League of Legend's new champion Hwei will be the game's first 'True Mage' champion with a versatile kit

The newest League of Legends (LoL) champion has been finally revealed by Riot Games.

Hwei, The Visionary, is positioned as the first “True Mage” of the game, with a vast artillery of skills than any other champion. With various attack spells, Hwei is set to dominate in the mid lane.

Yahoo Gaming SEA had the opportunity to engage in a conversation with the team that worked on Hwei, including Lexi “Lexical” Gao, Product Lead for the Champs team, Narrative writer Isa “orkidian” De Leon, and Game Designer Myles “Emizery” Salholm to learn about this new, creative and unique champion and what players can look forward to about him.

Here's everything you need to know about Hwei:

Hwei’s Lore — The Visionary

Hwei, a very introspective artist, produces moving works that shame Ionia's offenders and console their victims. He has his tragic past, and the loss of his island temple keeps coming back to him in the form of vivid, emotional visions, as well as an overactive imagination.

Hwei reveals these images to relieve his tortured self while taking a road towards the one who both wrecked and liberated his creative mind — Jhin. With his paintbrush and palette, Hwei ventures to earn closure or, maybe, embrace despair.

Hwei’s kit makes him LoL's take on Dota 2's Invoker

Hwei’s kit is ideal for him to be in the mid lane. With several offensive spells he can cast, he will be able to exchange well with other mid laners and defend turrets.

However, some spells can make him a viable support as well. Emizery admitted that the team won’t be discouraging players from bringing the champion to the bot lane, where he can help build up his team’s AD Carry.

While most champions have the usual Passive, Q, W, E, and R as the controls for their skills, Hwei’s kit includes more combinations.

This is a bit similar to Dota 2’s Invoker, who also has multiple spell combinations that makes him playable in both the mid lane and support roles.

Hwei has unparalleled gameplay potential in LoL, being the first champion with the capacity to unleash 10 different spells.

Hwei's basic skills are divided into three spellbooks, with each spellbook's powers sharing a cooldown with others in the same spellbook. Each spellbook has its creative theme that influences the quality of its powers:

• Subject: Disaster focuses on nature's unyielding and destructive powers

• Subject: Serenity gives energising and sustaining energy,

• Subject: Torment has strong crowd control effects.

Although Hwei has access to a wide range of spells, artists who want to maximise Hwei's potential must be judicious about the talents they deploy on each occasion.

When asked if the team worried about Hwei being too difficult to use, Emizery said that the kit they created would be forgiving. However, he also admitted that the champion is not very easy—but the more players master him, the more powerful Hwei can be.

The team also hopes to see Hwei eventually shine in the esports scene, where pro players can pull off ridiculous yet unforgettable clutch combinations that can spice up the Summoner’s Rift.

Here is Hwei’s ability kit:

Passive: Signature of the Visionary

Whenever Hwei damages an enemy champion, that champion will be marked for a short period. When marked foes take damage, an explosion is created underneath them and detonates after a brief delay, causing magic damage to nearby foes.

QR/WR/ER - Wash Brush

Hwei clears his paintbrush and returns to his basic abilities, expending no mana or cooldowns.

Q - Subject: Disaster

QQ - Devastating Fire

Hwei creates a scorching fireball that flies in the desired direction.

It explodes on the first enemy struck or at maximum range, causing magic damage plus a percentage of the adversary's maximum health to all foes in an area.

QW - Severing Bolt

Hwei paints a long-range, destructive bolt at the target. The bolt hits after a little delay, causing magical damage. Because of their reduced health, immobilised or isolated foes absorb more damage.

QE - Molten Fissure

Hwei paints a field of explosive volcanic eruptions, leaving a trail of lava in its wake.

Every explosion inflicts magical harm on opponents that are struck. Enemies in the lava region take magic damage each second and slow down.

W - Subject: Serenity

WQ - Fleeting Current

Hwei paints a current of swift waters in a line for a few seconds that grants movement speed to himself and allies.

WW - Pool of Reflection

Hwei creates a short-lived protective pool at the target spot. Allied champions inside the region acquire an instant shield, which increases in value over a few seconds.

WE - Stirring Lights

Hwei paints three whirling lights around him for a few seconds. Hwei's next three attacks or spells inflict extra magical damage, providing mana on hit.

E - Subject: Torment

EQ - Grim Visage

Hwei unleashes a frightful face that does magic damage and causes the first opponent struck to retreat for a short time.

EW - Gaze of the Abyss

Hwei creates an abyssal eye at the specified area, granting vision and locking onto the closest visible enemy champion.

After a brief delay, the eye launches towards the locked-on champion, rooting the first opponent in its path for a few seconds and causing magic damage to them.

EE - Crushing Maw

Hwei paints crushing jaws that deliver magical damage to struck foes and draws them towards the centre, delaying them by a fixed amount that swiftly decays.

R - Spiraling Despair

Hwei summons a vision of absolute sadness that clings to an opposing champion for a few seconds. The vision spreads and overwhelms any opponents it encounters, causing magical damage each second.

Despair stacks accumulate on enemies inside the zone over time. Each Despair layer adds a stacking slow. When the vision is finished, it shatters, delivering magical damage.

Here’s a cheat sheet the devs have prepared for players to use when they play Hwei in his first few weeks:

Hwei’s kit is meant to feel like blending paint and artistic choices

Mastering Hwei's diverse abilities is an art, requiring a keen understanding of when to deploy each one. According to Riot Emizery, the flexibility allows players to mix abilities freely, akin to blending paint and making artistic choices. This departure from rigid combos fosters a dynamic and creative gameplay experience.

Given Hwei's extensive toolkit, certain abilities may feel less impactful in some games intentionally. Riot Emizery emphasises the intentional design, urging players not to expect equal use of each ability in every match. The goal is to encourage adapting and favouring specific abilities based on the situation, whether countering enemy champions or synergizing with teammates.

Riot Emizery explains that each ability serves a niche purpose, ensuring a deliberate reason to cast it over the others. While some abilities may seem underutilized in certain games, they can shine in different contexts, creating varied and strategic gameplay.

To learn more about Hwei’s kit, refer to the Champion Insights on the LoL website.

Anna is a freelance writer and photographer. She is a gamer who loves RPGs and platformers, and is a League of Legends geek. She's also a food enthusiast who loves a good cup of black coffee.

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