Revamped: League of Legends' Newest Champion Undergoes Rapid Redesign Shortly After Unveiling
Riot promptly responds to fan feedback, enhancing the appearance of League of Legends' latest champion, Smolder Following complaints about the dragon character's face, the design has been revamped, ensuring a visually captivating experience for players
Following fan criticism, Riot Games has made adjustments to the appearance of its latest League of Legends champion, Smolder, due to the unsettling human-like features of the small dragon's face. The initial reveal on January 4 portrayed Smolder as an adorable and easy-to-learn ADC, however, fans were quick to point out that the design felt out of place within the LoL universe, drawing comparisons to the controversial redesign of Sonic the Hedgehog.
Fans noticed that the design of Smolder was compared to other baby dragons from League canon, such as Dragon Trainer Tristana's companion Riggle. They pointed out how previous designs had always balanced cuteness with distinct draconic features like scales and pointed snouts. Several fanartists also shared their own Smolder redesigns, giving him less human features.
Less than a day later, product manager Riot Lexical announced a redesign of Smolder's face, adding more scaling, texture, hard lines, and changing the shape of his eyes to "highlight his dragon features." While no changes have been made to the model itself, the texture updates do a lot to offset the uncanny valley of the original design.
Smolder will be coming to Summoner's Rift in Patch 14.3, which is due out on February 7.
Editor's P/S
As an enthusiastic fan of League of Legends, I was initially excited about the reveal of the new champion, Smolder. The concept of a small, adorable dragon ADC seemed like a fun and unique addition to the game. However, I was disappointed when I saw the character's face. The human-like features felt out of place and uncanny, and I couldn't help but agree with the fans who compared it to the controversial Sonic the Hedgehog redesign.
I'm thrilled that Riot Games listened to fan feedback and quickly made changes to Smolder's appearance. The updated design is much more visually appealing and in line with the League of Legends aesthetic. The added scaling, texture, and hard lines give Smolder a more distinct draconic appearance, while the reshaped eyes help to highlight his dragon features. I'm confident that these changes will make Smolder a more popular and beloved champion among players.
