Who are the new champions in League of Legends?

In their 2023 roadmap, Riot Games teased a couple of new champions they will release in Season 13, adding to League of Legends' ever-growing diverse champion pool of 140+ characters.

These two new champions have been revealed to be a fire-based male enchanter and a Darkin assassin. Riot Games have also recently updated several older characters, including Aurelion Sol's CGU (Comprehensive Gameplay Update) and some of Ahri's ability visuals.

LoL: Summoner's Rift Tweaks

Ahri ASU

Ahri is a beloved LoL champion that has received an ASU (Art and Sustainability Update). Ahri's gorgeous skins and in-game visuals have been revitalized and modernized. Her standing animations on her default skin look a lot crisper, and it is a great quality of life updated added to the game.

Ahri's Q and E abilities have been slightly tweaked to improve visibility and make it clearer to players when Ahri lands an ability like her Charm. The visual effects for Ahri's Ultimate, Spirit Rush, have also been improved, making it easier to tell when it is being used.

Aurelion Sol's CGU

"Riot Kingcobra," or Rob Rosa stated in Aurelion Sol's main Discord that Aurelion Sol's CGU would hit live servers in Patch 13.3 in February. This CGU should improve Aurelion Sol's pick rates in ranked games.

He is the first champion to get a mechanical revamp in 2023, with his kit getting a major overhaul. He will still be a powerful mage in Mid lane, but he will gain the ability to fly freely in various directions rather than just one straight line.

League of Legends: Milio

When LoL players typically think of enchanters, they may think of the cutesy feminine characters like Nami, Lulu, Soraka, and Yuumi. However, Riot Games will bring a breath of fresh air to the Support role. The next League of Legends' new champion will be Milio, a young child from Ixtal, offering a different perspective on life from this unknown region.

He will be the first male enchanter added to the game. He will reportedly use the healing benefits of fire to soothe wounds and aid his allies. The only other champion to use fire magic is Brand. It will be interesting to see what this cute Support can do!

Riot Lexical has stated developing champions "for everyone to enjoy" will always remain a key priority, as Milio will add much-needed diversity to the champion pool.

League of Legends: Naafiri

The next LoL champion joining the roster in Season 13 will be Naafiri, a Darkin assassin. Little is yet known about her abilities, aside from Riot Lexical saying she will be made for players that want to "focus on the hunt" as a primarily mid-lane assassin.

They have also hinted this new League champion will inhabit multiple bodies, saying "it's always better to hunt in a pack." She will be a great champion for gamers who prefer to play with macros, rather than micros.

Naafiri will be a new Darkin champion joining the likes of Aatrox and Varus. Naafiri will be the only champion released this year without a shirt, much to the disappointment of fans who love seeing rippling abs on their LoL champions. Naafiri will join other popular shirtless characters like Viego, Kayn, and Yone.

League of Legends: Previous New Champions

Riot Games typically release around 4-5 new LoL champions a year as a rough guideline, so players can hope for a couple more characters to be released in 2022. However, with Riot working on several other projects like their MMO, content updates and new releases may become more infrequent.

Previous LoL champions released in 2022 included:

  • K'Sante, the Pride of Nazumah. He was released in November 2022 and is typically played in Top lane.
  • Nilah, the Joy Unbound. She was released in July 2022 and is played as an ADC in Bottom.
  • Bel'Veth, the Empress of the Void. She was released in June 2022 and is only played as a Jungler.
  • Renata Glasc, the Baroness of Chemistry. She was released in February 2022. She is only played as Support.
  • Zeri, the Spark of Zaun. She was released in January 2022. She is only played as an ADC.

Other Upcoming League of Legends Champions

Although they haven't revealed any specific details yet, Riot Games have hinted that other new League of Legends champions to be released this year include an "artistic midlaner" and a "hangry jungler," which could be of vampiric origin. But those are the only details that have been disclosed so far.

LoL fans can expect Rivalry to update this news article with any new information about upcoming champions when it becomes available.