Big Spicy Boy Gonna Cook Up Some Yagorath!
Today saw the unveiling of a very special trailer, showcasing the upcoming Paladins champion: Azaan, the Eternal. He’s a big guy with even bigger implications for Paladins’ lore, but we’ll cover those in a bit. For now, we have an awesome teaser to watch.
Azaan is revealed to take on a frontline role – he’ll be the one taking damage and contesting objectives, and coming out of it unscathed. While the trailer itself offered little in terms of overt toolkit hints, there’s still some broader details to speculate on. Given his role in the fight scene, and the giant Yagorath he smote into oblivion, it’s possible that he could take on an anti-tank role – with a kit focused on removing specific targets from the game. Judge for yourself with the trailer below:
Azaan bears a striking resemblance to another Paladins champion, also featured in the reveal video. It’s the battle-angel Furia, who takes on a more supportive role. And that’s no coincidence – the two share an interesting in-lore connection. According to one of the people behind Azaan’s design, Azaan and Furia share an origin, though in different ways. “Furia is a human given the power of the Pyre. Azaan was born inside of it.”
On top of that, there seems to be a growing mystery surrounding Azaan’s place in Paladins’ lore. While his design conveys the theme of divine wrath manifested in human form, it’s unclear just where his crusade will end. Multiple tweets from Paladins’ official twitter account hint at a more insidious purpose to Azaan’s mission, with more details (probably) coming as we learn more about his character.
On a lighter note, one reddit post showed off some early concept art for the character, with him taking on a far more draconic form. The design is, as the kids say, “totally rad” – and something that’s hopefully made purchasable as a skin one day.