Upcoming ‘dark theme’ champion hinted by Riot Games
The introduction of League of Legends’ 168th champion, Aurora, a charming Vastaya bunny mage from the Freljord, might be the last instance for a while where players encounter such a heartwarming character with a sweet appearance on the Rift.
In discussing how Aurora became a beloved project for the League development team, lead champion producer Lexi Gao provided a sneak peek into the future additions to the game in an interview with Dot Esports. Gao mentioned that the upcoming champion releases would feature much “darker” themes compared to the latest champions like Aurora, Hwei, and Smolder.
Although Gao didn’t elaborate further, League players have started speculating about which champions she might be referring to.
Earlier this year, Riot Games confirmed that Ambessa Medarda from the animated series Arcane will soon be joining the League roster to celebrate the release of the show’s second season on Netflix this November.
While details about the warlord’s abilities are scarce, her Noxian background and possible storyline in Arcane’s second season suggest she will be a ruthless champion. It’s anticipated that her abilities might be comparable to those of Darius or Katarina.
The League universe is vast and filled with intriguing characters, making it exciting to explore some of the more sinister and eerie concepts. The possibilities include inhumane celestials, deepwater horrors, ghostly spirits, or even bloodthirsty demons. These are just a few examples of the dark inspirations Runeterra offers to the League development team.
While recent champions have their unique themes, they are not as dark as older champions such as Fiddlesticks. Riot tends to create more humanoid figures as they are easier for players to relate to, but there is still a rich pool of cruel human characters in Runeterra that could be transformed into horror-like champions.