic before the July 29 Patch 26.15 launch. Track all PBE adjustments on PBE Feedback Updates including Classic Skin defaults, Season 3 content cutoff, and old voice-over restoration.
Season 3 Cutoff Tightened
Classic originally targeted a Season 4 cutoff with Yasuo as the era boundary, but PBE shipped content extending toward Season 5. Following feedback, FeralPony announced Riot is pulling the content cutoff back to Season 3 exclusively—making Classic even older and more authentic to the 2009–2013 greatest-hits vision on July Dev Blog.
FeralPony noted Riot may still dip forward into later seasons only when it makes a sizable improvement without disrupting muscle memory when switching between Classic and live League. The Yasuo line from Paul Bellezza's Polygon interview remains the philosophical boundary on Wave 2 / Patch 26.16.
What the 2012 Kit Means
2012 Katarina featured the iconic reset-on-kill Shunpo and Death Lotus teamfight assassination that defined Season 2–3 mid lane terror. Her simpler kit fits Classic's slower pacing and sharper carry snowball dynamics on Combat Pacing better than the reworked version with expanded mobility tools.
Katarina is not in the launch 60-champion roster on Champion Roster—she would arrive in a post-launch wave alongside Mordekaiser, Irelia, and Akali from Wave 2 / Patch 26.16. The 2012 kit decision sets the template for how Riot handles Council-requested champion versions on Champion Votes.
Other PBE Authenticity Updates
FeralPony also confirmed Classic uses the old bounty system with modern UI overlay—contrary to assumptions after the MSI showmatch. Riot is working to re-add as much original champion voice-over audio as licensing and asset archives allow.
Classic Skins are now free defaults for all champions that have them—see Classic Skins. Test Katarina and other kit changes on Classic PBE Guide before July 29 global launch on Date & Patch.