Does Jhin have magical abilities?

Larius01·May 27, 2018·3 votes·5,514 views

Recently I participated in a disscussion in a different thread where the question was whether has inate magical abilites or not. I personaly think that he does. I think that he channels his magic through his gun to empower his shots and to also create the special effects when he murders people. A few people seem to dissagree with me and think Jhin simply uses magical weapons, and because I thought it's an interesting disscussion I thought I'd make a separate thread about it. So what are your thoughts?

19 Comments

SEKAIMay 27, 20187 votes

Jhin's guns are hextech machines given to him by whoever that is employing him now, crafted by an unknown craftsman; a set of 2 guns and an accelerator that he carries on the shoulder which can allow him to assemble the 2 guns into its final form, a cannon. His other weaponry includes a set of grenades and traps that explodes.

However, each or at least many of Jhin's bullets are self-crafted and infused with his own magic. It's confirmed that his bullets twist the bodies of his victims in 'artistic' fashion, it can probably be inferred that the fourth shot of each round being especially powerful may be due to these bullets as well as the fact Jhin's victims in-game automatically explodes is also likely to be a part of this property (though for gameplay clarity purposes, it is labelled that Jhin automatically summons an exploding trap underneath the target if he kills them, which doesn't make that much sense lore-wise).

Prior to using his current weapons, Jhin sported the use of blades, which he used to a similar fashion via infusing them with magical energy of his own to empower them.

So yes, Jhin does know how to use magic, to some extent. But ofc, while some of his abilities demonstrated in-game may be supported by his magical capabilities, but his skill set is ultimately not defined by his innate abilities.

DerMangoJoghurtMay 27, 20182 votes

Not to be rude, but do you have any sources for that?

I doubt his weapons are powered by hextech, since they're from Ionia, not Piltover.

It was not a Piltovian weapon—those gaudy things that attempted to function with the minuscule amounts of magic available in those lands. This gun was made by a true forge master. Magic pulsed from its bronze, Ionian heart.

I've read through his color story to make sure I didn't miss anything, but I can't find anything that mentions Jhin having magical abilities.

4 Step CadenceMay 27, 20181 votes

He uses chi techniques, which I suppose are a form of martial art.

Understanding firearm mechanics had taken him weeks of study, but evolving his chi techniques from blades had taken months.

DerMangoJoghurtMay 27, 20181 votes

Honestly, I don't know what Chi techniques in the League universe are. There is a real life equivalent, which obviously doesn't use magic, so I'd guess they don't require magic in League either.

Larius01May 27, 20181 votes

{quoted}

Honestly, I don't know what Chi techniques in the League universe are. There is a real life equivalent, which obviously doesn't use magic, so I'd guess they don't require magic in League either.

From what I have read the real life equivalent of Chi is a form of energy that is believed in in some asian cultures but there is no scientific evidence that it exists. It also has a spiritual aspect to it so I think it's fair to asume that the Leauge equivalent is actualy magical. Especialy because it has a relation with Ionia which has a strong relation with magic.

TattersallMay 27, 20181 votes

Hextech is just the infusion of machines with magic. Piltovan hextech is the go-to, and they're the people who originally had the idea. Piltovan hextech works by having a magical crystal (which can now be synthetically made) and stickng it into a machine.

While Piltovan hextech is definitely more machine than magic, Ionian "hextech" definitely isn't. The land itself in Ionia imbued with magic in a way that the rest of the world simply isn't. Jhin's gun can be considered hextech simply because it's a magically-enhanced machine, but I doubt that's that answer you're looking for. Jhin's gun was likely built with Piltovan hextech in mind, but because it's Ionian it's a much different beast, as shown in that quote you got.

DerMangoJoghurtMay 28, 20181 votes

Hextech isn't just the infusion of machines with magic. (I'm pretty passionate about hextech lore, so prepare for some text)

Skarner's race, the Brackern, hold on to crystals that hold the memories and wisdom of every Brackern to ever fuse with the same crystal. They are ancient and hold the knowledge of many millennia. Young Brackern search for these crystals of their ancestors to fuse with. Not just any crystal will do either, it has to be the right one. The crystals communicate with the Brackern by song to steer the searching Brackern in the right direction. If a Brackern fails to find a crystal to fuse with, he will die. When the rune wars happened the Brackern decided to bury underground in Shurima and wait until humans have brought themselves to extinction. However, the sleeping Brackern have been found and raiders have removed crystals from their body, leaving them to die. Skarner is doing his best to reclaim the lost crystals and protect the sleeping Brackern, but he is currently the only one awake and can't save them all. A crystal was brought to Piltover and after Jayce shattered it he discovered it to be an energy source with very high potential.

That's what Hextech is, shattered Brackern crystals used as energy source. The crystals can't be synthetically made, they are only so powerful since they been infused with magic for more than ten thousand years, most likely way longer. Hextech is pretty much exclusively created in Piltover (not so sure about this one anymore) and anyone who wants such a contraption needs to pay a very high price for them.

If somebody creates a magic gun and doesn't use a hextech crystal, it's not hextech. Hextech is a lot more powerful, but also requires the destruction of a Brackern crystal.

TattersallMay 28, 20181 votes

I know about the Brackern. OG hextech was made specifically from Brackern crystals, yes, but the Piltovans didn't even know what it was they had. They were just like "Crystals made of magic, neato" Piltovans did end up figuring out how to synthetically make "magic crystals," albeit a much weaker version than the genuine artifact. Remember, Piltovan's aren't fully aware of the significance of the crystals they harvested. Modern Piltovan "hextech crystals" are just magical energy in crystal form, because that's what they thought the original stuff was.

At some point we're just going to be arguing about the definition of "hextech." If your definition (which may very well be the correct one) says that hextech is specifically made with Brackern crystals, than no, Jhin's gun is not hextech. If your definition says that hextech is at least made from crystals that were made with Brackern crystals in mind, than no, Jhin's gun is not hextech. If your definition says that hextech is any infusion of technology with magic, than yes, Jhin's gun is hextech.

To be clear, my understanding is that Jhin's gun is not powered by a crystal of any kind, but it was made with Piltovan hextech in mind. Don't know if I personally think it's hextech or not.

SEKAIMay 28, 20181 votes

{quoted}

Not to be rude, but do you have any sources for that?

I doubt his weapons are powered by hextech, since they're from Ionia, not Piltover.

I've read through his color story to make sure I didn't miss anything, but I can't find anything that mentions Jhin having magical abilities.

Ionia had little use of hextech and advanced techs in their traditional lifestyles given the land being brimming with magic and all that makes technology not necessary, but nothing is always the same, especially not after the Noxian invasion. After the Noxian invasion, groups such as Kashuri Armories have begun salvaging hextech weapons they could find and developing their own brand of them, as well as developing other more advanced weaponry. Jhin then uses the new techs created by them. Outside of the sophisticated explosives, his primary weapon, Whisper, is a hextech weapon made by the smiths in the Kashuri Armories. It can also be inferred that the group supposedly has at least some sort of ties with the upper classes and ruling councils of Ionia that currently employs Jhin (or at least certain factions within them) as well, given they act as their equipment provider or at least that seems to be the case in the subject of Jhin.

That line you'd quoted is in fact not about Whisper not being a hextech weapon, it just means it's not a hextech weapon made in Piltover but in Ionia. Hextech weapons made in Piltover have a heavy emphasis on energy efficiency due to the low amount of magic available in the region, whereas Ionia has a high abundance of magic energy everywhere on the land and so Ionian's brand of hextech focuses on power and specs. The quoted line is centrally about Jhin's internal monologue that ridicules the Piltover hextech, believing them to be "cheap" in a sense and of low quality given their design focus of squeezing the most out of the energy available, whereas Jhin is the type to like fat stats and big rigs and couldn't care less about the efficiency side of things; that and, he's also got a national pride thing going on as you can clearly see in that line.

........

Jhin putting his own magic into his bullets is something confirmed by the Rioter when questioned about the pictures of 4 champs (Sona, Garen, Vi, and Zed) being shot and then have their body warped in some way which served as Jhin's champion teaser. It was outlined that Jhin puts his magic into the bullets to warp the body of his victim to achieve either aesthetic and/or practical ends.

DerMangoJoghurtMay 28, 20181 votes

That sounds really interesting. I'd like to read more about that, could you please give the source?

SEKAIMay 28, 20181 votes

{quoted}

That sounds really interesting. I'd like to read more about that, could you please give the source?

I read off LoLWiki, which is not official but keeps tabs on things better than Riot does their own stuff on their official sites (such as how it's where you have to go if you want to read a champ's old lore, assorted balance change/history of each individual champs, deleted items and features from the game, developer/designer information, and stuff. It also is the best place to look up details on champion skills, because it's written in far more detail than Riot's official sources and they also have a dedicated community that feature-test the spells to find hidden effects/interaction and even wrong descriptions of the spells).

So it's from Jhin's and Ionia's page on LoLWiki.

Larius01May 27, 20181 votes

{quoted}

Jhin's guns are hextech machines given to him by whoever that is employing him now, crafted by an unknown craftsman; a set of 2 guns and an accelerator that he carries on the shoulder which can allow him to assemble the 2 guns into its final form, a cannon. His other weaponry includes a set of grenades and traps that explodes.

However, each or at least many of Jhin's bullets are self-crafted and infused with his own magic. It's confirmed that his bullets twist the bodies of his victims in 'artistic' fashion, it can probably be inferred that the fourth shot of each round being especially powerful may be due to these bullets as well as the fact Jhin's victims in-game automatically explodes is also likely to be a part of this property (though for gameplay clarity purposes, it is labelled that Jhin automatically summons an exploding trap underneath the target if he kills them, which doesn't make that much sense lore-wise).

Prior to using his current weapons, Jhin sported the use of blades, which he used to a similar fashion via infusing them with magical energy of his own to empower them.

So yes, Jhin does know how to use magic, to some extent. But ofc, while some of his abilities demonstrated in-game may be supported by his magical capabilities, but his skill set is ultimately not defined by his innate abilities.

First of all I appreciate that you responded to this thread with such a well worded and extensive comment. Then onto your comment itself. I think you are mostly right but Jhin's gun is probably not actualy hextech because that is piltover technology. More likely is that it is a speical magical firearm that has inate magical properties without the need for hextech crystals. Furthermore I would apreciate if you stated what your sources are and which parts are your own interpretation.

As a side note I think the traps he summons on kills in game is meant as a representation of the effects that occur when he kills people.

DerMangoJoghurtMay 27, 20181 votes

The flower-shaped traps are actually used by him in the lore.

He checked the white lanterns above him, counting the distance. If Zed appeared, he would need them. At the inn on the top of the hill, he glanced at the planters where he had hidden traps. Sharpened steel blades, shaped like flowers. They protected his escape route in case anything went wrong.

He thought of how the metal would slice through the crowd and splash the building’s freshly painted teal walls with red. It was tempting.

I think it's just a gameplay choice to have them appear below killed champions and doesn't have any lore significance.

Larius01May 27, 20181 votes

{quoted}

The flower-shaped traps are actually used by him in the lore.

I think it's just a gameplay choice to have them appear below killed champions and doesn't have any lore significance.

Oh I know that he has those in the lore but them apearing below killed champions is very fitting because it looks pretty which is kind of Jhin's whole thing.

SEKAIMay 28, 20181 votes

{quoted}

First of all I appreciate that you responded to this thread with such a well worded and extensive comment. Then onto your comment itself. I think you are mostly right but Jhin's gun is probably not actualy hextech because that is piltover technology. More likely is that it is a speical magical firearm that has inate magical properties without the need for hextech crystals. Furthermore I would apreciate if you stated what your sources are and which parts are your own interpretation.

As a side note I think the traps he summons on kills in game is meant as a representation of the effects that occur when he kills people.

The gun is hextech. It's just Ionian's brand of hextech, developed initially from copying other existing hextech weapons (presumably those made in Piltover) following the fall out that was the Noxian invasion, before branching out to develop their own versions of them. As mentioned in another of my comment here, at least one of the groups that are currently creating hextech weapons in Ionia (if they're not the only group doing so) would go by the name of Kashuri Armories, which is also the group who supplied Jhin's arsenal.

The difference between Ionian and Piltover hextech is that Ionia has a vast amount of magic in the land while Piltover does not, and so Ionian hextech focuses on rigs while Piltover hextech focuses on efficiency.

DerMangoJoghurtMay 27, 20181 votes

According to Jhin's color story, it's Whisper and it's ammunition which are magic.

This gun was made by a true forge master. Magic pulsed from its bronze, Ionian heart.

and

Each bullet had been infused with magical energy.

Although we can't disprove he has magical abilities, none of his weapons require it.

Ebonmaw DragonMay 27, 20181 votes

Does Viktor have magical abilities?

The answer, surprisingly, is yes, because Hextech counts as magic. The same should apply to Jhin, i guess.

HonestJohnTheConMay 27, 20181 votes

I think what he was looking for was INNATE magical abilities. Technically, by the "hextech is magic" rule, Caitlyn has magical abilties.

NekoniClawsMay 27, 20181 votes

Thinking it through, it's not very clear. But I think it leans towards Jhin possessing a little magic.

His hextech accelerator part of his gun is, clearly, hextech and thus magic. I know -somewhere-, It's simply described as enhancing the power of his bullets. In game, that part of the weapon applies spell effects (slows, and the snare on his W). But then you have the unrelated spell effects of his traps and the flower effects that have nothing to do with hextech (though his E can be physycal). In game mechanics he has magic in every part of his kit.

In lore, it's stated he's talented at smithing, which implies that he crafts both his traps, and would allow him room to craft his own bullets individually for each target. It's stated his 'gun' is magic (it's referring to the whole weapon, so hextech part is included, but it doesn't specifically EXCLUDE whisper from being magic) It never specifies that he only kills people with the whole thing. So we're at a catch 22.

I'd like to say I don't think magic would make Jhin special. Magic's not a rarity in Runeterra, and is ridiculously common in Ionia. He clearly has some (is stated to) chi abilities (which in RL we'd define as 'magic'). But I feel a narrative and gameplay lean towards him possessing some small amounts of magic rather than none.