Mel Medarda, the daughter of Ambessa from Arcane, is the first new champion in League of Legends in 2025. She’s yet to join the game’s roster, though, which elevates the anticipation for her eventual launch.
Silco paved the way for Arcane characters to arrive in Riot Games’ titles, with the Zaun Baron making his way to Teamfight Tactics after the release of the show’s first season. Three years later, alongside the release of Arcane season two, Ambessa became the first character originating in the show to join League. Little did we know that the following champion released in the popular MOBA title would be Ambessa’s daughter, Mel.
Riot is making a few pivotal changes to League in 2025. Most importantly, there are now three seasons in a single year, and each of them has its own theme. The initial one revolves around Noxus, with the first 2025 cinematic featuring Mel as one of the main characters. Seeing her in the video not only teased the future Runeterra shows, but also set the direction for the game with Mel on her way to the Summoner’s Rift. But when exactly will she get here?
When will Mel release in League of Legends?
The first patch of 2025 titled 25.S1.1 released on Jan. 9. It featured a few pivotal changes and additions, like Atakhan or Feats of Strength. Mel, however, wasn’t among them, but fortunately, we will see her soon enough.
The Noxus’ representative will be released in League on Jan. 23 with the launch of the second update of the year, Patch 25.S1.2. It might seem odd she didn’t debut with the rest of Patch 25.S1.1, but the update contained enough tweaks to keep players busy for two weeks. By Jan. 23, many of them should be used to the new meta and ready to welcome a new champion on the Rift.
They won’t be spreading the red carpet on the bot lane, though. After seeing Mel reflect projectiles and shield allies in the second season of Arcane, players and fans anticipated her to be a support champion in the game. In the end, it turned out she’s a mid laner with heavy burst, though her projectile reflection has remained in her kit as her W ability.
Almost every new League champion has been met with surveillance and quick hotfixes due to how overpowered or underwhelming they initially are (although in the last few years, it’s usually been the former). The case could be the same with Mel who has stacking damage, but lacks any substantial mobility. You can learn more about her kit here before she launches on Jan. 23.
