What's so valuable about the lore?

Cross-posting from the Forums

I feel like there are some questions that have to be asked to the community at this current moment in time:

**Why do you like/care about the Lore of League of Legends?

Corollary: Why do you like/care about the Institute of War and the Summoners? What is the League of Legends to you?**

I think we can all agree that non-lore fans would not bat an eyelash over the proposed (and seemingly inevitable) lore changes. This should just be like a champion kit rework - Riot should take into consideration which characteristics of the current lore are essential and important to the lore fans, and try to keep those intact as they work around the other things. The IoW and the lore mean different things to everyone, and I feel like what something means is more important than the thing itself, and that we should make a list of what we think are great/not so great about the current lore/potential changes so that Riot can work with it. Example point: If you're worried that the IoW is something unique to LoL in the MOBAsphere and removing it would make LoL generic but Riot is unwilling to keep the IoW, can't we reach a compromise by making Riot see that what we want is something that makes LoL unique? If you believe Katarina's ties to Marcus are integral to her character, can't we show Riot so maybe they'll be more careful with erasing character ties in the future?

Personally what makes LoL lore interesting and unique to me is the humanity of many of the stories. I identify with certain personality traits/words/feelings that are described in lore and other stories, and I want Riot to keep trying to make stories relatable, IoW or no. I miss the feeling of being determined to buy Diana even though I knew as a support main I wouldn't be able to play her well, just because I love her lore and I want to support someone like her (a misunderstood child who has always been dismissed and shut down by authorities and people she trusts, only to finally liberate herself and set off on a journey to validate the truth). I identify with Rumble's determination to succeed as himself without having to possibly compromise his own identity (being a yordle in a yordle world) and Zyra's will to expand and live against all odds in a strange world. To me, the Institute is something unique to LoL and the physical manifestation of the situation of a cold war. The League of Legends to me can either be the IoW definition, or just 1) people who don't care about the lore playing a game with skillshots and cooldowns for fun or 2) people who care about the lore acting as summoners for the champions that they identify themselves with or have attachments to, and wanting those champions to win.

I apologize if the post is not the most eloquent. I just believe a point should be made about what values/themes about the lore are the most important to us. Would anyone like to share their thoughts?