Xayah and Rakan really do have a one-in-a-million sort of love after all. The lovebirds were the first champions in League of Legends’ history to be launched with a unique duo synergy, and it turns out they’re probably also going to be the last.
Riot will not be designing any more champions with like-minded synergies in the foreseeable future, according to the company’s announcement late last week.
Xayah and Rakan’s design identity was a very fun, unique way to introduce League’s first official couple. Just like a successful couple in real life, they give each other strength when they’re together. League definitely pulled it off. It isn’t absolutely essential for them to be near one another to be viable champions, but their duo buffs are strong enough to make bot lanes want to match them together. Overall, the pair was a huge success when they were released in April.
That being said, it would have been cool to see another champion partnership. Perhaps a person and their pet, two best friends or partners in crime, or even siblings would have been interesting ways to get players excited. With how many neat possibilities there are, it’s a bummer that Xayah and Rakan are likely the last duo champions, but honestly, we understand why Riot decided to go in this direction.
For starters, more unique synergies would complicate things—a lot. Keeping track of the fact that Xayah and Rakan buff one another and what each of those buffs are is simple enough, but imagine having to do that with even two more pairs of champions. Things could get very murky. Depth in a game is great, but depth for depth’s sake is not.
Also, wouldn’t it take away that special thing that makes Xayah and Rakan so unique? The entire point of their release was meant to make one thing obvious—there’s no love like theirs in this game or its world. From a pure design standpoint, Riot also strives to make each of its champions feel, look, and play different from one another. Each champion needs to have an identity, and the duo champion synergy is what makes Xayah and Rakan who they are.
You may look at the seemingly millions of three-hit-proc passives in the game and argue that some champions feel similar, but nonetheless, the goal has always been to create unique and memorable characters.
For that reason, it’s a good thing that Riot won’t be designing more double champions anytime soon. It’s a bummer, but it’s still a good thing.
