League of Legends Ability Rundown: Hwei, the Visionary
- Hwei, the Visionary will be released on December 6, 2023 as part of League of Legends Patch 13.24
- Hwei is the 166th champion to be added to League of Legends
- Hwei’s abilities themselves contain multiple abilities, a new mechanic for LoL
Hwei, the Visionary will be coming to League of Legends as the hit MOBA’s 166th champion on Patch 13.24, and it’s safe to say that the mid lane mage has a kit unlike any other seen before on Summoner’s Rift. Hwei, an artistic champion bears many similarities to Jhin in personality, but his abilities are incomparable to any other champion in LoL.
Why? Because each of Hwei’s basic abilities contains THREE abilities of their own. That gives Hwei 10 total abilities with his ultimate (11 if you count his passive). The Visionary’s abilities are complex enough for Riot Games to have released a cheat sheet for the different combinations of said abilities – a first for the game in its decade-plus history.
Hwei is meant to be played in the mid lane, arguably the most flexible role in League of Legends that allows for the largest variety of styles. Hwei’s kit redefines variety on Summoner’s Rift and gives him options for nearly every situation, so let’s take a closer look.
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Passive: Signature of the Visionary
Hwei marks enemy champions with his signature finishing touch by first damaging them with his abilities. Hitting an enemy with two damage-dealing spells places Hwei’s signature on the ground beneath them. The signature detonates after a short delay, dealing magic damage to all enemies in range.
Hwei’s passive is designed to encourage him to weave his spells together and to reward successfully doing so with extra damage
Subject: Disaster
Hwei paints visions of disaster that deal a large amount of damage to enemies.
Hwei’s Q is where the majority of his damage spells are kept. After using Subject: Disaster, Hwei can access burst Damage through Devastating Fire (Q+Q), long-ranged artillery-style fire in the form of Severing Bolt (Q+W), and Molten Fissure’s (Q+E)’s wave clear and zoning can be used to help a siege or defend an otherwise exposed tower.
Subject: Serenity
Hwei paints visions of serenity that provide utility for himself and allied champions.
Hwei’s W provides various forms of ally-focused utility. After using Subject: Serenity, Hwei can give movement speed to his team through Fleeting Current (W+Q), sustain shields through Pool of Reflection (W+W), or restore friendly units’ mana via Stirring Lights (W+E).
Subject: Torment
Hwei paints visions of torment that control enemies.
Hwei’s abilities on his E provide crowd control against opposing units. After using Subject: Torment, Hwei’s Grim Visage (E+Q) fears the first enemy it hits. Gaze of the Abyss (E+W) grants vision and locks onto the nearest enemy champion and fires a beam that roots them for a few seconds, dealing magic damage if it lands. Crushing Maw (E+E) deals AOE damage and crushes all enemies hit by it together in a clump while slowing them.
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.
Hwei’s basic abilities are meant to make him a jack-of-all-trades, but his ultimate is simply raw power in the form of stacking area-of-effect damage. The Despair stacks from inside the area of Spiraling Despair also slow the targets, allowing easy conjunction with other AoE abilities such as Crushing Maw.
For even more details about the abilities of Hwei, the Visionary, check out Riot Games’ rundown here.
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