League of Legends news » Ability Remake: Evelynn, the Widowmaker

Ability Remake: Evelynn, the Widowmaker

In an upcoming patch we’ll be revisiting two of the first champions to grace the Fields of Justice: Twitch, the Plague Rat, and Evelynn, the Widowmaker. These champions haven’t been as viable as we’d like them to be due to problematic long-term stealth mechanics. For Evelynn, her core ability Shadow Walk allowed her to remain invisible for long periods of time, ultimately forcing players to stay on the defensive and favor cautious play. Since we want the action to remain a fun and fluid experience throughout the match, we decided to update these champions with some new stealth abilities.



Because Evelynn has always been the consummate assassin in League of Legends, we really wanted to preserve that bloodthirsty feeling of stalking an enemy champion. Instead of traditional invisibility, however, we decided to retool Shadow Walk into a new form of persistent stealth. Whenever Evelynn is out of combat, this passive version of Shadow Walk will kick in after a short period of time, reducing the range at which enemy champions can see her. Additionally, while in this state Evelynn will be invisible to all Sight Wards and minions, though turrets and Vision Wards will still be able to spot her as normal.

This new version of Shadow Walk will allow Evelynn to close in on an enemy, positioning herself closer to melee range while she waits for the opportune moment to attack. To help her initiate in an appropriately predatory manner, her new Dark Frenzy ability can give her the Movement Speed boost she needs to quickly close the distance on an unsuspecting target. Additionally, we’ve modified Ravage so that it not only functions as a nuke but also provides an Attack Speed bonus to help her quickly take down her victim. Should she score a kill or assist, the cooldown on Dark Frenzy is reset, allowing her to either redouble the attack or escape and vanish as quickly as she came.

Evelynn also faced challenges participating in team fights. To give her some additional staying power when entering the fray, Evelynn can employ her new ultimate ability Agony’s Embrace. This new ultimate targets an area, dealing damage and slowing the enemies it hits. In addition to its offensive effects, Agony’s Embrace also grants Evelynn a significant damage shield for each enemy champion caught within the target area.

Combined with the strategic advantage of Shadow Walk, this shield can give the Widowmaker the tactical advantage she needs to quickly reach and tear down a high value target in a team fight. For even more added punch in these group situations, we’ve also increased the range on Hate Spike and updated it to strike multiple enemy targets in a line each time it’s cast. This added team fight utility combines with Evelynn’s new persistent stealth to keep her alive and dangerous even in the more advanced stages of the game when group action is more prevalent.

Abilities

• Shadow Walk (Passive): While out of combat, Evelynn enters stealth causing her to be detectable only by nearby champions or true sight. Additionally, Evelynn rapidly regenerates Mana while stealthed.
• Hate Spike: Evelynn fires a line of spikes through a nearby adversary, dealing magic damage to all enemies caught in their path.
• Dark Frenzy:
  • Passive: Evelynn’s spell hits grant her a stacking Movement Speed buff.
  • Active: Evelynn breaks free from any slows affecting her and gains a massive Movement Speed boost for a short duration.
• Ravage: Evelynn slashes her target twice, dealing magic damage with each strike and gaining a massive Attack Speed boost for a short duration thereafter.
• Agony’s Embrace: Evelynn impales all enemies in a target area, dealing magic damage based on their maximum health and slowing them. She then gains a shield based on how many enemy champions she hit.