Well, these days every time a new champion is revealed people fall into two separate camps. There are people who are excited for the new champion because they look fun to play, and there are people who hate the champion because they know it will be annoying to play against. But sometimes, on a rare occasion, something magical happens. Because sometimes, when the new champion's gameplay is revealed, everyone immediately knows we're about to deal with some bulls**t.
And it just so happens to be that is exactly what happened when Mbessa's gameplay was revealed. However even here people got split for a funny reason. There is a decent chunk of people who actually really like Mbessa because she is simple.
In many ways she is similar to someone like Set, very straightforward, nothing too complex. It's just that the RPM might be a little bit higher. But therein lies the problem.
A champion doesn't have to be complex to be problematic. All they need is just too much of the basic stuff. And that is where the other half of the player base currently sits. As to how much it's justified, well, let's have a look at what the latest PBE brought us. So, from what's dropped, it seems like we are about to get an amazing new patch.
I mean, certainly it's gonna have more gameplay than what was introduced during Arcane Season 1. However, even though we are talking about a big PBE patch, only M-Bessa and the Bridge of P- progress were included. There are no arcane skins and not even Mbessa's release skin. And I am 100% sure that is to avoid spoilers. Which also makes me wonder, is Mbessa's release skin somehow gonna be tied to canon lore? I assume none of the arcane skins are included because their description alone could spoil something But that made me think does that mean that we have to pay for the mask on Mbessa now?
Is that what it's gonna be Riot? Are we gonna be paying for what used to be a toggle now? Though I should say that her voice lines are actually in the game Obviously, I mean I assume that they wouldn't be in the game because Riot would know that they would spoil something because Mbessa is actually scheduled to release on the premiere of Arcane 2. Although some of the skins were already teased in the trailer for the Bridge of Progress.
And here the previously teased Vi skin was shown in-game. She was here on the Piltoven side and immediately some people got disappointed. Because this looks more like Vi After she got out of the pit, while people just really wanted to see that dark, gritty, vandal side of Vi.
But oh well, Vi got a new canonical skin and it is very likely this one's gonna be paid. Because this is the skin that was originally teased together with the Jinx gacha skin. But on the other side of the bridge where all the zonites are, we also got a teaser for a singed skin.
I don't remember what video that was in, but I have to say I called it. Anyway I am a sucker for simple lore skins. And this definitely falls into that category.
So be ready for a new shimmer spreading singed. Although truth be told, this should be the base singed now. Because the majority of the old singed is getting retconned and now this is the canon version. But who knows, maybe this skin is actually gonna be the free skin. Because remember during season one we also got some free skins in League.
So maybe that's what it's gonna be. Anyway besides the skins the entire bridge looks awesome and there are tons of easter eggs everywhere including in the environment and even in the music that is playing here. And yes there is a whole 15 minutes of shopkeeper lines too.
So you know there's gonna be a whole separate video of me just flying around and looking at all the easter eggs. Now besides this the pbe also dropped some icons and some emotes, again none of which should really be a spoiler. And we did get a lot of nemesis quests.
These are the little flavor quests in the middle of the game for two champions who are somehow related lore-wise. And this time, given what kind of a bridge it is, of course there is a lot of zone versus build over. But of course, in the middle of all of that, there is also Noxus, which brings us to M-Bessa.
And oh boy, get ready for a treat. Now, first of all, before we dive into her abilities, I have to mention that yes, her mask is missing, but also a lot of people pointed out that her running animation looks very similar to Shyvana. I mean, I understand that League of Legends is slowly running out of possible running animations, and so some champions just eventually get to look similar, but who knows, maybe this is also teasing the Shyvana VGU. and maybe her running animation is gonna be different now! Sorry, I don't have a tinfoil hat on me.
So let's dive into her abilities, starting with her passive called Draghound Steps, obviously referencing the Draghounds of Noxus. And this passive ability is the sole reason for Mbessa becoming a meme. Long story short, after every ability cast, Mbessa can right-click to dash somewhere.
It simply works exactly like Kalista's passive, except now it's for abilities. This means that technically Mbessa has a dash baked into every single ability. Which led into this quite hilarious post on Reddit. After 14 years release of Mbesa marks the end of Mobility Creep in League of Legends I didn't think I will live to see the day much less still be an active player when Mobility Creep Finally ends but lo and behold it happened. This is the day we are here She literally has dash on every single ability.
So you can't creep mobility any higher. That's right This marks the end of an era because technically you can't get any more ridiculous. I mean remember when Kasadin was considered overpowered because he had a blink with a very short cooldown?
I remember season 3. But now we can finally rest at ease. Is what I would say if someone didn't point out, they could still release a character like Huey who has a dash on every ability and every secondary ability. It can always go higher. Anyway, despite the quite obvious movement creep being the very identity of Mbessa's kit, Riot tried to balance it in an interesting way, which may backfire. Because Mbessa doesn't use mana, she is an energy user which can quickly turn into a double edged sword.
On one side it means that she can't just spam her abilities on cooldown because she will quickly run out of energy. But on the other side, during laning phase, there is no way she's backing away just because she lost her resources. But more than that, her passive also has a second half.
After using an ability, her next auto attack has increased damage, speed and range, and it refunds energy. Meaning that as long as you are offensive, you can endlessly spam abilities. That's the catch!
Her dashes are extremely strong and extremely annoying. Good luck playing anything with skill shots against her. However, she can't use them to escape.
She can only dash away twice, after which She has to commit to hitting you to dash even further But also at that point her entire kit is gonna be on cooldown So she can't just decide to turn around in the middle of that She is very much a all-in-or-nothing kind of a character Also very important she can't dash through walls Thank God! With that said, in the right hands, you know the pros are gonna figure out how to properly kite with her. And I'm pretty sure that means a rework is likely already queued up.
Anyway, we have only managed to get through her passive and the Mesa is already a meme. So now, let's go through rest of the kit. All of which is surprisingly basic.
Her Q is a big cleave in front of her and if you hit something, you can recast it for a slam. down, dealing more damage to the first enemy hit. And just because, why not, it also deals damage based on maximum health.
Now on one side I don't like it when people compare new champion abilities to older champion abilities, because at some point if you wanna keep your abilities simple you kinda have to go into an already known territory. But whatever, when Seraphine was first released we all laughed that she was the same as Sona. So with the walking animation of Shyvana, the passive of Calista, she now also gets the Q of Aatrox. Now, at first, when everyone saw her W, everyone started getting Vietnam War flashbacks of Cassante.
A second of delay, a shield, a dash forward. But I'll admit, Mbessa's W is actually very unique and dare I say, it's cool. Because while the description is boring, what is actually happening behind the ability is awesome.
So she gains a shield and briefly braces herself. And then she slams the ground to deal damage to nearby enemies. And if she blocked a non-minion damage while bracing herself, the ability will deal more damage. When reading this, it sounds like- like some kind of bulls**t that's also gonna turn her into a tank.
But the reality is far cooler. You can see that the bracing is very quick. She only gets like half a second before she slams the ground. And that's because it is supposed to be a bracing.
to be more of a souls-like parry mechanic. It is not something that is supposed to be in the toolkit of a tank. It is something that functions as a parry for a squishy character. This is awesome! Or at least it would be if Mbessa was a glass cannon, because that's where the playstyle fits.
But the truth is, she is more of a bruiser. And so now... No?
You probably did make a female Kasante on accident. Anyway, next there is Lacerate, which is compared to other champions… Zed's E like It's identical. It's a damage in a circle that also slows and if she dashes after using this ability It's gonna do the same thing again Exactly like Zed and his shadows I mean hey, she's a Noxian, maybe she learned it during the invasion of Ionia. I mean, she is also the only non-Ionian champion who is using energy.
I should really find my tinfoil hat. But of course, lastly, there is her ultimate called Public Execution. And I'm just surprised this name got into the game when graves can't even have a cigar. And attaching it to an already existing champion, it is Yone's ultimate. Except it is a single target ability and it has a twist.
First of all, it is quite thin So landing this skill shot might be hard But more than that this ultimate only hits the furthest enemy you hit so it is perfect for getting into the backline. And really, it brings a whole new meaning to the front to back engaging. And just to prove that she really is a modern day champion, passively she also gets armor penetration and her abilities heal for 10% of their damage. So let me recap it. We have Shyvana's running animation, Kalista's passive, Aatrox's Q, Kassante's W, Zed's E, Yone's ultimate with the attached E passive of Darius and Nasus'passive for good measure.
Yeah, do you understand why Mbesa became an instant meme? The problem is not that her kit is broken or that she has something that's overpowered. It's more of the issue that she has too many of the basic things. She's just dashing around flailing her blades around, which to be fair, yeah sure that is very much in her character. From the fantasy perspective this definitely fits, but just look at the visual clarity.
Sure it's gonna be fine if you are playing as her, but good luck seeing anything but chains on your screen if you are the enemy. And that's mostly because her abilities just have a ridiculous range. Those circles alone are huge so she just instantly fills up your screen with a lot of basic abilities and for everyone who's new and who has no idea what she's doing this is gonna be a nightmare to deal with now Outside of that, this is very much gonna be a let's wait and see kind of a situation.
Normally I would tell people that she's fine and that Riot likely has it mothed out, but after the multiple Kassante accidents, I would not be surprised if Mbessa was quickly changed. Maybe give her passive charges with a cooldown, or maybe they will have to slow down her energy regeneration. Or maybe to counteract all the dashes, her base... Movement speed is gonna be really slow.
But considering that she is supposed to be nimble, I don't think that's gonna happen. Or you know what? Maybe just ditch all the tankiness and actually turn her into a glass cannon. Because right now, it really does feel like she can do anything. Which very much sounds Noxian.
But it also sounds exactly like Kasante. But hey, that's M-Bessa for you. Hey remember when we joked about the champion kits not being overloaded? I wish she was still at Riot to witness this.