Are you ready for Arcane’s golden child to grace Summoner’s Rift? You’ll want to note down the official Mel release date.
Mel is an original character from Arcane, Riot Games’ League of Legends animated series that’s streaming exclusively on Netflix. She appears right off the bat in season one but there were plans to bring her into the MOBA game way before during the show’s development, revealed Myles Salholm, Lead Gameplay Designer.
The only thing the team ascertained was that the champion had a protecting ability that activated in the last scene of season one when Jinx’s Hextech Missile hits the Council in their tower and a “golden, tentacle-like visual.”
Daughter of Ambessa Medarda, she is the second original Arcane character to be added to Summoner’s Rift. Equipped with offensive abilities, she is intended primarily to be a mid lane mage but can be played support as well.
Mel in League of Legends versus Arcane: design intentions
It’s important to note that Noxus Season 1 takes place after Aracne season 2, which means that Mel in the game appears stronger than she is in the show.
Myles said that Riot had four goals in mind when designing Mel:
- Reasonable parity with her powers and character in the show
- Make sure she’s a fun mage that anyone could play
- Give her a really unique power that distinguishes her from the rest of the roster
- Make sure she feels graceful and gorgeous
In other words, the game devs are hoping that traditional Lux and Morgana players would take a liking to Mel too.
“We also made sure reflecting enemy projectiles was as easy as pressing the button in time; you don’t need to understand how your opponent’s abilities work, just worry about your own reaction time,” said Myles. “We also cared a lot about fairness. We wanted to make sure enemies could ‘just build magic resist’ to stop her damage.”
Mel release date in League of Legends
Mel releases in League of Legends patch 25.S1.2 on January 23, 2025, an estimated two weeks after January 9 when patch 25.S1.1 dropped.
