The first few years after the release of League of Legends were some of the biggest in terms of champion releases. Riot Games had made a promise to release a champion every two weeks and was able to deliver on that promise for several months in a row. However, this character creation request also resulted in something else: the appearance of a cemetery of canceled characters. For most of them we were able to learn endless details, but there are others that remain a mystery so long after the fact.
The most mysterious canceled champion
One of the cases where the development of a character has stopped almost without a trace is that of komachi. All information about this champion disappeared with the removal of the official League of Legends forums. However, sources from the time assure that it would be a heroine who would use a scythe as a weapon and fulfill the functions of a tank. An idea that was canceled since Riot Games did not find a way to develop it without its design being full of clichés. A reason that was very strange in the early years of the game, which featured releases like Ashe, Annie, Shaco or Twitch. It’s not that they were bad, but they are overused archetypes.
Interestingly, the few details about the champion give us a clue as to her origin. League of Legends developers were heavily influenced by the Tohou Project at the time of its release. A very popular video game series in Japan that they used as a reference to create Lux. In that same franchise, there was a character named Komachi who also used a scythe. A rather particular connection that doesn’t seem to fit with the creation of a tank for the top lane and which is even more strange considering its unique suppressed ability.
A very strange ability that will never come to League of Legends
Komachi’s main problem was the spell that was to characterize his skill set. The goal was to create a structure in Summoner’s Rift that tried to adapt the mechanics of Portal to the game. a kind of Veigar’s E (Desecration) in which walls wouldn’t stun players, but would have a teleportation effect that could vary depending on the situation. depending on what part of the barrier each champion is in when they are created.
- If you were outside the structure, it could no longer lock you in. If you hit a wall, the champion would spawn outside the opposite wall.
- If you were inside the structure, you remained locked in. If you hit a wall, the champion spawns inside the opposite wall.
This ability isn’t very obvious, but it could have been one of the most powerful spells in League of Legends history. His possibilities were endless. Locking up an ally in a duel they might win, or making it easier to engage or flank a teammate by letting them go over the wall seems like a great idea for winning games. However, the is too complex and impossible to balance, which can lead to many problems. Also, programming this ability would have been a real challenge, as Riot didn’t have the technology and the interactions with the abilities weren’t clear.
Under these circumstances, the idea was canceled indefinitely. Even today, Riot Games struggles to create new abilities in League of Legends if they have to interact with the rest of the spells. We saw this with the launch of Vex, which was supposed to have the ability to slow down enemy projectiles and create new effects for teammates’ projectiles. However, this concept was discarded because it was too difficult to design.
Even though our appetite has been somewhat sated by Arcane, the League of Legends-inspired series, the community still wants more. And rather than waiting for Riot Games’ next productions, some are creating what a MOBA-inspired anime might look like themselves.