The new League of Legends Akali rework may have been hidden in plain sight for several weeks now. In a blog post from more than two months ago on the Riot Games website announcing what's coming in 2018, there's a forgettable picture of a dragon made of smoke rising out of a helmet. The surrounding text talks about the Akali Visual Update that's coming soon, but doesn't provide any concrete details. Most people thought nothing of the image at the time, but the internet has detectives in the strangest places.
On Thursday, Reddit user nakaowolf posted on the League of Legends subreddit, claiming to have discovered a new Akali image. Tracing the smoke outlines in that original picture, you can see a faint outline of what looks to be the twin sickle ninja, complete from head to toe. You'll have to use your imagination to fully grasp the champion's silhouette, buther hair, torso and face seem to pop out after closer inspection.
The comments section of the Reddit post are full of shocked players still in disbelief. "Some people just have a ridiculous eye for stuff like this," user Vejvad posted. "I have no idea how anyone would ever notice. I could barely see it even after looking at your drawing."
One piece of evidence rains on this parade. In response to this thread, Riot Game Designer DanielZKlein shared a Wikipedia article about Pareidolia, a phenomenon where people see a pattern that isn't really there. This could be a trick to distract players from the truth, but the fan base is so desperate for any information they'll turn smoke into a beautiful woman.
This isn't even the first time someone's claimed to have found the Akali silhouette in that picture. A month ago, reddit user L33tobix showed off their version of what's hidden in the smoke. Slightly different than Vejvads, but still seemingly accurate, this post didn't see much traction at the time.
All of this discussion in the subreddit is in no way a confirmation of what Akali will look like, but it would be kind of cool if the ninja who hides in a smoke cloud has actually been doing that all along. I'm still a skeptic about this image, but I'm willing to suspend my disbelief for the hype. Riot Games has hidden details about champion releases before. For instance, in Battlecast Viktor's Splash Art, we can see a very distinct Vel'koz chilling in the background,months before he was revealed. It's that extra attention to detail that makes Riot Games a top-tier studio; it's remarkable that they'd be willing to leak one of the most-anticipated VGUs in recent memory as an Easter egg.
Newsweek has reached out to Riot Games for comment regarding the Akali rework and will update the story with any new information.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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