In a move that has many questioning Riot’s direction for League of Legends, Summoner’s Rift is getting a new champion no one asked for. Ambessa, a Noxian warrior, brings yet another high-mobility, complex kit that feels like an echo of Riven’s original design.
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Ambessa is the latest Noxian fighter to come into the League of Legends. She is dashing her way from the Arcane TV series into Riot’s popular MOBA game. However, ever since announced, the sentiment around her is that she is not needed in the game and developers should focus on reworking old heroes that need attention.
Ambessa hits PBE today. Hard. With twin drakehounds. pic.twitter.com/AhyLiwFw8Y
— League of Legends (@LeagueOfLegends) October 22, 2024
One player in particular said it perfectly: “It’s all the same skills over and over. Just fix and rework old characters, stop making new ones.”
Ambessa is the next hero who breaks the mobility-creep, feeling like an heiress to K’sante’s domination not long ago. Whenever she uses an ability, there is a brief cooldown before she can cast another, during which she will dash and auto attack in between, increasing her damage.
A similar auto-attack weaving pattern is seen in Riven’s kit. Additionally, Ambessa’s passive grants her auto-attacks bonus effects depending on what ability she used, and these include increased range, damage, attack speed, and quicker energy restoration.
That said, Ambessa is a threat to a late-game meta. Although she isn’t without limitation, her scaling looks far from balanced, similar to past champions like Kalista, Tahm Kench, or even Jinx, who needed to be fine-tuned over and over in order to get them right.
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On the other hand, Riven is a forgotten hero who once dominated the top lane. This Noxian warrior became known for her animation-cancelling mechanics, chaining abilities, and squeezing auto-attacks between them. This led to big bursts of damage, all the while outmaneuvering enemy champions thanks to high mobility.
Unfortunately, Riven is currently more than useless in the late game. Anywhere past the 20-minute mark, her damage and durability in the lane fall into the rift. With Ambessa and Riven feeling too similar, while the prior one taking over the late-game, the Arcane character feels like an unnecessary addition to the vast pool of champions.
Given Riven’s eponymous place among the league’s greats, it raises questions on why Riot chose to bring in a new, Riven-like champion, instead of just giving Riven the buff she desperately needs.