Akali tattoo not canon anymore? Mistake in texture and splash art update?

Are·Sep 16, 2014·24 votes·27,623 views

Hi guys. Regarding the recent Akali splash art and texture update, I'm concerned that she lost her tattoo/mark on her outfit. If you don't know what I'm talking about, I marked some pictures.

Unfortunately, these amazing and absolutely top notch boards will only allow me to post four pictures, so I will have to redirect you to my original thread in the regular forums if you'd like to see the rest of the pictures and comparisons.

Was the removal of the mark intentional? I think that it added a lot to her character considering that she's only the Fist of Shadow because of her mother. It's something embedded into her. It's also on Shen and Kennen's model (Link to thread with pictures).

24 Comments

IMTOOJUICYSep 17, 20148 votes

Maybe they moved the tattoo so that she now has a hidden tramp stamp?

Shamefur DispraySep 17, 20144 votes

Inb4 we see Akali on Kinkou Gone Wild... not that I'm pre-ordering my copy or anything... cough cough

IMTOOJUICYSep 17, 20142 votes

GGW: Ionian Edition

Ahri, Akali, Karma, Sona, Irelia, Soraka, my god, the possibilities are endless.

Neo CyrusSep 17, 20142 votes

How dare you forget Syndra!

IMTOOJUICYSep 18, 20141 votes

She's my waifu. I don't want my waifu showing her goods to the world.

Brokeback VarusSep 20, 20141 votes

The fan art says she's been doing this

IMTOOJUICYSep 20, 20141 votes

...

Hey there, Zyra, how YOU doing.

bunsenhoneydew77Sep 17, 20148 votes

The ultimate goal is to make Akali look just like Zac. A big green smudge.

Neo CyrusSep 17, 20142 votes

Honestly all the new skins look like smudges compared to the old ones. It seems their goal is to reduce file sizes by making textures lack anything and to set a new super low bar to make future skins easier. Take a look at the upcoming Fnatic skins, completely flat and dull, no well done details to speak of.

BoyahdaSep 17, 20144 votes

Rito pls fix

ChaosThiefSep 18, 20142 votes

Hey there, a recent PBE patch has added in the tattoo on the front, not sure about the shoulder/neck one though, I'm assuming that's there too.

Grizzley117Sep 18, 20142 votes

In the most recent PBE update, they have added back the tattoo and the designs that you pointed out.

PhoenixSlayer13Sep 17, 20141 votes

This actually raises an interesting point. I'm assuming that it's a symbol of the Kinkou Order, which Akali, Shen, and Kennen are members of (or were before it was destroyed by Zed). Granted, it's not the biggest thing, but if it's being removed from Akali, it should probably be removed from Shen and Kennen as well.

Any Red want to comment on this?

AreSep 17, 20141 votes

It is indeed a symbol of the Kinkou. Shen an Kennen have these marks on their model as well

NaharaSep 17, 20141 votes

I believe Riot commented on something like this a while back, saying little details like this are nice, but they're getting removed because they're "visual noise" or something like that; pretty to look at when you can actually appreciate the detail, but you're hardly ever doing that in a match.

AreSep 17, 20143 votes

This is essentially the same as removing Katarina's scar.

Emmy Cha0sSep 20, 20141 votes

I can't say I agree with this line of thinking, 'Gameplay Over Aesthetics.' Why sacrifice one over the other? It's like playing Pokemon X/Y and then saying, "Ew, this is too visually appealing. I'm going back to Red/Blue." There needs to be a balance between the two, yet we're getting nerfs labeled as "reworks" as seen by the recent Sona nerfs and at the same time, the in-game character models are becoming bland and boring. Everything looks like plastic, there are no shadings, contrasts or depth, they seem to be sticking to a basic 10-color pallet and then details both major and minor are just being removed completely. I have to say they're heading backwards on both sides, both gameplay and aesthetics.

On the other hand, they keep increasing details and visual aesthetics for the Rift itself. All these pointless background woodland creatures for example. What's up with the double-standard?

ClovrfieldSep 17, 20141 votes

If I may say something, the new Akali splash doesn't display the markings on the places you have pointed out either. This might suggest what you are saying is true.

As balance dictates Akali

AreSep 17, 20141 votes

I've noted this in my other thread. I had more attachments to put up, but the oh so amazing boards will only allow you to post four attachments. Visit my original thread in GD to see more pictures.

TehNACHOSep 17, 20141 votes

It probably was intentional. Unfortunately or not, Riot's been remaking models to be cleaner looking without too many details that you can not possibly make out (clearly) when fully panned out, as is going to be the case for the large majority of the time while in game.

I really wished that each champion has two 'appearances', a detailed appearance for when you zoom in and the simpler version zoomed out. I (unlike many others, it seems) actually like some of the more simpler models when zoomed out but I would always like a breath of detail when I close in on a character.

SayathSep 17, 20141 votes

Yeah, it's a pity really. However, I'm still wondering whether Riot does any Akali texture changes at all beyond fixing the Silverfang skin. The update to the base splash and to Stinger only slightly changed the hair. It definitely looks better now, but I wouldn't call it a significant increase in detail either.

They might at least return the detail to the hair on all skins (e.g., All-star and Crimson) if they choose to do nothing beyond that. Otherwise, I'm gonna be really disappointed.