Riot Games announced plans for two more mid-scope updates to Neeko and Syndra today, adding more names to the ever-growing stack of League of Legends champions set to receive these type of changes.
In a recent developer vlog, Ryan “Reav3” Mireles, the lead producer of gameplay on League, dropped a bunch of information on new champions and updates of varying degrees to ones already on the roster. Players will be familiar with the term “mid-scope update” by now. Recent benefactors include Janna, Ahri, Swain, Taliyah, Olaf, and Sivir. They started in 2021 with the changes to Xin Zhao and Wukong that saw them jump back into the forefront of competitive play, as has been the case with pretty much every champion that has gotten this type of update.
With League‘s champion roster having recently crested 161, older champions that have been left in the dust, or whose identities didn’t land as strongly as intended, are getting their requisite attention. The expectation with mid-scope updates is “to freshen up the champoins that aren’t living up to the expectations of the players who love them,” according to Reav3. As champions have gotten more personality and identity in recent years, older champions that have been victims of having been designed too early in the game’s life cycle are having the quintessential aspects of their gameplay fantasy cranked up.
Neeko and Syndra are two champions with extremely iconic identities and kits, making them strong candidates for such a mid-scope update. Reav3 also referenced the higher play rate and general positive player feedback to mid-scope updates so far. Expect to see these two follow that trend.
These mid-scope updates aren’t to be confused with VGUs, like the one about to drop with Udyr. VGUs are more comprehensive and focus on more overt changes to visuals and gameplay, as opposed to just amplifications, for example. Likewise, a CGU, or comprehensive gameplay update, is what will debut with the highly-anticipated Aurelion Sol changes. The goal here is to “completely reimagine ASol’s gameplay without changing his visuals or narrative at all,” according to Reav3.
The lead designer on the League balance team, Matt “Phroxzon” Leung-Harrision, recently revealed that Riot will eventually stop creating new champions. Given this information, it’s all the more understandable that attention is being increasingly shifted toward the plethora of champions that, for whatever reason, could use a fresh set of eyes.
It’s unclear exactly when Neeko and Syndra will be receiving their mid-scope updates, but there are already ones in the works for Rell as well as potential further changes to Gangplank in this vein, so expect more specific information when more is revealed about the ones already planned.
