Aurora has largely been overlooked in League of Legends since her launch, as the new game mode Swarm has captured the players’ attention and discussions instead.
Riot Games likely anticipated this outcome, as it has become a trend with their combined event-and-champion releases.
Since her arrival in League on July 17, the new champion Aurora has struggled to make a significant impact on the game’s dedicated fanbase. Instead, the focus has been entirely on Swarm, the exciting new bullet-hell game mode that Riot released alongside the champion.
Unfortunately for Aurora, the combination of her release with this new mode has effectively overshadowed her hype.
The League community quickly voiced their surprise at how fast Aurora and her release were pushed aside. Some players criticized her for being too “uninteresting” to make a significant impact, while others blamed her theme for failing to generate excitement. A few even suggested that Riot had missed the mark with “more anime nonsense.”
Despite this, Aurora has been seen in many matches so far. According to League statistic site U.GG, she has already appeared in over 73k games. However, compared to the usual excitement surrounding new champion debuts, her release feels underwhelming.
This curious release strategy from Riot seems to be part of a larger pattern, as seen with other underwhelming debuts like Nilah and Naafiri. Naafiri, who was released in the middle of the 2023 Soul Fighter event, was overshadowed by the Arena mode.
Not all champions have been overshadowed by events, though. Lillia and Yone, who were released during the Spirit Blossom event, and Akshan, who headlined the Sentinels event, managed to avoid being eclipsed. However, it’s worth noting that all three required periods of significant metagame dominance to stand out.
It’s possible that Aurora might become more prominent once the Swarm hype dies down, especially if Riot buffs her in the upcoming Season 14 updates. Nevertheless, the initial damage to her launch seems to have been done.