Wild Rift’s updates to League’s older champions have been making players jealous for a while, but Vladimir’s release into the mobile title has LoL players on PC asking for a much-needed visual overhaul.
League of Legends is almost 15 years old at this point with it having been released in 2009. As such, the game’s older champions really stand out in comparison to newer releases.
Getting all of the old champions up to date has been an ongoing effort from the art team at Riot Games. Whether it be purely visual updates like that of Morgana and Ahri, or a full-on rework in the form of champions like Fiddlesticks and Udyr, getting these visual updates into the game takes time. But, the team is gradually making its way down the list.
As that list of champions who need visual updates gets shorter and shorter, those older champions really stand out. Vladimir’s release in Wild Rift has put a spotlight on how old his model and VFX are, and players are desperate to see him get some changes on PC.
League fans want Vladimir visual update after Wild Rift release
With Vladimir having come out in 2010, his model and animations are over 13 years old. And, while he had some of his abilities reworked all the way back in Season 6, his model has remained largely the same.
Jax, another aging champion, has had his visual update confirmed for later this year. Skarner’s also getting a full rework and visual update that was unfortunately delayed into 2024. Shaco, Zilean, and Vladimir are just a few of the champions that still need to be brought into the modern day.
Vlad’s really starting to show his age, and players are hoping that his release on Wild Rift will be shortly followed by a visual update on PC.
Vladimir’s kit on Wild Rift is virtually identical to that of the PC version in function, but the updated visuals have really impressed League fans who are used to seeing him on PC.
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Not only are people impressed by how he looks in Wild Rift, but also how clear his abilities are. It can be difficult to tell just how large the AoE on his ultimate and W are, for instance, on League proper. Meanwhile, all of his abilities have clear indicators in WR.
That, and the side-by-side is very telling.
Praise for the Wild Rift version was often paired with contempt for his current state on PC.
“I’m waiting for PC Vlad’s VFX update honestly… apart from the fact that it’s just ugly, it’s so hard to see in PC. The ult in WR is amazing as well.” one Twitter user commented.
Meanwhile, another user voiced their distaste with Wild Rift for getting so many new updates while champions like Vladimir on PC look so outdated, claiming that, “it’s time to give the PC version a complete makeover.”
While this difference shows how far graphics have come since 2010, it also shows just how old Vladimir’s model is. However, it’s important to keep in mind that a visual update would also require all 13 of his skins to be updated as well. Whether or not there’s a visual update on the horizon for this champion remains to be seen.