

Of the three forms, the darkin one was the easiest to approach. “When we heard he had three forms,” concept artist Hing “Hdot” Chui says, “We were like, 'Well, that's terrifying. “As long as there are games where you must get to the backline to blow up a fed ADC, and the shadow assassin does a better job of this,” ZenonTheStoic says, “then we can be happy and consider the two forms balanced against each other.”Ĭreating concept art for a new champion normally means communicating the story and gameplay for just one character. For Kayn, this means once he transforms into the shadow assassin, he gets the extra speed and damage needed to threaten the enemy backline, while his darkin form gains the sustain and CC needed to thrive in chaotic fights.īalancing the two forms against each other means constantly asking, “Are there enough scenarios where each form is clearly preferable?” Even if, say, darkin form generally did more damage to champions, that could be okay.

Typically their strengths and weaknesses diverge in the mid-game, when tanks start to be able to absorb damage and initiate fights, and assassins can probably start wrecking squishies. Kayn was always designed with the jungle in mind, and all junglers need pretty much the same tools during the early game: a way to get in for ganks and some follow-up CC. It's locked away behind a meaningful timer so it still feels important and rewarding to manage forms properly, but you don't ever have to be sad for thirty minutes because you accidentally unlocked the “wrong” form first.

Devs didn't want the system to be too punishing, especially while Kayn-mains-in-training were still learning, so you can choose to reject the first form and wait out the other one. The final result, where damaging (or killing) ranged champs unlocks assassin form while targeting melee champs unlocks darkin form, seemed to make sense thematically: The assassin wants to prey on weak yet high-value targets, while the darkin only wants to fight the worthy-beefy, hard-to-kill frontliners. It could not do anything too crazy to the game, such as requiring you to feed your ass off.It should allow players to get better at managing transformations as they play Kayn more.Kayn's in-game transformation system really needed to do three things. Game designer Daniel “ZenonTheStoic” says, “This is the first time we've really bound a champion's ongoing story to the gameplay so tightly.” Instead, Kayn begins in his base form, and his actions in-game determine which irreversible transformation he can take. Unlike most champions in League who have multiple forms-like Nidalee, Elise, and Gnar-Kayn is unable to swap between his during the game. This conflict became the foundation for Kayn's transformations in-game. Kayn finds the weapon and ends up locked in a struggle of wills that'll end in one of two ways: Either he will destroy Rhaast, the darkin sealed within, and wield the no-longer-sentient blade, or he will lose the battle and become a Rhaast's vessel. Those scrubs were all just too weak, and he believes he will triumph where everyone else crumbled. Many have tried to wield the scythe Kayn seeks, and all have failed. Most are instantly overpowered, their bodies becoming no more than a vessel the darkin occupies while searching for a more worthy host. The darkin trapped inside fights to control the wielder's mind and body, and it's a contest the average person can never win. The instant someone lays hand on a darkin weapon, a battle of wills begins. If Kayn's team needs a tankier frontline, Rhaast is the darkin for the job. If the other team's squishier champs are carrying, he can focus on attacking ranged opponents to become the shadow assassin. Kayn's the only champ in League who can change his class in the middle of a game. The Shadow Reaper's ult is horrifying enough, but even scarier is his tendency to emerge, suddenly, from any wall in the Rift. Kayn is a slippery, insatiable nightmare who uses his victims' bodies as a recreational vehicle. Darkin:Umbral Trespass deals extra damage as a percentage of the victim's maximum health, healing the Darkin in the process.Shadow Assassin:Umbral Trespass can be cast from further away and resets the bonus magic damage from The Darkin Scythe after Kayn's exits his victim.
#Kayn league of legends free#
Kayn then wrenches himself free from his victim's body, dealing a burst of damage. Reactivating the ability during this period ends the effect early. Trespassing into a champion makes Kayn untargetable for a few seconds. Kayn may infest any nearby enemy champion who he has recently damaged.
