Cassiopeia's New Lore and why I find it unsatisfying

Preface

Cassiopeia was my favorite champion from when I started playing (Nocturne Patch) to 4.16. I liked her lore, I loved her playstyle and I adored her appearance and voice. There wasn't anything I didn't like about the champion. With 4.16 - all of these things were scooped and while the new VO has a lot of charm the GU and Lore leave a ton to be desired. I will only be going over my problems with the new Lore in this post. Since I don't have PBE access Stashu made it pretty clear my opinion on the GU isn't wanted.

I'm going to quote the old lore and the new lore, and point out the pieces that were removed that really lessen the draw of Cassiopeia, her individuality and her personality.

Old Lore

While her sister Katarina has always been the most celebrated member of the household, the Du Couteau family has a long history of service to Noxus. It has often been said that no soldier has ever been as fortunate as General Du Couteau to have been graced with daughters. His youngest, Cassiopeia - despite lacking her sister's killer instincts - was equally renowned in at court for her stately character and elegance. Cunning as she was beautiful, the temptress could never be found far from the arm of any foreign dignitary, her wiles prying secrets from the lips of even the most wary attaché. With the Noxian barbarian pacification campaign having ground to a standstill, Cassiopeia had set her sights on a diplomat from a tribe of the Freljord region. Thinking him an easy mark, the scheming seductress set about beguiling him. He refused to confide in her, however, until she swore an oath of secrecy upon his sword - a strange weapon with a serpentine curve to the blade.

Once her tryst was over, Cassiopeia provisioned her father with information regarding the barbarian resistance. As she divulged this intelligence, a wave of revulsion washed over her. She screamed in agony as her silky skin hardened to scales, her lustrous hair thickened to leather, and her manicured fingernails sharpened to claws. Dazed, she fell upon a group of horrified servants, rending them limb from limb in a heartbeat. When it was over the blood soaked figure was no longer the ravishing jewel of the Noxian court, but a horror trapped somewhere between woman and serpent. Unable to serve in her traditional capacity, Cassiopeia departed for the League, continuing her service to Noxus on the Field of Justice.

New Lore

Cassiopeia is a terrifying creature - half woman, half snake - whose slightest glance brings death. The youngest daughter of one of Noxus' most influential families, she was once a beautiful and cunning temptress capable of manipulating the hardest heart. Transformed by the venom of an ancient Shuriman tomb guardian, she continues to serve Noxian interests as she always has, just in a more... visceral way.

The Problems

• Cassiopeia's origins are white-washed in the new lore. She's just "a daughter of an influential family". Is she even a Du Couteau anymore? Is living in Katarina's shadow something that no longer applies to her? Are they even sisters anymore?

• Is she even involved in court and politics anymore? Or is she just another version of Katarina, going on missions outside of Noxus to press Noxian influence on other regions? Because that's all she does in the cinematic, and nothing is described in this sad little blurb.

• Why is her only betrayal to Sivir? How did she know about the tomb, or the key being the Crossblade? Why isn't she prying this secret from hapless Shuriman diplomat who makes her swear an oath? If she did, why aren't we being told?

Example Suggestion

I took parts of the old lore that don't step on the Shuriman update's toes, but ended it with the shown cinematic interaction between her and Sivir, then used the new blurb's ending line to finish it off. It covers every issue that bothers me, and I'm sure a lot of other old Cassiopeia fans. Her family origin is still in place, her sibling rivalry with Katarina is still a shown possibility. She's still stated to have a hand in the Noxian political landscape, and she's still tempting important foreign figures (instead of just being stated as a temptress, who is she tempting? It's important!). And she's shown a predilection to betray, something that's also pretty important. And it goes over how she learned that there was powerful treasure in this tomb and not just leaving it to be assumed as common knowledge among all the characters in the Shurima update without explanation.

While her sister Katarina has always been the most celebrated member of the household, the Du Couteau family has a long history of service to Noxus. It has often been said that no soldier has ever been as fortunate as General Du Couteau to have been graced with daughters. His youngest, Cassiopeia - despite lacking her sister's killer instincts - was equally renowned in court for her stately character and elegance. Cunning as she was beautiful, the temptress could never be found far from the arm of any foreign dignitary, her wiles prying secrets from the lips of even the most wary attaché. With the Noxian barbarian pacification campaign having ground to a standstill, Cassiopeia had set her sights on a diplomat from a tribe of the Shurima region. He refused to confide in her, however, until she swore an oath of secrecy and promise she would not pursue the treasures he was about to describe.

More interested in powerful artifacts than keeping a promise to a weak, pathetic man, Cassiopeia set out for Shurima immediately once her tryst was over. Employing one of the most famous bounty hunters and tomb raiders of the region, Sivir, she delved in to the ancient tomb which was full of traps and pitfalls. Once at the heart of the tomb, she betrayed Sivir only to fall in to the jaws of the tomb's stone serpent guardian. Transformed by the venom of the ancient Shuriman tomb guardian, she continues to serve Noxian interests as she always has, just in a more... visceral way.