League of Legends is well known for its large selection of champions who come in all shapes and sizes with unique backgrounds and fantastical abilities. However, not all the champions in League of Legends have been big hits with players for one reason or another, and Riot Games does what it can to improve them.
A recent announcement from League of Legends reveals the new Champion Roadmap highlighting updates being made to various champions. The post mentions that champion production has been slowed down, but the developers are making sure each champion gets the time and attention they need before being released. The post delves into three champions that will receive changes in some form or another in the game.
The three champions who will receive visual and gameplay updates, or VGU, in the game include the warrior Udyr, the star dragon Aurelion Sol, and the champion Skarner. The post reveals that base Udyr has been finished with development now focused on his skin catalog for the game. The one receiving the most attention is Udyr's Spirit Guard skin, where the goal is to balance his core essence while reflecting the time he spent in Ionia and keeping the same animals pre-VGU Udyr had.
The post reveals Aurelion Sol's update will be gameplay focused. According to the post, he initially excited players when he was first revealed, but then he was dropped at a surprising rate. It states this was mainly due to his gameplay kit not being able to live up to the hype and fantasy of playing the character. So, the developers have been working to change that by giving him a Comprehensive Gameplay Update or CGU. With the CGU update in League of Legends, the developers have been rebuilding Aurelion Sol's gameplay kit from the ground up using the same model, theme, and narrative instead of making small tweaks.
Aurelion Sol will be the first character to receive a CGU, and if the results are good other champions like him in League of Legends could receive similar updates. The developers also want to emphasize the dragon aspect of the character while adding a new take on his star forging gameplay. The developers are currently looking to release Aurelion Sol closer to the end of this year, but nothing is set in stone.
Then the post discusses Skarner, winner of the previous League of Legends VGU poll earlier this year. The developers haven't started on his VGU yet at the time of writing, but the post says it will begin soon. The post does share some artwork made by artist Larry "BravoRay" Ray for Skarner. The art contains four rows of sketches exploring different visual directions for Skarner, but they are all early ideas and nothing is locked in yet.
League of Legends is available now on PC.
Source: League of Legends