Hwei is going to be the next champion and with him releasing soon, it's time to check out everything we know.
A new mid lane mage is coming to League of Legends. This is going to be the first mage since the release of Vex all the way back in 2021, so mage players are pretty excited about the champion.
Is Hwei going to be difficult? Is he going to be old or young? What do we know about this mysterious new champion? Well, let's go over the breadcrumbs Riot has left for us.
Hwei will be the 166th League champion in the game.
New LoL Champion Hwei: Everything We Know
What Lane Will Hwei Be In?
Hwei is going to be a mid lane human mage. Riot have confirmed his identity to be a versatile control artillery mage who will be able to "paint his way through any problem". With his kit, Riot want to create a complex champion who will be using spell combos to truly shine.
Players will have to weave his abilities together to create images on the rift. He's going to be a hard to master champion, but very satisfying once you understand the correct ability combos.
What Abilities Will Hwei Have?
Hwei is going to be a pretty complex champion who is able to weave together his abilities. Overall, he's going to have 10 different abilities you can use with him, which just adds to his complexity and high skill ceiling.
Hwei is able to choose between 3 subjects to paint about. These subjects will then replace Hwei's spell with the respective spellbook:
- Q - Disaster: Damage
- W - Serenity: Utility
- E - Torment: Control
Passive Ability
| Ability | Text |
Passive - Signature of the Visionary | Hwei's damaging abilities against enemy champions mark them for a few seconds. Hitting marked enemies with another damaging ability creates and explosion underneath them, detonating after a short delay and dealing magic damage to all enemies in range |
This is a pretty simple passive for a champion that is supposedly so complex. Don't worry, we'll get to the complexity. You'll want to damage enemies and then hit them with a different ability to deal damage so you can get the most out of your passive and will encourage you to go after one specific opponent.
Q Ability - Damage
| Ability | Text |
| QQ - Devastating Fire | Hwei paints a blazing fireball that flies out in the target direction. It explodes on the first enemy hit or at maximum range, dealing magic damage plus percent max health magic damage to all enemies in an area |
| QW - Severing Bolt | Hwei paints a long-range, devastating bolt at the target location. After a delay, the bolt strikes, dealing magic damage. Immobilized or isolated enemies take increased damage based on missing health |
| QE - Molten Fissure | Hwei paints a field of exploding volcanic eruptions, creating lingering lava in its path. Every eruption deals magic damage to enemies hit. Enemies in the lava area are dealt magic damage per second and are slowed |
| QR - Wash Brush | Hwei clears his paintbrush and returns to base abilites without using mana or cooldowns |
The QQ sounds similar to Karma's R-Q combo which is going to be some great poke from him if you manage to land it correctly. For the QW, Riot seemed to take inspiration from Vel'Koz W adding in some more flavor to it with a Kha'Zix Q passive.
W Ability - Utility
| Ability | Text |
| WQ - Fleeting Current | Hwei paints a current of swift waters in a line for a few seconds that grants movement speed to himself and allies |
| WW - Pool of Reflection | Hwei forms a protective pool at the target location that lasts for a few seconds. Allied champions inside the area gain an immediate shield, increasing in value over a few seconds while in the area |
| WE - Stirring Lights | Hwei paints three swirling lights that circle him for several seconds. Hwei's next 3 attacks or spells deal bonus magic damage and grant mana on hit |
| WR - Wash Brush | Hwei clears his paintbrush and returns to base abilites without using mana or cooldowns |
These are some pretty interesting abilities which give him insane utility and versatility in lane. His WQ just seems like a different version of Jayce's E, but what is probably the most interesting and fun to pair with his damage abilities is his WE, which is similar to Nami's E, only he casts it upon himself, and he gains mana on-hit. Imagine pairing this with his QQ.
E Ability - Control
| Ability | Text |
| EQ - Grim Visage | Hwei launches a terrifying face that strikes the first enemy hit, dealing magic damage and causing them to flee for a brief duration |
| EW - Gace of the Abyss | Hwei paints an abyssal eye at the target location that grants vision and locks onto the nearest visible enemy champion. After a short delay, the eye fires at the locked-on champion, rooting the first enemy in its path for a few seconds and dealing magic damage to them |
| EE - Crushing Maw | Hwei paints crushing jaws that deal magic damage to enemies hit and pulls them toward the center, slowing them by a set amount that quickly decays |
| ER - Wash Brush | Cancels the current subject, returning to the Subject spells and consuming no cooldown or resources |
These control abilities are also going to come in useful and will work wonders when paired with the other paths of inspiration Hwei has. His EQ seems similar to Fiddle Q, only here it's a skill shot. The EE seems like it took inspiration from Aurelion Sol's new E ability, which can be extremely annoying to play around in lane.
Ultimate Ability
| Ability | Text |
| R - Spiraling Despair | Hwei launches a vision of pure despair that sticks to an enemy champion for a few seconds. The vision expands and overwhelms all enemies it touches, dealing magic damage per second. Enemies within the zone are afflicted with stacks of Despair over time. Each stack of Despair applies a stacking percent slow. Upon completion, the vision shatters, dealing magic damage. |
So even with all these other abilities that Riot have added into Hwei's kit, we've also got a pretty cool ultimate ability as well, which sounds similar to Viktor's ultimate. How much despair will the enemy team be able to handle before they shatter?
Overall, Hwei looks to be someone who's got a bit of everything in his kit, which it's designed to be. You might compare him to Aphelios in terms of 'overloaded kit' but like Aphelios, Hwei is designed to be able to have so much utility, damage and control. Now you as the player just have to master him.
What Does Hwei Look Like?
Hwei is going to be a human male. He's got long dark hair with a pale complexion. Unlike what some players thought, Hwei is going to be an adult male. There had been some rumors before his release that he might be a child, but it seems he's going to be a young adult male.
His whole concept is dark clothes and despair, giving him an 'emo' aesthetic with dark green clothing which make him look even more pale. Quite the difference to the vibrant images he paints, eh?
Hwei Lore - Where Is The Mid Lane Mage From?
Hwei is going to be a new Ionian champion. In his background lore, it is revealed that he's got a troubled history with the loss of his island temple plaguing him and even coming back as forms of intense emotional visions.
With Hwei, we're also going to be getting more information on Jhin, since he is closely related to him. According to the lore, Hwei is looking for Jhin, someone who unblocked his artistic mind, but also devastated him in the past. Will he be able to find closure, or is despair going to engulf him?
When Will Hwei Be Released?
Hwei is going to be the next League of Legends champion and should be released in LoL Patch 13.24 (December 6). He is known to be getting a Winterblessed skin, which are the next skins to be added, so expect him to be coming to the game with the final patch of the 2023 League of Legends season.