Earlier this year, Riot Games held a poll for the popular game, League of Legends, to decide which of their 140+ champions should get a complete rework.
Reworks include updating in-game design, splash art, abilities, lore, and typically adjust the overall concept to modernize it and reintroduce it into the game’s meta. Since the meta is constantly shifting based on item and champion updates, a full rework for a champion can be an exciting change for the whole game.
The poll results were so close that Riot decided to give two champions a makeover: Fiddlesticks and Volibear.
Both of these champs are primarily seen in the Jungle and, despite having decent win-rates, have a lack of significant presence in League of Legends. Their abilities feel outdated, their lore isn’t up to par, and they generally don’t have a strong position in the League universe.
The first Dev update since the initial poll confirmation explains that Fiddlesticks has moved through the stage of “ideation” into “early production” where his concept has been fleshed out enough to begin the very start of game testing.
On the other hand, Volibear isn’t quite as far as long as the scarecrow; however, Riot provided a lot of impressive details on both champion’s progress so far.
Gameplay Designer, Blake “Squad5” Smith, gave direct insight into how Riot is approaching the Fiddlesticks rework, stating, “We wanted to focus on highlighting the identity Fiddle already had – a teamfight-winning ambush mage.”
Riot intends to make Fiddle “one of, if not the best, ‘ambush’ character in the game” based around his ultimate ability – which currently teleports him a short distance and releases a storm of crows around the champion.
The idea is to adapt Fiddlesticks’ kit to be able to try and ambush the enemy more thoroughly, which can change the tides of a teamfight drastically if successful.
As far as his lore and appearance go, Riot’s concept artist wasn’t available to go in-depth on what he will look like, however, so far, the art is looking thin, raggedy, and creepy – just like anyone would expect from Fiddle.
His new narrative is set to capture the inhuman presence of the scarecrow, while potentially spreading him across different lore and making him into somewhat of a myth brought to life among the League of Legends universe.
Riot finishes out Fiddle’s progress update with an appreciated nod at one of the champion’s current skins, “Oh, and don’t worry. I’m also thinking about surprise-party-birthday-clown stuff. Honk honk.”
Onto the Volibear rework, while it isn’t as extensive as Fiddle’s, Riot feels as though they’re headed in the right direction by rearranging his kit and focusing on “feeling unstoppable” as one of the “goal statements,” according to Gameplay Designer Nathan “Riot Lutzburg” Lutz.
So far, they’ve been exploring ideas such as making Volibear immune to any “immobilizing effects” which would instead transfer into a slow based on the type of CC used. Lutz also mentions wanting to “preserve and enhance Volibear’s unique focus on basic attacks.”
All-in-all, the armored bear sounds like he’ll be staying true to the abilities that he’s known and loved for, while evolving that playstyle into something more balanced.
As far as Voli’s appearance goes, a lot of thought is being put into how ferocious the champion will appear and what personality Riot wants to display through his animations and art. From demonic beast to headstrong war-bear, there’s a lot of excellent ideas in the works.
His background story is in a similar spot, with Narrative Writer Rayla “Jellbug” Heidi stating, “I seek to bridge these seemingly opposing aspects of his personality – his wisdom and wildness, his nobility and violence, his calmness and ferocity.”
Overall, both champions appear to be at a great starting point to branch off into better versions of themselves. Another update should be released for their progress within the next few months.
