League of Legends Is Updating Both Volibear and Fiddlesticks

League of Legends players voted for the champion that they though best deserved a rework, but the result of the vote will see not one, but two champions updated. Fiddlesticks and Volibear were almost tied in the results of the global poll for the player-driven champion rework, so Riot Games announced that it’s planning on giving both champions a full Visual and Gameplay Update in 2020. Some early designs for the champions as well as concept explorations from the designers and narrative team are already underway with Riot giving players a preview of those ahead of the reworks.

The champion rework poll opened earlier in the month and tasked players with choosing between Volibear, Fiddlesticks, Nocturne, Dr. Mundo, and Shyvana for one champion update in 2020. Results came in, and Fiddlesticks had 24.42% of the vote while Volibear took 24.69%. Riot said the results were close enough to warrant both champions being updated.

“The vote was SUPER close between the two, with Volibear just bearly edging out Fiddlesticks,” Riot said. “(In some regions, the vote difference was less than 100.) This is why we’ve decided to start both Fiddlesticks and Volibear VGUs!”

Senior champion designer Nathan “Riot Lutzburg” Lutz who’s been working on Malphite’s smaller champion update shared some thoughts on the direction Volibear might take while concept artist Justin “RiotEarp” Albers and narrative writer Rayla “Jellbug” Heide explored Voli’s champion concept and backstory.

“Volibear is one of my most played champions, so I’m thrilled to work on him! My goal is to preserve the spirit of current Volibear, allowing him to do cool bear things like chase down and maul his enemies,” Lutz said. “I’d also like to integrate his ‘thunder god’ aesthetic into more of his kit while finding new ways to explore the bruiser role.”

As for Fiddlesticks, that champion’s gameplay design update will be led by Blake “Squad5” Smith who’s known for designing Ivern and Ornn and work done on other champions like Jhin. Concept artist Sunny “Kindlejack” Pandita and narrative writer Jared “Carnival Knights” Rosen will also be working on the champion’s update.

“I want Fiddlesticks to be the most terrifying champion in the game, without exception,” Rosen said. “He begs questions like, ‘What is a scarecrow? What is the facsimile of a person, and why does it move around? What compels it to kill?’ There’s a deeply unsettling logic at work within that champion, and I’m excited to drag it out and give it new, monstrous life.”

These new champions will be reworked in 2020, but look for some updates on their development throughout the year as concepts and abilities are explored.