* ActingForTwo: ''League of Legends'' has reused voice actors doing multiple roles, mostly from their earlier days:
** Micha Berman voices old Fiddlesticks and classic Master Yi.
** Creator/ErikBraa voices Jax (both before and after his ASU), Draven, and Vel'Koz.
** Emily O'Brien voices Camille and Samira.
** Creator/ErinFitzgerald voices both Sona and Janna. She also provided her voice for DJ Sona, Sona's updated voice, and [=PsyOps=] Sona, [[TheOtherDarrin but not Forecast Janna]] (whose actual voice actress is withheld).
** Creator/ZehraFazal voices Kayle and Taliyah (''Legends of Runeterra'' onward)
** J.S. Gilbert voices old Dr. Mundo, Gragas, old Udyr (both classic and Spirit Guard Udyr), pre-VGU Sion, and Battlecast Cho'Gath.
** Gavin Hammon voices Varus, Blood Lord Vladimir ([[TheOtherDarrin replacing]] Kevin M. Connolly, the regular voiceover of Vladimir), and old Pantheon.
** Adam Harrington voices Kassadin, Shaco, and the old versions of Karthus, Mordekaiser, and Ryze.
** Creator/KyleHebert voices Jarvan IV and was the original voice for both Ezreal and Graves (even though he was [[TheOtherDarrin replaced]] for Ezreal and Graves, he still voices Jarvan in ''Legends of Runeterra'').
** Creator/MelissaHutchison voices Ashe and Teemo (''Legends of Runeterra'' onward).
** Dennis Collins Johnson voices the current Heimerdinger, Corki, and the pre-VGU Gangplank and pre-VGU Taric.
** Creator/CarrieKeranen voices Lux and [=LeBlanc=].
** Creator/AlexaKahn voices Sivir and, starting with the PROJECT legendary skin, Vayne.
** Creator/EricaLindbeck voices Taliyah (before being Darrin'd), Zoe, and the current version of Morgana.
** Lisa Lindsley voices Soraka and the original Kayle (both classic and Aether Wing Kayle).
** {{Creator/David Lodge|AmericanActor}} voiced the original Galio ([[TheOtherDarrin now currently voiced by]] Josh Petersdorf) and Skarner, and now voices Ivern.
** Creator/ScottMcNeil voices Hecarim, Sion, Veigar, and the original Maokai.
** Creator/MatthewMercer voices the current Gangplank, as well as the Wolf half of Kindred.
** Creator/CristinaMilizia voices Amumu, Annie, and the original Nunu.
** Creator/VicMignogna voiced the first voiceover for Lee Sin and Malzahar.
** The late Creator/PhileceSampler voiced both Fizz and Kennen.
** Rebecca Schweitzer voiced the original Morgana and Sivir.
** Creator/PatrickSeitz voices Renekton, Kog'Maw, and [[TheOtherDarrin the original Lucian]].
** Brian Sommer voices Tryndamere, and the original Willump and Warwick.
** Creator/SpikeSpencer voices Wukong and Kled.
** Creator/KarenStrassman has quite a few credits: Cassiopeia, Fiora, Shyvana, and Zyra.
** Creator/FredTatasciore voices Graves and Mordekaiser.
** Owen Thomas voices Twisted Fate (now voiced by Creator/RayChase) and Viktor.
** Joshua Tomar voices Trundle as well as Greyor (the southern shopkeeper of the Howling Abyss).
** Duncan Watt voices both Blitzcrank and Rammus.
** Creator/CassandraLeeMorris voices both Nami and Yuumi.
** Creator/TravisWillingham voices both Azir (now voiced by Creator/IkeAmadi) and Talon.
** Creator/JoeZieja voices EXO ([[CheerfulAI the talkative AI]] accompanying Gun Goddess Miss Fortune) and Space Groove Blitzcrank ([[TheDividual both Blitz and Crank]]).
** Creator/MartialLeMinoux has voiced more characters than anyone else in the French dub, including Corki, Galio (first voice), Kindred (Wolf), Malzahar, Maokai, Olaf, Ryze, Twitch and Udyr.
* ActorInspiredElement:
** Not based on a traditional "actor", but Vi was animated to be left-handed due to her animator, Mike "ohmikegoodness" Laygo, [[https://www.reddit.com/r/leagueoflegends/comments/1ervo0/were_the_aatrox_team_ama/ca354ww/ being a southpaw fighter himself]].
** A few of Neeko's voice lines indicates that [[TrademarkFavoriteFood her favorite food is "cheese breads"]], [[https://twitter.com/Spideraxe30/status/1335354982166564864 an element Rioters confirmed was directly inspired by]] [[MultipleLanguagesSameVoiceActor her English/Portuguese voice actress]], Flora Paulita.
* AllStarCast:
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a49N-mFYwW8 The Japanese version of the game]] features some of the top voice actors from anime such as Creator/SumireUesaka, Creator/RieKugimiya, Creator/KeijiFujiwara, Creator/TomokazuSugita, Creator/IkueOtani, Creator/TakehitoKoyasu, Creator/AoiYuuki, Creator/NatsukiHanae, and many more in the list.
** The Mexican Spanish dub is not a slouch in this department either, since it features many younger and veteran voice actors as well.
** The Spaniard dub features a great number of Madrid based actors, both veterans, newcomers and newcomers that had become veterans; that continues to grow with each champion update and release. Alfonso Vallés is the only actor from Barcelona in the game (he voiced Gangplank's second visual update) which makes the game's VA cast even more all star.
** The Brazilian Portuguese cast uses most of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro's top voice actors, as well as a few rising stars.
* AscendedFanon: For years fans made out Teemo to be a MemeticPsychopath and SatanicArchetype due to his in-game kit being extremely annoying and players using his laugh track to bait their opponents into less than ideal situations. Riot has addressed this by making him two different skins; Little Devil Teemo, which depicts Teemo as Satan himself, and Omega Squad Teemo, which depicts Teemo as an AxCrazy ShellShockedVeteran trying to murder everyone else on the Rift.
* AscendedHouseRules: "All Random All Mid" was a very popular unofficial game mode going all the way back to ''League'''s spiritual predecessor, ''VideoGame/DefenseOfTheAncients''. In June 2012, Riot enabled the Proving Grounds (originally a single-lane map used for the game's tutorial mode) for use in custom games, indirectly to allow for more well-maintained ARAM games, and the mode proved so popular that ARAM was officially made a permanent game mode in patch 3.6, with Riot designing the all-new Howling Abyss to serve as its map.
* AuthorPhobia: Several members of the team that created [[SpidersAreScary Elise]] happened to be arachnophobic -- VFX artist Christina "RIOTSTEEN" Wun would often avoid transforming into Elise's spider form as often as possible, and when Elise was waiting approval to be shipped out, animation director "[=RiotBamDragon=]" consciously skimmed over the spider form's animations and pushed that they were probably good to ship.
* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** After the [[https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J9NPVR-1Ug4/VwRukcn588I/AAAAAAAA5iE/lnfrsT49WOwtDZ6_WqKbp1t5kUlC2qSNA/s1600/slim.jpg SKT T1 skins to commemorate the team's 2015 World Championship victory were initially announced]], many fans were disappointed by the low-quality designs, the lack of inspiration from the players themselves (similar to how SSW Twitch and Thresh got custom recalls inspired by SSW Imp and Mata), lack of representation of Easyhoon, a major SKT sub, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and giving Ryze yet]] ''[[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking another]]'' [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking skin.]] At first, [[https://www.reddit.com/r/leagueoflegends/comments/4djtby/riot_kateykhaos_response_to_skt_skins_being_all/d1rrt19 Riot attempted to defend themselves]], but [[http://boards.pbe.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/general-pbe-feedback/Miavcl5e-so-about-those-skt-skins they soon officially apologized]] and decided to delay the skins in order to improve them -- the final skins (including an extra Azir skin to represent Easyhoon) not only received touch-ups that better reflected the team's brand, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWc_TFWq91g but they each received unique recall animations directly inspired by the players themselves]], a trend that would continue on with future world champion skins.
** After the highly-contentious introduction of [[ScrappyMechanic Dynamic Queue]] in Season 6, Riot announced that after Season 2016, Solo/Duo Queue would return, considering Dynamic Queue a misstep in their direction.
** Within a span of a week nearing the end of Season 6, Riot made announcements that 2 of the most-requested features would be finally implemented in the game: Replays coming during the pre-season (which has been in on-and-off DevelopmentHell for years now), and even more shockingly, a sandbox-esque Practice Tool confirmed to be coming out in the near future. The latter was especially surprising given Riot had historically been insistently ''against'' any sandbox modes -- [[http://euw.leagueoflegends.com/en/news/game-updates/features/road-pre-season-practice-tool-works even the first line of the announcement was]] [[LampshadeHanging "Wait, what?"]]
** Pantheon's first post-ContinuityReboot lore was controversial for the decision to introduce the ideas of [[SharingABody Aspects cohabiting mortal vessels]], but then had The Aspect of War in particular [[DeathOfPersonality obliterate the mortal Atreus' original personality]], which fans interpreted as [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter a waste of a character with a compelling backstory that was rendered moot]]. With his 2019 relaunch, Riot took the opportunity to flip the entire dynamic in Atreus' favor -- rather than being anticlimactically snuffed out by a nondescript Aspect, it was ''the Aspect'' that bit the dust [[{{Determinator}} as Atreus proved himself to be even stronger]] and ascending to divinity, a plot which was widely seen as an improvement.
** Also from Targon, the 2016 reboots of Leona and Diana's lores were criticized for removing the fact [[WeUsedToBeFriends the two were friends-turned-enemies]] in favor of highlighting them being [[DeityOfHumanOrigin divinely chosen as Aspects]], a decision which many (especially [[DieForOurShip shippers]]) argued took away much of the interpersonal punch of their rivalry, boiling it down to a mundane SolarAndLunar conflict. Their 2020 rewrites[[note]]Which were mainly done to remove excess, now-undone lore, including Leona's relationship to Atreus/Pantheon due to the above change[[/note]] decided to add their longstanding friendship back into their lore, making it a bigger dynamic of conflict between them again, and shippers rejoiced.
** Seraphine's lore on initial reveal triggered a massive backlash as it gave off the impression that she was aware of the souls of Skarner's ancestors trapped inside of the crystals, but continued to use them anyway, a trait that made her seem [[UnintentionallyUnsympathetic majorly unsympathetic.]] By the time she was properly released, [[https://twitter.com/JeevunSidhu/status/1321936795597066241 Riot definitively stated that this interpretation was not what they intended]] -- she was supposed to be just as ignorant as everyone who utilizes the crystals are -- and her lore was tweaked and a few lines of unflattering dialogue highlighting this aspect (which were [[https://twitter.com/JeevunSidhu/status/1321939928255623168 reportedly]] DummiedOut early draft recordings) were removed.
** After the negative reception to the ''Rise of the Sentinels'' event, which was meant to be part of the greater Ruination event of 2021, while Riot staff initially claimed the event was canon, [[CanonDiscontinuity they later decided to scrap the whole idea and claimed that the event was not canon]], only suggesting that some version of it happened in BroadStrokes but not as the visual novel associated with the event portrayed it, jettisoning the out-of-character and comedic portrayals of the Sentinels and Ruined champions in question.
*** ''VideoGame/RuinedKing'' -- originally meant as a preamble to the whole event until development complications ended up shunting it to way after it -- ended up leaving fans on a higher note regarding the whole Ruined King Saga, presenting a much different, but well-received approach to the fight against Viego, with [[TruerToTheText more faithful]] and engaging [[CharacterDevelopment character-advancing]] lore. [[spoiler:The game also concludes with [[TheEndingChangesEverything a radically different ending than expected]] where [[NotHisSled the new team successfully defeat Viego and stop the Ruination right then and there]] -- with ''Ruined King'' [[https://twitter.com/RiotL4T3NCY/status/1460656443065974784 being considered canon]], a lot of people interpreted this as Riot and Airship Syndicate [[CanonDiscontinuity presenting a means to further ignore the]] ''[[CanonDiscontinuity Sentinels]]'' [[CanonDiscontinuity event]].]]
** The HomoeroticSubtext between Graves and Twisted Fate was the subject of controversy for a few years after a former Riot writer called out the company for repeatedly playing up the ''idea'' of them being a gay couple, [[BaitAndSwitchLesbians but refusing to walk the walk]], [[ExecutiveMeddling having previously vetoed the originally-proposed idea of the two being married]]. Riot sought to rectify a great deal of this in 2022, not only making the two their unofficial mascots of the year's Pride Month (providing much more artwork of them ''greatly'' heightening them being gay lovers), but releasing the story "The Boys and Bombolini", which explicitly describes them as gay (confirming that Graves had been gay "for the better part of four decades") and in a full-blown romantic partnership. It also briefly addresses the case of PlatonicWritingRomanticReading regarding Graves and Vayne from the ''Rise of the Sentinels'' event (stoking concerns that Riot was trying to [[HideYourLesbians wedge apart Graves and TF's implicitly gay relationship for an explicit heterosexual one]]), with Graves confirming that he saw her as a respectable (and terrifying) ''friend'', [[MistakenForRomance nothing more]].
* BadExportForYou: Between 2010-2022, the game's release and ongoing publishing in Southeast Asia was handled not by Riot themselves, but outsourced to Singaporean company Garena, who ran the game off their own servers and launcher client. Garena servers have been notoriously fraught with problems when compared to official Riot releases, including having delayed patch releases compared to the rest of the world, arbitrarily-raised prices for cosmetics, introducing several gambling-based mechanics (including their own [[LootBoxes "Lucky Crates" loot]]), and even [[https://bitcoinist.com/league-of-legends-garena-client-infected-with-a-cryptocurrency-miner/ being used as an unauthorized front for cryptomining]]. Riot terminated their partnership with Garena in 2022, migrating existing player accounts being to their own official servers for the SEA region. During the process, [[https://www.riotgames.com/en/news/new-riot-games-sea-servers-for-lol-tft-go-live-in-january Riot attached a "server-warming" event for SEA players]], giving them all preexisting champions for free alongside other goodies, with many assuming it was at least in part an apology for SEA players dealing with Garena's shenanigans.
* BannedInChina: Similar to the issue with the Forsaken in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', Karthus was redesigned from a skull-faced lich to a withered, shadow-wrapped figure for the Chinese art, due to taboos about representations of skeletons in media. The only skins that keep their skull-faced appearances are his Grim Reaper skin (likely because it represents the more abstract personification of death) and his Pentakill skin (for reasons unknown).
* BeamMeUpScotty: Contrary to MemeticMutation, Garen doesn't shout "DEMACIA!" when using Judgement (his signature SpinAttack). That's a separate skill, Courage, but because Courage is usually used in combo with Judgement, it comes across as the most widely known case.
* CelebrityVoiceActor: Nigerian-American rapper Umar Ibrahim, better known as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thutmose_(musician) Thutmose]], serves not only as a musical collaborator representing Ekko as part of True Damage, he also provides the skin's in-game voiceover.
* ChildrenVoicingChildren: When Nunu received his VGU in 2018, rather than [[CrossDressingVoices cross-casting him]] like before, they instead casted the role to Lucas Jaye, who was 11 at the time of recording.
* ContentLeak:
** Much of the content for the 2020 Spirit Blossom event was leaked at least a month before official release, with screenshots and documents confirming skins for Ahri, Cassiopeia, Kindred, and Riven, as well as prematurely announcing Yone as the next new champion (who was additionally verified thanks to datamining Spirit Blossom Thresh's voice lines). While Riot's plan was to release the content on the set schedule shown in the game's client, they did quietly add some cosmetic assets (icons and emotes) onto the PBE based on several of these leaks, further confirming them.
** After Seraphine's K/DA CharacterBlog began but before she was officially announced as a champion, her kit was prematurely discovered through datamining in ''Wild Rift'' during its closed beta, the first concrete connection between her and ''League of Legends''.
** Bel'Veth's in-game appearance and kit was leaked in early May 2022, weeks before the character herself was properly announced by Riot.
** Briar's splash art and a clip of her gameplay testing leaked a full week ahead of her official reveal.
* CreatorBacklash:
** It's pretty much a given that if Riot reworks a champion and their lore to [[InNameOnly an especially drastic degree]] (among the biggest examples being Sion, Poppy, and Urgot), they probably regret their prior incarnation by quite a bit. When asked about old Mordekaiser's lore in light of his upcoming 2019 relaunch:
--->'''[[https://twitter.com/Xenogenic/status/1114299309640437760 Riot Xenogenic]]''': Imagine a movie where people find a lost tomb, and that tomb is cursed, and everyone who comes out of it and talks about it dies. Let's just say: it's better if we don't talk about Morde's old scripts.
** A mild example [[https://www.reddit.com/r/leagueoflegends/comments/di9yjx/got_questions_about_champions_ama/f3ue5bq/?context=10000 regarding Aatrox's 2018 VGU]]. While Rioters consider the reworked design and gameplay to be a success in terms of a standalone perspective, they are aware of [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks the significant fan backlash of it being too different from the original Aatrox]] and regret having strayed too far from his initial identity.
** Sewn Chaos Amumu and Blitzcrank made it onto the PBE and were almost ready to go, but after negative fan feedback that Riot agreed with, the skins were cancelled before they could be properly sold live. Riot seems to view them as this, as their DummiedOut skin description reads "Due to their low quality and uglyness, these toys are destined to remain in the toy trash bin of unwantedness."
** Dynamic Queue was rolled out during Season 6 as a replacement to the Solo/Duo Queue, with the intent that players could team up and would be matched against pre-made groups for games, including ranked games. However, this turned out to bea colossal change for the worse [[ScrappyMechanic due to it greatly breaking the balance and quality of matchmaking]], with Riot completely undoing it by the following year. In Riot's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybhkk7KRXz8 10-year anniversary video]], during a section containing the game's historical low points, Dynamic Queue was put among their greatest mistakes.
** Before the end of 2021, the year of the Ruined King Saga, Riot admitted in [[https://www.leagueoflegends.com/en-us/news/dev/looking-back-on-sentinels-of-light/ an event retrospective]] that for their first major forward-pushing StoryArc, they missed the mark in a lot of ways. While they were still happy with some elements, they admitted that the in-client VisualNovel was in retrospect the wrong move for a plot as big and sprawling as the Ruination, that the lore was too [[ContinuitySnarl canonically]], [[MoodDissonance tonally]], and [[OutOfCharacterMoment characteristically]] inconsistent, and that overall, they overpromised and undelivered, promising to learn from their mistakes for future lore events.
** Champion designer Riot August [[https://www.reddit.com/r/leagueoflegends/comments/17yhuru/riot_august_apologizes_for_zeris_design_and_calls/ confessed in a personal stream]] that he regrets how two of the champions he was lead designer on -- Zeri and Gnar -- turned out the way they did, lamenting how they took a risk with their designs, only for them to become highly toxic as staples in pro play, with it being near-impossible to properly balance them either which way.
* {{Defictionalization}}: Ever want to hear Pentakill's music? Now you can with their new album, Smite and Ignite, released on June 3rd, 2014.
** The other in-universe musical groups, K/DA and True Damage, similarly have professionally recorded music.
* DevelopmentHell:
** Lee Sin was a very early champion concept (you can see him in early trailers for the game), but the character was canceled due to his design not being seen fantastic enough. There were rumors of him being put back into development floating around for a good long while, especially after champion designs became less fantastic, until late March 2011 where he was announced once more, with a new model, skillset, and name.
** Ao Shin was first announced back in 2013 and slated to be released before Lucian and Jinx. Then the design team had quite a hard time animating a serpentine figure, and he was delayed. Then the gameplay mechanics team started bashing their heads over and over again trying to design his ability kit, going as far as drafting and scrapping multiple different kits altogether. By 2015, Ao Shin had already acquired the status of the champion that will never, ever be released. The design team eventually gave up, changed his entire theme and ability kit completely, and was finally released in 2016 as Aurelion Sol. In 2020, Ao Shin himself was sort-of added to the game as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31Ed0G7IOg4 a skin for Aurelion Sol]] and as a Little Legend for use in ''Teamfight Tactics''.
** Dragon Master Swain was [[http://forums.na.leagueoflegends.com/board/showthread.php?t=1158089 based on a skin concept originally pitched by a fan on the forums in 2011]]. Despite immediate positive reception, including from several Rioters who claimed it was being worked on, it quietly experienced a TroubledProduction cycle, having been canceled ''twice'' [[http://forums.na.leagueoflegends.com/board/showthread.php?t=1158089 by 2017]]. It wasn't until Swain had his full visual/gameplay update in early 2018 [[SavedFromDevelopmentHell where the skin finally saw fruition]].
** Pizza Delivery Sivir began as an incredibly popular fan concept going [[http://forums.na.leagueoflegends.com/board/showthread.php?t=351202&highlight=pizza+delivery+sivir all the way back from 2010]], [[http://www.surrenderat20.net/2013/09/pax-prime-monday-art-demo-pizza.html and it was officially teased in concept art in a 2013 PAX Prime panel]]. It's unknown what happened in the following 5-year interim where it simply vanished, but it ''finally'' [[SavedFromDevelopmentHell came to be in 2018]].
** ''VideoGame/RuinedKing'' was teased in 2019 and eventually set to have a release date in some time during 2020. However, the COVID-19 pandemic caused developmental issues that forced it to be delayed to "early 2021", [[https://www.reddit.com/r/leagueoflegends/comments/o4yjrv/rise_of_the_sentinels_coming_july_8th/h2k4yb5/?context=3 originally with the intent]] to precede or coincide with the upcoming ''Rise of the Sentinels'' event in the summer and the Ruined King saga at large. Unfortunately, the game missed that release date as well and was since scheduled to a general "2021" date, with both Riot and Airship Syndicate going noticeably quiet on the matter since. They did eventually speak up in November 2021, but just a day before the full game was suddenly released.
* DiagnosisOfGod: [[https://web.archive.org/web/20200309233718/https://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/story-art/kQPqEYfs-does-rakan-have-adhdadd?comment=0009 Following a fan query]], then-senior narrative writer Odin "[=WAAARGHbobo=]" Shafer confirmed that Rakan has a form of ADHD. [=WAAARGHbobo=] claims to not have intentionally written Rakan as such, but given [[WriteWhatYouKnow he took inspiration from people he knew with ADD and manic-depressive behaviors]] to craft Rakan's [[AttentionDeficitOohShiny scatterbrained identity]], Rakan also having the same issues wasn't a stretch.
* DistancedFromCurrentEvents: In patch 11.21, an undocumented update saw Vi's abilities renamed to their current titles "Relentless Force" and "Cease and Desist" from the original "Excessive Force" and "Assault and Battery". There was no official reason why, but it's widely accepted it was done to distance Vi (a CowboyCop character) from the increasingly controversial profile of PoliceBrutality in TheNewTwenties, especially since it was during the highly-publicized release of ''WesternAnimation/{{Arcane}}'', where Vi is a protagonist.
* DuelingGames: With others in the {{MOBA}} genre: ''VideoGame/{{Demigod}}'', ''VideoGame/HeroesOfNewerth'', and, of course, ''VideoGame/DefenseOfTheAncients''. ''VideoGame/HeroesOfNewerth'' at one point was by far the biggest rival; ''VideoGame/{{Dota 2}}'' has since become the main competitor with ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'', as their rivalry has gone quite long compounded with some starkly differing approach in MOBA as well as the antics of a certain Pendragon that inadvertently fanned a harsh rivalry between the two fandoms. They also have their own cast of mostly original characters when Smite and HOTS used existing materials (Mythology and Creator/BlizzardEntertainment games).
** It is worth noting that the lead developers of both ''Dota 2'' and ''League of Legends'' were the lead developers of ''VideoGame/DefenseOfTheAncients''. Guinsoo, the first lead developer, was hired by Riot Games; [=IceFrog=], a later developer who took the game after Guinsoo resigned, was hired by Valve.
** A few days before Wukong's first preview blurb, competing game ''VideoGame/HeroesOfNewerth'' announced its new champion: the Monkey King. Technically ''[=HoN=]'' created concept art first, but didn't do anything with it until rumours about a Monkey King in ''[=LoL=]'' surfaced. Needless to say, accusations of copying were flung from both ends despite the character clearly being a reference to Sun Wukong from Literature/JourneyToTheWest.
* ExecutiveMeddling:
** [[https://twitter.com/danielzklein/status/1030317585781350400 Taliyah was originally intended to be League's first transgender character]], but the idea was shelved after receiving pushback from Rioters outside the narrative team.
** According to writer Runaan, [[https://twitter.com/devongiehl/status/1255567284204040192 Graves and Twisted Fate were meant to be a married couple after the events of Burning Tides.]] This too was rejected by higher-ups, though they would be canonically restored into being a gay couple in 2022.
* FlipFlopOfGod:
** A popular rumor that Jinx and Vi since release was that the two are actually sisters [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20lcWfD58Vc&feature=youtu.be&t=1h13m33s was seemingly confirmed in 2017 by Ghostcrawler]], Riot's Creative Head of Development... but then shortly after [[https://www.reddit.com/r/leagueoflegends/comments/72yxc7/the_truth_has_been_spoken_jinx_and_vi_are_sisters/dnmys3p/ he deconfirmed it due to him being incorrect and merely stating what he assumed was true]], while the actual narrative team considered their relationship to be up in the air. Then it was ''finally'' confirmed for real and in explicit text with ''WesternAnimation/{{Arcane}}''.
** The canonicity of the Ruined King saga, specifically determining [[SchrodingersCanon which of the concurrent yet conflicting versions of the story]] is the "correct" one, has given Riot some trouble. At first, [[https://www.reddit.com/r/loreofleague/comments/olgtc8/3_versions_of_the_story/h5fqm9g/?context=3 lead producer Reav3]] stated that the in-game ''Rise of the Sentinels'' VisualNovel was it, and that the versions depicted in cinematics and the ''Steadfast Heart'' comic are meant to be [[CompressedAdaptation compressions]] and/or [[AdaptationExpansion lateral expansions]] of the main storyline. However, following increased criticism towards ''Rise of the Sentinels'' for its writing not fitting in with the tone and logic of the established canon universe, [[https://www.reddit.com/r/loreofleague/comments/olgtc8/3_versions_of_the_story/h6ly7am/ he later backtracked on this]] and conceded that it is its own [[BroadStrokes loose adaptation]] sharing in the same [[DependingOnTheWriter variable integrity towards canon]] as the others. With the later [[https://www.leagueoflegends.com/en-us/news/dev/looking-back-on-sentinels-of-light/ Riot-published event retrospective]], [[CreatorBacklash they admitted to goofing from this variable continuity]] and established a "core story" defining the events that definitely happened, in turn leaving each of the above adaptations as their own optional stories.
* FollowTheLeader: The widespread success of the game has provoked plenty of competition from countless studios getting a slice of the [[MultiplayerOnlineBattleArena MOBA]] pie, but there have been a few especially noteworthy cases of copying ''League of Legends'' in particular, and coincidentally sparked the idea of a 'Mobile MOBA with analog control' subgenre which are mostly from China (the genre is after all highly popular there):
** ''VideoGame/HonorOfKings'' -- and later its international adaptation, ''VideoGame/ArenaOfValor'' -- was Creator/{{Tencent|Games}}'s stab at replicating the ''League of Legends'' formula, but for mobile platforms. ''Honor of Kings'' was developed and released shortly ''after'' Tencent had acquired Riot Games, the story being that they wanted Riot to make a mobile version of ''League'', and when Riot declined (at the time believing that [=MOBAs=] were too sophisticated to be played on smartphones), [[StartMyOwn they produced their own]]. ''Honor of Kings''' massive success in their native China is what inspired Riot to eventually produce ''Wild Rift'', and aside from a brief legal scuffle surrounding the title (the game was renamed from ''League of Kings'', as Riot called them out as [[SerialNumbersFiledOff "blatantly ripping off their intellectual property"]]), the two have since coexisted more or less peacefully, with Tencent even delaying their western advertising push of ''Arena of Valor'' to allow ''Wild Rift'' to get its initial announcements out.
** Moonton's ''VideoGame/MobileLegendsBangBang'' is another mobile-based ''League'' clone, one that perhaps more infamously wears much more of its influences on its sleeve, sporting not just similar MOBA gameplay, art style, and character designs, but even derivative projects, from its asset-recycling autochess game mode, esports scene, and even {{Fake Band}}s of its heroes releasing their own music. Both Riot and their parent company, Tencent, have sued Moonton for copyright infringement, and while the first few suits ended in quiet settlements[[note]]To be more specific: Riot filed their first lawsuit in 2017 within their state of California, but it was dismissed as Moonton -- a Chinese-based company -- wasn't believed to be within America's business jurisdiction, with it being suggested they instead file suit in China. Riot and Tencent proceeded to do that, but in part due to China's notoriously lax IP laws, Moonton was only forced to pay out $2.9 million (RMB 19.4 million) before continuing business as usual[[/note]], another ongoing lawsuit was filed in 2022 to restrain Moonton's western business operations[[note]]This particular lawsuit was once again filed in California, this time litigating over ''Wild Rift'' (released following the initial lawsuits) as the entity subject to infringement. Riot have more purposefully pushed for the suit to be heard in California, specifically targeting Moonton's continued business presence in the state (they host servers and base their US branch in California), as well as their direct violation of terms of services from ''Wild Rift'', California being the predetermined forum for any IP infringement disputes[[/note]]. Despite ''Mobile Legends''' [[AmericansHateTingle controversial image in the west]], it's achieved legitimate success, especially in Southeast Asia where it even surpasses ''Wild Rift'' as a steady competitor (being several years early to the market certainly helps).
* InMemoriam: The "Total Biscuit of Rejuvenation" item was introduced in 2012 as a result of and named after [[Creator/TheCynicalBrit John "TotalBiscuit" Bain]]. After Bain's passing from a several year-long battle with cancer in 2018, the item has since been renamed the "Total Biscuit of Everlasting Will".
* MakeAWishContribution:
** In 2012, a young fan named Joe visited Riot Games through Make-A-Wish Foundation, with a brief spotlight being put on Jax's "Jaximus" skin -- Joe's favorite skin -- which was briefly sold with proceeds going to Make-A-Wish. When Joe passed away shortly afterwards, "Jaximus" received an additional skin-exclusive voiceline: [[InMemoriam "Here's to you, kid!"]]
** Dark Star Cho'Gath was made in collaboration with a fan named Bryan, who visited Riot Games in 2017 and not only had a hand in the skin's design, but also [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKGeHMT6Ko4 a login theme]]. Riot originally wished it to be [[UniqueItems a one-of-a-kind personal memento just for Bryan]], but they briefly put it for public release in 2018, with all proceeds (an estimated total $6.1 million) being donated to nonprofit charities. Following the drive, the skin was then shifted to being an uber-exclusive Gemstone skin, now currently in a rotation as a Mythic Essence skin.
* ModelDissonance: In-game character models, [[ArtEvolution especially later on]], are designed to look good for the sole isometric/aerial camera angle for gameplay. As such, some can look a little weird when viewed at more "normal" angles from in-engine champion trailers and spotlights, popular examples being [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGxQAs9ULWY Irelia's]] [[HartmanHips enormous hips]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-s2YVbRP8I Akali's]] hands.
* MultipleLanguagesSameVoiceActor: Brazilian voice actress Flora Paulita voices Neeko in English and her native Portuguese.
* NewbieBoom: The release and smash success of ''WesternAnimation/{{Arcane}}'' in 2021 created a notable surge in outside interest for the ''League'' franchise as a whole and the MOBA in specific. Of special mention is how it affected individual champions, where many of those who were major characters in the series gained a huge spike in playrate, especially Vi, who is arguably ''the'' series protagonist. It's especially funny for her as due to her {{Skill Gate Character|s}} design, she was rarely as popular as the likes of Jinx, Caitlyn, Jayce, etc., but in the seasons following this newfound attention, she's remained as more of a consistently strong and relevant competitive pick.
* TheOtherDarrin: Nearly every character who has gone through a full visual update with a new voiceover has had their voice actor replaced for one reason or another. Several others have also been recasted in subsequent appearances, such as ''Legends of Runeterra, Tales of Runeterra, and Arcane'', which has then bled into ''League''.
** Akali was recast ''twice'' following her VGU; her first VO came from Krizia Bajos, replacing Creator/LauraBailey from her original incarnation. Starting with ''WebAnimation/TalesOfRuneterra'', Creator/AshlyBurch took over main duties for the character, reportedly in part due to contact and availability issues with Bajos. While recording the voiceover for Star Guardian Akali in 2022, Riot planned for Burch to redo Akali's default voice as well, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZU5E4POEJE with a fully-recorded replacement voiceover making it all the way onto the PBE]], but due to negative fan feedback, it was scrapped.
** Ekko went from Creator/AntonyDelRio in his first appearance to Reed Shannon in all subsequent appearances, even ''WesternAnimation/{{Arcane}}'' which largely recasted the cast of champions appearing.
** Gangplank as of his 2015 rework is currently voiced by Creator/MatthewMercer, replacing Dennis Collins Johnson of before, though in a bit of controversy, [[https://www.reddit.com/r/leagueoflegends/comments/3e3qai/the_original_gangplank_voice_actor_is_sad_and_so/ Johnson was apparently never contacted by Riot to potentially reprise his role]].
** Graves has gone from Creator/KyleHebert to Creator/FredTatasciore, starting with ''Tales of Runeterra''.
** In July 2019, Lee Sin's voiceover by Creator/VicMignogna was replaced with a new one by Feodor Chin. While Riot hasn't given an official statement as to why (Lee Sin received no other accompanying visual update), this was generally seen as a response to the sexual harassment allegations against Mignogna from earlier in the year.
** Lucian went from Creator/PatrickSeitz to Creator/TJStorm, having his ''League'' voice over completely redone with Senna's release.
** Creator/GregChun, starting with PROJECT:, has replaced Micah Berman as the voice of Master Yi, voicing the champ in subsequent appearances like ''Wild Rift'' and ''Legends of Runeterra''.
** Miss Fortune has gone from being voiced by an uncredited actor to being played primarily by Creator/LauraBailey, starting with ''Tales'' and ''Legends of Runeterra''. She'd also play the character in ''VideoGame/RuinedKing''.
** [[https://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/sound-music/AiGfyi3U-does-omega-forces-teemo-have-a-new-voice-actor?comment=0001 Omega Squad Teemo was confirmed to have a different voice actor to his normal VO]] (confirmed later to be Melissa Hutchinson), with the original, unidentified voice actor having since joined an actor's union. Hutchinson has since been the main voice for the champ from ''VideoGame/LegendsOfRuneterra'' onwards.
** With the music of Pentakill, the singers behind the champions are in constant rotation: [[Music/{{JORN}} Jørn Lande]] provides Karthus' voice in "Lightbringer" and "Mortal Reminder", while "Deathfire Grasp" and "Last Whisper" are performed by [[{{Music/Dragonforce}} ZP Theart]], and "Infinity Edge" and "Rapidfire Cannon" are voiced by Per Johannson.
** Similarly, K/DA's vocal cast has some variable vocal casting. While they're pretty consistent with [[Music/{{GIDLE}} Miyeon and Soyeon]] as Ahri and Akali, Evelynn has been performed by Madison Beer and Bea Miller, and Kai'Sa by Jaira Burns and Wolftyla.
** In the Japanese dub:
*** Naomi Kusumi is Tahm Kench's new voice actor after Creator/UnshoIshizuka's death in 2018.
*** Creator/KenjiroTsuda replaced Creator/KenjiNomura as Zed's voice actor in 2019, largely due to negative feedback of the original (which was [[VocalDissonance exponentially deeper than any other localization of Zed's voice]]).
*** Volibear is now voiced by Creator/SatoshiTsuruoka instead of Tsuguo Mogami following his Visual Gameplay Update.
*** Akali also went from Creator/RyokoShiraishi to Creator/MikakoKomatsu after her Visual Gameplay Update.
* PermanentPlaceholder:
** According to [[https://nexus.leagueoflegends.com/en-gb/2018/04/ask-riot-new-keystone-runes/ this Ask Riot post]], Rammus' [[TerseTalker extreme laconicity]] came about because of the attempt to replace his old voice track. The new one was too awful and sounded 'pretty hillbilly'. Not even wanting their own internal team to hear it, the devs recorded his current voice in a conference room in the space of fifteen minutes. They meant to replace it but never got the chance, and Rammus' one-word dialogue went on to be the defining point of his character and spawned the 'Ok' meme.
** According to Creator/SarahAnneWilliams [[https://www.reddit.com/r/Toonami/comments/83ie6n/sarah_williams_ama_voice_actress_for_jinx_the/dvi0ywd/ during an AMA]], one of her lines as Star Guardian Jinx -- "[[TropeName Slogan! Catchphrase! Tagline!]]" -- was voiced [[ComicallyMissingThePoint before she realized it was just a stage direction in the script]], but was so in-character for Jinx [[ThrowItIn that it was added to the game]].
** The main name of Illaoi's eldritch undersea god, Nagakaborous, [[https://web.archive.org/web/20160122213717/http://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/miscellaneous/FXAooE3r-champion-qa-illaoi-the-kraken-priestess?comment=00030000 was originally just a placeholder title]], but Riot decided to keep it once they realized Illaoi's VA, Rolonda Watts, made it sound awesome.
* PlayingAgainstType: Considering the amount of {{Butt Monkey}}s he's voiced, the last character one might expect to hear Creator/SpikeSpencer lend his vocal talents to would have to be a crazed redneck Yordle like Kled.
* ProductionNickname: Many of the champions have had these.
** Tahm Kench was known as "Fish Tank" and "Twocoats".
** Camille had plenty while in development, including "Lady Em," "The Left Hand of Piltover," "The Gray Lady" (which became an InUniverseNickname for the character), and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking "Cyborg MI6]] [[Literature/MaryPoppins Mary Poppins."]]
** [[https://nexus.leagueoflegends.com/en-us/2018/09/ask-riot-kled-skin-code-names/ This Ask Riot]] revealed several development {{Working Title}}s for several champions over the years, several of which interestingly became their official subtitles (including Elise, Vi, Thresh, Illaoi, and Taliyah).
* PromotedFanboy:
** Even prior to being cast as the Japanese voices of Heimerdinger, Veigar, and Ziggs, Creator/NatsukiHanae was a big fan of the game.
** Music/ImagineDragons were big ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' fans prior to being approached to collaborate for the Worlds 2014 theme, "Warriors". They would eventually return to working with Riot to make "Enemy", the opening theme to ''WesternAnimation/{{Arcane}}''.
** Music/PorterRobinson became hooked on ''League'' after being introduced to ''WesternAnimation/{{Arcane}}'', where he realized he wanted to collaborate with Riot for a song. He actually reached out to them first, and the end result was "Everything Goes On", the official theme for the 2022 Star Guardian event.
* RealLifeRelative: From the Brazilian Portuguese version of the game, Fiona Laurent and Xayah are voiced by mother and daughter [[Creator/MarliBortoletto Marli]] and Creator/LeticiaBortoletto, respectively.
* RealitySubtext: {{Subverted|Trope}}, but worth mentioning; the champion Tryndamere shares the handle of Riot co-founder Marc Merrill, and it was initially believed that his marriage to Ashe was based off the fact Merrill's wife is named Ashley. [[https://www.reddit.com/r/leagueoflegends/comments/t5gpa/i_am_marc_tryndamere_merrill_president_cofounder/c4jphql/ This was debunked by Merrill himself]] as the creative team had no knowledge of this fact, meaning it was just a massive coincidence.
* ReleaseDateChange: The UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic caused the development of a few projects to be stalled, with varying levels of impact:
** ''WesternAnimation/{{Arcane}}'' was originally set to be released in 2020, but following complications from the pandemic, it was bumped up to fall 2021.
** ''VideoGame/RuinedKing'' was originally set to be released in early 2021, but was then shuffled to an indeterminate "2021" date. This creates a rather unfortunate consequence of [[SpoiledByTheFormat colliding with the plot of the Ruined King Saga as it was still being pushed forward in real life]] -- with the reveal in July that Miss Fortune would fall to the Ruination and Pyke would join the Sentinels, this retroactively turned ''Ruined King'' into a prequel to the event rather than a proper preamble Riot was expecting it to be.
** The January 2021 champion roadmap established that there would be three new champions throughout the year, and while Gwen was released as intended in April, Riot originally planned for a "gloomy mage yordle champion" to be released before the "unconventional Sentinel of Light champion". Following the April 2021 roadmap, Riot announced that the yordle champion was still being developed while the Sentinel of Light champion was ahead of schedule, so the release dates of the two were swapped, with Akshan being released in July ([[SpoiledByTheFormat not that it stopped from Vex from being a major part]] in the ''Rise of the Sentinels'' event anyway).
** Development issues also resulted in the final planned champion of 2021 -- who would later be revealed to be Zeri -- being released in January the following year. The significance of this is that Riot originally intended for both her and the following champion, Renata Glasc (both being Zaunite champions), to be released during the cross-company "[=RiotX=] Arcane" event during ''WesternAnimation/{{Arcane}}'''s premiere, but various circumstances forced them to miss it.
* RenamedToAvoidAssociation: Ezreal's uncle was originally named Professor Lyte, [[{{Tuckerization}} a reference to former Lead Designer of Social Systems Jeffrey "Lyte" Lin]], with the character appearing on the Howling Abyss as the shopkeeper on the northeaster side. Following the Piltover lore update in December 2016, the character was instead renamed to Professor Lymere, likely due to Lyte leaving Riot in May of that year. Riot would end up further distancing themselves from the handle following several reports of Lin's disgraceful behavior, including allegations of cheating on and psychologically abusing his ex-fiance -- as of 2020, [[https://web.archive.org/web/20200627205138/https://twitter.com/riotzimberfly/status/1276980919761375232 Riot's official stance on the shopkeeper NPC]] is that he's nameless ([[TheArtifact though several in-game interactions still mention him being Ezreal's uncle, with Ezreal's biography as of his 2018 VGU still confirming that Lymere exists in canon]]).
* RoleEndingMisdemeanor: System and champion designer Daniel "[=ZenonTheStoic=]" Klein (lead dev of champions including Lucian, Azir, Tahm Kench, Taliyah, and Kayn) was fired from Riot following comments made in the periphery of the company's controversies in PAX West 2018. Riot held several panels that were largely exclusive to only female and non-binary attendants, a move that sparked much controversy online. While Klein was ''defending'' Riot's decision, he was let go as he "violated their social media policy", presumably because he got in a heated Twitter argument following his statements, or because he wasn't supposed to be engaging with the controversy, period.
* RoleReprise:
** While most full "visual-gameplay updates" and from-scratch voiceovers for Legendary skins [[TheOtherDarrin tend to replace their original voice actors]], there have been a few exceptions:
*** In terms of default voiceovers, Lisa Lindsley has voiced Soraka before and after her VGU, same with Doug Boyd voicing Twitch, Creator/CarrieKeranen voicing Lux, and Creator/MelissaHutchison voicing Ashe.
*** This doesn't seem to be as much of a problem for Legendary skins, with many sharing the same voice actors as the original, regardless of the developmental time gap. Some came back within a couple of years like Chuck Kourouklis for Dunkmaster Darius, Creator/SarahAnneWilliams for Star Guardian Jinx, Creator/LiamOBrien for Nightbringer Yasuo, and some returned after significantly longer gaps, including Creator/LauraPost for Star Guardian Ahri, Kirsten Potter for Pulsefire Caitlyn and Battle Academia Caitlyn, Creator/CarrieKeranen for Elementalist Lux, Creator/CristinaVee for Dawnbringer Riven, Creator/MelissaHutchison for both PROJECT: and High Noon Ashe (and later came back for the vanilla version's general update), Creator/VicMignogna for God Fist Lee Sin ([[TheOtherDarrin both have been replaced]] come 2019), Creator/TaraPlatt for Battle Queen Katarina and Creator/KyleHebert for Pulsefire Ezreal (both his 2012 and 2017 recordings, though [[TheOtherDarrin he was replaced]] for Ezreal's global 2018 VGU).
** ''Odyssey: Extraction'' had Creator/SarahAnneWilliams [[https://twitter.com/SarahAnneWillia/status/1039943846791135234 return once again as Jinx]], and Odyssey Kayn and Rhaast are once again voiced by Creator/RobbieDaymond and Sam A. Mowry. On the other hand, [[TheOtherDarrin Ziggs appears to have a new voice actor]], while Yasuo and Malphite only speak using recycled voice clips.
** In the Japanese dub, both Creator/KentaMiyake and Creator/YoshihisaKawahara reprise their roles as Pantheon and Fiddlesticks respectively following their Visual Gameplay Updates.
* StarMakingRole: Creator/FayeMata when she voiced Lulu was practically kind of a newbie in voice acting business that she's mostly going to be known as just Lulu. However, she performed the role so well that it contributed to Lulu's ginormous popularity and from there, she starts racking up roles to become a prominent voice actress herself, racking up well known roles like [[Literature/FateApocrypha Astolfo]], [[Literature/KonoSuba Aqua]] or [[Literature/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero Malty]], to name a few.
* TeasingCreator:
** Riot gets all over this on April Fool's Day. They released [[EnsembleDarkhorse Lee Sin, the Blind Monk]] AND [[AprilFoolsDay an Urf the Manatee Corki Skin]] at once. Not ONLY that, but in the following [[AllThereInTheManual Journal of Justice]], there were two articles that talk about both. One mentions how [[BackFromTheDead Urf could be revived]], and the other was a talk with Lee Sin.
** Riot then released [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrSihRXTrq4 this "spotlight"]]. Game DESTROYING power, a "blurry" screen debuff, and the ability to kill members of ''your own team'' who defect to the other side. They released an actual spotlight video shortly after.
** Their 2012 prank (a really bad 3D mode) was obvious (made even more so by the Urf cameo at the end), but nonetheless hilarious. Incidentally, they've actually named April Fool's Day "Urf Day."
* TroubledProduction:
** The champion who became Azir was born out of an extended development cycle for what was originally a [[SandBlaster sand mage]] named Seth, conceived very early in the game's life. Issues sprouted due to his initial gameplay fantasy -- that he could spread sand across the map to cast his abilities -- proving to be too technically-demanding for the game, causing him to undergo many alternate playstyles and designs for several years before he was eventually codified as an "emperor soldier-summoner" that became Azir.
** A [[OurDragonsAreDifferent storm dragon]] champion named Ao Shin was unveiled for release around 2013 -- given an [[EarlyBirdCameo early tease]] as part of Spirit Guard Udyr's reveal comic -- but ended up being delayed several times before being entirely scrapped and rebooted as Aurelion Sol, who came out in 2016. Much of the issues came from Ao Shin's design as a lengthy, serpentine dragon who was so long that he could wrap around enemy champions, which quickly became a burden for animators and game designers who struggled to figure out how to feasibly implement him into the game. When Aurelion Sol was created in Ao Shin's demise, his body was greatly reduced in length and made partially translucent just to ensure his hitbox was clear.
** Skarner was voted for a full visual-gameplay update in early 2022, but ended up experiencing an extended production cycle as -- by their own admission -- Riot had tons of problems figuring out what to do with him. In [[https://www.leagueoflegends.com/en-us/news/dev/dev-searching-for-skarner-s-sting/ a March 2023 blog post]] -- over a year after development began -- the team behind his VGU confessed they were still in a relatively early design stage, noting that Skarner's astonishingly low popularity has made it difficult to identify what exactly people ''like'' about Skarner to develop and expand on, finding his "lonely crystal scorpion" identity too limited and unexciting, while the risk of [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks alienating what few fans he has by drastically modifying said concept]] being too large to ignore. Skarner's relaunch would finally end up being announced in March ''2024'' and set for release the month after.
* UncreditedRole: Due to the game's non-union development and constantly-updating nature, Riot Games had a longstanding policy of not disclosing their voice actors unless the actors themselves publicly reveal themselves first (the way the public learned that James Faulkner voiced Swain's 2018 VGU was because of him tweeting his confusion over why he wasn't credited, as he was evidently unaware of the policy). While the rule was rescinded in early 2019 and Riot has since become more open in crediting newer actors, the identities of those behind many older champions remain unknown.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: [[WhatCouldHaveBeen/LeagueOfLegends Examples can be found here]].
* WhyFandomCantHaveNiceThings:
** Riot announced early 2019 that after a 50/50 split of new champions to visual/gameplay champion updates throughout 2018, they would be greatly slowing down on the [=VGUs=] [[https://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/story-art/MAU53ybw-so-less-vgu-and-more-new-champions?comment=0002 in large part due to the champions' original fans constantly crying foul of]] "TheyChangedItNowItSucks", even if the reworks are hugely-requested and overall well-received. As a tradeoff to this, however, Riot has also since become more careful in handling these relaunches, being more vocal and public about their development processes and taking fan feedback into greater account.
** Between 2019-2020, Riot shut down the [[https://support-leagueoflegends.riotgames.com/hc/en-us/articles/360023026874 Community Events features]] [[https://na.leagueoflegends.com/en-us/news/community/end-of-the-na-community-events-tool/ on the EU and NA clients]], a tool originally meant for small organizers to run online tournaments, offering tangible prizes like RP and codes for the Triumphant Ryze skin (which is the only way to obtain the skin). The feature was removed once it became clear that it was a massive target for exploits, where players would use use dummy tournaments to farm for RP and accounts with the Ryze skin code, both of which could be sold illicitly.
* WordOfGay:
** When she was introduced, Diana was ''[[AmbiguouslyGay implied]]'' to have an unrequited crush on Leona, with [=IronStylus=] (lead designer of both) claiming it was "[[http://forums.na.leagueoflegends.com/board/showthread.php?t=2409104&page=20#post27752138 a safe suggestion]]", even directly comparing the conflict between the two as [[http://forums.na.leagueoflegends.com/board/showthread.php?t=2409104&page=24#post27884485 "[having] to kill someone that you love"]]. Following his departure from Riot years later, [[https://twitter.com/Iron_Stylus/status/850598651281907713 he explicitly confirmed that Diana was designed to be gay from the start]], and years after that, their romantic relationship was formally canonized in the short story [[https://universe.leagueoflegends.com/en_US/story/rise-with-me/ "Rise With Me"]].
** Very shortly after her announcement, [[https://twitter.com/thatmattdunn/status/1064613909074595841 Neeko was confirmed to be lesbian]] [[https://twitter.com/thatmattdunn/status/1064640118919548928 and had an unrequited crush on Nidalee]], making her the game's first openly gay champion.
** [[https://twitter.com/devongiehl/status/1255567284204040192 In a 2020 Twitter thread]], former writer Devon "Runaan" Giehl explained that she wrote Twisted Fate and Graves as a gay pair, a decision which was originally met with much hostility within Riot's offices, but years following her departure was subsequently [[HoYay revisited and repeatedly teased]], much to her dismay. Riot finally did follow up on this in 2022, with the story [[https://universe.leagueoflegends.com/en_US/story/the-boys-and-bombolini "The Boys and the Bombolini"]] being released on the first day of Pride Month, verifying within the text that the two are gay and in a romantic relationship.
** PNZ Sentinels Dess and Ada -- first introduced in ''Rise of the Sentinels'' -- are largely described as [[BashBrothers inseparable life partners]], though a romantic connection between them wasn't canonized until they became Followers in ''Legends of Runeterra'', with [[https://twitter.com/PlayRuneterra/status/1451216722275541004 the game's Twitter]] confirming they were a couple.
* WorkingTitle: [[https://nexus.leagueoflegends.com/en-us/2017/12/naming-new-champions/ As discussed in this dev post]], newer champions go through ''a lot'' of different potential names with a huge amount of requirements, such as uniqueness, ease of abbreviation, ease of pronunciation, especially in localizations, whether it turns out to be a ForeignCussWord, etc. Some of the listed temp names include "Deadeye" (a champion who became Jhin as listed above in a WhatCouldHaveBeen entry, [[https://nexus.leagueoflegends.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Jhin_Namestorm_exvj79ng3h59rqlp70n8.pdf and has a full "namestorm" list]]), "Heaven's Coil" (who became Aurelion Sol), "Stoneweaver" (who became Taliyah, which also became her final champion subtitle), and "Living Forge" (who became Ornn, [[https://nexus.leagueoflegends.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Ornn_Namestorm_8zrajk38zwyp4bfytr6z.pdf who also went through subtitles]] including "The Hearth Father", "The Kiln King", [[OddNameOut and "The Daddy Issues of the Freljord"]]).

----
[[folder:Champions Release Order]]
* Initial Roster
** Alistar
** Annie
** Ashe
** Fiddlesticks
** Jax
** Kayle
** Master Yi
** Morgana
** Nunu
** Ryze
** Sion
** Sivir
** Soraka
** Teemo
** Tristana
** Twisted Fate
** Warwick
* Released in 2009 (simultaneous releases will be in one line)
** Singed, Zilean
** Evelynn, Twitch, Tryndamere
** Karthus
** Cho'Gath, Amumu
** Anivia, Rammus
** Veigar
** Kassadin
** Gangplank, Taric
** Malphite, Janna, Blitzcrank, Dr. Mundo
** Katarina, Corki
** Nasus
** Heimerdinger, Shaco
** Udyr
** Nidalee
* Released in 2010
** Poppy
** Gragas, Pantheon
** Mordekaiser
** Ezreal
** Shen
** Kennen
** Garen
** Akali
** Malzahar
** Olaf
** Kog'Maw
** Xin Zhao
** Vladimir
** Galio
** Urgot
** Miss Fortune
** Sona
** Swain
** Lux
** [=LeBlanc=]
** Irelia
** Trundle
** Cassiopeia
* Released in 2011
** Caitlyn
** Renekton
** Karma
** Maokai
** Jarvan IV
** Nocturne
** Lee Sin
** Brand
** Rumble
** Vayne
** Orianna
** Yorick
** Leona
** Wukong
** Skarner
** Talon
** Riven
** Xerath
** Graves
** Shyvana
** Fizz
** Volibear
** Ahri
** Viktor
* Released in 2012
** Sejuani
** Ziggs
** Nautilus
** Fiora
** Lulu
** Hecarim
** Varus
** Darius
** Draven
** Jayce
** Zyra
** Diana
** Rengar
** Syndra
** Kha'Zix
** Elise
** Zed
** Nami
** Vi
* Released in 2013
** Thresh
** Quinn
** Zac, Season 3 Karma
** Lissandra, Season 3 Trundle
** Aatrox
** Lucian
** Jinx
** Yasuo
* Released in 2014
** Vel'Koz
** Braum
** Gnar
** Azir
** Kalista
** Rek'Sai
** Season 4 Sion
* Released in 2015
** Bard
** Ekko
** Tahm Kench
** Kindred
** Illaoi
** Season 6 Poppy
* Released in 2016
** Jhin
** Aurelion Sol
** Season 6 Taric
** Taliyah
** Season 6 Ryze
** Kled
** Season 6 Yorick
** Ivern
** Camille
* Released in 2017
** Season 7 Warwick
** Season 7 Galio
** Xayah and Rakan
** Kayn
** Season 7 Urgot
** Ornn
** Season 7 Evelynn
** Zoe
* Released in 2018
** Season 8 Swain
** Kai'Sa
** Season 8 Irelia
** Pyke
** Season 8 Aatrox
** Season 8 Akali
** Season 8 Nunu and Willump
** Season 8 Ezreal
** Neeko
* Released in 2019
** Sylas
** Season 9 Kayle, Season 9 Morgana
** Yuumi
** Season 9 Mordekaiser
** Qiyana
** Season 9 Pantheon
** Senna
** Aphelios
* Released in 2020
** Sett
** Season 10 Fiddlesticks
** Season 10 Volibear
** Lillia
** Yone
** Samira
** Seraphine
** Rell
* Released in 2021
** Viego
** Gwen
** Season 11 Dr. Mundo
** Akshan
** Vex
* Released in 2022
** Zeri
** Renata Glasc
** Bel'Veth
** Nilah
** Season 12 Udyr
** K'Sante
* Released in 2023
** Milio
** Naafiri
** Briar
** Hwei
* Released in 2024
** Smolder
** Season 14 Skarner
* Upcoming Releases
** Unnamed Vastaya Solo Laner
** Ambessa
** Shyvana VGU
[[/folder]]