More Darkin Champs?
LoL: Champion Roadmap - Who is the Next Champion
Riot releases the LoL Champion Roadmap every few months. Through the roadmap we get new hints on upcoming League of Legends champions, reworks and much more in scope of champions that Riot is working on.
There is some pretty interesting stuff happening, like more champions in 2023, as well as champion updates coming soon. Are you ready for more mid-scope updates?
LoL Champion Roadmap: How Many Champions to Expect in 2023
There is no exact number that has been revealed yet for new LoL champions, but we do believe that in 2023 we should be getting the same amount of new champions as in 2022. We think that getting four or five new champions a year seems feasible.
Riot has not confirmed this yet though and we are just speculating, but in the last few years we've received around four to five champions yearly and with the amount of Mid-Scope updates, as well as other updates happening this number seems to likely stay consistent.
Curious about the preseason? Check out the patch notes rundown:
What Champion Can We Expect Next from Riot?
Naafiri - The Dark Assassin
The next League of Legends Champion looks to be one of the more exciting ones released in a long time. Naafiri is a Darkin assassin from the Shirima region.
As already mentioned, Naafari will be an assassin meant for the mid lane. Instead of the need for complex mechanics that we usually find in assassins, Naafiri will rather have a macro play style, dealing AD damage by wielding a dagger.
And while the devs have not gone into much detail, they have given us some clues as to what kind of shape Naafiri will have. Naafiri will take after the shape of mythological dogs.
The dev talk regarding Naafiri's development was full of dog puns, so it's not a difficult thing to extrapolate. We just hope that the playstyle will, while simple, be interesting and different enough from Nidalee's cougar form!
LoL Darkins: What are they?
The Darkins are God-Warriors from Shurima who are haunted by the traumatizing events of the Void War and their own use of blood magic.
All known Darkins are imprisoned in weapons and trapped, unable to regain their original form. Currently, the only Darkin champions in LoL are Aatrox, Varus and Rhaast, Kayn's weapon.
Also, Vladimir is somewhat related to the Darkins. Even though he is not one himself, he was taught blood magic by a Darkin.
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Skarner's VGU Concepts
There has been more information lately on the Skarner VGU. One of the biggest is that he is being moved away from Shurima and into Ixtal where he now becomes an earth magic monster.
Along with the updated region and look, Skarner is also going to have some interesting changes to his abilities. No more spires! Oh, and his ultimate will now be an AoE, meaning he can pick up multiple targets.
Riot have confirmed that the Skarner VGU release date is early next year. Or at least they hope it is, seeing as there is a lot of work to be done on his abilities, as of yet.
New LoL Jungle Champion: A Vampire In The Making
Riot will also be releasing a new jungle champion and most fans predict that this "hangry" champion will be some form of Vampire from Noxus. Sound familiar? Well, it seems like this champion will compete directly with Vladimir who has been the token "vampire" when in reality he is a hemo-mancer... big difference.
Lead Champion Designer, Riot August, has previously revealed that he does want to make a "real" vampire on Summoner's Rift and with him working on this project, many fans are excited to see what a true vampire could look like.
Now we won't go into the debate over whether Vladimir is a vampire or hemomancer with you. We will though express our enthusiasm for Briar, the next League of Legends champion coming from Noxus.
She is rumored to be the next jungler, who fights with her insatiable hunger, and only unleashes it on those that deserve it. And seeing as Riot have teased the concept of frenzy so much, we can perhaps expect her kit to revolve around stacking her hunger into a frenzy of some sort. Which will no doubt be broken.
New Mid Lane Champion Revealed for 2023
A new mid lane mage is also in the works. This champion concept is nothing new though and Riot is bringing back some old ideas. A few years ago they wanted to create a champion that could literally draw their abilities.
Whether the mid lane mage that Riot is releasing in 2023 is also going to feature such a unique trait is yet to be determined, but it would be pretty interesting... and buggy.
In the latest champion roadmap, the champion's concept of drawing has been confirmed. However, while it was time for the champion to get teased with his own artwork, Riot have stated that they are waiting on the champion himself to give us his own drawing.
What we can confirm it's a male champion from Ionia, with a dark past, somber character, and vibrant art. You know, the usual! We wonder how the abilities will work though, and if they will require Riot to make a new mechanic for them, the way they did with Sylas, or if the drawing is just a quirk while the mechanics fall under the already existing purview.
New Freljordian Champion
Riot is also going to be making a champion from the Freljord, according to some leaks and rumours. This would be, most likely, a top lane champion and a huntress.
Not too much information is out there, but Riot have teased us that the champion will be an adorable marksman, who is currently in the process of hatching.
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