Riot Games has announced that Viego, The Ruined King, is coming to League of Legends as a playable champion. The new jungler was revealed earlier today during the studio’s Season 2021 Opening Day livestream.
Viego was very much the stream’s headline act, featuring as the primary antagonist alongside his undead army in a new cinematic titled ‘Ruination’. The cinematic is prefaced with the revelation that Lucian and Senna are continuing to fight the darkness. However, a new threat in the form of Viego appears before them. Addressing Senna, Viego states: “I have crossed through death and ruination to get back to her. Return my queen!” A concerned Senna retorts, “you will destroy this world.” To which the Ruined King responds “she is my world.”
Viego then draws the essence of the queen from Senna, releasing his ghostly legion into the world. As the cinematic plays out, a number of League’s champions – including Darius and Karma who are possessed by Viego’s army – can be seen fighting off the creatures. The cinematic ends with the Ruined King absorbing the queen’s essence into his blade.
Riot has now launched Viego’s ability page, showcasing the Ruined King’s devastating potential. His kit is thematically based on possession, with some heavy interplay between his passive (P) Sovereign’s Domination, and his ultimate, (R) Heartbreaker, which executes similarly to Darius and Garen’s ults.
Viego’s (Q) Blade of the Ruined King deal’s bonus percentage health damage on-hit, with a second strike also coming through on ability-afflicted targets, siphoning health from them. (W) Spectral Maw bears striking similarities to Vi’s (Q) Vault Breaker, with an added stun on the end. Meanwhile, (E) Harrowed Path is a static version of Senna’s own (E) Curse of the Black Mist, spreading a zone of invisibility around a piece of terrain much in the same way as Qiyana’s (R) Supreme Display of Talent operates.
Viego is not necessarily a new face to the Runeterran universe, having already nailed himself a starring role in the upcoming title Ruined King: A League of Legends Story, which is set to launch early this year. Riot’s Jessica ‘Safelocked’ Nam also states that Viego’s story will be explored in a variety of ways throughout the year.
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