Do all Mages in League of Legends need good positioning? Well, not Vex.
The next yordle Vex brings some grief to the Rift, as well as a new ultimate (Shadow Surge) that allows the Gloomist to bridge the gap between herself and an opponent. While it’s rare for burst mages to dash at their foes, Surrenderat20 mod Spideraxe reveals that game design manager Bryan “Riot Axes” Salvatore explained the idea in a Reddit post today.
“From a gameplay perspective, we had to make Vex comfortable playing at shorter ranges for the anti-mobility stuff, so closing to short-range is less of a cost than for most Mages, which made this a unique opportunity to do this gameplay on a mage,” Riot Axes explained.
Vex’s kit is focused on frightening opponents, countering mobility, and delivering lethal bursts. Because she is an anti-dive champion, going close to an opponent isn’t as dangerous for the Gloomist because she has the means to defend herself. If the yordle is strengthened by her Doom passive, her next basic spell, for example, disrupts dashes and fears opponents. Diving upon an enemy isn’t as risky if she can use her friends to create a perfect AoE fear.
Riot Axes compared The Gloomist’s ultimate to Lee Sin’s Q since “once you hit the first missile, psychological pressure builds to recast it… which dovetails nicely as an experience with Shadow egging Vex on.” There will likely be many moments of players recasting Shadow Surge and forfeiting their life in the process. Once players get past the learning curve, however, Vex has massive potential.
“It’s a super fun spell, so we were pretty excited to ship it all along, even if it’s a somewhat off-class moment,” Riot Axes stated further. “We spent significant effort gating it so that it can be a big moment, rather than the thing that defines her gameplay.”
Vex is set to be released alongside League Patch 11.19 on September 23.