Before you mention that every Champion has a dance emote, that's not what I mean. I mean a Champion whose focus is on dance movements and the like.
"How would that ever help in combat?"
Ever heard the term "sword dancer"? That's just one way. But in another way, a lot of cultures had dancers who (I assume) performed spiritual dances before battles as a kind of "blessing" for the soldiers. A dancer Champion could be made as a support that provides various "dance blessings" on their allies.
"You'd want a Champion who does break-dance moves as their means of fighting?"
Break-dancing? NO. I'm thinking more oriental-styled dances like what you'd see in China or India (as generic examples). Now, I don't mean belly-dancing, but more like the stuff you'd see at acrobat shows or plays. A bit more civilized, uplifting, and meant to captivate an audience.
"What made you think of this?"
Playing Fire Emblem: Awakening gave me the idea (great game, btw). You get only one Dancer in the game, and her special ability is that she can grant one of your units an additional move in a turn. That can be rather handy in a TBS game. Other dancers in Fire Emblem titles could also perform dances that enhanced an ally's stats temporarily (this would be more what I'm interested in).
"Orianna?"
To quote Riot Uracan:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Riot Uracan
I think the main thing that people see with Orianna is that while lore wise and emotes have Dancer elements her gameplay / experience doesn't match.
Orianna strikes that uncanny valley kinda human but not really feeling, where those who want the dancer want something that evokes fluidity, grace, even some would say humanity that Orianna doesn't evoke in gameplay.
While there are a myriad of ways of doing this, ( just look at those who want the break/capoeira fighter vs the ribbon/sash/sword dancer) there's definitely a core hook there that's different that want League has to offer.
Community please feel free to add on if am missing a point or have more to add!
Long-story-short, Orianna's playstyle is based around The Ball, not her dancing. As such, she's not what I'd consider a dancer Champion.
Vote above if you'd like to see something like this.
EDIT: WOW, I didn't expect this to explode so quickly!
EDIT2: Got some very rough ideas for a dancer Champion now. Check it out. (Did some more brainstorming!)
Quote:
Name: Freesia, the Spirit Dancer Role: Support, Ranged
(reference art only) (found here [danbooru can be NSFW])
Statistics (no numbers yet, except for MR)
HP: Moderate
HPR: Poor/Moderate
MP: Good
MPR: Moderate/Good
AD: Very Poor
Range: Poor (i.e. 450)
AR: Poor/Moderate
MR: 30 (+0)
AS: Poor
MS: Moderate
Abilities REMADE!
P - Rhythm
Freesia gains 20% bonus movement speed and ignores unit collision for 1 second each time she hits an allied/enemy Champion with one of her abilities. (Does not stack or extend duration with multiple hits.)
Q – Samba of Swords
Freesia dashes to target unit, dealing magic damage to all enemies she passes through and to all nearby enemies when she arrives, and receiving bonus AD for 3 seconds. If her target is an allied Champion, she grants it bonus AD for 3 seconds; if her target is an enemy Champion, she reduces its AD for 3 seconds.
5 second cooldown. Moderate mana cost.
W – Wind Waltz First Cast: Freesia sends a whirlwind in target direction that damages and slows all enemies it touches. Slow projectile speed. Second Cast: Freesia blinks to the whirlwind (consuming it), damaging and inflicting a stronger slow upon all nearby enemies for 2 seconds when she arrives. Nearby allied Champions will also receive bonus movement speed for 2 seconds. Damage from first and second casts is equal.
12/11/10/9/8 second cooldown.
E – Lover’s Lavolta
Freesia dashes in target direction, shielding herself and any allied Champions she passes through for 3 seconds. Enemy Champions struck are also briefly charmed, causing them to walk harmlessly toward Freesia for 1 second; the charm cannot occur twice on the same Champion within X seconds. If Freesia hits an allied/enemy Champion with Lover’s Lavolta, she can cast it again within the next 4 seconds at no cost.
14/13/12/11/10 second cooldown (does not cycle while second dash is available).
R – Flourishing Finale
Freesia unleashes her most powerful dance, dealing magic damage to all nearby enemies (large AOE). For the next 10 seconds, Freesia generates an aura that grants her and all nearby allied Champions bonus MS, AR and MR.
140/120/100 second cooldown.
EDIT3: Wow, over 1000 Yes votes? Riot, better get cracking!
Also, I've done some more work on Freesia. Still incomplete, but I'm hoping to get some feedback.
Lets keep the creative juices flowing. Make your dancer fit into the factions! Some have already mentioned stuff like Ionia or the Noxian Dancer ( which personally am a fan of ). Fit the rest now!
For my attempt:
Piltoverian dancer with a hextech lightning ribbon. ( Can you tell I was inspired by the robot wars video)
*also as a reminder am just throwing out ideas for us to have fun discussions.*
Mechanically, how would you make this any different from, say, Sona or Udyr?
And that's where the creative challenge is. There's a space filled already with Sona, so how does one meet the core archetype while being unique and having a good gameplay hook.
There's a lot of ways that can be done, and this is simply an exercise to try and get us Dancer archetype lovers to think a bit creatively.
Some of the blade dervish or battle dancers inspired by DnD are certainly good examples but I think there's definitely more space than that.
Orianna anyone? Ballerina, amazing utility power? shield allies, slow enemies, reposition ult....
or does she not count?
I think the main thing that people see with Orianna is that while lore wise and emotes have Dancer elements her gameplay / experience doesn't match.
Orianna strikes that uncanny valley kinda human but not really feeling, where those who want the dancer want something that evokes fluidity, grace, even some would say humanity that Orianna doesn't evoke in gameplay.
While there are a myriad of ways of doing this, ( just look at those who want the break/capoeira fighter vs the ribbon/sash/sword dancer) there's definitely a core hook there that's different that want League has to offer.
Community please feel free to add on if am missing a point or have more to add!
I think this entire thread has turned into a front for Riot saying
"We're working on it and it will happen sometime in the future, so give us ideas of what you want to see"
Let's not get ahead of ourselves (points to title), am just a fan of the archetype and the conversation was one that had been in my head lately. Plus it spawned an excellent conversation about the myriad versions of the dancer.
@Riot: Why is there no "dancer" Champion?
"How would that ever help in combat?"
Ever heard the term "sword dancer"? That's just one way. But in another way, a lot of cultures had dancers who (I assume) performed spiritual dances before battles as a kind of "blessing" for the soldiers. A dancer Champion could be made as a support that provides various "dance blessings" on their allies.
"You'd want a Champion who does break-dance moves as their means of fighting?"
Break-dancing? NO. I'm thinking more oriental-styled dances like what you'd see in China or India (as generic examples). Now, I don't mean belly-dancing, but more like the stuff you'd see at acrobat shows or plays. A bit more civilized, uplifting, and meant to captivate an audience.
"What made you think of this?"
Playing Fire Emblem: Awakening gave me the idea (great game, btw). You get only one Dancer in the game, and her special ability is that she can grant one of your units an additional move in a turn. That can be rather handy in a TBS game. Other dancers in Fire Emblem titles could also perform dances that enhanced an ally's stats temporarily (this would be more what I'm interested in).
"Orianna?"
To quote Riot Uracan:
Orianna strikes that uncanny valley kinda human but not really feeling, where those who want the dancer want something that evokes fluidity, grace, even some would say humanity that Orianna doesn't evoke in gameplay.
While there are a myriad of ways of doing this, ( just look at those who want the break/capoeira fighter vs the ribbon/sash/sword dancer) there's definitely a core hook there that's different that want League has to offer.
Community please feel free to add on if am missing a point or have more to add!
Vote above if you'd like to see something like this.
EDIT: WOW, I didn't expect this to explode so quickly!
EDIT2: Got some very rough ideas for a dancer Champion now. Check it out. (Did some more brainstorming!)
Role: Support, Ranged
(reference art only) (found here [danbooru can be NSFW])
Statistics (no numbers yet, except for MR)
HP: Moderate
HPR: Poor/Moderate
MP: Good
MPR: Moderate/Good
AD: Very Poor
Range: Poor (i.e. 450)
AR: Poor/Moderate
MR: 30 (+0)
AS: Poor
MS: Moderate
Abilities REMADE!
P - Rhythm
Freesia gains 20% bonus movement speed and ignores unit collision for 1 second each time she hits an allied/enemy Champion with one of her abilities. (Does not stack or extend duration with multiple hits.)
Q – Samba of Swords
Freesia dashes to target unit, dealing magic damage to all enemies she passes through and to all nearby enemies when she arrives, and receiving bonus AD for 3 seconds. If her target is an allied Champion, she grants it bonus AD for 3 seconds; if her target is an enemy Champion, she reduces its AD for 3 seconds.
5 second cooldown. Moderate mana cost.
W – Wind Waltz
First Cast: Freesia sends a whirlwind in target direction that damages and slows all enemies it touches. Slow projectile speed.
Second Cast: Freesia blinks to the whirlwind (consuming it), damaging and inflicting a stronger slow upon all nearby enemies for 2 seconds when she arrives. Nearby allied Champions will also receive bonus movement speed for 2 seconds. Damage from first and second casts is equal.
12/11/10/9/8 second cooldown.
E – Lover’s Lavolta
Freesia dashes in target direction, shielding herself and any allied Champions she passes through for 3 seconds. Enemy Champions struck are also briefly charmed, causing them to walk harmlessly toward Freesia for 1 second; the charm cannot occur twice on the same Champion within X seconds. If Freesia hits an allied/enemy Champion with Lover’s Lavolta, she can cast it again within the next 4 seconds at no cost.
14/13/12/11/10 second cooldown (does not cycle while second dash is available).
R – Flourishing Finale
Freesia unleashes her most powerful dance, dealing magic damage to all nearby enemies (large AOE). For the next 10 seconds, Freesia generates an aura that grants her and all nearby allied Champions bonus MS, AR and MR.
140/120/100 second cooldown.
Also, I've done some more work on Freesia. Still incomplete, but I'm hoping to get some feedback.
Food for discussion:
What is it about the Dancer Archetype that is cool? What's the hook to play a dancer?
What would a dancer look like if you tried to make it into the specific roles? Tank dancer, adc dancer etc.
What cool dancer's have you seen before?
How could a dancer fit within the league of legends IP or with other similar character archetypes ( thinking of sona)
When I think of dancer I think of FFT's Dancer. Global support / debuffer.
Lets keep the creative juices flowing. Make your dancer fit into the factions! Some have already mentioned stuff like Ionia or the Noxian Dancer ( which personally am a fan of ). Fit the rest now!
For my attempt:
Piltoverian dancer with a hextech lightning ribbon. ( Can you tell I was inspired by the robot wars video)
*also as a reminder am just throwing out ideas for us to have fun discussions.*
I see what you did there...
Mechanically, how would you make this any different from, say, Sona or Udyr?
And that's where the creative challenge is. There's a space filled already with Sona, so how does one meet the core archetype while being unique and having a good gameplay hook.
There's a lot of ways that can be done, and this is simply an exercise to try and get us Dancer archetype lovers to think a bit creatively.
Some of the blade dervish or battle dancers inspired by DnD are certainly good examples but I think there's definitely more space than that.
or does she not count?
I think the main thing that people see with Orianna is that while lore wise and emotes have Dancer elements her gameplay / experience doesn't match.
Orianna strikes that uncanny valley kinda human but not really feeling, where those who want the dancer want something that evokes fluidity, grace, even some would say humanity that Orianna doesn't evoke in gameplay.
While there are a myriad of ways of doing this, ( just look at those who want the break/capoeira fighter vs the ribbon/sash/sword dancer) there's definitely a core hook there that's different that want League has to offer.
Community please feel free to add on if am missing a point or have more to add!
how does the Eddy Gordo tekken version of a dance fighter martial artist separate itself from or co exist with Lee Sin?
"We're working on it and it will happen sometime in the future, so give us ideas of what you want to see"