Riot reveals Mel’s in-game League of Legends skills
Arcane introduced many original and interesting characters into the League of Legends canon, but not all of them are suitable for the battlefield. In Season 2, Mel discovered that she had access to powerful magical abilities that played an important role in the final battle at Piltover.
Now she’s coming around League of Legends as the new champion, coinciding with a season taking place in her home country of Noxus. On Thursday, Riot revealed Mel’s abilities, and it appears she will be a powerful battle mage.
Passive – Scorching brilliance
Each time Mel uses an ability, she gains three bonus projectiles on her next attack, up to a maximum of nine.
When Mel deals damage via an ability or attack, she applies Overwhelm, which stacks the damage to deal the enemy. If the enemy is hit by Mel with enough Overwhelm damage to kill him, the stacks are consumed to execute him.
Q – Radiant volley
Mel fires a barrage of projectiles that explode around a target location, repeatedly dealing damage to enemies in the area.
W – Refutation
Mel gains movement speed, forming a barrier around herself that reflects enemy projectiles back at the attacker and prevents her from taking damage.
E – Solar string
Mel fires a beaming orb, wiping enemies in the center while dealing damage and slowing in an area around it over time.
R – Golden Eclipse
Mel hits all enemies marked with Overwhelm, regardless of range, dealing extra damage for each stack of Overwhelm.
Ranks of Golden Eclipse increase Overwhelm’s damage.
Mel’s ability to reflect projectiles back at champions is a game changer, especially since this includes both skillshots like Ashe’s icy arrow and targeted abilities like Syndra’s ultimate.
Mel has embraced her Noxian heritage and is dressed in red and black, the region’s signature colors. However, if you prefer her original design ArcaneMel’s launch skin will feature her original design in white and gold.
We can also expect Mel to play a major role in an upcoming Riot novel, Ambessa: Chosen from the Wolf. We’ll have to see how players use Mel in the current metagame, but it’s cool to see an alternate media character go through a character arc and rise through the ranks to join Competition‘s huge selection.