Character Breakdown: Udyr

Name: Udyr, “The Animal Spirit”
Game(s): League of Legends
Skills/Attributes:

• Athleticism
• Martial Arts
• Shamanic Beliefs
• Strong Affinity with Nature
• Lack of Regard for Other Humans
• Survivalist

Summary:

So in order to pick my first character profile from League of Legends I ran a poll on the general forums for the game.  Pantheon, the Artisan of War, actually won the poll by one vote, but I opted for Udyr, who came in second place, because I’m going to be profiling another popular spartan-esque character very soon **caughkratoscaugh** and I figured too many of the same type of character is silly.  Plus, I think we can have a lot of fun with Udyr!

So let’s start with the base in-game skills of Udyr.  He operates under different “stances” in combat, each one a different martial art endowing him with skills related to the animal he’s manifesting.  Tiger gives him great attack speed, and a bleeding “damage over time” effect.  Turtle gives him a defensive shield, and allows him to regenerate mana and health on striking his opponents.  Bear gives him a speed boost and allows his strikes to stun.  Phoenix gives him a fiery aura that damages opponents, and every third strike sends out a wave of flame.  Obviously, the flame effects are going to be a bit difficult, but we will be examining the art that best represents this fighting style in the real world, that is, shaolin kung fu!

As far as fitness goes, Udyr’s a relatively big dude, though not bulky like Donkey Kong.  We’ll be referring to the “Fighter Diet” for our nutritional needs in this respect, with a bit of a different workout regimen than our last martial artist, Chun Li.  We’ll be taking a few cues from traditional shaolin training, as well as some modern training methods to build that tough, grizzled wilderness warrior body, able to crush foes without a single weapon besides your hands.

Udyr doesn’t really care much for people.  In his lore, it’s mentioned he leaves home at sixteen and lives in the wilds by himself, becoming a guardian of the forest in which he lives. We’re going to take a look at survival skills in the wild, and what you need to “live off the land,” without much in the way of equipment outside of your mind and your hands.

For the philosophy of Udyr, we’re going to take a look at the tradition and history of shamanic beliefs, a very old type of religion that has also found manifestations in modern-day, new-age culture, and how these things differ.  We’re also going to discuss isolationism, the methods and motivations for such a lifestyle, and how to attain it yourself.

So that’s the general plan for the next few days.  Make sure to like the blog on Facebook, and follow me on Twitter, so you can keep updated on the progress!  And as always, tell your friends!

Until then, continue to be awesome!

Dan “DaRatmastah” Wallace

Udyr, League of Legends and all  property therein are © Copyright Riot Games.