Not content with her human body, League of Legends' newly revealed hero Elise can change into a massive spider. Her role is split between mage in human form and assassin in spider form. Below, we've more on how Riot are planning on balancing their new hero.
According to their post revealing Elise, Riot originally conceived the spider queen three years ago. Part of the challenge is finding away to balance her dual roles: "Like all transform champions, successfully playing Elise involves balancing two distinct kits. More than any of her counterparts, however, the Spider Queen’s two forms embody distinct, but complimentary roles. Unlike Jayce, whose kit emphasizes flowing smoothly between ranged and melee skillsets, or Nidalee, who uses her cougar mobility to split push and create distance for her long ranged attacks, Elise’s two ability sets separate definitively into mage and assassin roles."
Her skill set shows something of this dichotomy:
Abilities (Human form):
- Spider Swarm (Passive): Elise’s Human Form spells will ready a spiderling when cast on an enemy.
- Neurotoxin: Elise damages a target based on its current Health.
- Volatile Spiderling: Elise releases a venom-gorged spiderling that explodes when it nears a target.
- Cocoon: Elise fires a skillshot that stuns the first enemy struck.
- Spider Form: Elise transforms into a menacing spider with new abilities. While in Spider Form, Elise deals magic bonus damage on attack and has increased Movement Speed, Armor, and Magic Resistance. Each level of her ultimate allows Elise to summon an additional spiderling.
Abilities (Spider Form):
- Spider Swarm (Passive): Elise summons her spiderlings to fight by her side. Spiderlings deal physical damage and take reduced damage from multi-target abilities.
- Venomous Bite: Elise lunges forward and bites her target, slowing them and dealing bonus damage based on how low its Health is.
- Skittering Frenzy: Elise and her spiderlings gain Attack Speed and heal her on each attack.
- On enemy cast: Elise and her spiderlings ascend high into the air and descend upon an enemy target.
- On ground cast: Elise and her spiderlings ascend high into the air, becoming untargetable for two seconds. Casting Rappel on a nearby enemy during this time will descend upon your target.
- Human Form: Elise transforms into a human form with new abilities. Each level of her ultimate allows Elise to summon an additional spiderling.
As a human, you'll be using Elise to nuke players, stunning them with Cocoon, sapping enemies with the most health using Neurotoxin, and handling crowds with the Volatile Spiderlings.
Though, in spider form, Elise can isolate and kill a single target extremely effectively.
Depending on the cast time on her different skills, Elise could easily take down a strong hero: Cocoon them, leaving them stunned, hitting their huge health with Neurotoxin, switching to spiderform to use Venemous bite - which is even more effective as a result of their, now, low health.
Also, because this led me down the Youtube path: