Riot confirms Dr Mundo set for next League of Legends rework
Riot GamesDr. Mundo is officially set to be the next League of Legends champion to undergo a major game and visual rework, Riot developers confirmed on June 4. The long-awaited overhaul for the Madman of Zaun is penciled in for a 2021 release.
The iconic bruiser has paved his way in League over the past 10 years by declaring that he always “goes where he pleases,” no matter what. Well, as it turns out, where old Dr. Mundo wants to go is straight into Riot’s redevelopment studio.
The Madman of Zaun was first added to the title back in September 2009, alongside other beta-release champions like Maphite, Janna, and Blitzcrank. In the past 11 years, he’s had only minor tweaks to his ability pool.
Riot Games“The next champion update will be none other than the Madman of Zaun himself, Dr. Mundo,” Riot lead champion producer Ryan ‘Reav3’ Mireles said in the latest Champion Roadmap update in June.
Mireles confirmed Mundo was penciled in for a 2021 release. “This project is very early in development at the moment, and is scheduled for 2021,” he said.
He also admitted players were likely to see “a few more new champs” between the new marksman and Dr. Mundo’s rework. More gameplay, narrative changes, and art updates would be unveiled in the coming weeks, he added.
What could the Dr. Mundo VGU in 2021 look like?
The League of Legends development team didn’t offer too many clues into how they would be changing the hulking top lane titan. Riot balance teams have spoken in the past, however, about the changes they would make for Dr. Mundo.
Former lead designer Colt ‘Ezreal’ Hallam, who has now pivoted to R&D, suggested Mundo would never “drastically change” in any update. Riot had landed “pretty well” on the “cool niche” the champion fills, he explained.
Riot Games“The core of his kit has stayed remarkably consistent over the years,” Hallam said in the Riot dev blog ‘The Making of the Madman’. “Mundo performs well as a poke-tank, takes damage in unique ways, and he obviously goes where he pleases.”
Riot concept artist Edmundo ‘odnumde’ Sanchez also revealed the main thing development would want to fix for Mundo would be “his lack of depth regarding background”. He would also see a “visual polish” as with all VGU reworks.
Dr Mundo LoL rework release date
Riot did remain quiet on when the Madman of Zaun would actually be released, beyond confirming a 2021 window. Considering Fiddlesticks’ overhaul, and more recently Volibear’s VGU, took nine months, it could be early next year.
That timeframe would place Mundo’s re-entrance onto the Rift as an updated champ around the same time as the past two reworks, which makes sense. For now, tentatively mark your calendars for a Q1 2021 release.