Mirroring the release schedule of League of Legends in 2014, Riot Game has revealed their next champion today. Mark him down as the first support release since Braum came out in May of last year. Introducing Bard, the Wandering Caretaker. Yes, his name is Bard and Riot's really gone out of their way to create something unique with him. He's a chime-ringing, world-exploring, mask-faced, spirit-in-man's-clothing, wandering the world until the day Runeterra has found peace.
In the mean time, however, Bard will be fighting the good fight on Summoner's Rift — peace will have to wait. As a support role, Bard doesn't have a skill-set designed to dismantle and destroy his opponents. Rather, Bard's skills are designed to enhance his teammates while inhibiting his opponents. Most of the mechanics involved in Bard's kit aren't wholly original, but they're used in such a way that Bard is certain to mix up the meta on the Rift.
- Passive: Traveler’s Call
- Ancient Chimes – Bard’s presence causes sacred chimes to appear on the Fields of Justice. Collecting a chime grants Bard a brief burst of movement speed, experience, and mana.
- Meeps – Bard’s presence attracts small spirits known as meeps to his side. Whenever Bard attacks, a meep throws itself at his target, dealing extra damage before disappearing back to the spirit world. As Bard collects more chimes, the meeps that follow him grow in both number and power.
- Q: Cosmic Binding
- Bard fires out a burst of spirit energy in a line, damaging and slowing the first enemy struck. After Cosmic Binding hits an enemy, the burst of energy continues through, searching for secondary targets. If it hits a wall, it stuns the initial target; if it hits a second enemy, it stuns both targets.
- W: Caretaker’s Shrine
- Bard conjures a health pack that gains power for a few seconds. Allied champions who walk over the pack gain health and a brief burst of movement speed, while enemies can stand on the pack for a moment to destroy it.
- E: Magical Journey
- Bard conjures a portal on a target wall. The portal tunnels through to the far end of the wall, granting one-way passage to all champions, friend and foe, who enter it.
- R: Tempered Fate
- After a brief delay, Bard places all units in a targeted area – friend or foe, including champions, minions, monsters and turrets – in stasis. Frozen units are immune to all damage until the effect wears off.
As should be apparent, Bard's skills aren't wholle unique. His passive takes inspiration from both Thresh's souls and Lulu's Pix; his Q chains like Lux's cage and Veigar's upcoming Baleful Strike change; his W is a mix of Rek'sai's tunnel destruction mechanic a a heal; his E is Rek'Sai's tunnel only one way and with much more utility; finally, his R is a Zonya's which can be used unwillingly on both friend and foe alike. He's just different enough to be interesting, but also similar enough not to break the game.
To be honest, I find Bard's visual and audio design much more interesting than his gameplay. Riot has made no secret that they love to mix in music and beautiful sound-work in any way they can. Bard is another opportunity for Riot to spread its wings. See, Bard doesn't have a traditional voice. He speaks through tones and music. It's a woodwind-based voice, implied to come from him using his "pipe" to communicate. It's a beautiful idea and is certain to bring a serenity to even the most grueling of team-fights.
His animations, which sparkle and glow, only serve to accent his spiritual nature. His entire visual theme could likely be attributed to Studio Ghibli, or particularly the film Princess Mononoke. The mask Bard wears specifically is attributable to one that Mononoke-hime is seen wearing in the film. Bard's Meeps are also similar to Princess Monoke's take on kodama — Japanese tree spirits. Heck, perhaps it's unfair to say Bard is Princess Mononoke inspired as opposed to Japanese folklore and mythology.
Riot has yet again made a visually striking champion that is certain to be a welcome addition to the League of Legends champion roster. Supports, unlike other roles, are meant to fulfill unique purposes on Summoner's Rift. As a result, you often see Riot experimenting more with their design. Such is the case Bard, much like with Braum and Lulu before him. Hopefully Bard, also like the supports prior to him, finds his place both on the Rift and in summoners' hearts.
Expect Bard to be released with the next week or two. Expect more information on the new League of Legends champion in the days ahead. If you're interested in his alternate skin, it's named "Elderwood Bard" and features the support with two big wooden antlers and a leafy beard. It's darker and more mysterious in nature, just as Bard would likely prefer. It reminds me of The Beast from Over the Garden Wall.
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Chimes ring for League of Legends support players as Bard, the Wandering Caretaker, is revealed
Chimes ring for League of Legends support players as Bard, the Wandering Caretaker, is revealed
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