The transfigured expansion empires arrived in Legends of Runeterra in early March and brought a number of changes with them. The developers take us behind the scenes of its creation.
See also: Legends of Runeterra: The Empires of the Transfigurs expansion is available
The expansion Empires of the Transfigurs, available for a few days, has brought over 100 new maps and gameplay additions to the game. Legends of Runeterra. Since its release last April, the game has found its community between license and card game fans. Riot is also starting to develop and improve regular tournaments to develop its esports scene, although it has not yet had its world tournament.
Mark Sassenrath, the game master at Riot Games, told us about the development of this latest expansion. Its core is therefore Shurima, the new region of the game.. According to him, three aspects were put forward to recreate it: the subject of time, translated through the mechanisms of counting and prediction, its desert climate, and finally the tradition of the transfigured. “”We wanted Shurima to feel great and hug her champions. We have tried to reflect this through the Buried Sun Disk and Ambassador Dore.“”
Create champion cards
Champions are the strong elements of Legends of Runeterra and are directly inspired by the characters of League of Legends. They are the ones shaping the meta and driving the construction of decks. For Mark, Recovering champions in the card game is a very complex process : “There is always a tension between building old mechanisms and creating new ones.“, he explains.”Much of our development focuses on global elements such as Shurima’s strengths and weaknesses and the key mechanics of champions. The meta changes a lot over time so we can’t be too rigid in developing a set.. “
Cards are then identified based on these concepts and adopted by the balancing experts to shape their gameplay and ensure that it fits the meta.
Taliyah, for example, is a rocky jungler to create changing walls and plots in the MOBA. But in Legends of Runeterra she uses the mechanics of sites, cards on the board that cannot attack, block or take damage. “We thought Site Magic was a fun version of the earth magic it brings to League of Legends,” says the GM. “We also wanted to recreate his LoL magic pattern for heavy damage in some way, which is why his 2nd level throws stones with heavy damage at the enemy.”
Introduce the mythical mechanics of Zhonya
Empires of the Transfigures, which may have been little noticed by many gamers, hosted the Zhonya hourglass mechanics in Legends of Runeterra; It is one of the most famous objects in MOBA that can be used to become an invincible golden statue for a short time. This item turned fights and entire games upside down. In Legends of Runeterra, it manifests as Antique hourglass card that evokes the static moment with the “re-summoning” effect of a voluntarily wiped out unit, a bit like the rebirth of a card. Mark explains: “This map was created very early in the set’s development and was directly inspired by the stasis effect of Zhonya’s stopwatch and hourglass on LoL. We’re always looking for LoL, we can find it!“”
Who will be the next champion to join Legends of Runeterra? Riot Games did not announce it, but the Shurima region is being developed the expansion of the Ancestral Guardians in May, then the awakening of the underworld in June. Mark tells us more about the criteria for selecting League of Legends champions to recreate in the card game: “The process is not completely linear: the relationship between champions, set themes and game requirements is independent.. “
For Shurima, the champions had to bring together “main themes,” their gameplay and theme while maintaining variety. In short, consistency is crucial. After the release of five champions from this region, there is not much to add: this is the case with Amumu, Rammus, Rengar, Skarner or even Xerath. Some of them may be found in the card game very soon.
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