Gone are the days of multiplayer videogames with a set roster of characters. Sure, people still play Team Fortress 2 more than a decade after its release, but its nine classes remain just as they were in 2007. Now, though, incessant updates and patches have turned the most popular titles into ever-evolving sagas, with ever-evolving choices. Blizzard's Overwatch has 29 distinct playable heroes, each with their own backstory and skillset. Valve's Dota 2 has 79.
And then there's League of Legends.
Since its release in 2009—just two short years after Team Fortress 2—Riot Games' battle arena title offers 141 champions players can choose. One hundred and forty-one. It's almost impossible to keep track. Or, rather it would be, if two Riot employees hadn't come to the rescue. In our newest installment of "Every X in Y," LoL design director Andrei Van Roon and Riot head of creative development Greg Street run through all 141 of them.
From Aatrox to Zyra—though not in that order—they give their own thoughts on each champion, along with a little bit of lore (Rammus originally had much more recorded dialogue, but most of it was scuttled, which is why he's known for his signature guttural "OKAY") and a lot of sardonic humor (Street on Jarvan IV: "He has a spear, he jumps on people. That’s a … recurring motif in League of Legends.").
So if you've ever had trouble distinguishing your Udyr from your Urgot, or your Fizz from your Gnar, consider this your crib sheet for all things LoL ... at least until next week, when a new mage joins the game.
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