Riot usually stays pretty tight-lipped about upcoming champions until a week or two before they're released, but at E3 this year Lead Champion Designer Ryan Scott told us exactly who is coming in the next few updates.
In the next patch, a brand new style of champion is joining the league. His name is Yorick, the Grave Digger, and he is the League's first minion-champion. All three of his primary abilities are called Rituals, and all trigger an effect when used, and simultaneously summon a short-lived ghost. The names of the abilities and the important numbers are still in flux, but the general concepts driving them are already settled on.
Yorick's first ability increases his movement and attack speed, and summons a ghost with high movement and attack damage that will chase the enemy for a few seconds. His second ability triggers a slowing area-of-effect ability and summons a ghost in the same spot. The ghost deals little in the way of damage, but has a slowing aura that will hinder the movement speed of any nearby foes. Yorick's third skill summons a ghost with 100% lifesteal, and the stolen health will also heal Yorick. The extra part of that ability is still being worked on.
Yorick's passive gives Yorick a stat-boost whenever a ghost is out, which makes playing Yorick effectively a case of mastering the ghost timing, and cycling through them similar to Udyr's stance-dancing. His ultimate is still up in the air, according to Scott.
After that, fans will be pleased to hear that Leona, the Radiant Dawn will be introduced. Leona is a strong, tanky initiator. Scott describes her as a "Sun Paladin," with her abilities tied to the giant, fiery ball above. Only her ultimate (which could still change) was described to me -- a circle of sunlight appears on the battlefield. Units who pass through it are slowed, and after a few seconds a plume of fire falls from the sky, stunning and dealing damage to everyone in the area. I was told she would also have an initiating ability and a crowd-control ability.
Then after Leona's launch comes Skarner, a massive, crystalline scorpion. All that is known about him, other than that he is an intelligent and terrifying crystal-friggin'-scorpion is that he is intended to be a tank/fighter. The ability they are currently testing on Skarner involves him impaling his target, allowing him to move with the enemy champion attached to his tail for a few seconds.
I asked Ryan Scott why there had been so few control champions -- characters adept at disabling, repositioning, stalling or otherwise incapacitating their enemies (rather than taking or dealing damage). The reason is simply that control champions are difficult to make feel rewarding to play as and really frustrating to play against. Scott made sure to cite an example. "Alistar is kind of a dick," he told me. Having played as and against the tanky minotaur, I have to agree.
So that's the next month and a half of League of Legends. Excited? Or were you hoping for something different?
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