I'm somewhat disappointed with Varus' new lore

Malicious Metal·Nov 22, 2017·121 votes·27,246 views

Him being a father and a husband to a murdered family, leading him to do the unthinkable and release the thing that lurked in the pit of Pallas was extremely important to him as a character. it made him such a tragic champion who, seeking retribution, embraced a fate worse than death to avenge his fallen loved ones and destroy the Noxians responsible for the slaughter of his kin.

His new lore, kinda falls short. I like the Darkin part, but The human Varus is so much more interesting than a sentient demon weapon.

Just my two cents on the topic.

163 Comments

RalanrNov 22, 201741 votes

I agree. It may be a placeholder but honestly it ruins the aspects of Varus that made him tragic.

And it makes Rhaast calling him demon pants make no sense. At least to me as I assumed he called Varus that when talking to the person and not the Darkin.

Beyond LegendsNov 22, 20171 votes

Depends what they do with the ionian hunter really. Varus maybe renamed to the darkin but I hope they can still perserve his lore somehow.

Talos of AltmoraNov 23, 20171 votes

But both Darkin have to A's in there name, I'd like that to be a theme

Beyond LegendsNov 23, 20174 votes

Vaarus?

Stars ShaperNov 22, 20177 votes

Yeah, I think that making the Bow an actual Darkin but making Varus expend his life energyu in order to consume the Darkin and use its power would have been a genius move because it kept the integrity of his character and it linked with the new Darkin lore.

RiotDyQuillNov 23, 201732 votes

{quoted}

I agree. It may be a placeholder but honestly it ruins the aspects of Varus that made him tragic.

And it makes Rhaast calling him demon pants make no sense. At least to me as I assumed he called Varus that when talking to the person and not the Darkin.

Totally agree - this bio doesn't do Varus' tragic backstory justice. Fortunately, we're gonna release a lot more than just this bio.

I have another comment that's on the last page at the moment, but TL;DR this was an accidental early release and just a snippet of the full narrative still to come. Don't expect anyone to think it's a good story based on my word alone, but trust me when I say there's major context that might change your mind about the quality of his updated lore.

SgtGenColKledNov 23, 20177 votes

{quoted}

Totally agree - this bio doesn't do Varus' tragic backstory justice. Fortunately, we're gonna release a lot more than just this bio.

I have another comment that's on the last page at the moment, but TL;DR this was an accidental early release and just a snippet of the full narrative still to come. Don't expect anyone to think it's a good story based on my word alone, but trust me when I say there's major context that might change your mind about the quality of his updated lore.

Thank you for replying about this, but I really don't know how any more lore can fix this. I like Varus for being the flawed and tragic human he was. A man that chose duty over family and regretted it so much that it broke him. A man that sold his soul for revenge, having nothing else to live for. A man that is racing the clock to try and get as much revenge as he can before he is snuffed out. A man that misses his family above all else.

But we don't have that. He doesn't even have his name anymore. You literally took his name and gave it away. I don't care about Varus the Darkin, he sounds no different from Rhaast and Aatrox. The humans he's made of are literally a footnote, they don't matter.

Even in the most drastic of redesigns/updates/lore rewrites, the champion has always kept some spirit of who they were or at least their name. He was a grieving parent (something that is rare in League). But from this there is not a single trace of original Varus left. And I don't really see how any add on's to this version of him will improve what is being written over.

ModAcademy KaynNov 23, 20174 votes

With Soraka now being Targonian, and Varus being slightly something else, my Soraka x Varus ship is officially ruined. I'm so sad.

RiotDyQuillNov 23, 201716 votes

[{quoted}](name=Dr Mercy,realm=NA,application-id=6kFXY1kR,discussion-id=1fBLUb9W,comment-id=000100040003,timestamp=2017-11-23T06:44:15.146+0000)

With Soraka now being Targonian, and Varus being slightly something else, my Soraka x Varus ship is officially ruined. I'm so sad.

Well shit we're gonna have to give you some more characters to ship then

SolideusNov 23, 20173 votes

Zilean x Ornn all the way!

junglerboy16Nov 23, 20173 votes

ZOrnn for life.

MelledoneusNov 23, 20173 votes

Shenpai X Melledoneus.

Do it.

JacctheInsomniacNov 23, 20179 votes

[deleted]

LordRedStone Nr1Nov 23, 20172 votes

{quoted}

It takes away almost everything from Varus, and just makes him another boring Kayn. Oh look he's resisting the darkin.

All that you had, taken away / your spirit broken and just memories remain

RiotDyQuillNov 23, 201733 votes

Hey all - I'm with the team behind this update to Varus, and this was a very accidental early release (PBE, d'oh). Totally get how jarring this is, and I promise there's major context coming. - as in, significantly more than just this bio.

We don't want to rush the actual release (our plan was to put the whole narrative out on 11/30, and the final preparations for that are happening now), so if it's cool with all of you I'd rather field some questions here that I can answer now, and you can get the full story for Varus when it launches.

EDIT: gonna call it on the questions for now, and disappearing for a few days with the family for Thanksgiving. Thanks for all the comments, and we'll be back soon

Vampire JesusNov 23, 201710 votes

{quoted}

Hey all - I'm with the team behind this update to Varus, and this was a very accidental early release (PBE, d'oh). Totally get how jarring this is, and I promise there's major context coming. - as in, significantly more than just this bio.

We don't want to rush the actual release (our plan was to put the whole narrative out on 11/30, and the final preparations for that are happening now), so if it's cool with all of you I'd rather field some questions here that I can answer now, and you can get the full story for Varus when it launches.

My biggest concern is how this snippet makes Varus sound largely removed from who he once was. I expect some changes, but this sounds like such a change up that it's hard for a lot of us to relate such a popular and well known champion to something that seems so vastly different that it's downright unpleasant sounding.

My question, I guess, is how intensely different will Varus end up being from who he once was? I don't expect details, but I think it's clear that a lot of us enjoyed the tragic man who lost his family and now seeks vengeance as a result. Thus far, he doesn't sound like such a person.

RiotDyQuillNov 23, 201710 votes

[{quoted}](name=Twisted Gay,realm=NA,application-id=6kFXY1kR,discussion-id=1fBLUb9W,comment-id=00180001,timestamp=2017-11-23T04:23:05.588+0000)

My biggest concern is how this snippet makes Varus sound largely removed from who he once was. I expect some changes, but this sounds like such a change up that it's hard for a lot of us to relate such a popular and well known champion to something that seems so vastly different that it's downright unpleasant sounding.

My question, I guess, is how intensely different will Varus end up being from who he once was? I don't expect details, but I think it's clear that a lot of us enjoyed the tragic man who lost his family and now seeks vengeance as a result. Thus far, he doesn't sound like such a person.

Completely agree that Varus had one of the better tragic bios - and the team updating his story worked hard to keep that true.

You can let me know how we did when the full narrative is released in about a week - I'd fail to do it justice by trying to explain it here.

IDarkIFireDec 3, 20173 votes

How did they work hard to keep it tragic again - by pressing Ctrl+a and Del? The both of them didn't loose eachother - they fused together into an immortal being (since Rhaast informs us Darkin are immortal each time he respawns) and it was stated at the end of one of the new lore segments they will be forever fused as one untill the day they can be un-stuck from eachother and be together agian.... There is no great tragedy there. They share each tought, each feeling, each moment with eachother. The only discomfort is having a peeping Tom in the face of the Darkin that is fused with them.

Nurse TalonNov 23, 20179 votes

I'm glad you understand how much whiplash people are getting from this. Understandably, I feel like people are concerned about the change to his core character. It's not really the inclusion of a tragic backstory that concerns me, it's a departure from Varus himself. Two random Ionian hunters is not the Varus people love. He could so easily be fit into the Darkin lore by simply changing the nature of Pallas itself. I feel like what's concerning everyone is an unnecessary and what feels like careless dissection of the concept of Varus, much akin to what happened to Diana and Leona, which essentially drained them of the traits that made them interesting, compelling and so importantly relatable characters.

RiotDyQuillNov 23, 201711 votes

[{quoted}](name=def not altair,realm=NA,application-id=6kFXY1kR,discussion-id=1fBLUb9W,comment-id=00180002,timestamp=2017-11-23T04:31:56.143+0000)

I'm glad you understand how much whiplash people are getting from this. Understandably, I feel like people are concerned about the change to his core character. It's not really the inclusion of a tragic backstory that concerns me, it's a departure from Varus himself. Two random Ionian hunters is not the Varus people love. He could so easily be fit into the Darkin lore by simply changing the nature of Pallas itself. I feel like what's concerning everyone is an unnecessary and what feels like careless dissection of the concept of Varus, much akin to what happened to Diana and Leona, which essentially drained them of the traits that made them interesting, compelling and so importantly relatable characters.

Yeah, that's totally fair. But no joke - the Rioters behind this agonized over the decisions they were making, and really tried to create a story that was true to Varus, relevant to the modern lore, and unique as a character in League.

We hope you love it, and maybe you still don't dig it, but the one thing I can promise you is that it's the farthest thing possible from a careless dissection.

KoboldNov 23, 20174 votes

So I will be the enemy of the boards and ask a few Questions.

If there is overwhelmingly negative feedback what actions will be done?

Due to the resources used to do lore rewrites I sincerely doubt a rerewrite will take place so are we to expect the same quality/writer for the future lore for him?

What are the criteria that the lore writers were supposed to uphold for the character? (what aspects were "supposed" to be kept)

As a pessimistic/critical person reading the responses here and on reddit seems like hollow words and everything is already set in stone is the feeling I am getting from both the lore team and many other departments in Riot. What is your take on the possibility of others feeling the same way?

Since you referenced "unique" as a term for characters, what is your takeaway from some of the feedback of the more "modern" as you call it lore being considered extremely generic and removing aspects and stories that made the character actually unique?

I have heard we are supposed to get more short stories for characters, why has the general response to negative feedback on lore been referencing future lore, whilst not giving players anything more than a wall while they may have to wait years to see if some semblance of the original character still exists?

RiotDyQuillNov 23, 20175 votes

{quoted}

So I will be the enemy of the boards and ask a few Questions.

If there is overwhelmingly feedback what actions will be done?

Due to the resources used to do lore rewrites I sincerely doubt a rerewrite will take place so are we to expect the same quality/writer for the future lore for him?

What are the criteria that the lore writers were supposed to uphold for the character? (what aspects were "supposed" to be kept)

As a pessimistic/critical person reading the responses here and on reddit seems like hollow words and everything is already set in stone is the feeling I am getting from both the lore team and many other departments in Riot. What is your take on the possibility of others feeling the same way?

Since you referenced "unique" as a term for characters, what is your takeaway from some of the feedback of the more "modern" as you call it lore being considered extremely generic and removing aspects and stories that made the character actually unique?

I have heard we are supposed to get more short stories for characters, why has the general response to negative feedback on lore been referencing future lore, whilst not giving players anything more than a wall while they may have to wait years to see if some semblance of the original character still exists?

All really good questions. Can you hang tight for about a week? Literally all of these will be directly answered, and if they're not, I personally promise to come back here and answer them.

Sahn UzalNov 23, 20171 votes

just the questions on Varus or on other champs aswell? Being in a Discord with a bunch of Vlad mains, I've already seen a few questions being raised about his new lore.

KoboldDec 1, 20172 votes

Seems like none of these questions will get answered but with the feedback that I see on the boards I have requested an update.

RiotDyQuillDec 1, 20175 votes

{quoted}

Seems like none of these questions will get answered but with the feedback that I see on the boards I have requested an update.

There's a metric fuckton of questions to be answered, but we're still reading and replying.

I'd like to do a broader update, because I don't think individual replies we give here get a ton of visibility (and sometimes aren't directly addressing the underlying concern), but I want to make sure we really understand all the criticism first, because there's a lot of it and it's coming fast and furious right now.

TerraRisingDec 1, 20172 votes

{quoted}

There's a metric fuckton of questions to be answered, but we're still reading and replying.

I'd like to do a broader update, because I don't think individual replies we give here get a ton of visibility (and sometimes aren't directly addressing the underlying concern), but I want to make sure we really understand all the criticism first, because there's a lot of it and it's coming fast and furious right now.

Ah, gonna do an "Ask Riot?"

RiotDyQuillDec 2, 20176 votes

{quoted}

Ah, gonna do an "Ask Riot?"

Definitely one option, was also considering a fresh thread on here consolidating the criticism and concerns from all over. Would you prefer an Ask Riot to more conversations here? Curious what's the preferred method for us to communicate with ya.

TerraRisingDec 2, 201720 votes

{quoted}

Definitely one option, was also considering a fresh thread on here consolidating the criticism and concerns from all over. Would you prefer an Ask Riot to more conversations here? Curious what's the preferred method for us to communicate with ya.

I was being sarcastic about the "Ask Riot" thing. That is just a repository of non-answers for softball questions. They NEVER answer anything difficult there. (Believe me, I've tried.)

What I want to see is a stand alone post on the front page with promotion just as big as the music video/comic thing. If you guys can change Varus with THAT amount of hype, the least you guys can do is respond to criticisms with the same amount of enthusiasm, even if it has to be faked.

And don't have one person (such as yourself) address everything. That leaves too many people hiding in the shadows.

BreakuDec 2, 201712 votes

tbh actions like these make me less likely to play future riot titles

while im not going to claim to quit league over a retcon being horrible, it does make me lose faith in the company as a whole

QuephaDec 2, 20175 votes

Ask Riots suck. They never lead to conversation because it's impossible to hold a conversation in those comments sections.

patmax17Dec 2, 20171 votes

If I could choose, I'd like a Nexus article, I think those have the best format and are easy to find (the only problem with nexus is that interacting in the comment section is difficult since there are no notifications or red tracker). But nexus articles get translated to all languages, and that's probably not necessary for the post about varus' lore?

(Ideally I'm thinking of a mix between what you said in the video, a direct response, and a "champion insight" article: where did you start from? how long did it take? how did you analyze the previous lore? why did you make the changes you made, and not others? what other alternatives were considered? what are the advantages of the new lore vs the old? what is the think you will miss most of the old lore?)

RiotDyQuillDec 5, 20171 votes

{quoted}

If I could choose, I'd like a Nexus article, I think those have the best format and are easy to find (the only problem with nexus is that interacting in the comment section is difficult since there are no notifications or red tracker). But nexus articles get translated to all languages, and that's probably not necessary for the post about varus' lore?

(Ideally I'm thinking of a mix between what you said in the video, a direct response, and a "champion insight" article: where did you start from? how long did it take? how did you analyze the previous lore? why did you make the changes you made, and not others? what other alternatives were considered? what are the advantages of the new lore vs the old? what is the think you will miss most of the old lore?)

Cool, we've been talking about some options today on what we might do. Conversation still seems to be going strong here tho, and don't want to sidestep that, so for now going to continue to monitor Boards and beyond.

Baron Von BanginDec 3, 20172 votes

I would really like to see a lot of the underlying hurt and anger be answered for. I feel like when Riot answers things in a lot of threads they pick up on really easy questions and praise and a lot of the really well thought out and carefully crafted criticism gets unanswered because it would be too difficult for Riot to justify... or if it does get answered it's basically, "Yea, we fucked up. Too bad/We'll learn." Which is an enourmous copout. Is that really the tone that Riot is going to set for their players moving forward?

Lord Phazanor Dec 3, 20173 votes

{quoted}

Definitely one option, was also considering a fresh thread on here consolidating the criticism and concerns from all over. Would you prefer an Ask Riot to more conversations here? Curious what's the preferred method for us to communicate with ya.

To be honest, this kind of questions should be asked before taking a big decision, not after to try to address the backlash (even though trying to address the backlash is ultimately useless if you don't actually take action instead of just saying "sorry").
Maybe if you did ask before, none of this would have happened. Now it's too late and I'm sure this whole story saddens the team behind it too, not only the fans.

EROTIC RAID BOSSNov 23, 20172 votes

Can I ask, why not make him like kayn, corrupted but not yet under darkin control? That seemed like the route everyone was expecting, visually he even looks just partially corrupted much like kayn.

I hear you that you have more stuff planned to justify the changes but I think to sell us on him being a full darkin you'd have to do more than update his lore, he'd also need some visual changes. He simply doesn't look like rhaast and aatrox. But I've never seen you guys make that kind of visual update that isn't a vgu so I can't say I'm optimistic that you're going to those lengths (it sure would be cool though if we had varus as a full demon looking guy)

RiotDyQuillNov 23, 20176 votes

[{quoted}](name=Monado II,realm=NA,application-id=6kFXY1kR,discussion-id=1fBLUb9W,comment-id=0018000200000003,timestamp=2017-11-23T07:01:06.662+0000)

Can I ask, why not make him like kayn, corrupted but not yet under darkin control? That seemed like the route everyone was expecting, visually he even looks just partially corrupted much like kayn.

I hear you that you have more stuff planned to justify the changes but I think to sell us on him being a full darkin you'd have to do more than update his lore, he'd also need some visual changes. He simply doesn't look like rhaast and aatrox. But I've never seen you guys make that kind of visual update that isn't a vgu so I can't say I'm optimistic that you're going to those lengths (it sure would be cool though if we had varus as a full demon looking guy)

You're not far off with the "corrupted, but not yet under control." But instead of giving you the crappy version in a comment, check out the much better version of his story when it releases in a little over a week.

EROTIC RAID BOSSNov 23, 20172 votes

but varus is the name of the darkin not the person? I think most people assumed varus was more, the kayn of the equation not rhaast

SgtGenColKledNov 23, 20172 votes

[{quoted}](name=Monado II,realm=NA,application-id=6kFXY1kR,discussion-id=1fBLUb9W,comment-id=001800020000000300000000,timestamp=2017-11-23T08:32:57.596+0000)

but varus is the name of the darkin not the person? I think most people assumed varus was more, the kayn of the equation not rhaast

Varus is now the Darkin. The person (or people in this case) he is possessing don't have names by the sound of it.

RiotDyQuillNov 23, 201713 votes

{quoted}

Varus is now the Darkin. The person (or people in this case) he is possessing don't have names by the sound of it.

They do, and they're a major part of the story. That's essentially the context that's missing, and what the full narrative will flesh out.

TeCoolMageNov 23, 20174 votes

Will we feel (when looks at varus's current state) that he's a tragic character rather than the result of a tragic event?

Okay I just noticed how hard this is to word

WIll varus have humanity, feelings for revenge, etc or will he just be a weapon with no trace of his former self, sort of like pantheon?

Pantheon's current character is just some strong guy who's an aspect, there's nothing that hints towards Atreus or the values he held, it was just a backstory that told us how he became who he is. Will Varus's backstory be similar or does it actually tell us the characterization of his ingame appearance?

If so, how will it be expressed? Does the darkin feel sympathy for the person? Does the person influence the darkin more than what we'd expect? Or will the darkin himself be the one with a tragic story (wasn't really a violent darkin, had a family or smth before being turned into a weapon, the person he possesses is just a rando)?

ModValeevaNov 22, 201723 votes

I really dont agree with the changes here.

Varus has such tragic lore, a part of him that made him relatable in many aspects. He's one of only three parents within the game, something we really lack character wise and to take that from him is just making that group smaller and smaller.

Varus is a human and should always be a human. I feel rather disconnected to my main now and that sucks.

I really don't want to write a giant wall of text like I could, I got a headache and now I'm actually devastated at how butchered they made this.

Furor NexisNov 22, 201720 votes

Heavy breathing

Alrighty, this new lore direction on Varus.

To put it simply, I don't like this direction. Malicious Metal has already highlighted the points that I have considered important to who Varus was. I'd like to offer my own thoughts on those points. While it's been guessed for a long while that Varus' bow was hinted to be a Darkin weapon, the concept of Varus the Human struggling against his fate before he ran out of time is what made him an engaging character.

To sweep the Human off, throwing away a perfect tragedy to make room to just shove in the 'Darkin' quota feels cheap and wrong. Varus had focus. Emotion. An unstoppable drive to quench his vengeance before his being was burned away by the power of Darkin Bow. He had an amazing engagement as a character and hung on the precipice of one of the best story-driven characters in League.

The new 'Darkin' Varus has none of those. 'Darkin' Varus is a sadist who got mad over his imprisonment.

The direction as it is right now is poorly thought out. While these bios do represent an idea to see where the narrative team can go with updating champion lore, this, in my opinion is not the way to go about it. It completely destroys a character who had everything going for them and replaces them with a cheap, uninteractive knock off.

While talking to Ralanr he made a fantastic observations on the thematic of the Darkin we see.

Aatrox is the end result of a Darkin completely taking over it's host. Kayn & Rhaast represent the final struggle between Darkin / host Varus represented the beginning of change when bound with the host.

Had the direction been more along the lines of the Corruption of Pallas been retconned to the Darkin Bow, and Varus made a deal with the weapon after his distraught losses during his duties as a guardian of Pallas then a seamless interconnection between the Human Varus & The Darkin Bow could have been achieved.

I'm disappointed, and heavily infuriated that this was the direction chosen. Foundations & Narrative is much more capable than using this new flavor text basis as a form of new direction, and I feel it's sub-par to the Riot standard.

FlameHalbrdOkidoNov 22, 20174 votes

[{quoted}](name=Furor Nexis,realm=EUW,application-id=6kFXY1kR,discussion-id=1fBLUb9W,comment-id=0009,timestamp=2017-11-22T22:38:32.839+0000)

Heavy breathing

Alrighty, this new lore direction on Varus.

To put it simply, I don't like this direction. Malicious Metal has already highlighted the points that I have considered important to who Varus was. I'd like to offer my own thoughts on those points. While it's been guessed for a long while that Varus' bow was hinted to be a Darkin weapon, the concept of Varus the Human struggling against his fate before he ran out of time is what made him an engaging character.

To sweep the Human off, throwing away a perfect tragedy to make room to just shove in the 'Darkin' quota feels cheap and wrong. Varus had focus. Emotion. An unstoppable drive to quench his vengeance before his being was burned away by the power of Darkin Bow. He had an amazing engagement as a character and hung on the precipice of one of the best story-driven characters in League.

The new 'Darkin' Varus has none of those. 'Darkin' Varus is a sadist who got mad over his imprisonment.

The direction as it is right now is poorly thought out. While these bios do represent an idea to see where the narrative team can go with updating champion lore, this, in my opinion is not the way to go about it. It completely destroys a character who had everything going for them and replaces them with a cheap, uninteractive knock off.

While talking to Ralanr he made a fantastic observations on the thematic of the Darkin we see.

Aatrox is the end result of a Darkin completely taking over it's host. Kayn & Rhaast represent the final struggle between Darkin / host Varus represented the beginning of change when bound with the host.

Had the direction been more along the lines of the Corruption of Pallas been retconned to the Darkin Bow, and Varus made a deal with the weapon after his distraught losses during his duties as a guardian of Pallas then a seamless interconnection between the Human Varus & The Darkin Bow could have been achieved.

I'm disappointed, and heavily infuriated that this was the direction chosen. Foundations & Narrative is much more capable than using this new flavor text basis as a form of new direction, and I feel it's sub-par to the Riot standard.

Agreed, I thought that progression idea was pretty good, ive had similar thoughts. 3 options came 2 mind, either thier goals were monentarily aligned and they're working together, or the Darkin would lend Varus power with the promise that he'd have to hand the control over after some time, or the Dark in was just dormant or barely conscious.

Does Riot even have a standard?

QuephaNov 22, 201719 votes

Did Riot actually just kill off another character to have them taken over by a different entity again?

These rewrites are getting worse and worse.

Over InnsmouthNov 22, 201715 votes

If Riot's going to make the demon pants themselves the character can we change the splash portrait ingame to a picture of his crotch?

LugiaPaladinNov 22, 201714 votes

In all honestly I don't know why they couldn't just say "yeah that thing in the pit was a Darkin, official confirmation lets see where we can take his story from here" rather than rewrite his lore to put the main character focus on the bow and not the man wielding the bow.

6FlagsFunnelCakeNov 22, 201713 votes

It's most likely we might get some aspects of Old Varus's humanity in the mentioned hunters that were used to make Varus's physical form. But even still, I'm don't understand what it really means.

Who are these two hunters that are mentioned are why are there two of them? I thought a Darkin only needs to possess one body. And what do they mean when they say they "still resist every step of the way? And how is Varus able to possess two Ionian Hunters if he still only looks half human? AND WHATS WITH THE DEMON PANTS.

I don't know, as interesting as it is I was hoping it'll go something like this:

Old Varus lore, where he has a family that are slaughtered in front of him in the Noxian Invasion.
The name of the Darkin is PALLAS, who was imprisoned in the Pit of Pallas, which the Ionians are guarding
Varus is angered by the death of his family and willingly takes the bow, but Pallas is the strangest of his Darkin brothers and doesn't possess Varus as Aatrox or Kayn would, as he sees Varus as a worthy warrior and grants him power to seek vengeance and feed the Darkin's hunger.

RiotDyQuillNov 23, 20174 votes

{quoted}

It's most likely we might get some aspects of Old Varus's humanity in the mentioned hunters that were used to make Varus's physical form. But even still, I'm don't understand what it really means.

Who are these two hunters that are mentioned are why are there two of them? I thought a Darkin only needs to possess one body. And what do they mean when they say they "still resist every step of the way? And how is Varus able to possess two Ionian Hunters if he still only looks half human? AND WHATS WITH THE DEMON PANTS.

I don't know, as interesting as it is I was hoping it'll go something like this:

Old Varus lore, where he has a family that are slaughtered in front of him in the Noxian Invasion.

The name of the Darkin is PALLAS, who was imprisoned in the Pit of Pallas, which the Ionians are guarding

Varus is angered by the death of his family and willingly takes the bow, but Pallas is the strangest of his Darkin brothers and doesn't possess Varus as Aatrox or Kayn would, as he sees Varus as a worthy warrior and grants him power to seek vengeance and feed the Darkin's hunger.

I'm happy to say that all those questions will be answered when the full narrative goes live in about a week.

Well maybe not the Demon Pants one, that might just be some darkin trash talk

Baron Von BanginNov 23, 20175 votes

The problem is at that point it will be too late. People don't want their champion deleted. Varus has been a character since 2012. People have grown attached to this character and his story. He was the first (and only?) champion to receive an official judgement and comic by none other than the guys at Penny Arcade.

It feels like you are deleting this character of 5 years rather than UPDATING him to fit in the new world. I don't really care that he'll feel the same and hit some of the same thematic checkboxes. I want him to remain as a character. As the man. Not a bow. Not two men smashed together. As Varus.

It feels like this is change just for the sake of change and so maybe he doesn't overlap with Kayne? Varus was first. Kayne shouldn't overlap with him. It's annoying that nothing is sacred in League lore and fan's investment is treated with zero care.

I'm honestly not convinced you guys can pull off making Varus the BOW and smashing to men inside of it and then tell me it's the same tormented man that was introduced to millions of fans over 5 years ago. I'm really not.