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@IronStylus "I'll mention it when I'm not as busy. So yeah, there's that."

HumanPerfect·8/7/2015, 1:19:13 PM·39 votes·6,685 views

That was over 2 weeks ago in regards to Fiora's "VU". I know you must be such a busy man, but would you mind indulging us and gracing us with your presence?

http://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/story-art/VLfBscds-fiora-vu-vs-current-fiora?comment=00000000

[{quoted}](name=Knight Auditor,realm=NA,application-id=6kFXY1kR,discussion-id=VLfBscds,comment-id=00000000,timestamp=2015-07-21T23:47:12.060+0000) People complained about a lot of things with Fiora, but never her visuals. I simply don't understand why they felt they had to do this, and no explanation has been forthcoming. You'll note they don't mention it once in the release, which is pretty telling if you ask me. They know this isn't going to be popular, they're just going to ram it through because reasons.

I, too, am curious. Some people like the new Fiora default skin. Some people were attached to the old Fiora default skin. By Riot's own admittance, Fiora's models weren't significantly out of date. If we had had Fiora's post-rework skin from the start and Fiora's pre-rework skin were to be released tomorrow as a purchasable skin, nobody would have really batted an eye. I just don't understand why it had to be done away with altogether.

I think the common arguments against the old skin is that it doesn't really scream "fencer" and that some people have a problem with the "hear-shaped" breastplate. Well, I've never seen anyone go into a life-or-death fight wearing the white bodysuit that the fencing SPORT is known for and I feel like any armor is better than none. I believe that her pre-rework default gave her SOME armor yet looked form-fitting and easy to move in, whereas post-rework Fiora default somehow manages to look more bulky and less mobile without armor, especially with that gargantuan asymmetrical shoulderpad.

But as I said before, I completely understand that some people prefer the new Fiora default. I'm just genuinely curious to find out the reasoning behind why Riot felt the need to completely do away with the old Fiora default and shift it in a very different direction when so many people were attached to her old iconic garb.

If you reply to this, I sincerely thank you in advance for your time.

43 Comments

KING OF MASKS8/7/2015, 5:14:47 PM17 votes

The tri-cape... the high collar... the ornamental armor...

Ugh. Fiora will be sorely missed.

junglerboy168/7/2015, 8:20:13 PM16 votes

Actually, as a former fencer I can say her old outfit looked more suited to dueling than her new one. Her new one leaves her legs totally unprotected. While most top-notch fencers (as in, a lot better than me) don't get hit very often at all, the place that people get hit the most actually isn't the torso, it the legs. A good swordsman/woman who practices dueling in particular is trained to defend their torso and head as their first and foremost priority, since it doesn't matter if you can protect you feet if you then get skewered through the heart. Modern fencing gear is designed towards primarily padding the torso because it is the point that a fencer usually aims for (largest target which is also the one your tip is least likely to slide off).

In standard fencing, there are 9 normal parries, of which 1 is to protect your back, 2-3 (depends who you ask) are to protect your legs, and 5-6 are solely for protecting your head and torso (again depends who you ask). the sort of sheath-like leg gaurds she wore pre-VU would have been very effective at deflecting a sword-tip while allowing her to focus on her torso which was defended primarily by her blade rather than her armor. they also relfect on the style of boots popular at the peak of dueling culture in Europe, which often times reached well above the knees on men.

I never played old Fiora and honestly hated her pre rework (still not a huge fan) but I always smiled when I looked at her portrait or model because she looked authentic. From her smug grin to her efficient apparel to her unique but realistic blade, she at least looked the part even if her kit didn't really live up to her theme.

Also, her old walk/run animation matches the stride of a fencer WAY better than her new animation, because she used to use deliberate heel-toe strides in a graceful manner, similar to proper fencing form, where now she sort of bounds around like she's wearing a pair of moonboots with a 10 pound weight hanging around her neck.

Duke Anax8/7/2015, 1:25:15 PM14 votes

actually a lot of historic fencers would go into combat without armor, because the idea was not getting hit in the first place, rather than taking a hit well.

Eeyore8/7/2015, 8:00:11 PM5 votes

They definitely should have released a traditional skin, or at least released the new skin as an alternate skin. However, like Gangplank and Miss Fortune, the new skin shouldn't have been advertised as a "traditional skin" - but, rather, re-release her old skin as "Crown's Guard Fiora", or something, given she used to have Demacian colors and her cape was an ornate version of the Demacian crest. No idea if it was intended to remove her Demacian ties in her VU... perhaps the change is preceding a Demacian event?

To be fair - I like the new skin. The only thing I dislike is the new cape. Both because it's less interesting and because it wasn't reanimated - it stretches and warps over the old 3-part-cape animations.

Annapii8/7/2015, 7:43:07 PM4 votes

I don't think either costume particularly makes sense for a duelist. But I liked Fiora's original costume because it at least looked aesthetically pleasing. The new one is both impractical and silly looking. It could be loads improved by fixing up the collar and the shoulder-whatever tho.

Hupsis8/7/2015, 1:54:15 PM3 votes

I still remember the early days when I got into this game and scrolled through all the champions and watched their ability videos. Two characters struck my eye as being very bland graphically. Those two were Fiora and Karma.

Karma got her rework and she became more vibrant and got herself a new attire (and became my main). Fiora was still this woman who mostly wore grey armor and had very little color to her kit and thus my first impression of her was: boring.

The new Fiora seems more memorizable and visually interesting.

A little Peepo8/7/2015, 2:16:03 PM3 votes

As an artist you are never satisfied with your work and you always tend to find something you can improve on, regardless of what anybody else thinks. You can't exactly tell the artist what is better and what is worse by no means unless they are selling it to you (which they are not, if you own fiora they already did)

When people try to get all technical with her kit (heavy shoulder pads) take a look at the game and tell me of anything makes sense? (D raven shoots an unlimited amount of swords, sivir carries how many boomerangs? Most female characters are overly exposed for doing into battle, how does MF shoot that many bullets out of 2 guns? How come evelynn received a tank based ult when she herself is a walking stripper and how does she think she won't call any attention walking around while wearing that? The list goes on)

The day you design something you will sort of understand a little better why they do what they do. Tbh it doesn't surprise me since riot has a lot of picky designers when it comes to the art and they always tend to spend more time with the art than anything else.

And by reading irons reply it just pretty much proves my point, do not mess with an artists work. If anything idk what the whole commotion is, this community just wants to have something to complain about every single time and I can tell they don't care anymore. They want to turn league into what they want, not what the players want.

catraven8/8/2015, 5:58:33 AM2 votes

I think the common arguments against the old skin is that it doesn't really scream "fencer"

Neither does putting hair over her eye. Why didn't you mention that?

Doktor X8/13/2015, 6:07:26 AM2 votes

I tried post-rework Fiora a few days ago. My first thought: "this walk is ridiculous." Why does she prance across the rift now?

Also, bump.

Count Buffon8/7/2015, 10:46:06 PM2 votes

That splash art...

http://globe-views.com/dcim/dreams/ostrich/ostrich-04.jpg

8th Espada8/8/2015, 2:56:59 PM2 votes

.

HumanPerfect9/6/2015, 7:40:12 PM1 votes

It's been over a month now...

Photos of Ghosts8/7/2015, 5:29:15 PM1 votes

Bump

PureCancer8/7/2015, 11:25:31 PM1 votes

to be honest.. i love the new fiora splash art it fits her more in the game

lCantPauseltMom8/13/2015, 7:51:37 AM1 votes

There are plenty of reasons the old one was a good fit between appearance, kit, and lore; I do appreciate someone matching all three for a champion concept. I do kendo, so if someone made a champion based on the art of kendo and messed it up it might irk me a bit too.

But at the end of the day, whether or not she changes again just enjoy her now. If you don't play Fiora, then there is no worries you don't have a thing to worry about. If you do play Fiora and are thinking of giving her up because of her new looks and walk animation, then you've forgotten that part of every champion is to be played and enjoyed. In the heat of a teamfight, the last think I'm thinking about is "What a funny walk animation" or "That style of armour is not going to block a damn thing".

Some champions are played because of kit and enjoyability; others are played because you like the lore and theme. Some for both. But don't give up enjoying your favourite champion over a couple of visual changes. That's not what league is about, and it seems some people have forgotten that.