League of Legends fans are in for a big surprise, as the game is about to receive a new champion in the form of Briar.
The new champion was announced by developer Riot Games through a series of teasers on X, formerly Twitter. These teasers included a bit of lore for new champion Briar, as well as a short segment of gameplay.
What do we know about the new champion Briar so far? Read on to find out.
New LoL champion Briar is out for blood and meat
While details are still few and far between for new LoL champion Briar, there are a few things we do know based on the teaser trailers already released. Briar is a fighting champion, and her hunger is central to her character design.
In her teaser trailer, Briar is released from jail after being fed. Her captors make it very clear that feeding Briar is a dangerous idea, and Briar’s stylized slaughter of her jailors furthers this idea as their defeated bodies are transformed into tasty meat-snacks for Briar to consume.
This may mean that Briar is able to build up some sort of stack or passive based on either damage dealt to enemy champions, or on outright enemy champion kills.
This would line up with what’s seen in her first gameplay trailer. Briar is able to assault a trio of champions and defeat them. It would make sense for her strength to build up after each kill, enabling her to take down more champions as the fight progresses.
This would also make sense given that she’s seen in two different states in the lore video: One passive and friendly state in which her arms are magically bound in some sort of device, and one aggressive and bloodthirsty state in which she’s free to attack without hindrance.
First hints at Briar’s abilities and ultimate
Briar’s in-game abilities and ultimate have yet to be officially revealed, but some of them are revealed in her first gameplay teaser trailer.
Briar is able to launch a projectile that can potentially travel the full distance of Summoner’s Rift. If it comes into contact with an enemy champion, Briar is able to immediately transport herself across the map and to that champion in melee range, initiating a fight. This would seem to position Briar as either an assassin or a very aggressive fighter.
Once Briar is in tight and has taken down two enemy champions in the trailer, she turns her attention to the third, Jarvan IV. When the enemy Jarvan uses his ultimate on Briar, she responds with a channeled ability that fills the area immediately in front of her. Once the channel is complete, any enemies in his area of effect are knocked up into the air and made vulnerable. This would appear to be very similar to Sion’s knock-up ability, both in scale and in effect.
There are likely other abilities still be revealed in new champion Briar’s kit, but these are already easy to identify.
No information has yet been offered by Riot Games as to when Briar will be arriving in League of Legends. But based on how advanced this gameplay is, it could be very soon.
