Last year, the release of the Arcane series was the most noteworthy event for Riot Games and the development of the League of Legends universe. Piltover, as depicted in the series, vividly embodies both liveliness and brutal honesty while intricately portraying the lives and growth journeys of the characters. Thus, the theme of Piltover and its technology has garnered significantly more attention lately.
Naturally, Riot Games aims to capitalize on this success, especially evident in Teamfight Tactics patch 6. They even introduced all four Arcane skins for Vi, Caitlyn, Jayce, and Jinx into the “chess of champions.” Therefore, when the complete images of the Ekko the Firelight Leader skin were revealed, many hoped that Riot would also bring it into Teamfight Tactics in the upcoming patch 6.5.
However, with the current happenings on the test server, Ekko in patch 6.5 will not change appearance and will still use his default skin. The only change for this unit is that Ekko will gain the Inventor trait as Heimerdinger is removed in patch 6.5. This decision is viewed as extremely perplexing by Riot and has prompted numerous direct inquiries to the Project Lead of Teamfight Tactics – Riot Mortdog. Subsequently, Riot’s representative provided an explanation regarding this confusing decision.
Riot Mortdog: “Why isn’t Ekko the Firelight Leader included in Teamfight Tactics? Alright, here’s my answer. It’s an incredibly cool skin and sets player expectations too high, as players might think Ekko should be a 5-gold champion with a new skill. However, this isn’t good for game balance. If we included this skin but Ekko is still a 3-gold champion, it would be too mismatched. Therefore, we decided not to include it and keep Ekko’s appearance unchanged.”
Additionally, in Teamfight Tactics patch 6.5, two skins related to the Arcane series for Vi and Jinx will also be removed and replaced with their default skins. This adjustment aligns with the new traits that Vi and Jinx possess, as these two units have become Rival champions instead of Siblings as before. Clearly, the default skins for Vi and Jinx will fit better with this new trait.
However, fans of the Arcane series need not be too upset, as Riot has added a beloved character, Silco, to Teamfight Tactics patch 6.5. After some testing, Silco has shown himself to be an exceptionally powerful Scholar unit, providing incredibly strong effects for team compositions. This character promises to be a strong piece in the upcoming patch 6.5 and will likely be at the top of the meta.
