Just a couple of weeks after the release of Senna, Riot has fully revealed the next champion to join League of Legends. Spoilers: Aphelios, the Weapon of the Faithful, looks to be the most complicated champion that the game has ever known! Riot’s full kit breakdown for this champion is absolutely wild! Here’s the gist of it.
A Passive to End All Passives
No sense in wasting time – there is a LOT to cover here. First, Aphelios cycles through five different weapons throughout the game. Each weapon has 50 ammo and possesses its own basic attack and Q ability. The R ability, Moonlight Vigil, remains the same, essentially. It’s a line skill shot that explodes in a radius when it hits an enemy but has a different added effect depending on which weapon is equipped.
Furthermore, when a weapon runs out of ammo, it will be sent to the back of the line to recharge and the next weapon in line will become equipped. Aphelios’s W allows him to keep one weapon in his main-hand and one in his off-hand, and switch between them at will. Finally, there is no E ability in Aphelios’s kit. Q is automatically learned at level 2 and R is automatically leveled up at levels 6, 11 and 16. As a result, Aphelios has excess skill points, which he can spend on stats. He can choose between attack speed, attack damage and bonus armor penetration.
The Weapons
Calibrum, the Rifle
Aphelios’s rifle is meant to be used for long-range poke and harass. When abilities deal damage with Calibrum equipped, you can then right-click them from anywhere on the map, applying a basic attack. Aphelios’s Q ability with Calibrum is Moonshot: a skill shot that damages and marks the first enemy hit. Lastly, the R bonus effect: after casting R, Aphelios applies marks with his basic attacks. These marks deal more damage than the normal marks when detonated.
Severum, the Scythe Pistol
Severum is a shorter-range sustain weapon. Its attacks and abilities grant healing to Aphelios. Similarly to the Overheal rune, excess healing is converted into a shield. Again, similarly to Urgot’s W ability, Severum’s Q applies rapid-fire basic attacks to the nearest target. However, there is, of course, a twist! This ability applies basic attacks from both Severum and the current off-hand weapon. Finally, when cast with Severum, Aphelios’s R grants him a flat heal.
Gravitum, the Cannon
This beefy weapon is made for crowd control and kiting. Basic attacks from Gravitum apply a slow. Its Q ability roots all enemies affected by that slow. After casting R, Gravitum’s slow is massively increased. Nice and simple.
Infernum, the Flamethrower
This one’s for waveclear and AoE damage. Infernum applies increased attack and ability damage and creates damage cones behind enemies hit. Its Q ability spouts an AoE wave of flame, then, attacks all enemies hit with the off-hand weapon. After casting R, basic attacks create damage circles around enemies, instead of cones behind them.
Crescendum, the Chakram
Finally, Aphelios’s close-range assassination weapon. Crescendum functions like a boomerang, essentially increasing in attack speed the closer Aphelios is to his target. Bonus attack speed increases the travel speed of the projectile instead. When abilities deal damage, Crescendum creates copies of itself, increasing its basic attack strength temporarily. Casting R will always create at least three copies.
There isn’t proper footage of these abilities in action as of yet. However, it’s safe to say that Aphelios is going to behave unlike any champion in Leauge history. There’s an awful lot going on here. And this new champion even has his own unique HUD to help players keep track of everything. Get excited, because it seems like Riot is really stirring up the pot and changing the game! Stay tuned for more news on Aphelios, and good luck surviving once he hits the Rift!