Predecessor 1.18 adds Kaelen, a frost knight, plus a fast limited-time mode and a new Master rank

Omeda Studios has released Update 1.18, called Frostbite, for its free-to-play MOBA Predecessor. It's live now and has three main parts: a new hero, a short-lived mode built for quick fights, and changes at the top of the Ranked ladder.

The hero is Kaelen, a knight from the far north who fights with two greatswords and carries a wolf curse. His kit is built around ice: his abilities leave patches of Rimeglass on the ground, and enemies standing on it are slowed and take damage based on their maximum health. His spinning attack can't be stopped by stuns, he has a dash that roots enemies already affected by frost, and his ultimate sends him into the air for a few seconds before he crashes down and leaves a frost storm behind. Omeda is also giving the Wolf Conservation Center 10% of what Kaelen's Quantum skin and its bundles sell.

Overclocked is the limited-time mode. Abilities cost no mana or energy, gold and XP come in far faster, recall is always the empowered version and jump pads fling you towards the furthest tower in a lane. Omeda puts a typical match at 14 to 20 minutes.

In Ranked, Split 5 has finished and Split 6 has started, with end-of-split rewards handed out based on each player's peak rank. A new Master tier now sits between Diamond I and Paragon, reached through a promotion game, and Paragon is kept for the very top players. Players who stick with a match after a teammate goes AFK now give up far less VP.

Player numbers and the game's age ratings are on our Predecessor game page.