In League of Legends, several champions are now receiving a top-to-bottom rework, and the Rift will also soon receive whole new champions.
With new upgrades and features, developers are always improving League of Legends for the players. While the community’s favourite champions receive upgrades that preserve their core mechanics and characteristics, the game also got new champions that change the meta and provide players with more mechanics.
The timing of impending champion upgrades might be perplexing because there are several changes and new champions being developed. So, here are the list of changes to League champions in the latter phase of 2023 and early 2024.
New champions
Naafiri
Riot revealed two new champions who will join League’s roster this year as the 2023 season got underway. Male enchanter Milio has already joined the group. Now it’s time for Naafiri, a new Darkin assassin.
Naafiri excels in one-on-one fighting since she is an assassin, and that is exactly what she will be doing as a mid laner most of the time. Her capacity to produce pack of dogs that actively hunt down the particular foe Naafiri is assaulting is the key element of her kit. She can even expand her pack as part of her passive attack.
On July 19, Patch 13.14, which includes Naafiri’s base skin and the Soul Fighter summer event, will be released for League.
Briar
Another forthcoming champion, Briar, was hinted at in April’s champion roadmap. While we are unsure of the role she will play, the developers stated that she was inspired by “the idea of exploring an uncontrollable hunger, and what happens when that hunger sometimes takes over.”
Briar is almost certainly a Noxian vampire of some type. Riot Games classifies her as a Diver/Skirmisher champion. It’s hardly subtle, with references to frenzies, bloodlust, and an uncontrolled appetite. A semi-feral vampire lurking in Noxus appears to be very plausible.
Although Briar does not yet have a release date, if Naafiri is going to be launched this summer, Briar ought to be available before the end of the year.
Ink Mage
The Ink Mage, while it is new, the champion concept, however, is not new, and Riot is bringing back some old concepts. They intended to develop a champion that could physically sketch their skills a few years back.
The most important aspect of their kit would have been their ultimate, which allowed players to physically create terrain on the map. This would result in a slew of issues, but perhaps Riot has found out how to implement it years later.
Though no official date was released, the Ink Mage is speculated to be released after Briar.
Champion modifications
Jax: new visual updates
Jax, a beloved champion in the top lane, will soon receive the next visual change, according to the most recent champion roadmap.
Riot will be revamping a slew of Jax’s graphics as a consequence, including a new model, new animations and visual effects, updated splash images for older cosmetics, and a new voiceover.
He’s also been given a new narrative for why he fights with a moderate size stave rather than a real weapon: the brazier is the sole thing that he has left from his home of Icathia before it was destroyed by the terrible powers of the Void.
Although there is currently no set release date for Jax’s new appearance, it is anticipated to arrive this year.
Skarner: champion rework
In the VGU survey from January 2022, Skarner came forth on top, with the community clearly favouring him to have an aesthetic and gameplay overhaul. Since then, the developers have put in a lot of effort to update Skarner’s appearance and gameplay, which has undoubtedly thrilled his devotees.
Sadly, it was announced in a dev blog that Skarner’s revamp has been significantly delayed and won’t even be available until 2024.
Riot also hasn’t revealed anything about Skarner’s revamped powers in League of Legends, except for his ultimate ability. His new ultimate will allow him to capture a group of enemies instead of just only one.
However, because it now has two stages of damage, it will be possible to miss this ability, and it will do half the damage if someone cleanses out of it. There are certain advantages and disadvantages in contrast to the original, but it has a far greater impact on the game today than it did earlier.
Lee Sin and Teemo: ASU updates
Lee Sin and Teemo have been selected by Riot as the next ASU after further examination of other champions from the cast. Currently, Lee Sin’s ASU is slated for release in the first part of 2019, while Teemo will follow in the second half of 2024.
Many of the modifications done to Lee Sin are referred to as “quality of life” modifications, which include different model corrections and tweaks to his animations to bring him up to date.
The developers also noted that Teemo’s design has stayed mostly same throughout time and that his ASU would focus on the champion’s dimensions and model specifics, including minor adjustments to his iconic attire. Additionally, the Swift Scout will gain some new face motion to express his appearance better.