League of Legends champions have come under fire for being too ‘pretty’ for a while now, but coming into the MOBA‘s 2023 season Riot has confirmed that one of its upcoming characters is, in fact, the monster we have all been waiting for.
The fact that we haven’t seen a non-humanoid, creature-inspired champion during in recent years is certainly something that has left some within the community out in the cold.
While Void Empress Bel’Veth came close, her curvaceous ‘human’ form and attractive visage didn’t quite give players the monster that they wanted. Looking back, the last real creature to land on Summoner’s Rift was Pyke in 2018, or Ornn if you want something non-humanoid in 2017.
Fear not, however; something creepy lurks in Riot’s new champion roster for 2023. I asked lead champion producer Lexi ‘Lexicon’ Gao about whether or not we’ll see something warped and twisted enter the fray this year, and she replied “yes, there will be a monster for 2023.” The question now is which champion? (Insert eye emote here.)
New League of Legends champions 2023
So far there are four new champions confirmed for 2023, but only two have names. The others are a mysterious “hangry” jungler and “artistic” midlaner that we’ll no doubt hear a bit more about in the future.
Milio
First on the list is the mysterious Milio, a male enchanter support that hails from Ixtal. A master of all things fiery, Gao states that he is “carrying the hopes and dreams of his family on his back – along with his trusty backpack.”
The fact she highlights this implies that said bag may play an important part in his kit, just as Ezreal’s Gauntlet of Ne’Zuk does. Either way, as an enchanter support main, I am very, very excited about this one.
Naafiri
Second on the list is Naafiri, a character that Gao refers to as “a bit edgier.” Described as being for players who want to “dive straight into action with a straightforward kit,” Naafiri is a Darkin midlane assassin for “those of us who want to focus on the hunt.”
What’s more interesting though is that Gao states that the champion, upon awakening from her slumber, exists in several “bodies” instead of just a single entity. This certainly feels a lot more like the monster Gao promised than Milio, but equally the “hangry” jungler could be channelling Skarner or Rek’Sai, so we’ll have to wait and see.
As we edge ever closer to finding out abiut all of these new additions, be sure to check out our League of Legends patch 13.1 preview to see what to expect from the first update of the year. We also have a rundown of how to claim the latest League of Legends Prime Gaming rewards to expand your cosmetic arsenal, as well as a list of some other multiplayer games that are worth checking out.