League of Legends is introducing another new skinline: Zenith Games. It's expected to come out in patch 12.17, along with a King Viego skin.
King Viego – 1350 RP
“The heir of Camavor, wielder of the Blade of the King, Viego longs to follow in his father's footsteps. To his advisor Kalista, his doubts were clear long before his coronation, as whispers of the sword's bond echoed throughout the Sanctum of Judgement. But he wears the Argent Crown, and with his blade, Sanctity, Viego will strike fear into the enemies of his nation.”
King Viego is out of theme with the Zenith Games skinline also releasing this patch, but for good reason. This skin is being released along with the announcement of the audiobook for The Ruination novel, wherein Viego is a relevant character.
In the splash art, he is seen pre-Ruination in all of his kingly attire. He is shown bending a knee and taking the hand of an out-of-frame woman who is most likely his wife, Isolde. Viego is shown in a different light (quite literally), as he seems to be inside a well lit room, making the details of his royal regalia easily visible.
King Viego in-game is primarily blue, thanks to his clothes. What's really the eye-catcher for his model is his sword, which is now shinier than it's ever been. Sanctity, as it was called before it was the Blade of the Ruined King, has gold accents and a lustrous blade, far removed from its usual misty, dull look. Another thing of note is that his voice-lines lack the secondary “echo” behind it, which is a nice detail since this skin portrays Viego before the Mist affected him. The same can be said about the sword SFX – they all sound “clean,” with sharper effects instead of the bass-y ones all of his other skins have.
The primary color for all of his VFX is gold, this includes the mist from his E ability. Details that are consistent with the Camavor theme are also present, most prominently on his E and R.
It doesn't seem like a must-buy, but if you like Viego and his backstory, you can get a glimpse of Isolde during his recall animation. The “cleaner” SFX may also be a charm point for this skin, as it can be a refreshing departure from the usual Viego.
King Viego is also part of the Ruination skinline, which had its description updated:
“One thousand years ago, the last king of Camavor chose to follow his heart at the expense of his country. So powerful was his love that fate intervened, and only ruin followed.”
Pre-release update:
- ‘Mist trail' during walk has been removed
- Crown indicating Champion possessed by Viego has been enlarged
Zenith Games Skins
“It's 2122, a year of firsts for the Zenith Games. Robot referees are taking to the field, the sport of Hammerjack is making its competitive debut, and after years of talks, augmented humans are finally allowed to compete. All that's left is seeing who will win.”
Zenith Games is a new skinline being introduced, and is an alternate universe taking place in a futuristic sports event in the 23rd century. The first members of the line are Blitzcrank, Jayce, and Lee Sin.
Zenith Games Blitzcrank – 1350 RP
“Originally a bomb defusal robot, Blitzcrank was made a referee because of his ability to make split-second adjustments to stay ahead of the prodigious athletes. Only later did everyone realize that the bot's background made him unusually effective in defusing the intense… disagreements that often arise.”
Zenith Games Blitzcrank's splash art is. He's standing in the middle of a field along with several humans, and he's pulling one dude off of another with his claw hand to end a mid-game scuffle. This being said, he does not look like a referee at all, and he looks like a hunk of black and red metal wearing a translucent cap.
The shoulder guards on Zenith Games Blitzcrank is the most pop-out feature of this skin, since it glows a bright yellow. His right hand is a stub, and the claw propels out of it tethered by a red film. This is most identical to the iBlitzcrank skin's hook. When E is active, his hands glow red and gains an extra ring effect around it. The main color of the particles is red and yellow electricity, similar to Lancer Rogue Blitzcrank.
All in all, Zenith Games Blitzcrank does not stand out in any way, and it's easy to feel neutral towards it.
Pre-release update:
There was not enough actionable feedback, therefore no changes were made to the skin.
Zenith Games Jayce – 1350 RP
“Jayce invented Hammerjack as a showcase sport for humanity's new augmented abilities. Nothing else tested athletes across so many directions and terrain, and with this being its first year in the Zenith Games, he intends to show everyone what THE sport of the 22nd century looks like.”
Zenith Games Jayce's hammer glows with yellow electricity in hammer form, and turns into his signature blue when in cannon form. The normal attacks for the respective weapon form match this glow.
The particles for each weapon's ability mostly follow the theme as well, which may have something to do with game clarity. For hammer form abilities, this means primarily yellow particles with some blue accents. This is flipped for cannon form abilities: they are primarily light blue with purple highlights. The yellow is only really visible during cannon form on the Empowered Shock Blast. The VFX has some hexagonal patterns subtly made into it, but they would be hardly visible in the middle of a match.
Pre-release update:
- When striking an enemy with Q in Hammer form, there is now a decaying part on the ground.
- Jayce's bottom part was already buffed to be more prominent thus no more changes will be made here.
Zenith Games Lee Sin – 1350 RP
“Martial artist Lee Sin's focus on overwhelming his opponents before they could react had won him many championships, but also burned him out. Realizing that his strategy had been rooted in fear, he augments his body not to give himself more strength, but to concentrate his mind and senses.”
Zenith Games Lee Sin is rocking a sick fade and some chrome shades, and also has gotten an upgrade in the hands department. His hands are mechanical, and appears like a gauntlet that goes past his elbow. In focus is his shin, and we seem to have the POV of an unfortunate fellow who was on the receiving end of his electric kick.
Zenith Games Lee Sin is a deep purple in-game, and his hands glow blue. When his passive his active, his hands become electrified. The particles from his normal attacks and abilities also follow this color palette.
When he casts Q, he throws out a disembodied punch within the projectile, and the enemy hit is marked by cyan arrows and a cute little Baron icon above them. Lee Sin leaves a cyan trail upon taking the Q. The shield from W has four dragon emblems revolving on the side, and the identical Baron icon appears under him upon recasting W. The E is short and simple, sharing the same cyan and purple palette. The Cripple from E causes all affected units to have the Baron icon momentarily. Enemies kicked leave a cool neon trail behind them.
Zenith Games Lee Sin, like the rest of this skinline, is nothing special. Lee Sin has arguable the best visuals out of the three, but is still no contest to Lee Sin's other Epic skins. Maybe skin collectors will be interested in this skin, or those that are fans of the futuristic sports theme.
Pre-release update:
- We will make the change to Lee Sin's hairstyle to bring his silhouette closer to other skins. However, this change may not be in time to make to the live servers for the release day.
Zenith Games Blitzcrank, Zenith Games Jayce, Zenith Games Lee Sin, and King Viego are expected to release with League of Legends Patch 12.17, scheduled to go live on September 8, 2022. All of these skins come with 8 chromas each.
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