The second season of the Legend of Legends animated Netflix show Arcane comes out next month, and Riot Games plans to celebrate that in League of Legends itself. Namely, it will add Ambessa Medarda, a character introduced in the show, as a new champion as part of Patch 14.22.
You might recall that Ambessa is the matriarch of the Noxian Merdarda family who first appears partway through the first season of Arcane to advise her daughter Mel. After Jinx’s attack on Mel and the rest of the Piltover council at the end of the first season, it seems like Ambessa will be on a path of vengeance in the show’s second season. Riot Games believes that she’s a compelling enough character to bring over to the game that inspired Arcane, with game designer Max Perlman saying that the show gave the developers a “jumping off point to eventually find the center point of her kit,” in comments provided to Digital Trends.
Ambessa is designed to be a top lane champion who can 1v1 against other characters, and her abilities reflect that. Her passive ability is Drakehound’s Step, which allows Ambessa to dash after casting an ability and give her next ability range, damage, and attack speed buffs while refunding energy. Her Q ability starts as Cunning Sweep, a basic attack that deals damage in front of her with blades; if Ambessa hits an enemy, it turns into Sundering Slam, which deals bonus damage to the first enemy it hits while doing damage in a line.
Ambessa’s W ability is Repudiation, which gives her Shield as she slams into the ground and damages nearby enemies. Her E ability is Lacerate, which deals damage around Ambessa and enables a combo with Drakehound’s Step by allowing her to strike twice. Finally, her Ultimate Ability is Public Execution, which teleports her to the farthest enemy champion in a line players choose and suppresses, damages, and stuns that champion.
Ambessa seems like an appealing choice for more aggressive players and newer ones playing the game for the first time after watching Arcane. Ambessa’s addition isn’t the only Arcane-related tie-in with League of Legends, as its All Random, All Mid game mode is getting a new map based on the Bridge of Progress and more between the launch of Patch 14.22 and January 8, 2025.
The second season of Arcane will be released across three acts on November 9, November 16, and November 23.