Another day, another battle on Summoner’s Rift. With a slew of gameplay changes, a new rotating game mode and Worlds right around the corner, League of Legends has been quite busy lately. With a decent sized handful of VGUs in the works, the League of Legends Champion Design team will have new projects ahead of them in 2019. From the Noxian Grand General Swain to the Darkin annihilator Aatrox, the most recent line of VGUs has been quite amazing.

In this case, the next roadmap of champion reworks will look at two angels related by blood, a Piltovian explorer and two new champions in production.

Reviewing the League of Legends Champion Updates

Kayle and Morgana: Sisters Till The End

As posted by Reav3, the lead producer of champions at Riot, League’s next major reworks will be the long-awaited dual update of Kayle and Morgana. Both Kayle and Morgana hail from a race of immortal angel-like beings. While Kayle stands for all that is righteous and truthful, her sister Morgana has a heart as black as lacquer. Gameplay wise, Morgana still manages to stay fresh and fun for players. Unfortunately for her sister, Kayle has been left to gather dust both in-game and in the looks department.

Historically, Morgana shifted from a defensive mid-lane mage to an aggressive support champion. While her Victorious skin is a testament to how relevant her playstyle is, she definitely needs a makeover. On the other hand, Kayle is quite a different story. While her theme is a radiant angel that delivers harsh justice with a flaming sword, her gameplay is quite lackluster. However, what is this simple cure-all for these sisters?

Two Angels, One Vision

Reav3 explains that while Kayle will receive major changes to her kit, Morgana will receive minor kit changes in comparison. Overall, while there are more problematic cases in need of a rework, Kayle and Morgana are excellent projects to work with. Champions like Pantheon, Mordekaiser and Malphite continue to rank high on player requested forums.

Reav3 goes on to state that Kayle’s theme as a hybrid fighter will be preserved in spite of receiving massive changes. Combined with a stale theme, Kayle’s kit is a bit “all over the place.” Support/Melee Fighter attributes are not necessarily a bad thing. It would help though to have a more concrete playstyle for a champion with so much potential. In comparison, Morgana is slated for a visual upgrade, with minor changes to her kit. Both Kayle and Morgana are excellent candidates.

While Kayle and Morgana won’t receive their updates till next year, we can be hopeful of how great they’ll turn out.

Ezreal: Piltovian, Progressive and Promising

The next major champion upgrade will be none other than Ezreal, the Prodigal Explorer. A native of Piltover, Ezreal is another champion that manages to stay consistent gameplay-wise. Similar to Morgana, Ezreal is in need of a makeover. Unlike recent VGUs such as Akali and Nunu, Ezreal will receive more of a visual change. Many players remain unsatisfied with his current W, Essence Flux. Although Ezreal has a rather simple kit, it remains popular among casual and pro players.

Ezreal’s linear kit is proof that change needs to occur. However, given how successful he’s been in competitive and casual play, Ezreal should have unique changes. Ezreal’s VGU will most likely be akin to both Shen and Tristana VGU projects: small changes that will equate to a much larger effect.

An Extra Map For Our Explorer

Ezreal’s theme as a sharpshooting, sharp-tongued explorer from Piltover strongly resonates with many players. In game, his voiceover and visuals have “yikes” written all over them. Overall, Ezreal needs the extra “oomph” to his image and theme. We can expect him to look slick and have great splash art images for his skins as well.

Since Ezreal will be receiving small changes overall, it wouldn’t be surprising if his update launches before season nine or before 2019.

Two New Champions, Final Thoughts

As for the next champions in production, not many details have been revealed yet. However, we can only think of how their themes will play out upon release. Our next new champion will be a mage, and a colorful one at that. Perhaps a champion similar to Zoe, in terms of personality?

A mage that uses light to bend into a colorful flash of explosions or spells? A fireworks based champion? Our very first champion who utilizes rainbows? A chameleon? The possibilities are endless.

And after that, the next champion teaser shows shackles concealed in darkness, with no set release date. A dark themed champion with hellish tendencies? We can only imagine.

That’s a wrap up for this edition of the Champion Roadmap for this year. Overall, Ezreal will receive a makeover, Kayle and Morgana will be reworked next year at once, and two new champions on the horizon. Till next time, expect the next roadmap article next year.

For more League of Legends commentary from Tim Nutting, click here. For more on Gaming, check out LWOS Life: Gaming. 

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