The balance surrounding Smolder has been no secret since his introduction to League of Legends in January 2024. Had Riot Games introduced this dragon in his original form, the very existence of Summoner’s Rift would have been at risk.
Smolder’s original design in League of Legends
On April 28, Spideraxe took to Twitter to unveil insights into Smolder’s abandoned design, shedding light on a concept vastly different from what players currently know. These revelations stemmed from earlier disclosures by Riot’s August Browning.
According to Riot August, the initial plan for Smolder involved an automatic transformation, making him “the offspring” of the Rift’s elemental dragons, each imbuing him with a unique advantage accessible via his Q ability.
Although August didn’t explain the full extent of these effects, he did mention that his Infernal form would offer exploration capabilities, while his Ocean form would inflict slowing effects on enemies, and his Chemtech form would apply poisonous debuffs. In some experimental iterations, Smolder’s Super Scorcher Breath even demonstrated the ability to damage turrets with true damage.
Despite this version, it ultimately never saw the light of day on the live servers. The primary reasons cited were the extensive art resources required for implementation and the unpredictability it would introduce into gameplay.
With Smolder’s identity tied to the RNG selection of the Rift’s dragon, players would be left guessing each match, leading to potential frustration. Maintaining a clear understanding and mastery of a champion’s kit is paramount in League of Legends, and introducing such chance elements could disrupt this fundamental aspect of gameplay.
“Imagine playing Smolder and playing 3 games back to back with something like Wind Dragon for something like a Q that gives bonus movement vs poison, slow, or bigger aoe Qs,”
While the scrapped iteration of Smolder undoubtedly piques interest, it’s a relief that Riot opted for a different direction. League of Legends already presents a myriad of uncontrollable variables, from the Rift Herald to minion experience, team compositions, and adversaries.
Adding additional randomness into the one element would likely detract from the overall enjoyment of the game. Riot’s decision-making process in champion design must strike a balance between accessibility and excitement.