Riot dev says Akshan’s grapple was originally tested for Camille 5 years ago

Akshan, League of Legends’ newest champion and Sentinel of Light, sports a fancy grappling hook that has many fans recalling the abilities of a certain scissor-legged champion that’s already in the game. It turns out that this isn’t a coincidence, though, since Camille was once able to move as freely as Akshan does now.

Jeevun “Jag” Sidhu, the current lead game designer on the Summoner’s Rift team for League, revealed today that this curved grappling hook movement was an idea that sprung up five years ago as a basis for Camille’s E, Hookshot. In a video posted to Twitter, Jag showcased Katarina being used as a test subject for this grappling hook, looping around the terrain in a similar manner to how Akshan now does.

Jag specified that, at the time, this wide movement was difficult to insert into League, likely due to its strange interactions with Summoner’s Rift, which, at that time, had never been attempted before. Camille was added to the game later that year and the iteration that she was released with had a focus on a much more linear grapple to the terrain—a mechanic that was exclusive to her up to this point. 

Askhan’s grapple—tied to his E ability—has since gone through extensive changes since this original idea. While the arc that he travels in is similar, he also auto targets onto enemy champions and shoots a few bullets at them while moving. Although Camille didn’t get this cone mobility with her grapple, we now know the idea was worked on and perfected leading up to Akshan’s reveal.

Akshan, the Rogue Sentinel, is set to join League’s lineup of champions on July 21, sporting a kit full of damage, camouflage, and even the ability to resurrect his allies.

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