Riot Games has finally lifted the veil on the Udyr rework, the latest of League of Legends' visual gameplay updates, or VGUs.
The new trailer does not fully explain what all of the new Udyr can do, but it does run down all of his main abilities, which seem to be tied to his primary animal forms - now referencing the Freljord demi-gods. You can see them all for yourself below, but there are a few interesting changes; while the pre-rework Bear and Phoenix stances remain somewhat intact (albeit with a frozen, lore-based twist on the latter), Udyr's Turtle and Tiger stances are now dedicated to the Ram and the Boar. That's more in-keeping with his wild-man vibe, but should also result in some slightly different effects.
Perhaps more importantly, however, the trailer shows off plenty of Udyr's new look, which is one of the mightiest dad bods I've ever seen in a video game.
"With the ability to commune with any and all of the spirits of the Freljord, Udyr channels and transforms their ethereal energy into his own wild physical fighting style," as his new official bio explains. "Through his growing mastery of this awe-inspiring and versatile power, Udyr seeks to maintain the balance of the Freljord’s mystical landscape, where conflict and struggle is its lifesblood... and where sacrifices must be made to keep peace at bay."
Udyr was the overwhelming winner of a vote last year for the game's next VGU, and Riot has acknowledged that the aging champion hasn't been keeping up with the game's more modern characters. A series of dev blogs have been providing early looks at the revamped champ, and thankfully Riot ripped off the bandaid about his lost antlers early. (RIP horns.)
League of Legends has been running for a very long time at this point, so the VGU series has been Riot's attempt to modernize old characters to fit with the current game - in terms of graphics, gameplay, and lore.
Riot's been providing a few details on its non-League projects lately, too - explaining why their MMO was revealed so early and confirming that their fighting game will be free-to-play.
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