New League of Legends champion Milio revealed

We are just a few days away from the sixth patch in season 13 of League of Legends coming to live servers. Apart from the bevy of champion and item adjustments we usually get, this one will also introduce Riot’s newest support champion called Milio. 

Riot Games introduce Milio to League of Legends

The Ixtal portion of the Runeterra universe rarely gets expanded. But that’s where Milio comes into play. Imagined as the first support champion from Ixtal, Millio joins Qiyana, Neeko and Nidale as the only League of Legends champions coming from Ixtal. In ‌lore, he is described as a warmhearted boy that unlocks his true power at a very young age.

”Seeing Milio’s mastery of the axiomata at such a young age, Lupé knew that her grandson had done what the rest of her family failed to do. With his abilities, he could finally end their exile and restore them to their rightful place among Ixtal’s ruling caste. However, she was troubled by his fascination with fire and how his burgeoning skills went against the traditional teachings of the axiomata.”

Milio abilities revealed and explained

Milio enters League of Legends as a new male enchanter support champion. While his classification puts him in a similar boat to Rakan and Taric, he plays nothing like it.  While his kit offers a lot of utility and versatility, most of his value lies in his ultimate ability. Similarly to Renata, the last released support champion in League of Legends, Milio introduces a new mechanic alongside a game-changer ultimate ability. This is a rundown of his abilities.

Milio passive ability

Milio’s mastery of fireflies seems to be paying off. His passive ability is called Fired Up and it empowers allied champions or Milio himself.  Hitting your teammates with any of your abilities empowers the target for 4 seconds, causing their next basic attack or ability to deal 15% − 50% (based on level) of target’s AD Critical strike as bonus magic damage and apply a burn that deals 25 − 80 damage based on level + a 20% of total ability power as magic damage over 1.5 seconds. As you can imagine, this is great for fighting ADCs in the bot lane, where Milio is intended to play.

Milio Q ability explained

His Q ability is called Ultra Mega Fire Kick and it manages to live up to the name. Milio kicks a fireball in the target direction after a 0.25-second delay that knocks back and stuns the first enemy hit for 1 second. After collision, the ball bounces once toward the target’s location and explodes upon dropping to the ground, dealing magic damage to enemies within the area and slowing them for 1.5 seconds. If the primary target is a non-champion, the ball knocks them back further and creates a larger explosion on impact. 

This means that this ability is a great tool for harassing your lane opponent. But it’s also Milio’s only reliable form of crowd control so make sure you use it wisely. Milio cannot cast his other abilities during Ultra Mega Fire Kick’s delay. So there are no fancy combos to be made here, just save this ability to deter engagement on your ADCs.

Milio W ability explained

Milio’s W ability named Cozy Campfire is where the real fun starts. With it, Milio summons an empowerment zone at the target location for 6 seconds. Recasting this ability follows the closest nearby allied champion at the cast location, including himself. Allied champions and Milio within the area gain increased base attack range and heal every 0.24 seconds over the duration. 

With this even more outplay mechanics are being introduced to the bot lane. Renata’s Bailout turned out to be a major contributor to professional play, and we have no doubt we will see Millo there as well. This ability can also be used to activate his passive ability on the entire team. 

Milio E ability explained

Milio’s E ability is the simplest one to understand. He uses his flames to shield himself or his targeted ally. The shield also grants bonus movement speed and unlocks his passive ability. It has two charges that periodically recharge similar to Amumu’s Q ability and they can stack. So with this Milio has all of the tools to outplay every jungle gank.

Milio Ultimate ability explained

But what really unlocks Milio’s power is his ultimate ability. It’s called Breath of Life and it has a pretty high base cooldown. After activating it, Milio unleashes a wave of soothing flames that affects himself and all nearby allied champions, healing them, cleansing them of all non-Airborne icon.png airborne crowd control, and granting them 65% tenacity for 3 seconds. 

If you need help understanding that, it means that everything that isn’t a Malphite or a Lee Sin ultimate can be cleansed with this ability. Amumu, Rammus, Urgot, Malzahar and many more ultimate abilities can fall by the wayside with this new mechanic. The heal might not be as important, but 65% tenacity can change the course of a fight. The long cooldown is the downside, as is the case with most of his abilities. It seems that timing is everything with this champion.

Milio champion overview in League of Legends

After a few games on the PBE servers, this is what we have concluded from early Milio play testing. His Q ability feels amazing to use. It’s fast and long-ranged. The damage is actually really good. It’s also great for poking through the wave. Something similar to a Miss Fortune or Karma Q ability with a bigger radius that can hit multiple targets. 

His W ability is where most of his power hides so you have to be ‌conservative when using it. The utility it provides makes you feel like you are your laner win every trade you take. The downside is the long cooldown and how weak you feel without it. Which is a good design and how the game should be played. His E ability is something similar to Karma E, but if you could cast it two times and get 2 Sheen procs of it. The bonus damage is nice but you have to time your shields properly, and that’s where skill expression comes into play.

His ultimate ability is his strongest suit. But the long cooldown and preferences are the downsides. This ability feels amazing into heavy dive comps. Just like Taric, Milio can win the game with one button. On the other hand, he can’t use it if he is stunned to self cleanse himself. His ultimate ability is also useless against poke compositions. So far it’s a fun, simple and interesting design, but knowing Riot Games, he will probably need a few adjustments.