When Riot Games teased Swain’s reworking in progress with their ominous teaser trailer earlier this month for League of Legends fans, the much changed champion sparked quite the reaction from the Riot Games player base. Some joked that this Swain looked more like Swain than Swain does (Let’s say ‘Swain’ one more time, for good measure), while others thought the feathered look was a bit much.
When one fan asked about if Riot was planning on changing up the look given the many complaints about Swain’s long hair and almost sinister use of feathers, Gameplay Producer ‘Reav3’ mentioned that the team was very reflective throughout the rework process and that as of right now, they aren’t planning on making any tweaks. Here’s the original question and answer via Reddit/r/LeagueofLegends:
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“Hey Reav3 would you know if we are to expect any Swain tweaks to his art, as generally there has been displeasure over the long hair and lack of bird form?”
We do not plan on making any art changes to Swain. We feel his current art is very reflective of his new theme/personality. While Swain is still a military dictator, at this point in his life he also knows how to play the game and his personality has a lot more charm/sophistication in it which we think his new look reflects. Long hair is pretty common in Noxian Aristocracy. We did choose to show the hardened side to him in the Northern Front Swain and really drive that part of him home in that skin. As for the bird form, Swain is in control of the demon. The demon is not in control of him and does not transform him. The only part of the demon that is showing is the part that isn’t him anymore (the arm.) It really doesn’t’ make sense from a character or lore perspective for him to to fully transform into a bird. We did put that onto the Tyrant Swain skin however where sticking to the lore doesn’t matter as much.
While the reaction has been mixed, there are many that are looking forward to seeing his changes because his drain tank playstyle doesn’t often match up to the role Riot Games has cast him as. Because of his champion mechanics, he’s often in the middle of the fight versus leading them as his “Master Tactician” title implies. Luckily, Riot has been aware of this for quite some time and have rebuilt this champion from the ground up.
To see Swain’s complete rework, check out our full coverage of the reveal here.
Here’s the teaser to judge for yourself:
