New Champion Q&A: Jhin, the Virtuoso [COMPLETED]

RiotA Small Man·Feb 2, 2016·57 votes·268,054 views

Hey everyone!

We've gathered a bunch of Rioters from the Jhin team for some Q&A about the Virtuoso himself! Whether you're interested in Jhin's gameplay, story, or art, ask away and we'll be happy to answer!

Check out these links if you need to get up to speed:

Mind of the Virtuoso: I will make you beautiful. I will make you perfect.

Champion Reveal: Jhin, the Virtuoso: Check out Jhin's reveal.

Champion Bio: Jhin, the Virtuoso: Art requires a certain...cruelty.

Champion Insights: Jhin, the Virtuoso: The story behind Jhin's creation.

Jhin Champion Spotlight: Check out Jhin's gameplay.

1,142 Comments

RiotWAAARGHboboFeb 2, 201647 votes

This keeps coming up so I'll make a separate post here.

His arm isn't robotic. He's got a black body sleeve on. Iinna creepy gimp way). The gold armor on his sleeve is to protect him from the weapons magical recoil.

The shoulder is part of his weapon, It carries huge containers of magical energy shells.

Artificial HumanFeb 2, 201618 votes

What? How is this even possible? His "robotic arm" doesnt look like it has enough room for a biological arm. The same goes for the legs, just look at the foots.

http://i.imgur.com/IJK2WGK.jpg

mckaøsFeb 2, 201614 votes

I don't want to say a riot employee is wrong, but from the looks of it, his arm actually has ball joints and sockets where they should be on a human. Especially his elbow and wrist.. I honestly think whoever drew the splash art may have interpreted it as a robotic arm? Take a close look at the splash, it may have to be revised? https://i.gyazo.com/71381f9388edd6ee1c147e2c35943115.jpg

TerribleTyphonFeb 2, 201643 votes

Back in the 1920's, a Finnish sniper by the name of Simo Häyhä fought for Finland against the soviet union. During that time we was credited with 505 sniper kills over the course of about 100 days. He was nicknamed "White Death" for his white parka that he wore on missions during the snow filled winter. His military carrier was ended when he face tanked an explosive bullet. He face was disfigured until his death in 2002.

Link to Simo Häyhä Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simo_H%C3%A4yh%C3%A4

When making Jhin was any inspiration taken from this real life sniper's history? If not, then could we see a White Death skin in the future for him?

RiotWAAARGHboboFeb 2, 201664 votes

So, we do a tremendous amount of research when working on a new champ. Yep, this guy showed up on early mood boards-- esp that he refused to use a scope. Simo would be a good inspiration for a military skin. +1!

Dragon Fang ShotFeb 2, 201610 votes

I'm assuming he would end up getting an Arctic Ops skin since that's already a skin theme then?

RiotKindlejackFeb 2, 201623 votes

Yeah WAAARGHbobo presented this story and we did think about Arctic Ops for his launch skin. I think it'd be a great fit for him.

7Artemis7Feb 2, 201628 votes

What's Karma's relationship to Jhin and the faction of the council that freed him?

RiotWAAARGHboboFeb 2, 201614 votes

None. She grew up in Ionian though, so she's heard stories of the Golden Demon. She wouldn't believe you if you told her he was free.

Chromatic EagleFeb 2, 201618 votes

Isn't she an Elder? How wouldn't she know?

How widespread does info go about in Ionia?

Alpha SkarnerFeb 2, 201625 votes

First I would like to say I LOVE Jhin! When I saw the promotional video and his kit, I knew he would fit my play style (besides Skarner of course :P). And god that voice is BEAUTIFUL!

But enough about my blabbering, here are a couple of my questions...

(1.) Is Jhin possessed by a demon or some unknown entity?

The reason I bring this up is because of two interesting things I've noticed about him. The first is that is his death animation; Jhin's mask levitates up the air off his face for a moment before falling back on top his face when he dies. This caught my attention because when I studied his death animation more, I noticed that it looks like he is reaching out in the air towards his floating mask, only for it to ram itself back onto his face (rather violently). Is some correlation between his mask flying and his desperate attempt to reach for it?

The second thing is his quote,"You've awoken something deep inside me." Now this quote can be interpreted different ways, like he is referring to his obsession, but I suspect there is something darker about our virtuous killer. Is there some unknown force that drives Jhin to this level of insanity, to the point where he views his work as art?

(2.) What is his reaction to Kindred? Does he show any appreciation towards them?

We know that before Jhin was caught, he worked as part of a Ionian theater. So, with that in mind, we know that Kindred has had some sort of theatrical representation with their backstory in "The Good Death". Is it possible that, because of his theatrical experience, that he has seen/heard of Kindred's myth? If so, does he have any respect for their work now that he gets to go up against the Eternal Hunters since both associate themselves with death; the only difference being that Kindred is the actual personification of death whereas Jhin enjoys inflicting death through his work of art?

(3.) Why does Jhin despise Illaoi so much?

This baffles me because from Illaoi's perspective, Jhin is "in motion". He is doing what he wants, which to her is what Nagakabouras wants. So why is it that our masked assassin hates her so much?

(4.) My final question, what exactly causes Jhin's victims to explode into lotus flowers?

DSRM MobiusFeb 2, 20164 votes

In Jhin's laugh animation he takes off his mask to reveal a black head with no face, I am very interested to know if Jhin has a face.

RiotSquad5Feb 2, 201631 votes

He has a face! He's wearing a hood/mask underneath his mask. Of course, who knows if that face is just another mask?

RiotRiot BrightmoonFeb 2, 201636 votes

The mask is a lie

RiotAD YuumiFeb 2, 201622 votes

He does have a face! Jhin is very much a human and tends to blend in if he goes out without his "costume" (he can take the shoulder cannon off). He's just wearing a leather cover under his mask. If you look closely you can see a hole torn in it that reveals one of his eyes.

RiotAD YuumiFeb 2, 201621 votes

Nope no possession.
The thing about Kindred is that they don't have "work" that can be shown. Being the grim reaper, Kindred "kills" people who are already dead. As such Jhin's performances effectively cause some of their appearances them rather than competing with them for kills.
WaarghBoBO probably can give a better explanation for this. All I know is that he wrote both Jhin and Illaoi and likes to poke fun at his past work.
Jhin's bullets are magical and crafted by him to create beautiful effects when they kill people. The flower is a specific "good gameplay approved" version of that for summoner's rift, but Jhin's bullets "IRL" likely have a lot of different effects.

RiotWAAARGHboboFeb 2, 201612 votes

[{quoted}](name=Alpha Skarner,realm=NA,application-id=cIfEodbz,discussion-id=WUwqmxEZ,comment-id=0008,timestamp=2016-02-02T18:45:29.632+0000)

First I would like to say I LOVE Jhin! When I saw the promotional video and his kit, I knew he would fit my play style (besides Skarner of course :P). And god that voice is BEAUTIFUL!

But enough about my blabbering, here are a couple of my questions...

(1.) Is Jhin possessed by a demon or some unknown entity?

The reason I bring this up is because of two interesting things I've noticed about him. The first is that is his death animation; Jhin's mask levitates up the air off his face for a moment before falling back on top his face when he dies. This caught my attention because when I studied his death animation more, I noticed that it looks like he is reaching out in the air towards his floating mask, only for it to ram itself back onto his face (rather violently). Is some correlation between his mask flying and his desperate attempt to reach for it?

The second thing is his quote,"You've awoken something deep inside me." Now this quote can be interpreted different ways, like he is referring to his obsession, but I suspect there is something darker about our virtuous killer. Is there some unknown force that drives Jhin to this level of insanity, to the point where he views his work as art?

(2.) What is his reaction to Kindred? Does he show any appreciation towards them?

We know that before Jhin was caught, he worked as part of a Ionian theater. So, with that in mind, we know that Kindred has had some sort of theatrical representation with their backstory in "The Good Death". Is it possible that, because of his theatrical experience, that he has seen/heard of Kindred's myth? If so, does he have any respect for their work now that he gets to go up against the Eternal Hunters since both associate themselves with death; the only difference being that Kindred is the actual personification of death whereas Jhin enjoys inflicting death through his work of art?

(3.) Why does Jhin despise Illaoi so much?

This baffles me because from Illaoi's perspective, Jhin is "in motion". He is doing what he wants, which to her is what Nagakabouras wants. So why is it that our masked assassin hates her so much?

(4.) My final question, what exactly causes Jhin's victims to explode into lotus flowers?

The question of demonhood (Sp?) Is and interesting philosophical question. Currently Jhin is a man-- a very driven and magically gifted one-- but only a man. In a land touched by so much magic... what would happen if he was killed.
Only a passing interest as "an artistic theme" he could explore in one of his "works."
Sooo... 'cause I worked on Illaoi just prior to him. (Also why he's so mean to Tahm Kench) [slayer-jinx-wink]
The bullets are fueled by magic instead of a chemical reaction. He makes them himself.

Natsu SwagneelFeb 2, 201625 votes

What's Jhin's sexuality (if he has one)? His VO and animations are on a Taric level of fabulousness.

RiotWAAARGHboboFeb 2, 201659 votes

Gun-sexual? Kill-sexual? Jhin doesn't understand sex in the same way you do (regardless of your gender identity).

taochiFeb 2, 201616 votes

What is jhins favorite food?

RiotWAAARGHboboFeb 2, 201672 votes

Dumplings.

Honor is DeadFeb 2, 201634 votes

jhingerbread

Nagoh ShanFeb 2, 20169 votes

Are you guys going to be comfortable if Jhin finds himself in more than one lane, or will you try to enforce specific positions for him?

RiotAD YuumiFeb 2, 201621 votes

We'd like Jhin to be able to duo lane as a marksman. If he goes anywhere else that's fine as long as he's not so powerful there that we have to balance his duo lane to be weak.

One place I have concerns about is jungle because I'm not sure if 2500 range pre-6 ganks are all that okay if he's super strong there.

Nagoh ShanFeb 2, 20164 votes

This is one thing that's made me wonder.

"So powerful" is not a technical measurement. Does this mean "If he's equally successful in multiple lanes" or does it mean "If his off-role outpaces his designed role"

Because Lissandra, Quinn, Graves, Vlad, Teemo, ect have all fit into both of those statements without adjustment. And if he's flexable in all roles except support, lets say, with a roughly equal success rate in each role, would that be allowable?

When you're looking at these things what is it that make you say it may be time to adjust, is basically what I'm asking?

RiotAD YuumiFeb 2, 201621 votes

I'll use Vi as an example here since this actually happened to her.

I designed Vi as a top laner. When she came out she was actually viable up there (heh Vi-able), but was MUCH stronger in the jungle. So strong in fact that she needed to be nerfed. Nerfs came in the form of R CD, Q damage/waveclear, and level 1 stats on W, all of which are CRUCIAL to being able to compete against things like Riven up top. So because of Vi's strength in jungle (and our decision to support her jungling) she was nerfed out of top lane.

With Jhin, we want to support his duo lane marksman role over anything else which means we'd nerf his mid if we felt it was preventing us from making him strong bot. This does not mean we'd nerf mid Jhin "just cause" (I'd prefer if both could be strong).

SG Lan LayerFeb 2, 20168 votes

What Jhin thinks about other murderers like Shaco, Nocturne or Fiddlesticks?

And why looks like everyone knows Garen and Katarina have feelings of each other? :/

RiotAD YuumiFeb 2, 201621 votes

I'd imagine he thinks they're pretty crude. Jhin believes death should be beautiful and deaths that aren't a "performance" feel like somewhat of a waste to him.

The Ruined KingFeb 2, 20168 votes

Was pretty bummed out he didn't actually have any lines for VI, even though she was in the teaser. Can you at least let us know why he wants/would want to kill her, or what his opinion of her is?

RiotWAAARGHboboFeb 2, 201614 votes

[{quoted}](name=The Ruined King,realm=NA,application-id=cIfEodbz,discussion-id=WUwqmxEZ,comment-id=004b,timestamp=2016-02-02T19:24:32.003+0000)

Was pretty bummed out he didn't actually have any lines for VI, even though she was in the teaser. Can you at least let us know why he wants/would want to kill her, or what his opinion of her is?

So the promo is not 1-1 with the champ. For visual interest.

But Jhin did have some lines making fun of VI... which were actually thinly veiled pokes at Gypsylord. They were cut before record.

ArcticSiriusFeb 2, 20166 votes

Noooooooooooooooooooo, please find a way to add them back in ;-;

RiotWAAARGHboboFeb 2, 201629 votes

They were never recorded. Too meta.

I think one was (mocking her voice) "I like punching people!" (then back in his own voice) "You don't have any design do you?

meh. If they had been great they would have made the cut.

Moral SupportFeb 2, 20166 votes

So, smooth or crunchy peanut butter?

RiotWAAARGHboboFeb 2, 201642 votes

"A sandwich? How gauche."

SharjoFeb 2, 20166 votes

Alright time for some narrative focused questions!

Jhin got his gear from the Kashuri armories, but how did they get there? Are said armories filled with Ionian made weapons and armour or was Jhin's stuff in particular imported from somewhere like Zaun or Piltover?
So I know that of course the only champion from the promos that Jhin has any direct relationship with is Zed, but I'm curious about Sona in particular. While a proper meeting between the two hasn't happened was Sona still in Ionia when Jhin was out and about? Hell would Sona even have been old enough to have access to news of a serial killer at the time?
Jhin of course has his opinions of Ionia in general, but does he have any specific opinions about some of the more well known faces of Ionia? Karma, Irelia, Syndra and Lee Sin come to mind personally, but are there any stand out Ionian figures that hold Jhin's interest beyond Shen and Zed?
Jhin's mask is clearly magical and there's something very odd about it. While the details probably aren't up for discussion at the moment do you have any hints to drop about it?

Jhin's a really interesting character for me and he's a ton of fun to play, so thank you guys for making him as awesome as he is!

RiotWAAARGHboboFeb 2, 201620 votes

{quoted}

Alright time for some narrative focused questions!

Jhin got his gear from the Kashuri armories, but how did they get there? Are said armories filled with Ionian made weapons and armour or was Jhin's stuff in particular imported from somewhere like Zaun or Piltover?

The Kashuri Armories have been making weapons for a long time--mostly swords and bows. The war changed that. They began making poor copies of hextech weapons during the war. Now they have been "inspired" to make new weapons harnessing the abundant magic in Ionia. Hextech uses a little bit of magic very efficiently. Jhin's weapons use a lot of magic.

So I know that of course the only champion from the promos that Jhin has any direct relationship with is Zed, but I'm curious about Sona in particular. While a proper meeting between the two hasn't happened was Sona still in Ionia when Jhin was out and about? Hell would Sona even have been old enough to have access to news of a serial killer at the time?

As hinted in his bio. Jhin frequently likes killing other famous artists. Sona is very, very famous.

Jhin of course has his opinions of Ionia in general, but does he have any specific opinions about some of the more well known faces of Ionia? Karma, Irelia, Syndra and Lee Sin come to mind personally, but are there any stand out Ionian figures that hold Jhin's interest beyond Shen and Zed?

Not particularly. He has a passing interest in killing Yi. The Wuju school, dwarfed the success of Jhin's father's martial art school. ....opps I've said too much.

Jhin's mask is clearly magical and there's something very odd about it. While the details probably aren't up for discussion at the moment do you have any hints to drop about it?

nope!

Jhin's a really interesting character for me and he's a ton of fun to play, so thank you guys for making him as awesome as he is!

From all of the team. THANX!

AlphadefFeb 2, 20168 votes

Not particularly. He has a passing interest in killing Yi. The Wuju school, dwarfed the success of Jhin's father's martial art school. ....opps I've said too much.

Why do you do this to us?

RiotWAAARGHboboFeb 3, 201622 votes

Tahm made me do it.

SolashFeb 2, 20165 votes

While we know that High Noon Jhin was a homage to his original concept, what other skin ideas were thrown around for him?

RiotRiot JinoFeb 2, 201631 votes

There were ideas with Project skin and Arcade skin :) We are saving those idea for future

N3rdismFeb 2, 201614 votes

I feel like an Arctic Ops skin would be really really cool on Jhin

OleandervineFeb 2, 20164 votes

Why was the idea to make him a cyborg cowboy scrapped? Why was there a need to bind him to Ionian lore? That concept would have fit very nicely in Noxus or in an outpost along the Shurima desert. I know you guys wanted to keep him that way, judging by the fact that there are unique voice lines tied to his High Noon skin only. Plus, compared to his current look, I think the green and black cowboy you posted in the making-of article looked very awesome.

RiotSquad5Feb 2, 201623 votes

I was always a big fan of the cyborg cowboy from the first piece of concept art that I saw of it. In regard to tying him into Ionia it wasn't really a need but more of an opportunity. Through Jhin we get to see a new side of Ionia. We see not only a darker aspect to their society (with him being released to kill again) but also show the fact that Ionia has different weapons and styles of fighting than things like the ninjas or the more mystical fighters.

Jhin's an entirely different side of Ionia, and I think his existence actually gives more depth and insight into that society.

RiotWAAARGHboboFeb 2, 201616 votes

Western isn't really in universe. We are trying to develop the world.

Jhin give us a chance to show that Ionia is in transition. The attack on their nation changed them. They are embracing technology they had previously thought unnecessary, and they are questioning their morale foundations. Jhin is the true villain of Zed and Shen's story-- and he represents everything that could go wrong for Ionia.

KhimeraFeb 2, 20163 votes

Hey there! Really excited for Jhin. Love his overall theme and design. A few questions I have: -What is his specific relation to Garen, Zed, Sona, and Vi? -Why were these four chosen for the promo videos? -What led to the huge thing on his shoulder? Thanks for your time and have a great one!

RiotWAAARGHboboFeb 2, 20169 votes

{quoted}

Hey there! Really excited for Jhin. Love his overall theme and design. A few questions I have: -What is his specific relation to Garen, Zed, Sona, and Vi? -Why were these four chosen for the promo videos? -What led to the huge thing on his shoulder? Thanks for your time and have a great one!

So some of this I just answered.

What led to the huge thing on his shoulder?

The cloak hides the final 2 pieces of his rifle. The gun is attached to his shoulder.

We were looking for Jhin to have secrets and be odd looking. The intention is for people playing against him to go "WTF is on his shoulder!? " Then his ult happens and you discover-- oh crap he has a huge gun!

DamnItChristianFeb 2, 20163 votes

You've mentioned that Jhin came around because Caitlyn didn't fit the sniper archetype as well as you'd like. Are there other examples where a champion currently fits into a role you think can be done differently or better?

RiotAD YuumiFeb 2, 201640 votes

There's a lot of characters we could improve. Personal opinions here: Vlad could be a better "aristocrat vampire" Aatrox could be a better "demon commander" Irelia could be a better "psychic blade wielder" Caitlyn could be a better "sharpshooter/sheriff/Piltovian high society lady/SOMETHING" - that character is a mess right now, just a sexy lady with a gun and a miniskirt. She makes me especially sad because she has so much POTENTIAL to be awesome. Her good cop/bad cop BFF's relationship with Vi works well for example...