Gangplank/Development

Gangplank Gets Shipshape with a New Model and Animations
By Rahares



Avast, summoners!

As part of our continued commitment to keeping League of Legends a fun and engaging experience, we will be updating yet another of our classic champions with a salty new model and some truly seaworthy new animations. Like, , and before him, , the Saltwater Scourge, will be the next champion of the League to walk down the plank (err... runway!) sporting some knavish new looks. We think you'll like the cut of his jib!

Stay tuned for more information on Gangplank's new model and animations when he's released in the upcoming patch!

Champion Update: Gangplank
Burning Tides= 'As unpredictable as he is brutal, the self-appointed reaver king known as rules Bilgewater through a mix of fear, violence and cunning. Where he sails, death and ruin follow, and such is his infamy and reputation that the merest sight of on the horizon causes panic among even the hardiest crew.'



Despite his notoriety and savagery, Gangplank commands absolute loyalty from those who run with him. Many of his trusted lieutenants have gone on to become renowned captains or brutal gang leaders in their own right, but they remain loyal - more than willing to fight alongside him - granting him an unmatched power-base within Bilgewater. Nevertheless, there are those who would dare challenge his rule. Gangplank relishes these moments, going to war with and  in order to show everyone that Bilgewater is still his, and his alone.

We're giving the dread pirate lord of Bilgewater a gameplay overhaul and a fresh coat of paint in time for the upcoming event. Along with a new kit that keeps and adds some  between his abilities, we've spruced up his bio with a look into the man behind the Scourge of Twelve Seas myth.

Larger-than-life corsair kings tend to accumulate tall tales the way a warship picks up barnacles, but the tenuous balance of power in Bilgewater hinges on everyone believing the stories told about him.



'During the Bilgewater: Burning Tides event, was brought down by the machinations of the bounty hunter. His ship was destroyed with all of Bilgewater watching, killing his crew and shattering his aura of invincibility. Now the gangs of Bilgewater have risen up, fighting amongst themselves to claim dominion over the port city.'
 * -|Shadow and Fortune=



Despite receiving horrific injuries in the explosion, Gangplank survived. Sporting a multitude of fresh scars, and with to replace his amputated limb, he is now determined to rebuild his strength, reclaim what he sees as rightfully his - and to ruthlessly punish all those who turned against him.



I=
 * Abilities
 * Trial by Fire


 * -|Q=
 * Parrrley


 * -|W=
 * Remove Scurvy


 * -|E=
 * Powder Keg


 * -|R=
 * Cannon Barrage

might be a murderous malevolent seamaster in Runeterra, but in-game, he’s opportunism in the (salted) flesh. We often reference windows of power, and Gangplank’s updated gameplay heavily rewards him for maximizing his. His passive,, hits like a warship’s ram in trades, with the true damage DoT capable of chunking meaty portions off his opponent’s health bar. With the accompanying speed burst, he has the potential to stomp in and saunter out of quick duels.
 * In-Lane

Learning to play the minigame is crucial for both Gangplank and his opponents. He has higher range than other melee fighters, and a ton of potential burst damage with chained gunpowder cask explosions, but the key there is potential.

When Gangplank triggers the last hit on his cask, it explodes for substantial AoE damage, but even more significantly, it re-procs his. Skilled Gangplank players will set up casks ahead of planned trades and skirmishes to maximize their burst. But careful counterplay will allow opposing champions to defuse the gunpowder cask with a last-hit of their own, denying Gangplank his explosion and sudden fire-stick stabbing.

The updates to his gameplay pattern solidify Gangplank’s primary role as a potent split-pusher, as he can contribute meaningfully to a teamfight from across the map without needing to use a to join the fray.
 * Teamfighting

When split-pushing, needs to be mindful of his surroundings, even more than someone like  or, who have built-in  or  that can put a solid wall between them and their pursuers. While keeps him relatively safe from individual crowd control, he won’t outrun most gap-closing enemies without using his  unless he steals an opportunistic  proc.

In situations where split-pushing is weak and team-fighting the strongest option, Gangplank benefits from strategic planning and careful positioning of his s. In many cases, 'll let him skirt the frontline and dive the squishies with a crit-loaded.

Depending on his build, Gangplank can tank damage and crowd control with his, or look to pelt opponents with crits and powerful sustained melee DPS. By using the he earns with, he can upgrade. Depending on which upgrades you choose, can help his friends make their, attempt to  the enemy team, or  on an unprotected target. Because the upgrades stack, you can even do all three over the course of a long enough game.



Champion Insight: Gangplank
By Statikk

Although already entertaining to play, Gangplank's gameplay lacked a deep mastery curve and interesting counterplay for his opponents.

''Outside of slight optimizations such as Parrrley farming, Remove Scurvy timing, or Cannon Barrage placement, Gangplank never really had a unique tool he could invest in mastering over time. When we thought about new toys we could give Gangplank, we focused on the most fun moments Gangplank was already having. One topic came up over and over again: buying items like Statikk Shiv or Ravenous Hydra and being able to Plunder several enemies with a single Parrrley. With this update, we added explosive barrels to Gangplank's arsenal so he can do just that and more. There's nothing like setting up a chain of barrels to utterly decimate unsuspecting enemies.''

"There’s nothing like setting up a chain of barrels to utterly decimate unsuspecting enemies. "

''Whenever we add a new mechanic to the game, we strive to make it just as fun and interesting for opponents as it is for the champion using it. As sly and clever as Gangplank can be with these explosive barrels, we wanted to ensure that enemies could also interact with them and potentially outplay Gangplank at his own game. Whenever Gangplank places an explosive barrel, enemies also have the opportunity to attack it in order to defuse it - it's a race to the finish to see who gets the final hit which can end in an explosive finale or a sputtering dud.''

Overall, Gangplank will retain a lot of the classic things we have all come to know and love, but with the addition of some new upgrades--quite literally as he'll be able to upgrade his Cannon Barrage--Gangplank will be just as menacing as ever.



Gangplank returns
BY PABRO

"TLDR: Bilgewater: Burning Tides sails away on August 10 at 2:00 AM PDT. You can earn the free Captain Gangplank skin if you own the champion and play a full matchmade game with him (or if you’ve already played at least one) before the event ends.

''The orchestrated spectacle of the Dead Pool’s destruction led many to believe that the dread reaver Gangplank perished in the flames. But what is dread may never die, and Gangplank returns to reclaim what he believes to be rightfully his.''

''Fitted with a new limb to replace the one he lost, the Saltwater Scourge will soon rain cannonballs down on Summoner’s Rift again after a brief stay on the PBE. Since this is the first time we've done something so dramatic with story and theme, we're commemorating the event with the Captain Gangplank skin depicting the dread pirate from before the events of Bilgewater: Burning Tides. All players who own and play (or have already played) an entire matchmade game as Gangplank during the event will receive the Captain Gangplank skin for free.''

''Captain Gangplank reflects a simpler time, when one uncrowned reaver king ruled over Bilgewater with an iron cutlass and a fearsome love of scrimshaw. While base Gangplank has been irrevocably changed by Miss Fortune’s masterful scheme, the Captain Gangplank skin hearkens back to before the pirate’s bloody fall.''

''With Gangplank’s return imminent and the conclusion of the story trailing the choppy wake behind Bilgewater: Burning Tides’ stern, the end of the in-game event draws ever closer. Bilgewater: Burning Tides sails over the horizon in just over a week, stowing in its hold the bundles, merch, icon rewards, and game modes. Whether you’re looking to brawl in the black market, add the free Captain Gangplank skin to your wardrobe, or acquire any other Bilgewater spoils, you’ve got until August 10 at 2:00 AM PDT.''

We hope you’ve enjoyed the journey so far, and we’ll see you on the battlefields!"

During the Bilgewater: Burning Tides event, Gangplank was brought down by the machinations of the bounty hunter Miss Fortune. His ship was destroyed with all of Bilgewater watching, killing his crew and shattering his aura of invincibility. Now the gangs of Bilgewater have risen up, fighting amongst themselves to claim dominion over the port city.

Despite receiving horrific injuries in the explosion, Gangplank survived. Sporting a multitude of fresh scars, and with a newly crafted metal arm to replace his amputated limb, he is now determined to rebuild his strength, reclaim what he sees as rightfully his, and ruthlessly punish all those who turned against him.

Champion Insight roundtable: Gangplank
BY RIOTEXLIBRIS

TLDR: As part of our ongoing commitment to keep League of Legends fresh, we often update champions both visually and in their gameplay. If you followed along with the Bilgewater: Burning Tides event, you know that with Gangplank’s champion update, we went even further. Catch up on the story here, or if you’re already a Bilgewater veteran, dive into a conversation between the devs behind the update below.


 * How did Gangplank become the biggest champion update since Sion?

Michael “IronStylus” Maurino, senior concept artist: So, there’s this thing called scope creep. But seriously, we needed a lot of buy-in, for one. We were shopping around [Gangplank-related] ideas a lot, whether to teams involved in Bilgewater, stakeholders, all the way up to Marc and Brandon [co-founders of Riot Games].

Scott “Jaredan” Hawkes, narrative lead: Gangplank’s lore was actually quite different from Gangplank in game. In-game, he didn’t seem like the baddest bastard in Bilgewater. He wasn’t convincing, he wasn’t brutal enough to rule it. So, that meant finding that essence in the stories that had been told about Gangplank, because in a city full of people you don’t want to meet in a dark alley, he’s the guy they don’t want to meet in a dark alley.

James “Statikk” Bach, champion designer: I think one of the bigger challenges was that the character, you just couldn’t take him seriously, he was too over-the-top. And if we wanted him to be a serious character, we had to show, “this guy is a badass,” we had to go to an extreme.

George Krstic, senior writer: Multiple teams, multiple dependencies, and the nature of an international release. From the moment we started to what we landed on, things changed drastically. But all for the better. It’s one of the things I like most about Riot. We have flexibility here. If something isn’t working and needs to change, people will support you. So, everything changed, every day, all the time. So that was a challenge, but it kept us energized.


 * What was behind the decision to basically make two champion updates for Gangplank?

Michael Maurino: So we had all of these crazy ideas, but we couldn’t really execute on them. And then as we heard the story come along, and the event being potentially a couple of pieces including a before and after scenario, we went, “hmmm…” and then we learned that we were gonna scope up into a much bigger visual update. So we thought, instead of banging our heads trying to make one Gangplank that covers all of the things we want to cover, why not just make two Gangplanks? One for before the narrative and one for after? Scott Hawkes: The biggest narrative goal for the Bilgewater event was to show characters and a place changing. So everything that happens to him shows the same man experiencing the high and the low, and having that reflected visually by the art was huge, because it’s not just who he is, but also shows how he’s changed.


 * In the explosion of the Dead Pool, Gangplank ends up losing his arm. Why’d we do that?

Scott: He’s going through his own trial by fire. He had to change physically. This is the most extreme trial by fire he’s been through, perhaps since he killed his own father. And so he can’t just walk away, there has to be a physical toll in addition to an emotional one.

George: To speak to that, this is also partly a response to feedback from players that nothing ever changes. We wanted to meaningfully change champions and a faction. We wanted to set things up and pay them off in a single self-contained story.


 * Statikk mentioned the great hat conspiracy of 2015?

Michael Maurino: I didn’t even want to bring it up, but...it’s kinda interesting, because it basically divided the company. We started out: obviously he has to have a hat, right? But then we decided to do “Pre-plank” and “Post-plank,” and somebody drew “Post-plank” without a hat. I remember a meeting with the biggest stakeholders in the company, and the room was split. Some executive stakeholders were like, “Hat!” And the others were like, “No hat!” Then someone said, “Let’s be bold and not ship a hat,” which was immediately met by, “No, let’s be bold and keep the hat!”

James Bach: I remember everyone in design was like, “He’s gotta keep the hat, he’s not Gangplank without the hat.” And then all the artists were like, “But look how cool he looks without a hat.” And we had to admit, he looked good without the hat. It just became this huge thing.

Michael Maurino: I remember meetings specifically about the hat. They’re still on my calendar somewhere. Scott Hawkes: From a narrative perspective, some of us said, “Well, he’s a changed person and he’s lost his ship, maybe he doesn’t give a shit about the hat right now.”

George Krstic: At the core, it’s because everybody cares so damn much. That’s the reason we have these meetings that get so tense. Luckily, we work at a place where we’re not ever like, “Okay, good enough, ship it.” It’s instead, “No, let’s beat it up, let’s make the best thing possible.” So that’s why we have meetings about hats.


 * Was there anything we knew we weren’t going to change?

Michael Maurino: Oranges.

James Bach: Even on the gameplay side, everyone knew oranges were gonna stay. Even when we were like, let’s make him really, really, dark, he still had oranges. There were small things, at least on the design side, where we were like, we want to make sure that people understand that he’s still having fun up there in top lane—like keeping his laugh during his ultimate.

Michael Maurino: B-arrr-els.

James Bach: He still enjoys vitamin C and violence.

Michael Maurino: It’s the darker shade of fun. It is absurd for the guy to do the juggling thing with the oranges, and then slice throats with a flaming sword, but it’s great contrast and it’s kinda neat.

We’re nodding backwards but looking forwards.

George Krstic: When it comes to what we decided to keep the same, we were very mindful of what the important things were to players. Across the board. Every team. We were nodding backwards but looking forwards. We wanted something for new players to discover, and for old players to say, “Yeah, they got it.” So...that’s what we aimed for, we’ll see if we were successful.

Can’t get enough of the Gangplank dev insights roundtable? [Check out a longer, unabridged version here.] Bilgewater: Burning Tides may be over, but the Saltwater Scourge lives on. Is one-hitting minions something you wish? Let us know in the comments below and we’ll see you on the battlefields.

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