Jax visual update will fix one of LoL’s oldest champs

There’s a Jax visual update coming down the pipe to match his gameplay-focused Midscope update, and it’s breathing new life into a very old champion.

Jax hasn’t had a lot of love in League of Legends since his initial release. He’s one of the oldest champions in the game, and his design still holds many relics of League of Legends’ old world. Once a weapon master made to wield a lamp after he dominated The Institute of War, suffering the first canon nerf.

Nowadays his place in the lore is more unclear and unexplored, with Legends of Runeterra giving him his most recent reskin and lore update.

Jax visual update looks inspired by LoR

In the April 2023 Roadmap, Riot Games previewed the coming changes to Jax. The LoL developer is planning to update Jax’s model, animation, voiceover, visual effects, and some of his splash art.

Jax already got a gameplay update earlier in the year that modernized the top lane fighter and this visual update will look to change his kit to be more in line with newer champions and the current state of LoL.

In the preview images, Riot seems to be following the lead of Jax’s new design in the Legends of Runeterra card game. In Legends of Runeterra, Jax is a survivor of the fallen kingdom of Icathia. His iconic weapon is being changed to be an artifact from Icathia, a reminder of the home he’s lost.

Legends of Runeterra is responsible for the bulk of older champions getting new lore and aesthetics, and League of Legends is looking to follow its example. In LoR, Jax has been made into a much more fully fleshed out and empathetic character, a wandering warrior haunted by the destruction of his home.

Legends of Runeterra doesn’t appear to be fully canon on its own, much like Arcane, but Riot is doing more and more to bring both LoR and Arcane into the fold as primary canon sources. For any hardcore Jax fans, don’t worry, he still won’t be wielding a real weapon.