Nami/Development

Nami Sneak Peek
By Ryan 'Morello' Scott

Hey folks,

As I've been hinting at for a little while now, the next champion is our new support character. While we'll get to the details on her in the next few days, I wanted to pull back the curtain on what 'support champion' means when we set out to create one.

First up, let's discuss the differences between support characters, and the lane assignment of support - they overlap a lot, but they're not the same:


 * Support characters are defined by being assisters and enablers for their allies - this is the core 'support psychology' we want to achieve. Good examples of these characters are, , or.
 * Support as a lane role is any character that can thrive on less gold, and has a strong lane presence - either offensively or defensively. Characters from the previous definition often fit here, but other characters go here a lot. For example: is a tank, but plays the support role in a team.  is a little of both because he's a great linebacker.

So, with that out of the way: when we talk about a support character (like - the new one!) we mean the first definition. , while able to play the support role, is not a support champion by these definitions - she's more like a mage with an off-spec.

So, why should you care about Nami? Let me tell you!


 * She brings a combination of defensive utility (including a way to !) and offensive 'set-up'.
 * She's the water caster that you've anticipated for a long time - with a support leaning.
 * She's a regal mermaid - an archetype I think we can agree is a needed addition to the League lineup.
 * features a skillshot-style paradigm, something supports have only really had with ; we wanted to expand a bit.
 * While this is the concept art and the final has changed (as all concepts do through development) she's drawn by the ridiculously talented Gem Lim.

We've learned a lot of lessons from our supports, and think Nami shows how we can make a character who satisfies the core support psychology, and is healthy for the game. And with our commitment to developing a variety of champions, you'll be seeing more supports coming next year - so this is far from the last example of that.

Look for more exact details, including skills and more art, in the upcoming days - and you will be able to check out Nami on the Public Beta Realm soon, too.

Nami, the Tidecaller Revealed
By NeeksNaman

The newest support champion to join the League is, the Tidecaller. A water caster who channels the primal energies of the ocean, Nami harnesses and commands the raw power of.


 * Abilities

I= Allied champions affected by Nami's abilities have their movement speeds increased for a short duration.
 * Surging Tides

Nami sends a bubble of water into the air to a targeted location that deals and  enemies hit by the bubble.
 * -|Q=
 * Aqua Prison

Unleashes a surge of water that can target an enemy or allied champion. The water can bounce from champion to champion and deals and heals allied champions.
 * -|W=
 * Ebb and Flow

Nami buffs an allied champion, adding and a  to their attacks.
 * -|E=
 * Tidecaller's Blessing

Nami summons a massive Tidal Wave from her position. The wave deals and  all enemy units it passes through. Enemies closest to the initial spawn point are for a shorter duration than those farther away, but all are  for a significant length of time and Tidal Wave has a large range.
 * -|R=
 * Tidal Wave

As a support with powerful crowd control abilities, Nami's kit gives her the potential to impact every phase of your games. In lane, Nami excels at applying constant pressure to the enemy. The buffs provided by allow her lane partner to come out ahead in exchanges, and the long-distance stun from  can keep low health enemies from engaging safely. Moreover, because to damage nearby enemies, Nami's core support abilities work best when her partner is on the attack.

In the mid game, when teamfights become more frequent, the utility of increases. The more champions the wave can bounce to, the more efficient it becomes. You can use and  to disrupt opponents' positioning with stuns and slows, and take advantage of her  combined with  to help chase down a fleeing enemy champion.

With her potent combination of crowd control and buffs, Nami continues to have a substantial presence in teamfights once the transition is made to the late game. Even though she's not on the front lines dishing out damage, Nami becomes a fantastic initiator through the range of her. The enormous distance covered by the rushing can easily force a teamfight, or allow her team to disengage while their opponents are slowed under the weight of the tide.



Balancing her offensive capabilities and defensive utility will be crucial to success with Nami. Learn to, and you may find your team swimming to victory.

Oceans to Rivers
By Jigu


 * Translated by Fowky



Our world is full of legends and fantastical tales... but how would you feel if something you'd only known as myth revealed itself right in front of you?

This is just one of many stories where it happened exactly like that.



Within the forest, under moonlight...

...guided by the river's song...

I couldn't believe what I saw.

Still, it's too early to tell what the one in this tale went through...

Nami Iara
By Fabulista


 * Translated by Moobeat and Carolina12669



Far away from the ocean's dark depths, a tribe of amphibious beings now call rivers and lakes their homes. In harmony with nature's forces, this mysterious and reclusive civilization's supreme law and eternal mission bids them defend its children.
 * Come closer, listeners - the Legendkeeper approaches

The history of this noble people changed course after a tragic event. Stay a while and listen to the legend I'll soon tell.

Brown-skinned, dark-haired, and with merciful gaze, a young witchdoctor had a bright future ahead of her. Her being one with the wild inspired all sorts of rumors, such as being able to talk to animals on equal terms. Upon hearing these rumors, she would just let out a sweet, humble laugh.
 * Young, beautiful, promising - loved by many, envied by others

Her exotic beauty and her grace garnered the respect and admiration of her peers - as well as the envy and resentment of others.

One time, a strange message was left at her home, undoubtedly a call to action: bordering a big city, a lake's aquatic denizens were at risk of losing their lives as a result of the city-dwellers' dumping of polluting substances in its waters. "Find the round mirror laying on the lakebed and bring it to the surface, so that I might tell you who I am", read the letter.
 * Answering the call of duty - a mirror-shaped mystery

In order to avoid raising suspicion, the young departed in the cloudy dead of night in order to investigate this calamty. Little did she know what was in store...

Once she reached the lake, she saw it was as crystal-clear as ever - unlike the atrocity the strange note described, which made her suspicious of its messenger - and the young woman retrieved the round mirror from it's depths. Once she returned to the surface, the ambush revealed itself: a group of evildoers struck her from the shadows with arrows and spears, taking her life.
 * A victim of her own gullibility - a life cut short

Confused and desperate, her last moments brought down on her a chilling realization: the arrows bore markings of her own tribe's making.

As her lifeless body sank to the lake's depths, the clouds above slowly parted, revealing a full moon so bright it cast its light down the whole place. As if nature felt sorry for the young woman after the injustice brought upon her, a group of flesh-eating fish - dangerous in everyone's eyes - raised her back to the surface.
 * Nature's compassion - her story doesn't end here

With fish circling her and moonlight beaming down on her, something magical and unexpected happened. Her story wouldn't end then and there.

After a white flash, she was reborn - but something was... different. The mirror she'd retrieved was now affixed to a scepter, and in it she saw her reflection under the moon's light. Though she featured her tribe's warpaint, her skin had whitened; her hair, once dark as night, was now green as treetops.
 * River and lake dweller, reborn under moonlight - she is

Graced by the kindness of the very nature she swore to protect and bearing the sad burden of her past, Nami Iara came back as a guardian of the natural world - and stronger than she ever dreamed of.

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 * Related Music