Devon H. July 27, 2019
Responding to a poll held in May, Riot announced that both Fiddlesticks and Volibear will be receiving visual game updates.
Volibear and Fiddlesticks have been outdated both visually and mechanically for years. Riot hopes to remedy that in 2020 with a VGU to strengthen their themes and solidify their direction as characters.
Gameplay Designer Blake “Squad5” Smith hopes to amplify and highlight Fiddlesticks’ niche as the most terrifying champion in League of Legends. Squad5 states that Fiddle’s update will focus on his original style of being an ambush teamfight mage and will better incorporate this into his overall aesthetic.
Fiddle’s rework will encompass not only a visual and mechanical update but also an overhaul of his lore. The update will portray the Harbinger of Doom as a folk tale told around the campfire. Riot is hoping that the update will reinforce within the playerbase what it means to be afraid on Summoner’s Rift.
With Volibear, gameplay designer Nathan “Lutzburg” Lutz stated he wishes to explore “what it means to be a bear.” To Lutzburg, that means making Volibear feel more powerful and explosive. Riot is currently experimenting with the idea of giving Volibear the ability to not be affected by crowd control which builds upon his ability to relentlessly chase down wounded enemies.
Conceptually, Riot wishes to keep Volibear as a powerful Freljordian demigod with his ultimate adding extra emphasis to his primalness and ferocity. He will be portrayed as much more mythical than his previous iteration and will ideally be a more unique and distinct character..
Many of League of Legends’ newer characters have completely fleshed out personalities but some champions from Riot’s older days lack any sort of deeper intrigue. Volibear and Fiddlesticks are both victims of Riot’s older design model but the upcoming VGU will likely remedy this.