Riot adjusts the Smolder champion design immediately following player backlash

❘ published: 2024-01-06T15:05:53 ❘ Updated: 2024-01-06T15:06:05

The latest champion to be added to the League of Legends roster had its design changed almost immediately after players criticized how it looked.

The smolder was unveiled during the announcement of new facilities coming to the league for the 2024 season, but its design quickly drew criticism from players who wanted it to be Disney-esque.

As a baby dragon, you’d expect it to look a bit cute, especially with the “success” of champions with similar styles like Zoe and Yuumi.

However, his face drew a lot of criticism from players who worried that Smolder was a little too far into the uncanny valley, prompting League developers to quickly make some adjustments.

The design of the latest LoL champion has changed immediately

Rioter Lexical posted the changes on Twitter the day after the announcement, saying the team “heard your feedback on Smolder’s face and are making some adjustments to highlight his dragon features.”

The post was accompanied by before and after images, showing that the new smolder design has more pronounced scales and sharper eyes. His new nose is also more animalistic.

Lexik also noted that his in-game splash art will also undergo changes to match the new look.

The changes were met with significantly more positivity than the original design, and many players and content creators praised Riot for quickly responding to feedback.

Top League YouTuber Nacrit Asked: “Where do all these W’s come from?!”, while a lore content creator Sharjah Said: “Props to Riot on the quick response; “This is definitely a significant improvement, and special thanks to the Riots involved.”

For more news and updates on the latest champions added to the League of Legends roster, check out our breakdown of all of Smolder’s abilities and playstyles.