Why there's nothing as exciting as new champion releases

With the release of Kayn, this felt like the right time to write about new champions. First, lets get something out in the open. I love new champions. I have subconsciously started playing the role that a new champion is about to release in for almost every champ for the past five years. The only exception to this being ADCs because I am very bad at all of them.

Regardless of the little details, I just love what every new champion brings to League. The thrill of trying to pick them, learning a new playstyle and kit. I love the frustration that comes when your allies don’t know what your champion does and the joy when your enemies don’t either.

League of Legends is a game all about the constantly growing world. The game is never static for more than two weeks, which keeps it exciting and interesting. Every little patch is awesome and breaths new life into League.

However, nothing really compares to a new champion. Sure, at the end of every season we get these big, sweeping changes to the game as a whole, but this is irregular to say the least. Champion releases are the most frequent actual content drops that we get, and for me, nothing is more exciting than new content.

I was pretty stoked for the release of Kayn — nervous, because the guy can walk through dang walls, but excited. Maybe it is because I had started playing jungle again before his announcement. Maybe it is because I like Warwick and Kha’Zix, the two forms he can basically take. Or perhaps it is just because I love all of the champions that Daniel “Zenon the Stoic” Klein has designed.

Surrender@20

Lucian, Xerath (rework), Azir, Taliyah, Tahm Kench and now Kayn. All champions that I enjoy. When Daniel kindly donated his time last year to play some League with us for our Extra Life stream, our viewers (and our ever curious staff) bombarded him with questions about champion design.

Genuinely enthused about his job, Daniel was more than keen to answer, while still keeping his cards close to the vest. He told us that his next champion would hit in 2017 (good call Daniel) and that whatever he was working on once had legs/moved like a centipede, tech that eventually made its way into Aurelion Sol.

Turns out, Kayn is just a dude, but the story is interesting nonetheless. How similar was this centipede champion to Kayn now? Was it even the same project? Who knows, but that is what makes this stuff so cool. Every new character is a new story to be told on Runeterra. A new opportunity to bring a fresh look to the game. New abilities, new art, new everything.

League of Legends Wiki

Kayn is League’s 137th champion. That is a lot, you guys. A ton of abilities and interactions. Each new friend is someone else to fall in love with or despise eternally. I remember following the teases and reading the kits for every champion release since Aatrox. I remember reading about Yasuo in a movie theatre before seeing the second Hunger Games movie (I know) or checking out Taliyah's kit on my phone before my professor walked into class.

Last week, I wrote about the special bond that develops between players and their favorite champions. When there are champions out there that mean so much to so many, why wouldn't you be stoked about a new pal entering your life.

Riot Games