Riot Games has officially revealed Smolder, an adorable yet formidable new dragon champion heading to League of Legends. This fledgling dragon is ready to burn down his opponents and melt some hearts along the way.
Smolder’s Backstory & Appearance
As described on the official League of Legends website, Smolder is “a young, auromantic dragon who wants to prove he can make it on his own without relying on his family ties.” He has orange scales with patches of pink and purple, a warm color scheme that matches his cute personality.
However, underneath that cuddly exterior lies a fierce warrior. Having just left home for the first time, Smolder is eager to show what he can do. His small stature and playfulness might make enemies underestimate him, but he will teach them the hard way not to mess with dragons!
Smolder’s vibrant splash art shows off his adorable yet powerful nature (image via Dexerto)
Smolder’s Abilities & Gameplay
According to the ability reveal from PCGamesN, Smolder is classified as a mid lane mage similar to classics like Annie or Orianna. He brings a unique blend of ranged attacks and short-burst mobility to the Rift.
Passive – Gift of Fire’s Fury
Smolder’s basic attacks and abilities apply a burn dealing bonus magic damage over time. This encourages him to get in close and continually scorch opponents.
Q – Fire Spit
Smolder launches a ball of flame in a line, dealing damage to the first enemy hit. If it kills the target, the cooldown is reset, allowing for chained kills.
W – Stoke the Flames
After a brief channel, Smolder gains a burst of movement speed and his next basic attack ignites the target, dealing bonus damage.
E – Wildfire Rush
Smolder dashes a short distance, leaving fire in his wake. Enemies caught in the flames take damage and are slowed.
R – Inferno
Smolder’s ultimate ability causes the area around him to erupt into an inferno, dealing damage over time to nearby enemies based on their max health. This allows him to melt even the beefiest tanks if they stick around too long.
With these molten abilities, Smolder excels at bursting down squishier champions that get too close while whittling away at durable foes. His mobility gives him playmaking potential through roams and skillshot dodging as well.
Upcoming Release Date & Event Pass
While an exact release date has not been formally announced, the cosmetic art shared by Dexerto indicates Smolder will likely hit live servers with Patch 14.2, due on February 8, 2024.
To celebrate his launch, Riot will be releasing an Inferno Smolder Event Pass featuring the following cosmetic rewards:
- Smolder Icon
- Ember Chroma for base Smolder skin
- Ruby Chroma for Inferno Smolder skin
- Fireball Emote
- Inferno Smolder Skin Shard
- 1500 Orange Essence
This pass will be available for 1650 RP and lasts through Patch 14.4, running until March 8, 2024.
Community Reactions & Future Impacts
Initial reactions to Smolder have been mixed but largely positive. His vibrant design and cute voice lines have won over many players. However, some think his proportions seem odd or his color palette too bright.
Others note his kit provides good zone control and skirmishing tools that could make him a formidable mid/top flex pick in pro play. If he becomes meta in competitive, more casual players may flock to try him out as well.
| Positive Feedback | Negative Feedback |
|---|---|
| “OMG he’s so cute I can’t wait to main him!” | “Why does he look like that? Kind of ugly imo.” |
| “Actually a pretty cool and unique kit.” | “Ugh not another Anime dragon character…” |
| “I dig the bright colors and fun personality.” | “Seems really strong, gonna be pick/ban in pro play.” |
With a fiery playstyle and charming visuals, Smolder is positioned to blaze his way into the hearts and strategies of League players over the coming seasons. His potential flexibility for pro drafting may necessitate future tuning, but the core framework shows promise.
Only time will tell if this fledgling dragon can soar to popularity or if he will flame out fast. But with patches starting soon, we will get to stoke his flames ourselves and draw our own conclusions!
References
Official Riot Games champion page:
https://www.leagueoflegends.com/en-us/champions/smolder/
Ability descriptions:
https://www.pcgamesn.com/league-of-legends/lol-smolder-abilities
Cosmetics and release timing details:
https://www.dexerto.com/league-of-legends/league-players-divided-on-smolder-as-some-claim-hes-fugly-spyro-2458283/
To err is human, but AI does it too. Whilst factual data is used in the production of these articles, the content is written entirely by AI. Double check any facts you intend to rely on with another source.
