BRIAR

THE RESTRAINED HUNGER

Classical splash art of Briar

Icon of Briar

Briar in game PNG - league of legends

Informations about Briar:

Title: The Restrained Hunger

Pronouns:She/Her

Release Date: September 13, 2023

Primary: Fighter

Secondary: Assassin

Role: Mid

Region: Noxus.

LORE OF BRIAR

Near the end of his reign, Grand General Boram Darkwill entrusted the Black Rose and its many hemomancers with creating a new kind of living weapon. Unlike their previous experiments on the deceased, this would be a being born from and fueled by blood—one driven to hunt down targets without requiring the sustenance of food and water.

And so Briar was born.

Her creators wanted an assassin, but all she wanted was to eat, eat, EAT! When her first mission ended in a frenzied, gory failure, the Black Rose decided that Briar was too dangerous to use, but too powerful to be destroyed. In order to control her, they devised a special pillory—locked by a hemolith gemstone—to restrain her and focus her mind. Once shackled with the pillory, Briar, along with the rest of the Black Rose’s living weapons, was quickly deployed during Jericho Swain’s coup against Darkwill.

She was given a handler to help direct her, but when released from her pillory, Briar immediately devoured him and everyone near her—everyone but her target, Swain, who escaped while the living weapon fed upon friend and foe.

After an arduous capture, Swain’s guards managed to trigger Briar’s pillory and restore her restraint, enabling them to transfer her to their holding facility.

Alone in her cell, Briar could focus on nothing except her hunger. Though she couldn't die from starvation, the absence of fresh blood weakened her day by day.

At first, she thought the chorus of crazed wails echoing around her room were her own starving thoughts... until she realized the sounds were drifting in from unseen neighbors. Did Swain’s forces manage to capture other living weapons during the coup? Was she locked up with them now, each having failed their mission? Their purpose?

The voices cried out for blood—a sentiment Briar could relate to. But what she couldn’t stand wasn’t how often they did it, nor how loud they were, but that it was ALL they talked about. Their unrelenting hemomania was the most boring thing she had ever experienced.

As hungry as Briar was—and she was hungry—her thoughts stayed focused on the pitiful sounds of the others. What if she managed to break out of the pillory? Would her frenzy make her even more unhinged than her neighbors? Would she become as single-minded and boring as them? The idea was too horrifying to dwell on, so she instead resigned herself to listless solitude.

Years passed, and the time alone allowed Briar to reflect on herself and consider the possibilities of the world outside her cell. Entertainment consisted of eavesdropping on the guards’ conversations, devising new ways to pester them for raw meat, and agonizing over whether she should race her pet spiders or eat them.

By chance while she was toying with her pillory one day, she inadvertently loosened the hemolith, which settled into a position just short of unlocking the restraint. Briar froze as thoughts of her hemomaniacal neighbors filled her head—is that what she’d become? But then she realized something: Being under control was just as dangerous as being out of control. She wanted to strike the balance.

Having discovered the hemolith’s mechanism, Briar devised a plan.

By this point, the guards were so used to her calls for attention that when she lured one close to her cell, nobody noticed he was missing until it was too late. The guard’s blood surged within her, lighting a fire that had been waiting to spread.

Briar was finally free.

Now the living weapon gleefully roams the streets of Noxus, pillory locked back in place—until she wants to unlock it. As she acclimates to the world outside, with the Black Rose monitoring the unexpected development, Briar eagerly learns all she can, making new friends and discoveries in a world she is starving to experience.

FUN FACTS ABOUT BRIAR

1. Created by Blood Magic: Briar was an experiment by the Black Rose, created purely out of blood magic and designed to be a living weapon without the need for sustenance.

2. Uncontrollable Bloodlust: Initially intended to be a perfect assassin, Briar's overwhelming hunger for blood made her uncontrollable, leading to a frenzy that ended her first mission in failure.

3. The Hemomancy Pillory: To tame her bloodlust, the Black Rose crafted a special pillory with a hemolith gemstone, which focused her mind and restrained her hemomanic instincts.

4. Escape and Frenzy: Despite being controlled, Briar broke free during Jericho Swain's coup, unleashing her frenzy and evading capture for a time before being restrained again.

5. Unique Gameplay Mechanics: In-game, Briar's abilities reflect her lore, with a focus on blood-related powers, such as inflicting a bleed on enemies and healing based on the damage dealt.

ABILITIES OF BRIAR

Passive - CRIMSON CURSE

Briar's attacks and abilities apply a stacking bleed that heals her for a portion of the damage it deals. Perpetually hungry, she gains increased healing based on her missing Health, but lacks innate Health Regeneration.

Q - HEAD RUSH

Briar leaps to a unit and hits enemies with The Heel Wheel (of Pain), stunning them and breaking their Armor.

W - BLOOD FRENZY / SNACK ATTACK

Briar leaps forward and shatters her pillory, entering a Blood Frenzy that causes her to relentlessly pursue the nearest enemy (prioritizing champions). While frenzied, she gains increased Attack Speed and Move Speed, and her attacks deal damage in an area around her target. Briar can reactivate this ability while frenzied to take a CHOMP out of her target on her next attack, dealing additional damage based on their missing Health, and healing Briar based on the damage she deals.

E - CHILLING SCREAM

Briar refocuses her mind, removing Blood Frenzy and channeling energy into a powerful scream that damages and slows enemies. While charging, she takes reduced damage and heals for a portion of her max Health. A fully charged scream knocks foes back, dealing additional damage and stunning those who collide with a wall.

R - CERTAIN DEATH

Briar kicks her pillory's hemolith gemstone, marking the first champion it hits as her prey. She then beelines straight to them, fearing other surrounding enemies upon arriving at her target, and enters a state of complete hemomania. She will pursue her prey until death, gaining the benefits of Blood Frenzy as well as additional Armor, Magic Resistance, Life Steal, and Move Speed.

Briar Abilities Combos

Briar R - league of legends

Rapid Engage: `R` → `Q` → `W` → `E`

Use your `R` to initiate, then quickly follow up with `Q` and `W` to reposition before unleashing your `E`.

Flash Strike: `F` (Flash) → `W` → `Q` → `E`

Flash in with `W` to close the distance, then `Q` and `E` for a quick burst of damage.

Sustained Assault: `W` → `Q` → `W` → `E` → `R`

Start with `W` for the initial gap close, chain `Q` and another `W` for mobility, charge your `E`, then finish with `R`.

Ally Bounce: `Q` → `W` → `W` → `E` → `AA` (Auto Attack)

Use `Q` to an ally for positioning, then `W` twice to engage, followed by `E` and a few auto attacks to finish.

Ultimate Finisher: `R` → `W` → `Q` → `W` → `E`

Activate your `R` for the ultimate, then `W` to an enemy, `Q` for damage, another `W` for repositioning, and `E` to finish.

Quick Harass: `W` → `W` → `Q` → `E`

Double `W` for the engage, `Q` for quick damage, and `E` to disengage or secure the kill.

Precision Strike: `Q` → `E` → `W` → `W`

Lead with `Q`, charge your `E` for maximum damage, then `W` twice to either chase or escape.

Full Combo: `E` → `Q` → `AA` → `W` → `W` → `AA`

Charge up your `E`, then `Q` to close in, auto attack, `W` twice for additional mobility, and finish with another auto attack.

BUILD OF BRIAR

source: www.leagueofgraphs.com

RUNES OF BRIAR

TIPS ON HOW TO PLAY WITH BRIAR

1. Ultimate Usage: Don’t be afraid to use your Ultimate on isolated targets during the mid-game, especially if they’re squishy.

2. Terrain Advantage: Try to fight in the jungle, as you can push enemies into the wall and CC them.

3. Ganking: Focus on ganking lanes with strong follow-up and damage. You synergize well with these sorts of champions, and it’s easier to get kills with them.

4. Abuse Your Ultimate: Once you hit level 6, try to gank a lane. Whenever your Ultimate is up, you need to abuse the range to get yourself kills¹.

5. Dragon Control: As Briar, you're pretty good at taking Dragons. Try to secure these objectives whenever possible.

TIPS FOR COUNTERING BRIAR

1. Group Together: Grouping is key versus Briar as it makes it harder for her to abuse her Ultimate, her range, and her sustain to get kills and win team fights.

2. Place Deep Wards: Briar’s Ultimate range is very big, and it will be one of the most successful ways she will get kills outside of the laning phase. It is advised that you treat her the same as a Fiddlesticks, Nocturne or an Evelynn and place deep vision over shallow wards.

3. Invest in Healing Reduction: Briar’s Passive gives her a ton of sustain, and as she will be auto-attacking a lot, the sustain she gets will be quite difficult to handle. This is why investing in items that will apply grievous wounds and reduce her sustain in team fights is crucial.

4. Avoid Fighting Around Dragon: Briar is really good at taking Dragons. Try to avoid fighting around Dragon when she is nearby.

5. Avoid Overstaying when Low: Briar can easily pick off low health champions with her range and sustain. Make sure to back off and heal when your health is low.

SKINS OF BRIAR

Street demons Briar