Champion Sneak Peek - Leona, the Radiant Dawn[]
By Average Gatsby[1]
Since we launched League of Legends, there's been quite a bit of clamor about equal rights amongst tanks. Well, at Riot Games, we like to think of ourselves as a progressive company, and today we're here to show our commitment to equal opportunity tanking.
Allow me to introduce 
Leona, the Radiant Dawn. In addition to being a defender of all that is good and light, Leona is a strong, independent woman ready to throw down and tank with the best of them.
Leona Mechanics Preview[]
Greetings Summoners!
We wanted to give you a glimmer of insight into the mechanics of our newest champion, Leona, the Radiant Dawn.
Leona is a bit special because she's our answer to a pretty popular fan request; a female tank! I think a good place to start is to answer "what exactly does 'tank' mean to us at Riot?"
- Starts and initiates teamfights (usually via CC)
- Soaks up damage.
- May peel dangerous attackers off other vulnerable teammates.
- Presents itself as an attractive target by causing long-term 'threat' as the fight continues.
Leona does this by providing a low-cooldown, low-duration, single-target 
stun with a skillshot 
gap-closer to start. After she closes the gap to the enemy, she'll be performing regular single-target stuns that really disrupt the fight or peel off a target from an ally once a fight has begun. Additionally, she has a 
defensive stance that allows her to soak up punishment pretty effectively and also discharges a wave of sunlight outward that causes significant damage. This mechanic acts as a sort of 'soft taunt' that causes her to have some threat when she's about to unleash a big chunk of damage, and makes her an attractive target.
Finally, her 
passive, Sunlight, causes all of Leona's spells to debuff the target, causing the next attack from an ally to do additional damage. This really encourages Leona to mark high-priority targets and let her set up opportunities for her teammates. Her power increases with the length of the fight, a common tank trait (like 
Singed's 
Poison Trail or 
Amumu's 
Despair, for example)
We're excited to be able to deliver something we're really proud of to meet our players' requests and expectations. Keep letting us know what you want - we do take your feedback seriously.
Eclipse Leona Login Screen Music[]
By Jason 'ProtoShredanoid' Willey[3]
The music started with a very simple pattern on guitar.
Eclipse Leona intro guitar pattern:
This initial figure, or shall I say “seed,” resonated with me. The key of B major along with the open B string pedal on guitar have a bright quality, which feels like Leona. B major is generally considered a very sharp and bright key, and to me it sounds like a super saturated hue of yellow (“pitch to color” could be an entire post by itself!).
Now that we have a figure that feels good and we've nurtured our initial inspiration, it's time to find an instrument that could help further create a sonic identity for Leona. (In other words... let's turn that tiny sprout into a towering tree.)
Personally, I feel there is something spiritual about the hang drum. Maybe it's all of the images I've seen of hippies and cool dudes with dreads playing it—or maybe it's just me? Either way, perhaps one could imagine the Solari of Mount Targon using melodic, hang drum-like instruments to connect with the Cosmos and Aspects. The hang drum also has a very metallic quality, which feels fitting for Leona's shield and armor. It also feels more weighty and stronger when compared to the glassy textures that we normally associate with instruments used for Targonian music. Because Leona is such a tank, this strength and heaviness seems very appropriate.
Eclipse Leona intro pattern on Hang Drum:
Next we add some variation to our pattern with piano and harp, add high-register celeste to further connect us to the Cosmos (it is Eclipse Leona, afterall), and add some organic fantasy magic elements to represent the power of the sun that Leona wields.
Eclipse Leona intro with above mentioned instrumentation:
Now that we have something that's starting to sound like a piece of music (or to follow the metaphor, looks like a tree), the inspiration process snowballs. Our little sketch inspires us to hum a melody (sung by Lisa Thorn in the final version, who voiced the original Diana theme), add rhythmic figures, design big brassy braams, and build into full traditional orchestra. The snowball effect eventually leads us into an entirely new section for the second half of the piece, signifying the power of the Moon.
None of the above would have happened if we did not trust our initial seed of inspiration and tend to it. While this process will surely vary from person to person, I feel the underlying message remains the same: Never underestimate your raw inspiration.
The initial idea for the Moon section came late at night, floating around the Moon. We felt a calm, cool, darker, more folkloric section would contrast the Sun melody and balance the piece.
Trivia[]
- Leona is voiced by Wendee Lee, who also voices
Solar Eclipse Leona, Lunar Eclipse Leona, High Noon Leona, and 5Leona in Legends of Runeterra.
- Leona's Japanese voice actor is Ayako Kawasumi.[4]
- Leona was one of the early champions that do not have a theme song. Eclipse Leona 's theme was used in lieu of original Leona's theme.
- The vocal of the theme is sung by Lisa 'Saiyaka' Thorn.
- During development she was called Arene.[5]
- Leona's appearance and personality are heavily inspired by Michael 'IronStylus' Maurino's wife while her face was drawn with Natalie Portman as reference.[6]
- Leona was developed in total isolation in the days where there was no heavy character development. She wasn’t anything until Diana was created as her foil. To further her story, the idea that they were both homosexual was come up with.[7]
Media[]
- Related Music
| Pool Party Theme |
- Related Videos
- Main article: Summoner icon
- Main article: Emotes
References[]
- ↑ Champion Sneak Peek - Leona, the Radiant Dawn
- ↑ Leona Mechanics Preview
- ↑ dev: Rocking on the Rift
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/leagueoflegends/comments/dinv9q/official_japanese_voice_actor_list_released_for/
- ↑ IronStylus on champion names
- ↑ IronStylus and Leona
- ↑ Diana and Leona's relationship during development