League of Legends

x2 Someone on the League boards theorized that this could be the trailer of some upcoming lore stuff. Something like:

• Another invasion of Ionia sees Riven captured by Noxians, and as a traitor brought back to fight in the gladiator pits as punishment. Draven has her blade hanging up on the wall behind him as he oversees the fight. Not gonna lie, would be pretty badass to see Riven leading some kind of gladiatorial uprising or something to try and change Noxus in a similar mission to her old lore. Not sure how likely.
• Karma and Irelia mend their differences, at least enough to join forces to defend Ionia as Sion and the Noxians invade. Akali joins because that's her shtick, Kennen joins as a good friend/mentor to Akali as he's been in new lore, and Yasuo joins as a way to atone for the past.
• Apparently in-lore it's been confirmed that Jhin is going to Zaun, though not quite sure where this is stated, which would be an easy link to why Camille is after him.

Of course this could be totally off the mark, but the more I look at it the more plausible something like this seems.

No Jinx, 0/10.

Man, I have no idea what the lore in this game is anymore, how much as changed since they abandoned the league concept.

Short answer: A lot. I was pretty dubious about them getting rid of it but the more I thought about it the more I can see that having a magical United Nations to prevent large-scale conflict was...kinda limiting.

A lot of the lore has changed for the more complex and interesting. They're really going all in with the Worldbuilding. Places like Noxus are Zaun are less Obviously Evil, while Ionia and Piltover got greyed up. Other parts of it...well, not so much imo.

The general trappings of pre-retcon are still there - Ionian invasion, Noxus being expansionist empire, etc., but there's a lot of difference in other places.

The lore is still by far my favorite part of the game though, and it's pretty much the only reason I'm still sticking around. Haven't actually played in a while.

I recommend checking the Universe page, they put out a world map with detailed info on every faction and location. It's really good.

And daaaaaamn, why can't it be Friday for ARURF already.

Yeah, League Universe is great. The map is also really cool. Love the concept art pieces and Worldbuilding in there. Plus they'll constantly be able to update/change it as new lore comes out, so it'll slowly fill up with interesting places and details.

Speaking of Urf though, I experienced major Hype Backlash from it. I played on and off since Season 2 but never was around for Urf, and people talked about it like the pinnacle of fun in rotating game modes. Finally got to try it, and...eh. Some stuff on that mode is so annoying that it stops being fun. I get that the craziness is the reason for it, but the already dubious balance becomes ten times worse unless you're playing those champions that are super annoying.

Who wants Gameplay and Story Segregation?

For some godforsaken reason, Silas hasn't come out with the patch and ARURF isn't up till the 28th. Goddammit.

So I've got back into into league a month or so ago after like a 3-4 year break. I mean sure I occasionally booted it up during those years but that was like a single game maybe 2 every few months. But I'm getting back into it for real now. And I gotta say, Ornn is the best champion they have ever made. The forge god is amazing.

Admittedly, I haven't been playing him much this past week or so, because I've been maining Nautilus top instead. Hitting people with a giant anchor just never gets old. The new rune system even means, that despite going full tank I still pack a punch thanks to grasp of the undying. I kind of miss the old rune page + mastery thing League used to have, but now that I've adjusted to the new system I will admit its superior.

Is it racist that they use Ahri when it first starts singing about Pokemon

ARURF IS UP BABY

Hello there, angel sisters.

Trailer's in Chinese, but it's both a visual update and a rework for both Kayle and Morgana.

And here's in English.

Edited by FergardStratoavis on Feb 18th 2019 at 6:35:02 PM

Here's the Surrenderat20 post about the announcement.

The blurb gives us some clues onto the story/characterization of the two:

Well Morgana looks pretty great. The updated look and animations really work for her, I think, and based on the blurb looks like they're going for her being a Well-Intentioned Extremist rather than the straight up dark, vengeance-seeking person she is pre-rework. Can't wait to see all of the skins in her updated model.

Kayle...I don't know if I'm crazy about her design losing its "warrior in huge, heavy armor" in favor of what looks like some sleek bodysuit-armor hybrid, but at least there's no more Viewer Gender Confusion? I had a feeling they'd go Seraphim on us with the multiple wings, and it is pretty cool that they seem to change color. Her kit seems to retain most of its identity too.

I imagine they're setting up a Not So Different with her and Kayle and this is gonna be another Light Is Not Good critique. Says they're from an Aspect, which would indicate Targon, but I think on the Universe they're currently associated with Demacia, and with more Demacia lore coming in the wake of Sylas, they might be featured a lot.

Oh hey Morgana has legs now

And I think she's voiced by Erica Lindbeck now?

NOW WHERE'S KAYLE'S ARMOUR DAMMIT (truth be told, her armour always did have an exposed-though-clothed midriff and crotch, but still...this is tons more blatant with how it's set up) I kinda hope they bothered with a legacy skin for her.

Yeah, Kayle's old armor wasn't perfect (it had a boob plate, which is a stupid design for many reasons people have made videos about), but I think it did a way better job communicating her "stoic, justice-seeking badass angel warrior" more than the new one, which is a bit more like "skin-tight bodysuit with bits of armor stuck on."

Looking at the trailer again looks like there are a few times where she gains a bit more armor (and more wings), and she's got the most armor on during her ultimate...I can't help but feel her base design got a Fanservice Pack with the upgrade which is iffy because Kayle was originally one of the most-dressed and least-fanservicey women in a cast that admittedly has a lot of fanservicey designs. They could've made it a lot worse, but...eh...

Really hoping for that traditional skin.

True that Morgana's design is more outwardly revealing, but I feel like it fits her more rebellious attitude and style. Plus original Morgana was a lot more revealing in the first place. At least her top is connected to her skirt and it's a dress now instead of a weird bra-skirt combo.

Edited by ILikeRobots on Feb 18th 2019 at 12:03:40 PM

I actually heard a decent argument that boob plate is significantly less insane than usually complained about. I suppose that an argument remains against it in that it is still entirely unrealistic because it hasn't actually existed in history, while female warriors have.

And here's a tweet which I suppose lends credence to my Morgana VO guess.

Edited by VutherA on Feb 18th 2019 at 3:24:13 PM

I've seen that video, but I've also seen debunking and critiques of Shadiversity's points, but the practicality of it is only a small gripe I have with it. My main complaint with it is that it just looks stupid in general. It just comes off as stupidly shoehorned-in fanservice on a character that would otherwise be in regular, practical and normal-looking armor, 'cause can't have a female character whose boobs aren't front and center at all times even when they shouldn't be. The fact that it's everywhere in fantasy media just makes it more annoying.

Luckily though, from my visit to the League boards, seems like a lot of the community has the same issues with Kayle's new design. There are a few pretty extensive posts on the topic.

In other news, though, I played the first game of League that I've played for months. Rakan support alongside a Xayah. Was actually a blast. Of course, our Xayah got ridiculously fed and carried, but I got some pretty clutch knock ups and charms to help us secure Baron and run down mid to end.

Edited by ILikeRobots on Feb 18th 2019 at 11:13:09 AM

Lore is out. I'm getting really tired of the "previously good character is an asshole and previously bad character is just misunderstood" schtick.

They seem to be on a really hard Light Is Not Good and Knight Templar kick. Seems to have started once Demacia got turned into one of the most objectively prejudiced/terrible nation in that it has few if any redeeming features.

I get wanting to gray up your world after the very simplistic morality of the previous continuity, but...I mean...there is overcompensating. Old Morgana didn't really have much character depth beyond "vengeful and dark," so it's at least more interesting, but I can totally understand the annoyance.

Edited by ILikeRobots on Feb 19th 2019 at 12:11:09 PM

Right? They went out of their way to make Noxus and Zaun and even Bilgewater more three-dimensional and make them into believable nations with ups and downs, then they take Demacia and make it into a borderline Straw Dystopia. There's just no redeeming qualities to it at all now, they're just a bigoted, insular, disproportionately arrogant backwater. Even Piltover got off better.

For real. It's starting to look like the writing staff has a real vendetta against Demacia for some reason. All of the other previously "good" nations from the last continiuity got grayed up, but still retained good traits to make them believable societies. (Piltover's classism and wealth disparity vs. it's technological innovation and imagination; Ionia's beautiful, harmonic philosophy vs. its civil struggles and treatment of the Vastaya as second-class denizens), but what did previous Big Good Demacia get?

Insular and magephobic. That's it. What does Demacia have to offer at all? It's more like a cult that owns a city-state. The rivalry between Noxus and Demacia from the previous continuity had so much potential going into the new continuity, especially with a more complex Noxus.

Not only has Demacia been majorly Out of Focus as far as lore is concerned (granted, Sylas' release said we're getting more), but it's probably less 3-dimensional than previous Demacia was, somehow (remembering Lux's old lore, with her being a Stepford Smiler conscript). I'm hoping that this new lore delivers, because otherwise Demacia will be a good example on how not to try and gray up a previously unrealistic society.

Anyway, a pretty good short story featuring Sejuani, Udyr and Volibear. Looks like the ol' bear is getting a Darker and Edgier reboot, and it sounds sick as fuck.

Yeah, Demacia being portrayed as insular is definitely overbearing, but I do feel like I'd at least give them points for not making it full of the classical feudal monarchical power abuses.

Do you recall any of the responses to it? Just wondering, for, yanno, SCIENCE.

But yeah, boobplate is definitely a rule that I'm happy to see exceptions to.

...and it seems like her alternate skins are generally going with the same kinda very-form-fitting torso too.

Question: after looking at the Annie cinematic and reading one or two of her backstories... I still don't get it. Why is Annie here at all? Prior to the New 52-ifying of League where there was an Institute and all of that she was one of those who got summoned to battle. The only stories I've seen for her involve matricide, and later she burns down a bar.

So somehow she just ended up being a champion?

Or is it that in the current state of League she's just wandering around torching bad people? Or are we not supposed to question why she's here?

Edited by Soble on Sep 11th 2019 at 7:08:43 AM

The League isn't a thing anymore. Hasn't been for like, four years. There's no in-canon explanation of why the champions are in the game.

The poro on this page is one of the saddest things I have ever seen.

(I think it's from one of them new games they're making)

Edited by VutherA on Oct 16th 2019 at 9:49:28 AM