Unveiling the Mighty Powers of League of Legends New Champion, Briar

Highlights

Introducing Briar, the latest addition to the League of Legends roster! This fierce jungler is tailored for an aggressive playstyle, excelling in both dealing damage and healing. With an array of powerful crowd control effects, impressive mobility, and formidable damage output, Briar is here to dominate the battlefield.

Briar possesses multiple powerful abilities in her arsenal. Firstly, she has a stacking bleed effect that not only inflicts damage on her enemies but also restores her health upon landing a hit. Additionally, her dash ability not only allows her to swiftly move towards her adversaries but also applies an armor shred and stuns them momentarily. Moreover, she can activate a self-taunting frenzy, enhancing her overall capabilities while drawing the attention of her foes. Furthermore, Briar possesses a charging scream ability that not only inflicts damage on her enemies but also slows them down and knocks them back. Lastly, her ultimate ability enables her to hurl a projectile that deals damage to the first enemy champion it strikes. Subsequently, she gracefully launches towards her target, causing damage to nearby enemies as well. This culminates in a heightened version of her frenzy, further amplifying her offensive potential.

Introducing Briar, the upcoming League of Legends champion following the release of Naafiri. Like Naafiri, Briar is an AD champion with an aggressive playstyle, known for leaping into battle and relentlessly hunting down opponents. Designed primarily for jungle play, Briar possesses unique traits that distinguish her as a diver, such as a frenzy that taunts herself, health costs for abilities, and a healing bleed which compensates for her minimal base health regeneration.

Hailing as the newest Noxian champion to break free from the clutches of the Black Rose, Briar follows in the footsteps of the support/jungler hybrid, Rell. While she shares certain aesthetics with the numerous assassins in League of Legends, Briar appears better suited for a bruiser role, with a kit that synergizes well with lifesteal and on-hit items. With an abundance of crowd control effects, impressive mobility, and substantial damage output, Briar has the potential to become a beloved choice for drain-tank players worldwide.

Briar's Abilities in League of Legends

Briar's passive ability, known as Crimson Curse, inflicts a stacking bleed effect on her opponents upon landing attacks or using abilities. This bleed causes gradual damage over time while also providing Briar with a healing effect based on a percentage of the damage inflicted. Even if her target perishes, Briar will still receive the remaining healing from the bleed. It is important to note that she lacks natural health regeneration and her abilities require sacrificing health to activate. However, the amount of healing she receives increases proportionally to her missing health. Comparable to champions such as Aatrox or Kled, Briar benefits from the effects of Crimson Curse when engaging in combat despite being low on health, as it allows her to endure potential threats rather than disengaging.

As for Briar's Q ability, named Head Rush, it grants her the ability to swiftly leap towards a designated target. This leap not only causes physical damage but also momentarily stuns the opponent and weakens their armor. In the realm of League of Legends, point-and-click crowd control abilities hold substantial power, making Briar's combination of a dash and a stun incredibly advantageous. Head Rush serves as a reliable means to initiate ganks and duels, allowing her to swiftly close the gap with her opponents and reduce their movement speed upon impact.

Briar's main ability, Blood Frenzy, is at the core of her kit. When activated, Briar dashes forward and gains increased Attack Speed and Move Speed. Her attacks also deal damage in an area. However, during this frenzy, Briar automatically targets and attacks the nearest enemy, with a preference for champions. If Briar recasts her W during the frenzy, her next attack will deal damage based on the target's missing health and also heal Briar. Although this loss of player control is uncommon in League of Legends, the significant stats boost makes it worth the temporary loss of agency, reminiscent of Renata Glasc's ultimate ability. Luckily, players can partially direct Briar's movements by using Head Rush during the frenzy.

Riot Games has also given players some control over Blood Frenzy with Briar's E ability, Chilling Scream. By holding down the E key, Briar can end the Blood Frenzy, gain damage reduction, and regenerate health while charging energy. Releasing the key causes Briar to scream, releasing a wave that damages and slows enemies. If the ability is fully charged, the wave will also knock enemies back and stun them if they collide with walls. The area of effect of Chilling Scream is similar in size to Sion's Q ability, making it a powerful crowd control tool in teamfights. It is perfect for immobilizing opponents and finishing them off after Blood Frenzy ends. Additionally, it can be a strategic method for Briar to initiate fights if the player is willing to endure the full duration of Blood Frenzy.

Briar possesses an ultimate ability called Certain Death. This ability involves her throwing a projectile that inflicts damage upon hitting the first enemy champion. Following this, Briar swiftly moves towards her target, dealing damage to them as well as nearby enemies. Additionally, she gains increased Armor, Magic Resist, and Move Speed, enhancing her capabilities. With an extensive range, the projectile allows skilled Briar players to initiate fights from a considerable distance. Certain Death excels in ganking situations, particularly when Briar's teammates have crowd control abilities to aid in landing the projectile. Moreover, it proves to be an extraordinary tool for initiating team battles due to its significant burst damage and crowd control effects. While Briar thrives in one-on-one confrontations, her potential in team fights should not be underestimated, given her area-of-effect basic attacks during Blood Frenzy and exceptional crowd control abilities. League of Legends is currently available on PC.