The Reason Why Zeri And Neon Are Very Similar

With the release of Zeri and Neon, League of Legends and Valorant players have been curious to know why the two characters are so similar not only in appearance but in personality and abilities as well.

Sharing themes in powers, backstory, and even voice acting, both Reddit and Twitter have been flooded with theories and questions about the new Filipino duo.

Riot co-developed Neon and Zeri

After Neon and Zeri were released, Twitter and Reddit exploded with theories as to why the characters looked similar. ‘SkinSpotlights’ on Twitter tweeted stating: “Zeri looking like Neon makes sense to me considering Zeri is a Zaun champ and was originally meant to release during Arcane, would have made the Riot X event make more sense with the Valorant tie in.” There is even a Reddit thread titled “Zeri & Neon Are The Same Person” filled with theories about their connection to the League of Legends and Valorant lore.

After all of this speculation on Reddit and Twitter threads from fans about Zeri and Neon, Riot finally confirmed they were co-developed. However, Riot also stated: “they’re not the same characters, no they’re not related, but they were made in tandem by the League and Valorant teams.”

The idea of co-developing a character and an agent started with Agents Team Lead John “Riot MEMEMEMEME” Goscicki and League Champions Team Lead Ryan “Reav3” Mireles. Both had ideas of what they wanted to do for the launch of Arcane - League’s new animated show on Netflix.

Since many Riot players play both League of Legends and Valorant, co-developing a champion and an agent seemed like a unique idea to introduce during the release of Arcane.

Neon and Zeri have the same voice actor

Not only do Zeri and Neon seem similar in appearance but their voices sound alike as well. In fact, they have the same young Filipina voice actor Vanille Velasquez. Velasquez even has a few dedicated YouTube videos about her experience voice acting for both characters.

They have similar personalities

While both Neon and Zeri were designed to be different, they fit within the theme of electricity. Zeri represents a positive charge with a warmer personality while Neon is a negative charge, and her personality is guarded and blunt.

Both characters come from supportive families and communities, which was inspired by the “Bayanihan Spirit” in Filipino culture. The difference is their reaction to that support. Zeri adores the love and support she receives from her family, but Neon is overwhelmed by it. Neon still loves her family, and she has a strong feeling of duty for her community, but she is more introverted than Zeri.

By making Neon more reserved compared to Zeri’s animated personality, both the Valorant and League of Legends teams were successful in tying the electricity theme into Neon and Zeri’s personalities.

Their abilities give them high mobility

Another similarity fans have caught onto is the speed and mobility in both Zeri and Neon’s ability sets. Neon’s ability ‘Fast Lane’ fires two lines of energy on the ground and allows Neon to sprint around her enemies. Her ability ‘High Gear’ allows Neon to sprint for 15 seconds. This ability also gives her a combat slide that resets with every two kills.  Neon’s ultimate ‘Overdrive’ completely recharges her sprint bar and killing enemies extends the duration of her ultimate.

Like Neon, Zeri’s abilities also include high mobility to give her an edge on opponents. Zeri’s passive ‘Living Battery’ allows her to gain movement speed when she receives a shield. Her ability ‘Spark Surge’ allows Zeri dash a short distance or vault over any terrain she dashes into. Hitting an enemy champion with an attack or ability reduces Spark Surge’s cooldown. Zeri’s ultimate ability ‘Lightning Crash’ discharges an explosion of electricity overcharging Zeri to give her increased damage, attack speed, and movement speed. If she attacks enemy champions, the overcharge duration is refreshed and adds another stack of movement speed.