The first champion to get a second major visual update and why it was a good idea

While I wasn't there at the very beginning, I started playing League of Legends in summer 2010, less than a year after the game was officially released, so I always get excited whenever one of the champions I remember from back then get an update - be it in terms of graphics or gameplay.  This time, it's League's original pirate, Gangplank, who debuted a new model and moveset on the PBE as of last week, with the changes to be released alongside the "Burning Tides" pirate event.  On the other hand, aside from a few tweaks - mostly regarding his E ability, "Raise Morale" - for all intents and purposes his abilities have largely remained the same since the game was released in October 2009.  Unlike other champions from the game's early days, his kit remains functional and conventional wisdom says not to try and fix what isn't broken.  The same could be said for his model, which still holds up next to even the newest champions.  But what about when it's not broken, just boring?  Riot has clearly demonstrated their philosophy in both art and game design in that regard - that the "fun" in functionality has to be front and center and here I think they succeeded.

This is in fact Gangplank's second major visual update, the first one having been done back in November 2011.  The game's player base has exploded in the years since then so many may not even know about it.  While it definitely made him easier to look at, the goal of visual updates in those days was more about bringing the champion model into higher resolution - making the art smoother, trimming excess polygons and getting rid of the triangle feet that plagued so many at the time (you can still see a few examples today- sorry, Taric).  The character's look didn't change, it was just made clearer.

Gangplank's 2011 visual upgrade comparison - the biggest addition are the gloves and white shirt.

Since then, the Riot art team has stated several times that VU's (visual upgrades) should make changes as needed to more effectively convey a champion's unique style and character, not just improve what's already there.  Riot Whist's quote on the boards illustrates this logic as it applies to Gangplank, saying that "before he was just 'pirate guy' visually."

In this case, the biggest changes are to the base model since all his other skins were already visually interesting.  Except the ghost skin - a recolor - which now looks awesome.  

Now he reads as a bloody pirate king - an appearance that to my mind fits much better in the current League of Legends roster.

Looking sharp there, Captain.

Regarding his move set, the subject of almost all his ability changes, "Raise Morale" (E) has been removed entirely, replaced by something way more entertaining than an attack damage and movement speed buff.  "Powder Keg" provides another champion "mini game" by placing an explosive keg that can be targeted by both Gangplank and enemy champions.  If Gangplank destroys the keg, it explodes, if an enemy last hits it, the keg is disarmed and they get a little gold.  What makes it interesting is that an exploding keg will ignite any other power kegs placed nearby, setting off a chain reaction and creating the potential for epic plays.  The explosion will also reset his passive - a damage over time component to his auto-attack (his sword's now on fire, by the way).

The kegs can be exploded by either melee attacks or his "Parrrley" (Q), adding an awesome touch to an already very thematically appropriate ability.  Well designed abilities are the ones that merge both balanced gameplay and fulfill the target fantasy of the character - leading an enemy into a trap and setting off a deadly chain of explosions with a well placed pistol shot seems like an extremely pirate move - and one kegger your enemy won't forget in a hurry.

The other major change is to his ultimate.  While still a global range cannonball barrage, it introduces a secondary objective in collecting "silver serpents" which are received upon killing an enemy with a pistol shot from "Parrrley."  The serpents can be traded in at the shop to upgrade his ultimate in three different ways (currently each upgrade costs 500 silver serpents on the PBE), making Gangplank the third champion after Viktor and Rengar to have a unique shop keeper element in their kit.

With changes like this on the way, I might just trade in some coin of my own to pick up the Saltwater Scourge and a skin or two.  I especially like the look of that upgraded ghost skin...