Some thoughts on Elise's design

LunSeiSleidee·10/15/2017, 3:39:52 PM·24 votes·1,805 views

I have a thing for shapeshifters, so I enjoy playing Elise.

I would like to share some personal thoughts I have on her design and theme. Feel free to comment!

Her design is that of a seductress-killer: that makes her essentially Eve 2.0. So I had an idea. Perhaps, while keeping her seductress theme, she may have a motherhood theme. Those little spiderlings that she creates by placing them in their victim.... It is an underdeveloped idea both in gameplay and in narrative.
I wish she had a skin in which she looks like a spider when she transforms. If you notice, nearly all of her skins make her spider form seem like a construct rather than an animal. The only exception is Death Blossom Elise. I am still dreaming of Void Elise or Shurima Elise....

TL,DR - I am not a fan of her skins, especially their spider form. I wish she had a "mother of spiders" theme to differentiate her from Evelynn.

46 Comments

Zyranium10/15/2017, 4:49:52 PM11 votes

I can agree that her theme is really outdated now, she has one of the best gameplay from s2 but we have to clarify things...

Live Elise does not look like a spider queen, just a female vampire on high heels who throws kamikaze spiders and... That's all. It would be cool if she can land her cocoons everywhere on the map and be able to summon spiders in the map as infiltrators just like Kalista's ghosts... Her passive into human form is just useless, she don't even have a real one !

She is a fighter/Mage/Assassin with a unique gameplay but still, her theme is outdated and her gameplay looks too !

SpecterVonBaren10/16/2017, 12:07:57 AM5 votes

I think she should have much more of a priestess look to her. If she's supposed to be the head of a cult and good at appearing motherly and regal then her default skin should reflect that a bit. Less slinky seductress and more poised and regal.

Hupsis10/15/2017, 11:40:05 PM3 votes

I don't get why Riot is obsessed with robot spiders... There's like 2 billion spider species on earth which could be used as inspiration for skins. Maybe her base skin could just receive a bunch of chromas?

I think her gameplay is very dated and one dimentional. Her transformation pattern serves no strategic purpose whatsoever, you just switch form when your cooldowns are down and want more burst. A bit more restricted transformation mechanic could allow her to have more strategic gameplay. Think of Kayn's transformation on Elise but the difference being she could change her form whenever she visits base. She could then have an actual ultimate.

Arakadia10/15/2017, 5:12:54 PM2 votes

I think they don't want her looking too much like a real spider due to people who have a signification fear of spiders.

Skorch10/16/2017, 11:04:06 AM2 votes

Tarantula Elise anyone?

Jackom110/16/2017, 7:41:48 PM2 votes

Ooh, I really like your idea. Especially now that Eve is the main seductress of league, with ahri being more on the "free spirit" side, I can see elise representing some sort of "motherly love... gone wrong". With this theme she'd also have kit revolving a bit more on her spiderlings,

Right now, I don't play play elise much because she kinda feels like a nidalee with less burst; the pattern is more or less the same, poke from a distance then go in for the kill. Having her revolve more (not 100%, just slightly more) on her spiders, with a 50/50% human/spider form ratio would be perfect.

Blåbæret10/16/2017, 12:22:08 AM2 votes

Elise, gameplay wise, doesn't need nor should receive any changes. She's an extremely well balanced champion. Looks can be improved upon though.

Rengooo10/16/2017, 5:28:31 AM1 votes

Those little spiderlings that she creates by placing them in their victim....

Getting flash backs to alien vs predator [sg-janna]

Bladerunner777710/15/2017, 8:46:58 PM1 votes

Her design is that of a seductress-killer: that makes her essentially Eve 2.0.

Eve is Elise 2.0, if anything.

Also as far as gameplay is concerned, I do NOT want more annoying charms in the game.

she may have a motherhood theme. Those little spiderlings that she creates by placing them in their victim....

play dota (Broodmother)

I wish she had a skin in which she looks like a spider when she transforms.

I don't get this. If you want to look like a real spider, use the default :/

Some spider forms are better than others though. SKT's spider form is enough reason to NOT get the skin :[

However, I REALLY hope Elise gets a skin in the future where her spider form is fuzzy like a real tarantula (◕‿◕✿) An April Fools "slumber party" skin like Moo Cow Ali or Meowkai would be neat.

All in all I don't think Elise needs any Gameplay updates (she's very fun to play), and I'm pretty satisfied with the spider forms of her skins (fuzzy elise tho...)

KuroCaliber10/17/2017, 4:00:51 PM1 votes

I think that part of the reason it looks like a construct is because the spiders aren't hairy. The only hairy spider is death blossom, which is maybe why you like it.

Variks the Loyal10/15/2017, 8:56:12 PM1 votes

Elise's whole MO is eternal youth; kinda like the Red Witch from GoT, she's actually hideously deformed by a sickness she took as a Noxian noblewoman. Drinking Vilemaw's venom gives her eternal beauty and youth, something she's obsessed with because of her days as a noble.

I do like the idea of motherhood being a subtle theme, though; spiderlings being her children, accepting victims in a loving embrace (A creepy, incesty vibe), seducing them into her comforting arms, when they're trapped in a web of deceit.

Hard to communicate that in a kit, though, since her gameplay fantasy isn't matronly seducer, it's spider druid.

AbiwonKenabi10/15/2017, 11:12:18 PM1 votes

Her theme wasn't even really "seductress" until they relatively recently updated her lore. She used to be a cult leader basically. She still sort of is, but I wished they had focused on that instead of making her into Widowmaker+Evelynn OTP.

I like Victorious Elise, but can understand how that would be a problem for people who didn't get gold that season.

Shepherd o Souls10/15/2017, 8:41:28 PM1 votes

She probably won't get any updates in a while because she's not like nunu or kayle in terms on quality, but I really think she should have her thematic enforced as a spider queen. With new Eve out, these feels kind of intertwined with each other.