SMOLDER Champion Insights & Strategies
ADC: Audacious Dragon Cutie
•The bot lane is known for its serious gaming atmosphere. Miss a cannon minion? Straight to jail. Forget to swap to blue trinket? Straight to jail. Die? Jail.
•Many champions in the ADC role take themselves just as seriously. Ashe, Aphelios, Jhin, Varus—super fun at parties. After evaluating the marksman roster, the Champions team decided it was time to inject some charm and cuteness into the mix. (While some of us believe in the adorableness of Kog’Maw, others are nonbelievers.)
•Introducing Smolder, the Fiery Fledgling. He's undeniably cute, but he's still a powerful dragon—his mom told him so! Just tread carefully, or you might get burned.
Just A Silly Little Guy
•Creating an aww-inspiring marksman was a major goal for the team, but they also aimed to add an AD carry that was simply fun to play.
•“They wanted to introduce a simple-to-play marksman because all of the ones that we've shipped recently are really mechanically complex, like Zeri, Samira, Aphelios, and Nilah… who’s like a melee marksman. We thought it was time to introduce a champ that's a bit easier to play, a bit more traditional for the role. You don't need to be Ruler to play it, kind of thing,” recalls producer Rob “Riot KingCobra” Rosa.
•The cute creature thematic seemed like it could fit really well within these gameplay goals. But what kind of cute creature? After exploring a few other creature possibilities, the team decided on a dragon since it has the range to be a natural marksman.
Infinite Variations of Cute
•In the realm of dragons, there are infinite variations of cute," explains concept artist Oussama “Riot Whiteleyth” Agazzoum. "I explored different feels and personalities that could fit within the bounds of cute, from the typical wide-eyed innocent little guy, to something on the pretty side, to something more cocky or grumpy, but also cuddly. That last one resonated with a lot of the team members, but we didn’t want Smolder to feel bratty or unlikeable. We looked for the right balance and focused on him being proud rather than cocky.
A Dragon with Character
•Smolder is a little overconfident, but not in an obnoxious way. He’s also very playful, a trait the champions team leaned into to make sure Smolder’s personality felt different enough from other young champs like Nunu and Milio.
•While Smolder is League’s only young dragon, he’s in good company with other dragon champs, namely Shyvana and Aurelion Sol—or as Smolder calls him, Mr. Airy Lion Soul. However, he’s not linked to them directly. He’s also not related to the elemental drakes (because that would be pretty weird for a juvenile dragon to be regularly taking down adult versions of itself).
Dragon Origins
•For Smolder’s background, the team looked to a more mysterious part of Runeterra: Camavor. Lucky for the champions team, Legends of Runeterra already had some inspiration at the ready.
•“The Camavoran Dragon that some players are familiar with from Legends of Runeterra has been twisted by the Black Mist. So we were trying to imagine a version from before the Ruination,” explains Riot Whiteleyth.
•The imperial dragons of Camavor are immensely powerful creatures who had strong ties with the royal family before the Ruination. Once thought to be lost forever, we now know that their lineage lives on in Smolder—and he’s pretty stoked about it (though he doesn’t quite understand the gravity of what it means).
A Unique Gameplay
•But there is one aspect that really differentiates Smolder’s gameplay from his fellow dragons. Whereas Shyvana and Aurelion Sol are fearsome dragons from the time the announcer welcomes you to Summoner’s Rift, Smolder takes a little time to warm up.