Advertisement

Her “E” move “heroic charge” is basically the same as old Poppy’s. It lets her lunge forward to tackle an enemy, dealing extra damage and stunning them if they end up colliding with a wall:

Advertisement

That’s the only ability that’s gone unchanged, however—though it’ll probably feel different anyways given that it’s now going to synergize with an entirely new set of other abilities. Such as her passive, “iron ambassador,” which makes Poppy attack with her buckler every few seconds:

Advertisement

Poppy’s champion update page describes it as a short-term performance boost that players can plan around to get the most out of its bonuses and extra range:

Every several seconds, Poppy throws her buckler as her basic attack, gaining range and bonus magic damage. Once thrown, Poppy can pick up her buckler to gain a shield, but if an enemy walks over her buckler, they’ll temporarily destroy it. If Iron Ambassador kills the target, the buckler returns to Poppy instead of falling to the ground.

Advertisement

Her new Q, “hammer shock,” is a sort of ground-pound move that damages and slows anything caught in its radius. Then after a beat, the same area Poppy originally hit erupts again to deal the same amount of damage a second time:

Advertisement

Her old Q was a similar hammer-swing attack, but all that one did was deal normal attack damage plus “a flat amount and 8% of the target’s max Health as bonus damage.” The new Q sounds like it gives Poppy a lot more utility than the old one did—particularly in team fights, or, if she’s jungling, when executing an ambush (“ganking” in MOBA-speak) on an enemy in-lane earlier in a match. But perhaps more importantly, it just looks like it’s more fun.

Poppy’s new moves add a much-needed dose of dynamism to her character when playing as, with, and against her, without holding onto the often-infuriating power of her old ultimate. But the update doesn’t just cover her gameplay and balance concerns. On an aesthetic and thematic level, Riot’s also reworked her character to once again highlight her hammer—turning her into what sounds like an adorable little fuzzy version of Thor. Her hammer used to be a lot smaller, making her look more like a knight in armor holding a standard sword-and-shield type combo:

Advertisement

She still has the buckler for her new passive ability, but her hammer’s gotten a lot longer:

Advertisement

It sticks out from the rest of her character silhouette in-game, making it look like she’s wielding some kind of gigantic broadsword that she has to carefully balance against her tiny frame:

Advertisement

Oh, and how could I forget the new splash art. It wouldn’t be a League of Legends character update without some new splash art!!

Advertisement
Advertisement

I suppose you could say they did a good job with Poppy’s two notoriously (or just famously?) weird-looking skins “Ragdoll Poppy” and “Lollipoppy”:

Advertisement

...if the job was to maintain the macabre creepiness of the originals:

Advertisement

The champion update page gives a bit of Poppy’s new backstory, saying that she’s been tasked with escorting “a legendary hammer to a hero who will become legend.” Riot, I think you like using the word “legend” a liiiiittle bit too much:

The hallmarks of a great hero are almost always obvious, especially to the person displaying them. Almost always. Poppy’s been tasked with delivering a legendary hammer to a hero who will become legend. Journeying through Runeterra, she uncovers a number of would-be wielders, but never suspects the hammer might have found the right person already. The power of the hammer, the responsibility of her mission. And a whole swath of new abilities to show off her true strength. Poppy’s kit’s designed to show off her might despite her diminutive stature; whether peeling for your allies by chaining CC like Hammer Shock and Heroic Charge, or plunging into the heart of battle to separate a carry from the crowd, Poppy shows that sometimes all you need in your toolbox is a really big hammer.

Advertisement

I can’t say anything for certain about how the new Poppy will work out once she’s come into League of Legends, but this new rework has already managed to make me interested in trying out a character I had no interest in playing as before.

To contact the author of this post, write to yannick.lejacq@kotaku.com or find him on Twitter at @YannickLeJacq.

Advertisement