Paladins Update 1.3 Brings The Ninjas

Earlier this week, Hi-Rez Studios teased a new Paladins Champion, dropping an image on Twitter that may have reminded some of us of Kakashi Hatake, the detached and slightly mysterious leader of Team 7 in Naruto. (Yeah. I had to go look all that up. I don't actually watch Naruto.) We didn't have long to wait to find out exactly who this new guy is, though. As it turns out his name is Koga, and yes, he seems to have all the good ninja stuff going for him -- running up walls and dashing around the map quickly while throwing flaming claws at his opponents.

Koga was once a member of the Thousand Hands Guild -- and apparently their best ninja. Unfortunately, things went awry and he was forced to flee. Now he's back and looking for revenge against the person(s) who betrayed him.

As ninjas go, Koga seems pretty open to less traditional weaponry -- such as submachine guns. That doesn't mean he's not a fan of tradition, though. He also has a fairly strong attack with a claw weapon, can avoid attacks using a Shadow Step ability, makes good use of shadows, and has no problems scaling walls to get away from (or to) someone.

In addition to Koga, the update will also add two new -- really purple -- maps, Abyss and Throne. Abyss is a Team Deathmatch map, inspired by the Rise of Furia event. It offers some unique mechanics including jump pads. The Throne is actually found at the top of the Abyssal Spire found in the Abyss map and is a Custom Team Deathmatch map.

A new Battle Pass is also being dropped. It will take 25% less time to complete than the previous Battle Pass and will last for an extra month. If you'd like a look at everything available in the Battle Pass, or just want to read through everything that's being changed with Update 1.3, hit up the patch notes on the Paladins site.