League of Legends has gone through a long time since its first release to the gaming community in 2009. Now in Season 12, LoL continues to change and develop. The clearest sign that Riot still has a plan for its “favorite child” is the regular release of new champions. As of now, there are approximately 158 champions in League of Legends. At the same time, there are also other names teased to be making their way into Summoner’s Rift soon.
However, one undeniable fact is that monstrous champions – which are also an essential part of the vast Runeterra realm – are increasingly rare in League of Legends. As of now, nearly half of Season 12 has passed, but since the event of The Ruined King, only Lillia and Vex have been the two distinctly shaped champions introduced in League of Legends. However, Lillia is a true “hot girl” while Vex belongs to the short-statured Yordles.
All other champions have human shapes. And even if we count Vex and Lillia, the number of recently released distinctly shaped or monstrous champions is still too few. What is the reason?
Design Difficulty, from Shapes to Abilities
One undeniable fact is that if distinctly shaped champions in League of Legends, like Yordles or champions like Hecarim, Lillia, are already quite difficult to design in terms of abilities, shapes, and animations, then designing monstrous champions is even more challenging. In fact, later monstrous or distinctly shaped champions, like Zac, Ivern, or Ornn, are also designed based on human forms. Purely monstrous champions like Vel’Koz or Skarner have almost not seen any new names introduced.
Because of these design challenges, these champions take a long time to rework or adjust. Skarner was only recently added to the rework list while this champion had almost completely disappeared from Summoner’s Rift.
Not to mention, reworks sometimes become pointless because Riot still cannot design a skill set that fits the character’s nature, aligns with the lore, and is effective in League of Legends. A prime example is Fiddlesticks, who remains “silent” even though he was reworked long ago.
No Capacity to Build Related Events or Lore
One undeniable fact is that in recent times, whenever a new champion is about to be released, Riot will introduce this champion into a story/event. Notable examples include Yone and Lillia (The Ruined King), Senna, Viego, Vex, Gwen, Akshan (The Ruined King – Sentinel of Light)… Even the two recently introduced champions, Renata Glasc and Zeri, are said to be related to the Arcane series depicting the battle between Zaun and Piltover.
Meanwhile, Riot has no specific plan to explore the stories of distinctly shaped or monstrous champions. While distinctly shaped champions like Vex, Lillia… still have opportunities to participate in major events, monstrous champions seem to be “out of the running”. Although the community still hopes for stories about monsters from the Void or species that have appeared in League of Legends like Brackern (Skarner), it will be extremely difficult to diversify their roles or create connections with other champions in League of Legends.
Riot Cannot Capitalize on Skins from These Champions
In addition, one reason (which may be the main reason) is that Riot will find it very difficult to capitalize on skins related to distinctly shaped champions or monstrous champions. This has been demonstrated through many of Riot’s new skin releases. And it is likely unnecessary to mention that the champions with the most skins (and also the best-selling skins) in League of Legends are beautiful names in terms of appearance and physique.
Skins for human-shaped champions are not only easy to design but also align with the aesthetic tastes of the League of Legends community. While it’s known that monsters or distinctly shaped champions are still cool, if they do not fit the meta, then surely, no one would spend money buying skins for these champions. Meanwhile, people are willing to open their wallets for Lux Elementalist or Miss Fortune Star Guardian, even though sometimes, they are not used much anymore.
In the near future, a new champion from the Void is set to appear, as Riot teased not long ago. However, the number of monstrous champions and those with unusual shapes introduced in the last two seasons, as of now, only stands at three, which is still too few. But perhaps, Riot will not be concerned, especially when human-shaped champions still dominate the meta and contribute to massive skin sales.