Akshan release date and design insights: When is League of Legends’ new AD assassin going live?

League of Legends’ upcoming assassin Akshan will be making his debut on the live server with patch 11.15, which is set to go live on July 21st/22nd.

Though there was a lot of hype around the speculation that 11.14 was the patch when he will make his debut, it did not come to fruit.

Akshan will be the new AD assassin in the mid-lane, and with his design, the League of Legends developers will be looking to introduce a champion who is quite well-rounded.

When talking about some of his ability traits, League of Legends’ game design lead, Jeevun “Jag” Sidhu, mentioned that with the current mid-lane assassin meta, none of the champions in that class feel like they belong in that lane.

Armed with a Sentinel relic, Akshan swings in with a-vengeance. pic.twitter.com/85MtLVNFBA

— League of Legends (@LeagueOfLegends) July 7, 2021

They do not provide the things that a mid-lane-specific champion is expected to provide, such as crowd control or target access. Hence, the developers wanted to create “an experience, that would feel like a distinct assassin style, but also clearly feel like a marksman.”

These are the two key things that League of Legends devs wanted to introduce in a mid-lane assassin, and Akshan’s kit seems to fit that bill perfectly

Akshan in League of Legends: The most charming rogue assassin yet?

The Sentinels of Light have fought against darkness for thousands of years. Uncover the secrets of their Outpost: https://t.co/Z9iRa9vOu1 pic.twitter.com/3WTxIRsqZ7

— League of Legends: Wild Rift (@wildrift) July 5, 2021

When talking about his personality and storyline, Jaeevun says that inspiration has been drawn heavily from Bollywood movies and Indian mythology. He says:

“I wanted to represent some part of South Asian culture in Akshan, as that’s something I grew up with—my mom would watch a ton of Bollywood movies when we were young. And one signature element of Bollywood movies is that they’re dramatic, with over-the-top action style that’s all about spectacle and fun.”

League of Legends game designer, Glenn “Riot Twin Enso” Anderson remarked that:

“As we started to really flesh out Akshan’s gameplay, it became clear that he was very much a charming rogue. And what do charming rogues do? They break through a glass window on a grappling hook, do a parkour move, and then shoot the bad guys in the face. That personality just fits his gameplay so well! But he’s not cocky like Ezreal. He won’t boast about all of his good deeds for attention, he’ll quietly do them and maybe just throw a wink at you.”

Image via Riot Games

When talking about Akshan’s initiation as a Sentinels, League of Legends’ senior concept artist Justin “Riot Earp” Albers stated that:

“We’d always intended for Akshan to become a member of the Sentinels. But it was important that we capture his rule-breaking personality even when it came to the Sentinels. He has his own style of clothing—he’s not defined by anything other than who he is. Even his weapon, which is an ancient and extremely powerful Sentinel weapon, is something he has modified to fit the combat style he wants. It doesn’t matter that it’s revered and feared by other Sentinels—Akshan has MacGyvered it by slapping a grappling hook on.”

Image via Riot Games

All in all, Akshan does sound like one of the more unique mid-lane assassins, and players are quite excited to check him out in the PBE when the League of Legends patch 11.15 cycle hits.