Argie, the Acolyte of Iron

Role: Support #Background

Argie was a genius yordle from Bandle city whose grasp on robotics and cutting-edge technology earned her an esteemed position at a Piltoveran academy. Her story, at least at first, was similar to many others’; cranking out incredible inventions with apparent ease, she distanced herself from all others in her field and excelled beyond her rivals. Under the tutelage of another clanless person who’d risen on skill alone, Professor Vehlmus, she found all the tools she could ever ask for or need to make her imagination’s creations a reality.

Unfortunately, Clan Ferros had an heir at that academy who was meant to be the one to win accolades. They attempted to bribe Argie but she refused, pride too overpowering to allow such a thing, so next they attempted to bribe the teachers, but one would not be party to it- Argie’s favorite, Professor Velhmus.

Without any other way around it, Clan Ferros simply had Vehlmus disbarred and ostracized from Piltover’s scientific and social communities, drawing him up on falsified accusations of fraud and plagiarism. The next teacher was much more receptive to their advances and Argie, who’d been enjoying her spot at the top, was rapidly thrust into second or third place.

Rather than give up, though, she instead took it as a challenge to excel further, now enraged by the treatment of her idol and suspicious of the truth. Soon the Ferros heir’s victories grew more and more questionable, winning competitions with grossly inferior designs. Chatter began to spread, rumors of bribery and corruption, but Clan Ferros would not allow so public a humiliation.

Quickly and quietly, that yordle girl who’d challenged them for months was disposed of, expelled for cheating and stripped of her belongings. Within a day, there was no evidence that she’d ever been at the school in the first place; her trophies were given away and her creations destroyed.

Argie awoke in the slums of Zaun with nothing but her school backpack, which itself was soon stolen from her. Moneyless, powerless, lost, she had no way out and rapidly dwindling hope, so she placed it all on one final effort: Using the scraps of metal and parts kept in her pockets and what she could scrounge on the street, she created one final drone that would go to seek out Piltoverans and ask for their help.

Days passed, days with little or no food, and Argie’s last shred of hope slipped away. Without the speed to steal what she wanted or the strength to take it, she was nothing but a little yordle trapped in a situation beyond her control. Chemtech drugs provided her with happiness, soon becoming the only thing that did so, and very quickly Argie became hopelessly indebted to the street dealers.

When she ran out of tricks to play and ideas to sell, her supply of the chemtech trickled away, and finally she was left with a broken body and spirit. It was then, in her lowest point, that the one who’d been sought out by her robot finally arrived: an ex-Piltoveran named Viktor.

That little robot had sensed the Piltoveran technology in his laboratory and attempted to enter it, but was captured by the defenses. Viktor took it apart to find a surprising amount of ingenuity- something made of such crude material couldn’t be Piltoveran, but it was too advanced to come from the slums. The cry for help logged within it intrigued him enough to investigate the girl behind it; he soon discovered the events leading up to her exile and made his decision, going out to the slums to find her.

Sensing a kindred spirit in the exiled yordle, he did to her what he planned to do to the world, replacing her weak body with one made of metal, infinitely stronger and more useful. She awoke reborn in the steel and desperately loyal to the man who’d saved her, now living to see his dream become a reality, her hate for the unfair world transformed into a love for the ideal world of perfect, incorruptible steel.

Her own body was improved bit by bit, useful additions tacked on until she was bristling with inventions and capabilities. She became Viktor’s eyes in the sky, his agent in the streets, his harbinger who heralded the coming age of steel. Dreaming his dreams, she aids as he rebuilds the world, his most loyal and dependent follower: Argie, the Acolyte of Iron.

Appearance:

Argie appears as a very small robotic yordle with an array of various technological devices readied on her back, including several antennae and a satellite dish. She’s almost completely machine, but retains the shape of a yordle girl. Her (Q), (W), and (R) abilities all consist of her discharging some sort of device from her back, while her (E) causes her to transform into a drone, opening up four quadcopter rotors and losing her humanoid shape.

While supporting an allied hero in her (E) form, she appears as a drone that flies around in the air above them.

Her walk cycle is hurried and her attack animation is stabbing with a taser-like stick.

Voice: Selection: “Finally!” Ban: “Ugh, really?” First Movement: “Time to go, minions!” First Buy (to the shopkeeper): “A robot could do your job.” Spawn (Allied Viktor): “Master!” Spawn (Allied Jayce): “You’re never gonna win, you know.” Spawn (Allied Camille): “You gonna get rid of me if I do better than you?” Spawn (Allied Blitzcrank): “Figures the only decent Piltover bot was made by master…” Spawn (Enemy Camille): “Look out, guys, the Ferros one’s a cheater.” Encounter (Enemy Camille): “Look who’s ba-ack?” Takedown (Viktor): “I’m sorry, Master!” Takedown (Camille): “Do you regret it now?” Takedown (Piltoveran): “Suck it, Piltie!” Taunt (Camille): “I’m gonna show you that you were right to be scared…” Taunt (Corki): “You need a plane to fly? Lame.” Taunt (Jayce/Heimerdinger): “Those connections aren’t gonna help you now!” Taunt (Bandle City Yordles): “How’s lazytown treating ya?” Taunt (Jinx): “Ooh, big gun… compensating for something?”

#Stats Health 400 (+30 per level) Health Regen: 5 (+3.5 per level) Armor: 30 (+2.4 per level) Magic Resist: 28 (+2 per level) Attack Damage: 65 (+3 per level) Attack Speed: 0.5 (+2% per level) Movement Speed: 360 Basic Attack Range: 125

#Abilities ##P Acolyte of Iron

No Cost | Cooldown 80 seconds |

Argie’s (E) is learned at level one and can be levelled up to 6 times. It allows her to enter Drone Mode, changing her other abilities.

Furthermore, once every 80 seconds, Argie can channel for three seconds on an allied tower in order to call down a repair drone. Repair drones die to six champion basic attacks, regenerate health, and restore health to the turret equal to 1-5% (based on levels 1-18) of the turret’s health every second. They last until destroyed, but only one can be active on the map at once.

##Q Nanobots / Taser Drain

Cost 40 mana | Cooldown 45 seconds | Drone Cooldown 2 seconds |

Argie can cast this ability on an allied champion within 900 range to spread a swarm of little flying nanobots to them, restoring health equal to 100/150/200/250/300 + [160% AP] over 30 seconds. The nanobots visibly flutter around the champion for the duration.

Drone Mode: Argie targets an enemy within 700 units, dealing 40/55/70/85/100 + [40% AP] + [80% AD] by firing a zap of blue electricity from a small coil. Damaging an enemy with Taser Drain restores 30 + [10% AP] health to all allies affected by Nanobots. Taser Drain applies basic attack on-hit effects.

##W Reconnaissance Drone / Ironclad Defense

Cost 40/45/50/55/60 Mana | Cooldown 50 seconds | Drone Cooldown 13/12/11/10/9 seconds |

Argie sends out a reconnaissance drone to the target location within global range, making it reveal the area radius 800 units around itself, seeing over walls and into bushes, until destroyed by six champion basic attacks. An unlimited number of Reconnaissance Drones can be active on the map at any given time.

Drone Mode: Argie enacts a shield made of a bluish fence of electricity between floating metal generators around the target she is supporting, protecting them from 100/130/160/190/220 + [70% AP] damage and removing any crowd control effects active on them, as well as protecting them from any further crowd control effects while the shield is active.

##E Drone Mode / Tactical Mode

No Cost | Cooldown 0.5 seconds |

Argie channels for 2 seconds on an allied champion, turret, or minion in order to take to the skies as a drone that circles above the target’s head. While in Drone Mode, Argie cannot take damage, gains the gold earned by the Drone target, and cannot basic attack. If the Drone Mode target dies, Argie is returned to normal form, expelled onto the ground, and stunned for two seconds. Argie can take control over minions affected by Drone Mode, inputting movement and attack commands as if she was playing as them.

The target of Drone Mode gains a shield equal to 100% of Argie’s bonus health that regenerates after 6 seconds of not taking champion or turret damage. They also gain Attack Damage, Attack Speed, Critical Strike Chance, Ability Power, Resistance Penetration, and Lifesteal equal to 25/40/55/70/85/100% of her bonus stats of those types, as well as the passives she gains from items. They gain only 10/15/20/25/30/35% of the bonus Armor and Magic Resistance she gains.

Drone Mode: Argie leaves Drone Mode, dropping out of the sky at the feet of the target ally.

##R Revolutionize / Eradicator Missile

Cost 100 mana | Cooldown 60/50/40 seconds | Drone Cooldown 12 seconds |

Argie upgrades an allied turret at the end of its lane, adding a small mechanized gate at the bottom that allied minions will pass through. Allied minions that do pass through the gate are Mechanized, taking on a battlecast appearance and gaining increased stats:

Melee Minion: 200/300/400 + [40% AP] Health | Caster Minion: 40/60/80 + [30% AP] Attack Damage | Cannon Minion: (30/45/60 + [5% AP])% Attack Speed | Super Minion: All of the Above

Only one turret may be upgraded at a time, and when the turret is destroyed, the gate goes away. Powered-up minions grant the normal amount of gold and experience if killed, but any minions or towers that they kill grant Argie the gold and experience as if she had been there.

Drone Mode: Argie fires off a missile at a location within 700 units, which deals 120/180/240 + [80% AP] + [100% AD] magic damage after 1 second to all enemies in an area radius 250 units, stunning them for 1.5 seconds.

#Playing As

Argie is intended as a support with heavy emphasis on utility while alone and a heavy emphasis on combat when in Drone Mode. She could be played in a solo lane, likely having to Drone Mode over a tower, which would make her incredibly safe defensively but without much offensive push. On the other hand, as a support, she’d make the ADC significantly more powerful at the cost of having another champion there, leaving them open to being focused by the enemy support and adc.

Builds would also vary wildly: building ability power would strengthen Argie’s abilities, but wouldn’t be very effective for the ADC. Building critical strike or other basic attack empowerment would make the ADC much stronger at what they do; unfortunately, that would make Argie’s own capabilities all but useless. Finally, building into tankiness would cause the ADC to survive easier, but once again Argie wouldn’t benefit much from it.

She could also take over and control a lane minion, giving her impressive pushing capabilities but also exposing herself- without much speed or mobility, escape would be almost impossible, and if taken out of possession mode she has no combat options whatsoever.

Overall, her strengths would be incredible utility and supportive capabilities, but huge weakness when alone. In terms of soft influence, she would likely be the strongest support in the game, but an inability to engage or even do much of anything alone makes her weaknesses glaring as well.