The leaked information suggests League’s next champ is a supportive mage.
After months of teasers for Seraphine, the mysterious upcoming League of Legends champion, there may have been a breakthrough in regard to her champion kit.
A data miner uncovered unnamed abilities for Seraphine, denoted at the top of the data file as “Hero 10034,” from the open beta of Riot Games’ new mobile game Wild Rift.
Her passive allegedly involves a previously-unseen mechanic in League, an “Echo” where every third basic attack will be cast twice. She also uses an as-yet-unspecified mechanic called “notes,” according to the data-mined information. When Seraphine casts an ability, she allegedly gives a note to nearby allied champions and each note gives her bonus magic damage and range on her next basic attack.
Her Q looks to be an AoE ability that deals magic damage based on a percentage of her enemy’s missing health, which reaches maximum damage when the enemy is below five-percent health. Her W is allegedly a shielding ability for both herself and allies, granting bonus movement speed when cast. But, interestingly, if Seraphine is already shielded when casting the ability, her allies will be healed for five percent of their missing health rather than receiving a shield, according to the data-mined information.
Her E ability appears to be her primary source of crowd control. It’s allegedly a four-second magic damage slow and if it’s cast on an already-slowed enemy, it’ll root instead. Her ultimate, perhaps the most exciting part of her kit, uses a form of crowd control only previously seen in the kits of Rakan and Evelynn. She applies a four-second charm that deals magic damage and the spell extends when it comes into contact with an enemy or ally champion.
The data-mined information suggests Seraphine will be some form of a utility mage. She’ll likely use crowd control and shielding to support her allies, alongside AoE magic damaging abilities that deal percentage maximum health damage. This leaked kit seems perfect for the support role, with potential flexibility into the mid lane. With the release of recent champions like Senna and Sett, Riot’s current design ethos seems to be one of flexibility within drafting instead of relegating a champion to a specific role, allowing them to exist in numerous game states without destroying their individual identity.
Since this data was mined from Wild Rift instead of League itself, there’s a chance these abilities will change or evolve before Seraphine is released. It’s unknown when Seraphine will be hitting the Rift, but fans have discovered a Weibo account for the champion that says her birthday is Oct. 31—the same day as the 2020 World Championship Finals. This could be a hint at the champion’s release date and might mean she’ll make her performance debut alongside K/DA in the opening ceremony of the Worlds finals.