As the battle rages on in League of Legends‘ ninth season, more and more fantastical, new champions have popped up for fans to play. From the whimsical Neeko to the brooding Sylas, the latest champions have brought some incredible abilities to the Rift.
What about the older, original champions of League, though? Why haven’t they been updated to keep up with the flashier champions of today? Riot’s Lead Champion Producer Ryan “Reav3” Mireles answered this question on the League boards.
“Our intentions of doing less VGUs and more new champs [were] actually based on caring for the player base as well as from player feedback we have gotten over the years as we have done new champs and VGUs.” Reav3 said.
Reav3 said that, although there were many people who wanted to see their favorite champions updated and changed, there were also a lot of players who found the changes frustrating when their main champion was updated. As a result, Riot decided to focus more on creating newer champions, because this didn’t disrupt or frustrate that group of players.
“Last year we actually saw a lot higher player frustration over change, partly due to how many old champions we were updating and changing, with many older players feeling alienated by the changes,” Reav3 said.
He also assured fans that the team will eventually update what needs to be updated because they “feel there is value in the game feeling modern and up to date.”
