Cover-Credits:
Zeri, the first new champion of Season 2022 of League of Legends, was officially revealed in Riot Games’ livestream. From the very first look, it became evident that the players would zip, zap and zoom alongside the new Zaunite attack-damage carry (ADC). Zeri’s in-game kit promises a high-impact playstyle, making her a hyper carry who puts her custom-crafted gun and electric power to good use. Zeri is all set to be released in Patch 12.2, but players can try her out early on the Public Beta Environment (PBE) this week.
The exact release date of Patch 12.2 is yet to be revealed. In a segment hosted by Ryan “Reav3” Mireles, lead of the champions’ team in the League of Legends - Season 2022 Opening Day livestream, Riot revealed that they would release new champions to the rift at a slower rate so that the champions are revealed “when they are ready” even if it means not hitting “a specific quota for the year.”
Zeri: Where she hails from and her role in the rift
I stood up for my community. I can stand up for others too”Zeri, the Spark of Zaun
Zeri’s trailer suggested that she would be a marksman fueled by electric power with the ability to zip around the map and deal damage to enemies from a distance. Riot had earlier said that Zeri would bring a shooter-game feeling to the rift and her playstyle would revolve around her constant movement.
Riot describes Zeri as a headstrong, spirited young woman from the working class of Zaun. This compassionate Zaunite has one goal - to stand up for her community. It sums up the aura she brings to the game. She channels her electric magic to charge herself and fight her enemies. Zeri single-handedly fought the chem-barons of the undercity and later received a rifle crafted by her mother with the help of their neighbors to aid her in her pursuit. Her brief biography also gives an insight into her connection with Ekko, though this aspect is yet to be revealed.
According to her biography, “From birth, Zeri had a unique relationship with electricity. Each giggle caught a spark—each cry, a shock. Magic wasn’t rare in Zaun, but Zeri’s electric charm was. It charged with her emotions, sometimes grounded, sometimes building to fierce and fiery. By her teenage years, her neighbors knew she was more likely the cause of power outages than a broken circuit. Life in Zaun was beautiful chaos, her grandma would say, and Zeri embodied that all too well.”
Zeri’s abilities in League of Legends
Zeri’s basic attacks were revealed to be different from those of the other marksmen in the game. Reav3 said that her basic attack would deal slow magic damage and would be considered an ability, while her Q - Burst Fire (Active) - would be used like a typical ADC’s basic attack.
Passive:
Zeri’s passive grants her move speed whenever she gains a shield. Additionally, she gains a shield whenever she deals damage to a champion with a shield.
Ability Q - Burst Fire
Passive: Her basic attacks deal magic damage and scales with ability power (AP) and will be treated as an ability. Moving around and casting Q would stock up energy in her backpack and after it is fully charged, Zeri’s next basic attack would slow enemies and deal bonus damage.
Active: Burst Fire shoots a burst of seven rounds, dealing physical damage to the first enemy hit.
Burst fire scales with AD and is treated as an attack with the first round applying on-hit effects. Its cooldown matches her basic attack timer.
Ability W - Ultrashock Laser
Zeri fires an electric pulse, slowing and damaging the first enemy hit. If the pulse hits a wall, it fires a long laser from the point of impact.
Ability E - Spark Surge
Zeri dashes for a short distance, energizing her next three casts of Burst Fire, causing them to pierce enemies. Zeri can vault over or grind along any terrain she dashes into, depending on the angle. E’s cooldown is reduced when an enemy champion is hit with an attack or ability.
Ability R - Lightning Crash
Zeri discharges tremendous amounts of electricity, damaging nearby enemies and overcharging herself for a moderate duration. She gains increased damage, attack speed, and move speed when she is overcharged. Attacking enemy champions refreshes overcharge duration and adds another stack of move speed. While Zeri is overcharged, Burst Fire’s damage gets concentrated into a faster triple shot that chains lightning bolts between enemies.
Social media users react to Zeri and Valorant’s Neon
The League of Legends community was quick to see the similarities between Zeri and Valorant’s new agent Neon. Donning bright neon colors, both the characters slide around their respective maps, zapping enemies with a surge of electric power. Surprisingly, both Zeri and Neon share the same voice. Voice actor (VA) Vanille Velasquez revealed that she voiced them both.
League Championship Series’ (LCS) teams FlyQuest and Team Liquid (TL) posted their thoughts on the similarities between Zeri and Neon.
One Twitter user pondered if Riot was aiming to connect the Valorant and Runeterra universes.
Be it Zeri in League of Legends or Neon in Valorant, Riot has made sure to entertain its community by introducing fast-paced characters with unique abilities to its games.
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