From the moment I saw her, I was in love with Aurora, the new League of Legends champion. Channeling those vaguely hipster autumnal vibes with her big glasses, red hair, and smattering of freckles, all topped off by a huge witch hat, she is, aesthetically, everything I could ever ask for. When I was first introduced to her during an exclusive preview event at Riot HQ in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, however, I was underwhelmed with her kit, questioning whether or not it brought anything new to the table. Going hands-on changed that entirely.
At first glance, Aurora’s abilities look like a mashup of other League of Legends champions like Ahri, Camille, Twitch, and Xayah. She can go invisible, her ultimate creates a cage-like area that she can jump from wall to wall in, and her abilities deal magic damage both on hit and on return when recast. They’re mechanics we’ve already seen in the MOBA, but they make for a deadly cocktail of mobility, crowd control (CC), and, frankly, absolute chaos when combined.
League of Legends Aurora abilities
Aurora’s kit focuses on “trickery and things that you’d associate with powerful magic.” Lead gameplay designer Matt ‘Phroxzon’ Leung-Harrison notes that the team wanted to land on a kit that was “ultimately pretty simple” but that “still brings something innovative to the game. This meant powerful spell casts and a way to bring the Spirit Realm gameplay into her kit.”
Below are all the new League of Legends champion Aurora’s abilities:
- Passive – Spirit Abjuration: If Aurora damages an enemy three times with her spells and attacks, she will deal magic damage and exorcise a spirit to her, entering Spirit Mode and gaining movement speed and empowering her healing for three seconds.
- For every additional spirit following Aurora, the bonuses from
Spirit Mode are increased by 5%.
- For every additional spirit following Aurora, the bonuses from
- Q – Twofold Hex: Fire a blast of cursed energy in a direction, dealing magic damage to enemies hit and marking them with spirit energy.
- Recast: End the curse, drawing back the spirit energy to herself, dealing magic dealing to enemies passed through.
- W – Across the Veil: Hop in a direction. Upon landing, enter the spirit realm, becoming Invisible and entering Spirit Mode for several seconds. Takedowns on enemy champions reset the cooldown of this ability.
- E – The Weirding: Send out a blast of spirit magic dealing magic damage in an area and slowing them. Aurora will hop backwards slightly on cast.
- R – Between Worlds: Send out a pulse of spirit energy that deals magic damage and slows enemies. The area merges with the spirit realm, granting Aurora an empowered spirit mode, and allowing her to travel from one end of the area to the other. Enemies who try to cross the threshold will take magic damage, be slowed, and be pushed back toward the center of the area.
At first glance, it’s clear that Aurora is all about stacking that magic damage and getting out unscathed. Her Q double-stacks like Ahri’s, but with a pullback effect akin to Xayah’s feathers, while her E feels similar to Annie’s Incinerate, but with an added slow. Sure, those mechanics are annoying, but they’re easy to predict and, in turn, outplay. The invisibility with her W is annoying, sure, but as a support I’ve dealt with Twitch hundreds of times – it’s just second nature at this point.
In practice, however, all of the above turned out to be easier said than done. The most powerful part of Aurora’s kit are the bunny hops, something that doesn’t feel impactful on paper but is a menace in-game. Leaning into the Vastayan bunny thematic, her bunny hops allow her to disengage with ease, pulling her out of the way of melee-focused champions, turrets, and ganking junglers. Oh, and you can also use it to jump over some walls, so there’s that, too.
Chaining the slow and bunny hop from her E with the invisibility granted by her W is an easy exit route, and throwing out a Q means you can deal a bit of damage as you retreat. I tried it a few times on a fellow writer, who played along as a crash test dummy to let me get creative, and it was absolutely lethal.
Speaking of that slow, I’m not quite sure how long it lasts for, but it certainly feels like it goes on for a really long time. If you’re looking to go on the offensive, hitting a Q, then the slow, followed by the ult (which also slows) leaves your opponent CC’d into oblivion. Your speed versus their newfound lethargy means you’ll be darting around hurling Qs from every corner of Between Worlds’ cage-like zone, all while empowered. And that’s before your jungler comes in, or your team collapses. If you main melee midlaners, I’d be pretty scared right now.
It’s worth noting that this is an early build of Aurora. Lead champion producer Lexi ‘Lexical’ Gao tells us “I wouldn’t read too much into the current tunings, Aurora might be doing a certain thing that doesn’t make it into the players’ hands.”
As someone who plays champions like Ahri, Akali, and Ekko in the midlane, as well as high mobility supports like Janna, Aurora is the perfect champion for me – she may just entice me back into mid. If you’re a melee-focused midlaner (remember the days of Renekton mid?) or play low-mobility champions like Viktor or Lux, however, Aurora is a nightmare.
Aurora arrives on The Rift alongside League of Legends patch 14.4 on Wednesday, July 17, so you have a little more time to prepare for the chaos that’s about to ensue.
There’s still a month to go, so check out our LoL tier list for a rundown of all the best champions to play this patch, as well as our list of the current League of Legends Mythic shop – it’s easily the best one yet.