'League Of Legends Wild Rift': What Are Nemesis Duels?

The introduction of Rengar and Kha’Zix to “Wild Rift” is also bringing back their staple mechanic from the original “League of Legends” on PC: the Nemesis Duel.

A Nemesis Duel is an in-game event that occurs in the late game whenever two characters who consider themselves as nemeses are on opposing teams. It’s an interesting method of tying together gameplay and lore.

In the case of Rengar and Kha’Zix, both are fighting for the title of apex predator. Their initial battle also cost Rengar his eye, and he has been dead-set on hunting down the Void Reaver ever since.

These duels aren’t just for show, however. The winner of the duel will receive unique ability upgrades that can greatly increase their performance.

If Kha’Zix wins, he will get an additional Evolution Point, allowing him to evolve all of his abilities. On the other hand, Rengar will gain maximum Ferocity every time he uses his ultimate ability, greatly increasing his on-demand one-shot potential.

Nemesis Duels will always occur when two such champions are on opposing teams, but there are conditions that must be met before the duel starts:

1. Both champions must not have dealt or received damage recently
2. Both champions must be fairly high-leveled
3. Both champions must be in close proximity of each other

Despite the name, Nemesis Duels aren’t restricted to 1v1 fights. These can occur even when other teammates are nearby, and nemeses won’t have to land the killing blow on each other. They only have to contribute to the death of their nemesis for the kill to count as their win.

Riot is currently expanding the Nemesis Duel mechanic by adding more champions to the mix. It was recently announced that Nasus and Renekton will also be able to take part in Nemesis Duels in “Wild Rift.”

If Renekton wins, then he will always have maximum stacks of Fury whenever his ultimate ability is active. If Nasus wins, his Siphoning Strike will gain an increased area of effect.

Riot might implement the Nemesis Duel mechanic to other rival champions like Garen and Darius or Yasuo and Riven. Doing so would set “Wild Rift” even further apart from its PC counterpart in an interesting way.