The official cinematic trailer and splash art for the much-anticipated new League of Legends jungle champion, Briar, have been revealed! Riot Games has been drip-feeding information about Briar since the beginning of this year, fueling fans' excitement and curiosity. Product Lead Lexi Gao hinted at Briar's nature in the "Season 2023 | LoL Pls" and the earlier released Champion Roadmap, all of which point to a champion driven by an "insatiable hunger", playfully coined as the "hangry jungler."
The Champion Roadmap also alluded to Briar being inspired by a specific "mythological creature”. With the newly leaked splash art and fragments of lore, fans are now even more eager to uncover further details.
Leaked splash art for Briar shows League of Legends' newest vampire champion
In the leaked splash art, Briar is depicted to be a young Vampire-esque character, complete with long, clawed nails and razor-sharp teeth. She has a short messy bed of ombre hair that goes from white at the top to pinkish-red at the bottom. Black clothing covers her body, while her forearms and calves are adorned with black bandages and straps. Her eyes are pupil-less and a ghostly white, reminiscent of a shark's frenzied focus right before striking its prey.
The fallen soldiers and Briar's childlike stature create an intriguing contrast that heightens her eerie aura. This juxtaposition also serves to explain her "insatiable hunger" as a kind of uncontrollable childlike frenzy.
The medieval-style spiky pillory, previously hinted at earlier this year, reappears in Briar’s recently leaked splash art. This time, it restrains her arms while emitting an eerie pink glow.
Who is Briar?
Briar is the new upcoming skirmish-heavy jungle champion to join the League of Legends roster. Her kit is going to revolve heavily around an "uncontrollable hunger" and what happens when that hunger "takes over".
Drawing from insights shared in the Champion Roadmap, Briar is currently on the “path of reformation” and has managed to gain some control over her "insatiable hunger”. The Pillory is most likely used to shackle her for the safety of the people around her. However, as for whether or not it successfully curbs Briar’s “hunger”... probably not.
Fans are speculating that Briar will break free from her pillory upon reaching Level 6 and gain a boost in power as she plunges into a frenzied state driven by her “insatiable” hunger.
To the pleasant surprise of League of Legends fans, the recently leaked splash art unveils that Briar isn't quite the "vampire waifu jungler" that certain players had initially expected. Fans are pleased that the Riot development team opted for a direction that leans toward the dark and gothic aesthetic, while still retaining an “innocent” charm.
When will Briar be released?
According to Riot Meddler, Briar will arrive on the Rift much sooner than expected! Players can anticipate Briar to be released with patch 13.19, which is set to launch on 13 September 2023. She is also currently available on League of Legends' PBE client!
Interested in learning more about Briar? We've got you covered. Discover everything you need to know about her unique ability kit, and whether she shares the same voice actor as Jinx!