Mel’s game development sparked curiosity among many fans of Arcane and League of Legends. Riot Emizery stepped in to answer some of the burning questions.
In an interview with the League of Legends Twitch streamer MrsChimChim, Riot Emizery, one of the game developers of Mel's kit and abilities, talked about the champion's game development, inspirations, balance, and much more. Let's get into the key moments of this interview.
The inspiration behind Mel's design
"Mel has a unique silhouette and animations," Riot Emizery explained. He said that it's important to make her stand out as a different character. That's one of the reasons why Mel wears a red and black dress — different from the dress code we had seen her wear in Arcane and closer to the one she's wearing in the Arcane Councilor Mel skin.
Riot Emizery added that since he’s not an artist, he couldn’t speak to the inspirations behind Mel's design. However, he emphasized that making her unique has always been one of the team's main goals.
As for future skin lines, Riot Emizery didn't note any updates, as he’s not directly involved in the decision-making process. However, he shared his personal opinion (remember, it's only an opinion — this is not a confirmation) on how he'd love to see Mel in a Star Guardian concept. He continued, adding that he believes Mel would be a perfect fit, given the skin line’s emphasis on vibrant colors, elegant dresses, and overall sophistication.
Mel's game development: Mid or support?
Some of the fans' questions were about which lane Mel should be in to be more impactful: mid or support? According to Riot Emizery, "the idea is to balance her on mid-lane. However, that doesn't mean you can't play her as a support." In fact, as a support, she has a good kit to be helpful for peeling like Janna or Lulu. Nonetheless, Mel has been designed for the mid-lane since her kit and abilities are more viable in that lane.
In Arcane, Mel indeed looked like a possible support champion due to her shield and focus on protecting Caitlyn in one of the most important fight scenes of the show. "Character-wise, it's normal that she seemed more 'protective' since she had many people she loved and character about," Riot Emizery explained. "In League of Legends, Mel appears as a grown woman who knows much more about her powers.
"She is a strong woman both in Arcane and League of Legends," MrsChimChim added. "Fans said she is the Beyoncé of League of Legends."
An idea since 2019
Making Mel a playable character emerged as an idea around 2019. A game designer started to think about how she could be in League of Legends, but with the production of Arcane, Mel's game development was delayed so as not to spoil any Arcane plot points beforehand. With Mel as a champion came the idea of "catching abilities and reflecting them," — something that had never been done before in the game. This ultimately led to the creation of her W ability's reflection mechanic.
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Why can't Mel's W be used on allies like in Arcane?
That's the million-dollar question. In Arcane, we saw Mel using her shield to protect Caitlyn. However, in the League of Legends game itself, Mel can't cast her W ability on her allies. Why is that? Riot Emizery explained that "it would be too overpowering."
In his opinion, "her W is not inherently overpowering. I don't think it's an unbalanced spell." Even though many players think it's an overpowered ability, Riot Emizery said that Mel would be too unbalanced if she could cast that ability on allies. It was tested, but it proved to be too strong.
As for her difficulty level, the game developers chose to build Mel as an "easy champion" for new players coming from Arcane or any player overall. They wanted to make enemies more aware of using their abilities against Mel in terms of making more mindful plays.
"Her W is the coolest thing in the game. We wanted her gameplay to be fun and fair at the same time," Riot Emizery added. The fact that Mel can reflect multiple projectiles at the same time, which can be super strong and impactful, will force the enemy team to be more mindful of her ability.
Mel's best overpowered combos and items
Mel's game development was done in constant communication with Fortiche — the animation studio that worked on Arcane. Riot Emizery said he's grateful for the experience. The interaction between them was fruitful in building Mel's kit and integration in the show.
As for Mel's best items, he suggested the Shadowflame item since its damage has great synergy with her passive. This combination is perfect for making Mel even more powerful in a lane. The same can be applied with the Arcane Comet rune. It's great for her since her abilities can proc easily with the rune. "Use her passive often!" Riot Emizery said. Overall, if you want to carry in games, you have to use Mel's passive. Optimize her and make her even more impactful. You can check out all of Mel's kit and abilities here.
Are other Arcane champions coming to the game?
Unfortunately, we don't know anything for sure. "As a person who loves video games, League of Legends, and Arcane, I would love to see Sevika or Smeech," the game developer mentioned. However, keep in mind that this is merely his personal opinion and not a confirmation of any sort.
Check out the full interview on MrsChimChim's official YouTube channel.
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