The newest League of Legends champion has been revealed. He's going to be a small dragon by the name of Smolder and while he is adorable, some fans really don't like his face – thankfully Riot acted quickly to remedy the situation.
The newest champion has been revealed for Summoner's Rift. Soon, players will be able to test out the brand-new bot lane ADC "Smolder" who is a young little dragon who still has to grow up and find his true power and strength. It's a cute concept and pretty exciting to see in a creature champion.
Riot revealed the champion in a teaser video on January 4 and in it, we catch a short glimpse of Smolder. While the community loved the concept and idea, his face was a different story.
Update, January 8: Riot Listens To The Community And Adjusts Smolder's Face
Hey Guys! We heard your feedback on Smolder's face and are making some adjustment to highlight his dragon features. Thank you so much for Gem, @O0_Y_0O and @White_Leyth for making this happen! The splash team is working on some adjustments too! pic.twitter.com/6CWfVYwQjY
— Riot Lexical (Lexi) (@neolexical) January 5, 2024
The reveal of Smolder wasn't as smooth as many had hoped, which is why Riot quickly double-downed on the champion's look. Right after the LoL Season start video, it was revealed that Smolder is going to be getting some adjustments to his model which will make him more draconic.
The splash art will also be adjusted to reflect the changes that Riot is making to the champion's in-game model as well. This has the community pleased, and they feel like LoL Season 14 is starting off on the right foot.
LoL New ADC Smolder: Players Feel He Doesn't Have Enough Dragon Features
Smolder's kind of a big deal pic.twitter.com/xELrlyBhjg
— League of Legends // UK, IE & Nordics (@LoLUKN) January 4, 2024
Smolder has been revealed, and his character is adorable. Unfortunately, there are some problems with the design of the character that players and fans of League have pointed out already, not even a day after the teaser for the new dragon champion was revealed.
This whole situation gives me flashbacks to when the first trailer for Sonic was released and the entire internet and their grandmother were outraged over how the iconic Hedgehog looked way too human... similarly, Smolder who is a tiny young dragon, also seems to have way too human features for a dragon.
Just a few fan edits later and Smolder actually looks like a dragon champion rather than a dragon with a human face. Personally, I'm not even sure what is so unnerving about his design, whether it's the eyes or nose, but a lot of fans have expressed that there is something uncanny about the way Smolder looks.
Maybe a bit to early to judge since it's only a teaser but...
— NickyBoi (@NickyBoiYT) January 4, 2024
Am I insane or is his face really REALLY uncanny looking? https://t.co/nKAAu8oGjs pic.twitter.com/73anPrqXhi
Just a few changes to his face could vastly improve his aesthetic and how he looks. Seriously, just change the eye color a little, adjust the mouth to look more beast-like, and you've got an adorable little baby dragon, since that's what players are hyped about.
Smolder is going to be released soon, most likely in Patch 14.2. Looking back at Riot's track record of fixing problems like this, it's highly unlikely that his splash art, which probably will feautre the current Smolder look, is going to be fixed before then, but hopefully they pull a Coven Syndra and go back to adjust the dragon's look, give the kid a dragon snout, some dragon eyes, and then we're done!