Summary
The latestLeague of Legendschampion Naafiri is still relatively hot off the presses, but nevertheless, the next character is just around the corner.Similar to Naafiri, Briar is an AD champion with an aggressive playstyle, leaping into battle and hunting down opponents. Briar is designed with jungling in mind, and she has a few unique traits that set her apart as a diver, including a self-taunting frenzy, health costs for abilities, and a bleed that heals her to make up for her lack of base health regen.
Briar is the latest Noxian champion to escape the clutches of the Black Rose, following in the wake of support/jungler hybrid Rell. While she might share some of the aesthetics ofLeague of Legends' many assassins, Briar seems more suited to a bruiser role, and her kit looks ideal for stacking lifesteal and on-hit items. Between her high amount of crowd control effects, good mobility, and remarkable damage output, Briar could become a new favorite of drain-tank players everywhere.
RELATED:Every Game by Riot Games, Ranked
Briar’s Abilities in League of Legends
Briar’s passive, Crimson Curse, causes all her attacks and abilities to apply a stacking bleed on hit, which deals damage over time and heals Briar for a percentage of the damage. If her target dies, Briar still gets the remaining healing from the bleed. She has no health regeneration, and her abilities cost health to cast, but she gets increased healing based on her missing health. Crimson Curse’s effects make Briar seem similar tochampions like Aatrox or Kledwho are sometimes better off continuing to fight when they’re low on health in the hopes of sustaining through the threat, rather than disengaging.
Briar’s Q, Head Rush, lets her leap to a target, dealing physical damage, stunning briefly, and shredding armor. Point-and-click crowd control is always powerful inLeague of Legends, so Briar gets a ton of value out of combining that with a dash. Head Rush seems like a reliable way to start ganks and duels, leaping into melee range and slowing down an opponent.
The core of Briar’s kit is her W, Blood Frenzy. This ability causes Briar to dash forward, then increases Briar’s Attack Speed and Move Speed while making her attacks deal damage in an area; however, for the duration, she goes berserk, automatically chasing and attacking the nearest enemy, prioritizing champions. Recasting Briar’s W during the frenzy causes her next attack to deal damage based on the target’s missing health and heal Briar. While this loss of player agency is unorthodox forLeague of Legends, the burst of stats makes it seem well worth the self-taunt seemingly inspired byRenata Glasc’s ultimate. Luckily, players can use Head Rush during the frenzy to direct Briar a little bit.
Riot Games also givesLeague of Legendsplayerssome control over Blood Frenzy with her E, Chilling Scream. While holding E, Briar ends Blood Frenzy, gains damage reduction, and regenerates health while charging energy. On release, Briar screams, releasing a wave that damages and slows enemies. If it’s fully charged, the wave knocks enemies back and stuns them if they hit walls. Chilling Scream’s area of effect seems comparable in size to a Sion Q, so it could be a brutal piece of CC in a teamfight. It looks ideal for locking down opponents and finishing them off after Blood Frenzy ends, but it could also be a good way for Briar to start fights if her player is willing to ride out a full Blood Frenzy.
Briar’s ultimate ability is Certain Death. She throws a projectile that damages the first enemy champion hit; then, she flies to her target, damages and flees all nearby enemies, and leaps into a stronger Blood Frenzy with additional Armor, Magic Resist, and Move Speed. The projectile’s range is semi-global, meaning a Briar player with good aim can start a fight from many thousands of units away. Certain Death is great for ganks, especially if Briar’s teammates already pack CC to make landing the projectile easier, and it’s also an incredible tool for starting teamfights thanks to the large explosion of damage and CC. Briar is likely at her strongest when she can focus on dueling an isolated target, but between her AoE basic attacks during Blood Frenzy and remarkable CC, her teamfighting potential shouldn’t be underestimated.
