League of Legends has some champions that could be in horror movies. Fiddlesticks, Cho’Gath, Rek’sai, Warwick and Urgot are examples of monstrous creatures that Riot Games has already made for the wildly popular MOBA. However, in recent years, the developer has placed more emphasis on human champions. Why would Riot prefer humanized characters?
Riot itself explains: in an official post, the team behind the creations of champions justifies, in a simple way, why they don’t often bring monstrous beings into the game. Most of the most popular characters among LoL players are human or humanoid. Riot also cites the example of regionality as one of the factors of choice.
According to the article, champion Jinx is more popular in western regions, which have a greater affinity for the punk aesthetic, while Xin Zhao and Jarvan IV are more popular in China. Yasuo, on the other hand, is popular all over the world, but is more appreciated in the eastern regions. In addition to theme and context, each character’s playstyle also influences popularity. Although Aurelion Sol is a cosmic dragon, for example, he is not used as much in the game due to his complex gameplay. The same is not true of Zoe, for example, who has a tricky ultimate ability, but is extremely popular for her looks.
In 2018, Riot adopted the following metric for character launches: 70% broad-range champions and 30% niche characters. It was also explained that if they released updates for niche champions and some new ones, the engagement would be much lower than with characters with a broader theme. But at the same time, that doesn’t mean Riot hasn’t tried to bring new creatures to the game.
Want to stay on top of the best tech news of the day? Access and subscribe to our new youtube channel, Kenyannews News. Every day a summary of the main news from the tech world for you!
During Sett’s 2020 release, Riot posted some concept images to decide what the concept behind the character would be. Among the options was a version of the champion who would be a Darkin, a godlike race of warriors who were imprisoned in arms after one of the wars in the world of Runeterra. Aatrox, Rhaast and Varus are the Darkin present in League of Legends.
In the end, although they liked the monstrous concept of Sett a lot, the third look that refers to the Vastaya was chosen. But nothing prevents the existence of a character skin in a more monstrous style, right Riot?
Ryan “Reav3” Mireles, lead champion producer, explained that the team also focused on bringing champions inspired by real culture. Samira was largely based on Persian culture, while Viego was based on Spanish culture at the time of the Conquistadors. At the same time, Riot also takes the “blame” claiming that it released too many humans and says it has overhauled the character creation system.
Does this mean monster-looking champions are leaving? Perhaps, but there is no guarantee. The possibility must exist in Riot’s plans. But the concept of non-human creatures can vary from the fluffy kitten Yuumi to the quadrupedal void monster that is Rek’sai. In the past, the company has stated that it plans to develop an unprecedented character in 2022 – the suspicion is that this is a charming support, which should arrive after the champion Zeri.
Mireles further explains that the concept of “monster” is quite broad, and that champions like Aatrox and Renekton are monstrous humanoid characters, while Yuumi is a non-monstrous creature. A champion like Pyke, who has a scarier look, falls into the human category, as does Yone. Both champions are human, but they have dark visuals and are related to supernatural stories.
In the end, the conclusion is that, according to Riot, the monstrous creatures are controlled by a small portion of the community. Following the logic of the studio, it is not very profitable to invest in the creation of a character with this style, since it will not return.
