Boards›Dev Corner

Visual Effect Updates: Kennen, Olaf, Wukong and Riven

RiotRiot Beardilocks·1/31/2019, 1:29:56 AM·1 votes·176,648 views

Hello everyone!

Similar to the previous updates to Anivia, Dr. Mundo, Gragas, Jarvan, Lee Sin, Renekton, Veigar, and Vi, we're working on updates to the Visual Effects (VFX) and Sound Effects (SFX) of more champions whose spell effects are in need of some love. These are updates to the visuals and sounds only, and do not include any gameplay updates. Our aim is to get their FX to current League standards and improve gameplay clarity. In Patch 9.4, we'll be releasing VFX and SFX updates for and Wukong, and VFX-only updates Olaf, Riven and Kennen (he already received some SFX love a few patches ago).

We're looking for early feedback now on these videos, but they will be added to the PBE soon. Please try them out there —especially if you're a main—when they're available and leave us your feedback!

#Kennen VFX update across the board to clean up unnecessary noise and improve gameplay clarity. Kennen received SFX updates several patches ago

**BA **- Basic attacks are more easily distinguished from Q Q - Q is more distinguished from BA, has increased satisfaction and a unique impact VFX W - Increased visual satisfaction E - Kennen has all new VFX for lightning rush. This has a key change to keep Kennen's silhouette during the animation for gameplay clarity, with an added range indicator. Blood moon Kennen has received a similar update, and Super Kennen has a superhero pose, though it still uses base VFX R - Increased visual satisfaction and reduced noise P - When Kennen procs his passive on a champion or monster it now has a clear 3 mark VFX to show the source of the stun. Passive marks on minions are reduced in size and brightness to add clarity to gameplay

Please note that all skins other than Blood Moon use Kennen's Base VFX (with the exception of their unique shaped shuriken)

https://imgur.com/o8UrWyW

Base VFX https://youtu.be/P0KGxCelxjI

Blood Moon https://youtu.be/0n5cK2CNPkI

Super Kennen E Pose https://youtu.be/DriFUjHx8OU

#Olaf VFX update across the board to clean up unnecessary noise and improve gameplay clarity.

BA - Basic attacks now have swipes and a new hit effect Q - Q missile now has a hitbox indicator. The pick-up range is now visible. Pick-up also has a new effect W - Increased visual satisfaction and readability. Removed old noisy runes. Heal effect is now clearer, too E - New lightning effect and swipes! R - Clearer and better visuals for R activation and buff. Olaf doesn't turn just red anymore.

All of Olaf's skins have been updated to be closer to these VFX. Brolaf has some new unique VFX.

https://imgur.com/WIslpyj

https://youtu.be/ARB86F2iAV4

#Riven _VFX update across the board to clean up unnecessary noise and improve gameplay clarity.

**BA **- Cleaned up noise (removed the blood!) Q - All three Q's have unique slashes, and now properly show the area of damage W - Updated the ability to bring it more into League's current visual style, while providing more clarity to the hitbox E - Riven's sword pieces now shield her when she dashes. Also brought the shield up to current VFX standards R - Cleaned up the random visual effects that play around her body/hand, but added more emphasis/glow on her sword. All abilities should now properly reflect the larger ranges during ult, and the Wind Slash is now clearer and more unified. P - The hilt of her sword (and the first shard of it) should now glow when her passive is active. Cleaned up the noise.

Please note that none of Riven's animations or actual gameplay have been changed at all.

https://imgur.com/74MsZiX

https://youtu.be/mzko51K0iyk

#Wukong

VFX update across the board to clean up unnecessary visual noise

BA - Basic attacks now have a swipe and new hit effect Q - Q now has a cleaner more powerful swipe, unique hit effect, and removed noisy fx W - Removed unnecessary amounts of clouds and pushed back visual priority E - New clouds and wisps! R - Clearer visuals

Some skins have received minor updates to reduce unnecessary noise and increase satisfaction of their VFX

Sound effect updates are planned for Wukong for 9.4, but are not included in this preview video. Keep your eyes peeled on this post for SFX updates!

https://imgur.com/bBBaDTi

https://youtu.be/P58spFFrosY

Please let us know if you have any feedback on these video previews, they will all be available on the PBE soon!

250 Comments

Vino1/31/2019, 2:02:43 AM72 votes

I feel like Riven needs more "shine" or something, her skills look like chemical zaun weapons, not like a magical sword.

Also, Olaf got to keep his blood particles, why remove them from Riven?

Kingslayer Riven1/31/2019, 1:41:15 AM57 votes

The particle effects on Riven's Q and W seem very strange, almost poisonlike. I do very much like the R and E changes though.

KaisasThighSweat1/31/2019, 2:10:51 AM46 votes

Why are all of Riven's runes gone? She used to have visible runes on her Passive, W, and R. She now only has them on E in this update. Was this a conscious decision by the art team or did they forget them? Her passive is called Runic Blade for petes sake!

Evil Within1/31/2019, 1:39:33 AM34 votes

These are all pretty nice but Olaf takes the cake for me, honestly just from his Q having an indicator for the range to pick up axes is amazing.

ModAyuki1/31/2019, 1:40:05 AM33 votes

Wow; These are all actually very refreshing to see. Much appreciated visual changes [sg-ahri-2] (PS: I especially like the Kennen ones :D)

Windblade User1/31/2019, 4:52:35 AM30 votes

Riven... doesnt look like a Noxian swords woman welding a magic sword of wind sword and runes anymore. She seems like its more of a poison effect now... Idk if thats exactly the direction that she should go to. Her E effect looks good, but her r q and w look plain. Also why did you remove the blood particles but leave them on olaf.

DUDE BRO1/31/2019, 1:46:31 AM30 votes

Looks great aside from the following:

Kennens W (and a bit of R) lighting now looks like lasers, considering they're closer to straight lines now instead of zig-zagging bolts.

Olaf having lightning axes may read wrong. To me they look like they do AoE damage. As a new player I'd stay away from ones on the ground thinking they did DoT dmg in an aoe around em like little lightning rods. The effect and enhanced circle looks more like a danger zone to stay away from, rather than a pickup zone for olaf himself.

Côco Atrevido1/31/2019, 1:51:00 AM29 votes

Kennen E doesnt make him look like he is in a rush, he's just stiff. Please make him look like he is in a rush and not floating

Shíny1/31/2019, 1:51:53 AM28 votes

I really dislike the new Kennen E, It looks very goofy.

Wendígo1/31/2019, 2:02:53 AM28 votes

That new Kennen E seems hella stiff not feeling it

monikα1/31/2019, 1:54:17 AM28 votes

Riven's effects look very... Urgot-like IMO, maybe i lighter green on the darker parts that are almost a brown-green?

Chalseu1/31/2019, 8:33:04 AM18 votes

Kicking in for some Riven particle feedback !

  • I appreciate a lot that you go for some Particle updates on Riven. Her particles are in fact quite dated.

  • I think the color palette and brightness should be adjusted. Riven's classic skin follows green tons currently on live. However, the suggested particle updated makes her feel like a champion that throws poison everywhere. Try to go for a mix between Emerald shades and some dust / sand colors.

  • Passive: I like the idea, but it needs a color touch-up. The glow on the base of the sword is a bit too distracting for some reason ? I think a too large area of the blade is being affected by this VFX. I think it should be kept around the base of the sword and the Rune markings, no more.

  • Q particles : I think those feel good in general, however the circle on the ground for Q1 and Q2 is too much. I think there should be some randomized obfuscating so that not the whole circle shows up, only the arc that Riven visually swipes with the model's animation.

  • W feels unsatisfying and just too quick overall. It feels like you're just casting a larger Cassiopeia Q on yourself, not like a burst of energy ... I think it's important to have a clear, flashy effect (as I said, color palette needs to be brighter emerald). Try to add in a few rays going outside of Riven, they really convey that feeling of letting out a burst of energy. I think this ability is probably the one I'm least happy with.

  • E particles: nothing to say, looks good, feels satisfying, and completely up to date with current standards. Could do with a color palette adjustment just like the rest, but it doesn't feel as necessary for this one.

  • R1 : okay this is gonna be a bit long. An old post about Riven's development explained how initially it was intended for her sword to gradually reforge from the base during the cast time. I was hoping a particle update would actually bring it. In the post, the reason they say it was scrapped is because 0.25 cast time is too short. As a custom-skin maker and Riven player, I can say that 0.25s is clearly enough for the sword to (rapidly) scroll from the base to the tip and reappear like that, instead of what we have.

  • R2 : Wind Slash is nice, a bit bland (could do with extra effects like some dust trails or something). A trail like on Dragonblade Riven (the smoke trails look really good) with dusty colors could be cool I guess.

  • A side note here: particles are no longer different between no R and R ???? Riven's Q and W have noticeably different particles on live to accentuate the hype of the moment, it feels great gameplay wise and reminds us that Q and W hitboxes are larger during R. I feel like the particles during that moment could do with quite some extra oomph.

  • Why remove the blood from Auto attacks and Q hit ? I can understand for Q but I think it's an important reason that makes autos satisfying. Yasuo gets blood on his autos, why not Riven ? (I know it makes it annoying to censor it for Chinese servers, but cmon). The current on-hit particle makes it feel like I'm playing Twitch and not Riven.

OVERALL CONCLUSIONS

  • Particles are great! In my opinion only a couple tweaks are needed
  1. Move color palette to this yellowish-green to a slightly more Emerald green alongside with occasional dusty / sandy accents.
  2. Q and W particles feel like a cloud of poison. VFX are too dark, need to feel flashier, especially W. Q circles on the ground don't need to be represented in their entirety, especially because the hitbox isn't a full circle (unless I'm mistaken about my main monkaS)
  3. E is great, only would bennefit from 1.
  4. R is fine, could do with improvements but is fine as is. Improvements would significantly improve satisfaction though (dust trail behind wind slash and "scrolling" sword reforging animation).

Cheers

EDIT: After thinking about it, I think there's a choice to be made between 2 color schemes.

  1. Mostly Emerald green with Sand/Dust accents to emphasize satisfaction
  2. Mostly Sand/Dust colors with occasional Emerald green accents to highlight the use of "rune magic" or w/e it's called.
Ferryn1/31/2019, 1:56:40 AM17 votes

Personally think these are all relatively good changes, but Kennen's lightning effects seem too soft and cartoony to me instead of actually looking like lightning.

AgorTheDamned1/31/2019, 3:41:51 AM16 votes

I am a fan of the Riven Q3 and Windslash, but the rest of her abilities look too magicky-green. Riven at her core is still a fighter and I really prefer the minimal amount of vfx she has on her base skin right now. This issue is especially prevalent in the shield - she looks like a green ball of jelly.

Coldy1/31/2019, 7:09:33 AM15 votes

I'm gonna be honest and say though the Riven ones look cool she completely loses her visual identity of the rune-sword weilder.

They just look like basic green splashes and though they look pretty and I really like the ground tearing on Q they look unfavorable.

The ultimate especially just becoming a green wave instead of the fragments just feels wrong.

I'll say however the new E animation is fucking amazing and I love it.

However the rest I'm going to have to say I don't like. -500k Riven player.

Hammermancer1/31/2019, 1:51:04 AM15 votes

Hey dude, I want to start by saying i love it so far, but I wanted to give two pieces of constructive criticism

The lightning seems less like lightning, it seems less than chaotic. and the shurikens seem to not spin. not sure if that's my monitor or if they're too fast/too slow on the rotation. But i do love the textures and what's done so far.

I really love the wu R animation, the clarity on the edge of it with that gold accent. Will that tip be the actual edge of the ability? because that would be amazing if it were a natural element to show the hitbox without something that breaks the fourth wall

Riven is smexy, man I want some chromas now 0w0 Imagine if that splash could be orange/blue/red? The E does seem like it's a little too opaque. I think it could be a bit more transparent

Olaf is so clean looking, especially the Q, only thing he needs is red solo cups on brolaf

sad þoy1/31/2019, 7:42:11 AM14 votes

I think that Riven looks too Zaun'y, but the rest look really good.

PreludeToHell101/31/2019, 2:08:43 AM11 votes

Hmm I feel like Kennen's Q and Passive are a bit too light blue? It should be similar to his E/Ult imo. I also agree that his E animation is a bit odd, like he's floating not trying to 'go fast'.

Olaf looks perfect, wouldn't change a single thing.

Riven looks odd.

DomRao1/31/2019, 2:00:14 AM11 votes

I am a really big fan of all these but Kennens E animation really seems out of character for him (the way he glides around), i really would of thought he would be running real fast as if hes being jolted with the energy from the electricity around him.

Breakstar1/31/2019, 10:25:45 AM10 votes

I don't personally feel attached to Riven's floating runes, but the overwhelming, saturated green feels really off. I feel like putting more grey/white in there would help a lot. Much like Riven's own visual design, I feel like green should be the accent color, with neutral tones being more primary.

Or, in terms of conveyance, implying that Riven is a swordfighter, with some magic/ki stuff mixed in there. Also she's supposed to have wind-theming, right? Hence Yasuo's "That wind technique..." line. So I'd expect white/greys to be the primary color for her effects, with green accents.

Olaf's changes look great, but I feel the big 'swipe' animation that accompanies his attacks are a little off. They seem pretty big for the comparatively small swings he makes with his axes, and I think the swipe appears just a frame or two too early - before he's begun to move the axe in earnest. I'd normally request an edit to the swing animation, but you implied these are just gonna be particle changes, yeah?

Shout out to Wukong's particles though - those are easily my favorite of this update. Really clean looking, I particularly love the bright highlight on the border of his ult. I'd like to see the rest of his autoattack animations though, too. Do they get new swipes?

Salmon Guardian1/31/2019, 5:47:02 AM9 votes

Riven's abilities are way too green, or well too bright maybe. Her ult execute in particular suffers the most from this, seems super bland. Her first 2 q's also feel more like explosions and less like slashes, way more emphasis on the circle rather than the slicy-ness of it. I really enjoy the new designs of the runes on her shield now, the color and look are great, though they do feel a too small.

Zaghyr1/31/2019, 5:42:25 AM8 votes

On Riven.

  1. Her 3rd Q should have a green trail follow the sword throughout its entire movement before she hits the ground. The beginning of the cast looks awkward and having that trail would make it more identifiable in the middle of a bunch of other VFX.

  2. There should be slightly different effects on champions when they are attacked based on if she has a Runic Charge or not. So normal auto's have a little less VFX and Passive Empowered attacks are larger and brighter.

  3. The overall style and color of the effects are cool, however they are a little strange. There are too many dark greens and some of the effects look like those from other poison effects. This makes her look like a poison-based fighter from Zaun, which is not what the VFX should be portraying. Some more brighter green and emerald greens would help with the color, and making the VFX more WIND-like (similar to Yasuo) would help with the poison-like effect issue, and it would be more thematically resonant with her as a character.

Overall the changes look awesome and I can't wait to use them.

Edit: I am a Riven main, if that matters.

Straitéis1/31/2019, 1:11:57 PM7 votes
  • Riven seems to have more of a Zaun/Poison green vibe with her abilities
  • Don't like the extra blue on Kennen's lightning effects, I was expecting it to look like his effects in the Awaken cinematic, without so much blue and just white. Lightning could look a bit more jagged, also he looks quite weird during his E as he is just floating there
  • Olaf and Wukong look good!
Impish Yordle1/31/2019, 2:49:00 AM7 votes

Kennen E looks way off. He looks like a stiff statue floating around. It's very bothersome to look at and breaks the flow of his movements. Also a lot of his VFX looks more like pulsefire lasers rather than lightning. Q especially looks like something out of Tron. Not really a fan of MD and Arctic OPs still having the same base particles either. They're 975 RP skins after all. Still feels bad that Arctic Ops doesn't have any ice particles. Does Arctic Ops at least throw the kunai in the way the weapon is supposed to be thrown rather than spinning them as if they were shuriken? Just a minor nitpick there.

And isn't Kennen supposed to get an Ezreal-type update at some point? Right now I'm feeling what Morgana mains must've felt when only her VFX got updated all those years ago. On one hand I want to be glad that a lot of the old ugly VFX is gone but on the other hand I really don't know what I'm supposed to be looking forward to from this point onwards as it could just end up being an excuse to delay the actual treatment he deserves (new model/VO/animations/ etc.) His concept art from the latest Awaken cinematic would be absolutely perfect for a visual update.

I play Kennen a lot so I have a lot of mixed feelings about this...

Poldy Scarecrow1/31/2019, 12:12:20 PM7 votes

Is there any chance we could receive an effect like WK Garens spin for Wu's ult? It would really fit his Jade dragon or Radiant skin.

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8OeA9WSJhwg/WHIWa2Jn9NI/AAAAAAAAbco/M0Y6d3-U4ro-Cr-kGnD8fTHSPQ9LfqnzgCEw/s640/garene.jpg

I feel the cloud effects could be a bit fluffier or 'rounder' with maybe a light blue tinge/border. (Like firecracker vayne's tumble but light blue) https://scontent-sea1-1.cdninstagram.com/vp/8b017a2daca23db52d832f473627dc2b/5CC0C135/t51.2885-15/e35/49457229_132276894464434_8036374338578346415_n.jpg?_nc_ht=scontent-sea1-1.cdninstagram.com&ig_cache_key=MTk1MzM2MDg0MTgzMTE3Nzc2Ng%3D%3D.2

Other than that great job on the VFX for all the champions, I really like them.

La Bello1/31/2019, 6:37:33 AM7 votes

Kennen E looks so laughably hokey. Kennen is supposed to become a BALL OF LIGHTNING not become the Awakened Avatar. like imagine if you learned about Kennen from AWAKEN trailer and then you go ingame to play him and realize that his E is instead Elder Titans spirit walk from Dota2?

Olaf effects are great kinda dont like how R is just flame effects though. There should be a cooler way to depict him going Berzerker mode than just coloring him red for a few seconds.

Wukong update looks fine. E nimbus needs to be MUCH bigger though real shame that you guys arent updating his model either. It will never not bother me that he's got no pants under his armor yet still opted for big clown shoes. Why is he going commando? Even Maokai has undies if you look close enough at his model.

Riven is okay but the R2 effects look pretty bad compared to live.

hopefully Varus Blitzcrank get updates next

TheJackFroster1/31/2019, 1:28:23 PM6 votes

Riven's look more 'chemtech' than runic energy.

Bârd1/31/2019, 2:25:40 AM6 votes

Kennen

You had an opportunity here to fix how his Q animation traveled past its actual range, and you didn't :P.

His E and R range indicators should flicker much more.

Olaf

Ice VFX don't really seem like the way to go.

Riven

Ki Burst needs to be more visually obvious.

Wukong

The cloud he rides on should "poof" more upon spawning in.

Arakadia1/31/2019, 1:55:21 AM6 votes

Loving all these. Only criticism is Blood Moon Kennen's E looks very different from the live version and loses a big part of the skins appeal in doing so imo. Would be sad to see it become this crimson blur with a shadow of Kennen inside over the current rush of colors that mostly obscures Kennen on live.

6FlagsFunnelCake1/31/2019, 2:24:06 AM5 votes

Love all of these! My only suggestion is maybe add a sort of blurry, vibration effect to Kennen's E? It looks a little strange for this small lightning hamster to just T Pose and float slowly at you with lighting shoot out of his body. It should look more like he's constantly moving, even when idle in his E form.

Xydru1/31/2019, 3:25:51 AM5 votes

I really do not like Kennen E update at all. Everything else is great, but he looks like a fish/fighter jet in this. He looks like he's slower, which is weird since I can plainly see he's not by looking at the stats tab. He looks like he's just harmlessly floating toward someone. The loss of his funnel type effect on E is extremely noticeable and really hurts his fantasy. Not to mention he looks bigger which does no favors to playing against him. The AoE field around him is appreciated but it's also misleading for both the Kennen player and his foes. The area indicated does not deal damage as is suggested because it's instead directly on his hit box. I don't really understand the point of creating the illusion that his E hit box is larger than it really is. It ony makes it so Kennen appears bigger than he is which can cause his foes to misjudge his spacing. Whiffing crucial skill shots and stuff like that.

His hit box is not clearly defined and he completely lost his speed (visual effects). Making him appear as a solid ball instead of a nearly translucent one is a big enough change to Kennen. You don't need to also make him appear larger than he actually is because that causes nearly the same type of issue as you set out to correct.

Ýanne1/31/2019, 9:01:50 AM5 votes

The idea behind Riven's new VFX is quite good but not executed so well , colors seem off , the constant Q circles on the ground are annoying (also they look way too precise for a warrior-like hack n' slash type a champion), W is barely visible like come on i sometimes just press it to look at it :D , E hurts my OCD with those randomly shaped blade pieces. Can't really complain about R, though i think the windslash needs a better trail behind it. And finally her passive is just non-existent , you could see her arm glow but no one will pay attention to the sword unless it really "shines".

oh and i hope someone sees that dragonblade's W is literally drawn in paint , pls fix that one as well xD

Rivêń1/31/2019, 9:05:28 AM5 votes

The green is far too bright on Riven's abilities, similar color the original would be ideal. Also if the circle on the Q's instead of it being a harsh drawn circle if the outline could be removed so it looks more natural would be a nice touch. For example Pantheon's Ulti when he lands instead of a 1 px black circle showing the radius of the his ability, it's the actual ability showing it's range.

YaShIr01/31/2019, 1:53:04 PM5 votes

as a Riven OTP, I kinda feel like Riven's FX are some sort of "chemical" rather than a Runed sword

Ayyyy Lmao xD1/31/2019, 9:29:00 AM4 votes

-Not a huge fan of the Kennen E change Just seeing kennen change into a pure ball of lightning as it is on live, personally made me feel excited when playing him

I do get with this change they can add little things for current (flight for super kennen) and future skins

But I visually it feels a lot lack luster compared to the current E

-I also agree with the other comments about Riven Q and E, they feel too smooth

  • Kennen W does look a bit bulky like someone else mentioned but that is probably just because I'm used to how it looks on Live (its a minor thing)
uwukong1/31/2019, 1:53:36 AM4 votes

This is Wukong's buff. Give my mans a passive and make general wukong and volcanic wukong acceptable to use please

Cyb3rFlare1/31/2019, 3:20:44 AM4 votes

Personally I love Kennen's VFX changes but from the video alone i can definitely see that the E is a bit too stiff, maybe adding his running animation to it or make it seem a bit more floaty or like he's gliding (like in the end of Awaken) it would probably fix the issue

Chiibi Potato1/31/2019, 2:55:18 AM4 votes

For Riven:

As a Riven main, I like most of the changes a lot. The only things I would change are the Q and W. I really don't like the circles on the ground for Q1 and Q2 as I think it looks off? The VFX of the ability, and experience should tell you their range, not some circles on the ground. The W should have some runes VFX as others have mentioned.

c00kie sniffer2/3/2019, 2:31:48 PM4 votes

Dear Riot,

Firstly, Wukongs visual update is great. So gj on that. The rest, well... not that great. Why you ask. Well here's why: Olaf looks more like a magical creature and less like a Viking. I don't play him so not a lot of comments here. He's meh imo. About Riven, well I don't really like her e that much but ok. I don't play her either(for now), but she doesn't look bad.

Kennen... now Kennen is another story... Wtf have you done to him? Why does he look that bluish? Is that a shuriken he's throwing? I can't tell!

  1. Q - Q is more distinguished from BA, has increased satisfaction and a unique impact VFX => that Q, with all that aura, is bigger than his head!!!
  2. W - Increased visual satisfaction => Wait what?!?!? LOL. More like a straight line, no satisfaction here! The electricity on Olaf is more visual appealing :/
  3. E - Kennen has all new VFX for lightning rush. This has a key change to keep Kennen's silhouette during the animation for gameplay clarity bla bla bla... => for whose clarity is that? I really don't like the silhouette thing, maybe for Super Kennen skin (not!). I find transforming into a ball of lightning unique and very mage like. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT TOUCH THIS.
  4. R - Increased visual satisfaction and reduced noise => Actually thumbs up on this one, visually it's great.

More electricity, less blue and blurriness please. He's a mage, not a cartoon. Thank you.

Kind regards, A Kennen main Kennen

P.S. I wish you could update Deadly Kennen :/

Black T Poison1/31/2019, 3:25:58 PM4 votes

Riven needs more clarity. If multiple abilities are used at the same time it’s really hard to make out what’s going on.

bunnyboss1/31/2019, 3:36:48 PM4 votes

Kennen E is more like a statue, the range indicator is fine but just keep the old lightning ball design cause it looks much better and its weird casting abilities while being a statue... Also, the gameplay clarity isn't really necessary... it's painstakingly obvious its kennen and looks awkward.

Shokimatrix1/31/2019, 7:02:34 PM4 votes

On Matters of the Heart...of the Tempest

The new W animation is rad! It looks satisfying, and its clear that its zapping to targets that are marked. Good improvement over the live W's arcing bolts.

The shuriken in Kennen's Q looks a lot bigger and rounder than the one hes holding and the ones he uses for his autos, but certainly a huge improvement over live. **It looks more like throwing a blue fireball with an X in it. **Maybe instead of the blue circle effect, something more angular and sparky? New: (https://i.imgur.com/PhbCqn3.png) Current: (https://i.imgur.com/eAh3gDC.png)

I also personally really dont like the new E animation? For one, the visuals make the hitbox extremely unclear:

(https://i.imgur.com/AE6LnnA.png)

He also looks awkward just floating in there, too. He doesn't look like hes rushing so much as belly flopping...

(https://i.imgur.com/zPSRSNY.png)

"I am a beautiful breaching manatee!" '...what happened to, "The Wind"?'

R animation isn't so bad, but the wavy blue auras around the bolts make the effect seem a little watery. The effect that plays when it connects also looks more magical than electrical. I think it'd be enough if that layer were just stripped off. Might be less visually noisy too. I could see those storm bolts causing a lot of confusion in dense teamfights.

(https://i.imgur.com/YAq71cH.jpg)

Zahtar2/1/2019, 1:32:29 PM4 votes

Thanks for all this great work.

My take on Kennen's VFX update :

The clarity improvements were hella needed. Feels good to finally see the actual hitboxes of his spells. His new shurikens look amazing. Q looks really satisfying and I personally like the new E animation.

Yet am I the only one to think that the color palette used feels a bit weird ?

  • It looks too blue imo, and thus less "lightning". Especially for his E and his ult, which almost look like some sort of water magic to me.

  • This might be amplified by the fact that his spells look less "sharp", if it makes sense.

  • The white from his spells almost completely disappeared (except from his ult when it lands on people and from his new stun animation, which looks great btw).

I think adding more white into the colors (and maybe a bit more sparks? or something else to make it less smooth) would be beneficial, because it would match his SFX better and simply feel more like Kennen !

Kennen

Edit - After reading other comments, turns out I'm not the only one to have that opinion !

{quoted} Kennen doesn't look... sharp anymore. Spark-y. Especially noticeable on his E.

{quoted} R animation isn't so bad, but the wavy blue auras around the bolts make the effect seem a little watery. The effect that plays when it connects also looks more magical than electrical.

{quoted} Kennen's effects look a lot more watery than they feel sparky.

Mobile Suit Zero1/31/2019, 10:04:21 AM4 votes

Kennen's E seems to have lost all feeling of speed. I always assumed this was meant to be a rushing assault attack but now something about makes him look like he's taking a stroll.

I think Riven is an example of a character who requires a little bit of "visual noise" to make her abilities look powerful. Final swing of the Q feels powerful because of the shockwave while the other two look like she's just swatting flies. The W looks like a release of poison gas, I feel like it doesn't fit Riven thematically. Looks like something I'd expect from Twitch or Urgot. Finally, something about the second cast of the R looks flat. Is this a "Wind Cutter" type move or a "Blade Beam"? It's kinda indistinguishable as either and so kinda just ends up looking like a colourful flying shape and nothing else.