Smolder has been teased by Riot themselves now, and while we already know what he looks like, we don't really know what he can do yet. Let's do a little theory crafting, shall we?
Riot Games has revealed the newest little critter to hit the rift. They uploaded a short teaser to X/Twitter. The new small dragon Smolder is hitting the rift in early 2024.
While we got little information about the background of dragons in Runeterra as well as his personality, we can only guess what his abilities look like. So that's exactly what are going to do. Strap in folks, it's gonna be wild.
LoL: Smolder Ability Predictions
What can Smolder even do? Well, he is a Dragon, so the answer is a lot. In the teaser, we can see him spitting fire and taking off with his tiny wings at the end. Based on that, I have imagined a kit that he could possibly have. As with every other champion, it consists of a passive, 3 basic abilities and an ultimate ability.
Passive — Ember Infusion:
Smolder gains bonus attack damage based on a percentage of his maximum health. Additionally, each basic attack leaves a burning effect on the target, dealing additional damage over time for a short duration.
This passive works similarly as Teemo's poison and helps him last hit minions in the early game.
Basic Ability Q — Fiery Spit:Smolder spits a small fireball in a targeted direction, dealing damage to the first enemy hit. If the fireball hits an enemy champion, it explodes upon impact, applying a burning debuff to all nearby enemies. The burning debuff increases Smolder's attack speed for a short duration.
Just imagine an Ezreal Q but it's also Tristana's Bomb. This should give him quite a bit of waveclear and poke for teamfights.
Smolder's kind of a big deal pic.twitter.com/xELrlyBhjg
— League of Legends // UK, IE & Nordics (@LoLUKN) January 4, 2024
Basic Ability W — Dragonkin Agility:
Smolder dashes to a target location, leaving a trail of flames behind him. Enemies caught in the flames take damage over time. If Smolder passes through an enemy champion during the dash, he gains bonus movement speed for a few seconds. Dragonkin Agility can be recast within a short window to perform a quick aerial loop, repositioning Smolder.
Most champions need a dash these days and since he already has wings it would be cool if he would do a little mid-air trick.
Basic Ability E — Wings of Ascension:
Smolder briefly takes flight, gaining the ability to pass through terrain. While airborne, his basic attacks have increased range and deal bonus damage. Activating the ability again allows Smolder to perform a dive attack, dealing area-of-effect damage upon landing. If Wings of Ascension is used while in the trail of flames left by Dragonkin Agility, Smolder gains a shield based on the number of enemies hit by the trail.
This ability combined with his W would give him some much-needed survivability and could be really useful in team fights and in escaping ganks.
Ultimate R — Maternal Inferno:
Smolder calls upon the protective power of his mother, who joins the battle briefly. The mother dragon releases a powerful breath of fire alongside Smolder, covering a wider area in a cone in front of them. The combined flames deal significant damage to all enemies caught within and leave a persistent burn effect. Smolder gains a temporary shield based on the number of enemies hit. Maternal Inferno also grants Smolder bonus attack damage and attack speed for an extended duration. The ultimate can be cancelled early to conserve some Mana and cooldown.
I just had to get the protective mother somewhere into this kit because it such an amazing part of his design. I imagine this to work like a better Miss Fortune Ultimate with a bit less range.
What do you think? Could this be absolutely broken? I'm so excited what Riot is cooking up with my new favorite Champion and can't wait to see what skin he is releasing with.