VIsual effects updates, or VFX for short, are small improvements geared toward sprucing up some of the oldest champions in League’s roster, to try and modernize them as quickly as possible.
VFX updates are done to upgrade overall gameplay consistency, readability, and graphics quality, all while elevating champions’ thematics and resonance.
Because VFX updates are a lot faster than VGUs or ASUs, the designers have a lot more free reign on which champions to tackle next. A huge factor for them is passion, as these don't affect gameplay and balance all that much.
To figure out who needs the update the most,these is a simple step-by-step process, Riot explain:
- Primary: Fix gameplay issues such as inaccurate or missing hitbox indicators, VFX features that broke over the years, or wrong visual communication
- Secondary: Improve gameplay readability, such as how easy it is to see abilities, reduce overall visual noise and adjust spells' visual power levels as spells should not be too bright or too hard to see,
- Tertiary: Enhance thematic resonance, which would mean making a Void champion feel more like part of said Void, for example
Riot Games
These goals are ranked in order of importance, so gameplay readability will always prevail over thematic resonance, and the primary goal of VFX Updates will always be to prioritize the correction of inaccurate hitbox indicators. After all, League of Legends' is still mainly focused on the gameplay side of things, and not the looks of champions.
