Riot reveals new League of Legends marksman Aphelios
Riot Games has announced that Aphelios, a marksman, will be joining League of Legends‘ team of over 100+ champions. According to his official biography, he comes from the same region as other existing champions Diana and Leona. His destiny is to protect the Lunari faith of Mount Targon, and he is accompanied by his sister Alune throughout his long journey.
Deemed “the Weapon of the Faithful,” Aphelios is yet another new, upcoming addition to the League of Legends universe. Other future updates include Clash mode, the new map and drakes updates, and more.
Previously teased in October
Aphelios was teased back during the beginning of the 2020 announcements. Riot Games developer and lead producer Reav3 released a champion road map that indicated that a new marksman would be introduced soon.
What will you sacrifice for your faith? Only the devout will master the next champion we have prepared for you. A new marksman, raised since birth with only one purpose: to protect the faith from those who stand in the sun. Constantly training, mastering diverse weapons of faith, swapping through them like cycles of the moon with nothing but that one lone voice, pushing, comforting… loving? If you are up to the challenge, you too must train hard and achieve zen-like focus in order to reap the rewards.
Aphelios’ backstory
Initially, Aphelios was positioned as a warrior. Armed with moonstone blades, his duty was to protect The Lunari from The Solari, a threatening people who viewed the faith of The Lunari as unorthodox. His magic-gifted sister Alune was meant to be by his side to protect The Lunari as well.
Not long after, Alune was attacked during an ambush by The Solari. During this battle, she channeled her magic into Aphelios, who was weakened and defeated trying to fight them off. Eventually, they were unable to defeat The Solari soldiers, and Alune managed to transfer herself and The Lunari temple to the spirit realm. This left Aphelios behind to begin his journey of protecting The Lunari faith while being able to speak to Alune on a mystical level.
Through the noctum, Aphelios could feel Alune’s power embrace him… and he could hear her voice. With a whisper, she pushed magic into his hands—a replacement for his blades solidifying into moonstone.
Like the moon of stone and its spiritual reflection, Aphelios’ skill and Alune’s magic converged.
Any more details?
Although Riot Games did not release any more info on Aphelios, it’s safe to say that there will be an event or even a game mode to accompany his release. Given The Solari vs The Lunari storyline his backstory provides, many wonder if that might serve as the next event focus once he becomes available.
A Reddit post made by Reav3 saw several commenters refer to Aphelios as “the most mechanically intense champ in the game with a lot of outplay potential.” Reav3 responded to this, saying, “Mastery of this Champ will require almost fanatical faith”.
No release date has been announced, but we’ll hopefully get to try out this exciting new champion soon.
