Mid-lane players, rejoyce! The next champion to hit the Summoner’s Rift has been revealed, and it turns out, he’s a pure-bred AP mid-laner. It was high time AP players would be getting some love from Riot Games, after the bottom-lane received Jinx and Lucian, while the top lane received Yasuo. This love (it’s just the word of the day, deal with it!) comes in the form of Vel’Koz, one not particularly pretty creature of the Void. Vel’Koz is the lovechild of Malzahar an Kog’Maw. It’s also an indirect reference to the Beholder, a creature well-known for those of you acquainted to classical RPGs.
As far as gameplay goes, Vel’Koz will be an extremely aggressive, albeit vulnerable champion. The League of Legends roster has seen similar champions in the past (Xerath comes as a prime example), but Vel’Koz will be particularly vulnerable, given the fact that he lacks any sort of escape. His tool-set includes a slow and a minor knockback, but that’s pretty much it. What he lacks on the defensive side, he makes up on the offensive side though. Harass is the first word that comes to mind while reading about his (or its?) abilities. His ultimate requires him to stand still and channel, and is similar to Lux’s large beam of sunshine and happiness, with shorter range but bigger damage.
Based on tester feedback, ganking and shutting down Vel’Koz early on is crucial. Once he gets ahead, and assuming he positions well, he’s a huge threat that is hard to stop. Vel’Koz will most likely arrive in an upcoming patch to League of Legends, somewhere around the end of the month. He comes with a great-looking skin too, mainly the Battlecast skin, joining the ranks of Cho’Gath or Urgot. We were particularly impressed with his artwork, design, and skill-effects. Based on what we’ve seen so far, it’s also very likely that major eSports superstars like Ocelote or Xpeke will pick him up and use him thoroughly throughout the 4th competitive season of League of Legends. If you’re curious to see how Vel’Koz looks, take a look at some leaked footage, showcasing his abilities, skin and voice:
