If one were to conquer Runeterra, where should one start? Asking for a friend.

Zero Shingetsu·12/14/2018, 8:15:27 PM·8 votes·9,743 views

Let's say an outside force came into Runterra right. (Is it still called Runeterra...?) What I'm curious about what people think is...

1. What would you consider the most vital foothold? Would it be centrally-located Demacia? The technologically advanced Piltover? Noxus, getting the warrior culture under heel while one's forces are still fresh? Ionia, with its highly defensible position? Bilgewater, with all its sea access?

2. What would you presume the major pitfalls of such a campaign to be? Who do you think would be most effective at holding off such an invasion? Do you reckon alliances would be formed against the outside force, or would old grudges and mistrust keep most nations divided?

3. What would you consider the "heart" of Runeterra? What land, if conquered, would tip the scales heavily in an invader's favor? What land must be protected at all costs? The Minas Tirith of Runeterra, as it were.

44 Comments

intra12/14/2018, 9:50:37 PM11 votes

You should start with Kled, since he owns all of Runeterra.

Warlord Dienekes12/14/2018, 10:57:47 PM3 votes

Welp. I’m on a 6 hour drive. Let’s do this.

This is a somewhat impossible question to answer without understanding what my forces are. Am I an extraterrestrial force of basically Zerg that consume whatever I come into contact with no need to understand supply lines? Like the Void. Am I leading a relatively small elite force that needs to draw the enemy army out to crush them quickly before a combined army smacks me aside? Or is this a continuous invasion where I can get a steady resupply of troops over a much longer and more lasting era of conquest?

Because each of those situations (and others) would require vastly different strategies.

Just going with a general grand strategy the answer for the most vital foothold seems pretty clearly Piltover and Zaun. Though that might not be my exact starting point depending on the make up of my army.

Demacia is isolationist, and besides in the beginning I will be conquering their enemies. Keep a diplomatic presence in their capital with instructions to obstruct Noxian and Piltover. Ionia is its own separate continent that doesn’t seem too likely to get involved with what’s happening on the other continents. Freljord is a frozen waste. Too mountainous and cold for most armies. Besides they’re in a civil war. Let them hack each other to pieces. Shurima is largely a desert wasteland with some super powered nutjobs fighting over the carcass of a long dead empire. Easy enough to create a foothold along the borders but I don’t see why I’d want to expand deeper.

But there is a thorn in the side of just about every state. Bilgewater. It seems a near perfect place to start. No organized military to speak of. No particularly high tech yet if I did expand onto the main continents they would inevitably raid my naval forces and disrupt my supplies. They would need to be wiped out.

If you do the invasion right you can even ask for assistance on this venture from Noxus. Swain’s hatred of these people is documented. Though I’d probably mostly just ask for them to stay out of it. Shouldn’t be too hard. No one likes Bilgewater. The Shadow Isles would still be a problem. But since the islands have survived for centuries with yearly invasions I don’t expect too many losses.

Once Bilgewater is taken care of we move to Piltover/Zaun. This could either be the single most difficult place to take unless we do this right. A direct assault against the technological might of Piltover would be costly. And probably futile. Luckily there is a vast and angry under class in Zaun to call upon. Offer them the proviledge of watching the ChemBaron’s hanged and their wealth partitioned and we can create a two pronged uprising and assault. Historically the enemies within your walls are the ones that get shot at the most. Which suits my invasion force fine.

Piltover conquered would require a stop for political reorganization and a restructure of my military. Piltover’s tech is far too valuable not to utilize. Soldiers need to be trained in the use of rifles, mech armor, and explosives. That lunatic Urgot will need to be caught and killed.

This would be technically the most dangerous moment of the invasion. If Swain is half as smart as he thinks he is, he’ll attack Piltover now. If there are any loyalists to the old rulers of Noxus or any powerhungry warlords now’s the time to bribe the hell out of them.

I’d try to avoid this confrontation as long as I could by offering lower taxes on Noxus ships passing through. Might slow him down if nothing else.

The next weakest location to invade is Shurima, specifically the jungle. There’s a reason why Piltover is so important. Violent plants, plagues, and jungle horrors are what awaits. Good thing I now have advanced medical tech, sterilized mech suits, and more and bigger explosives than any power really should.

Goal of the invasion is shock and awe. Scorch earth and slaughter with one hand and offer peace and medicine with the other. Quickly capture land and subjugation, before moving on. Rise up those clans that side with me. Utterly destroy those that dont. Without Piltover this would likely be impossible. But now I think I have the size and population to go against the big dog, Noxus.

So from Piltover I dramatically raise taxes on Noxian ships and focus raids from “pirates” on their shores. The goal is to get Noxus to attack Piltover directly. If I did the political reorganization right Swain shouldn’t be able to pull the same trick on me. With support of the ships from Bilgewater any siege he lays will not be able to fully encompass Piltover and Zaun. This means he must assault the walls directly.

Let him. Rockets, flame throwers, and machine guns will rain hellfire down upon him. His best tool would be Sion who can knock down walls by running at them. My goal is to blow him up with mines before he gets that close. Without my own superhero it will be difficult to stop basically the Hulk of Runeterra.

During this assault, the goal is to use Noxus’s disorganization and aggressive mentality against them. Diplomats will be sent to the more recent conquered territories anything in the last 60 years or so. The offer is simple. Noxus demands strength for promotion. I have no such desire to spread ludicrous and self-destructive ideologies. I want my merchants selling things and farmers farming. Not wasting time expecting knives in their back. I offer medical advancement and tech that makes their life easier and longer and the earliest to switch sides will be given a reprieve from military service. Provided they rise against Noxus, now.

I won’t get all of them, of course. But I’ll get some. People want their lives to be easier. Always have. I offer ease. That will beat the promise of harshness for anyone who isn’t a soldier. And most people aren’t soldiers.

Provided I survive the siege of Piltover. It’s time to move to Noxus Prime. My offer will stand along my march. Those that don’t get in my way get medicine and tech. Those that defy me die with the efficiency of modern tech.

Noxus Prime itself gets nuked. I’m not going to waste my time on a long siege and costly assault. We use all the bombs we have on it. Destroy the power structure completely. I also don’t want to deal with the Rose. Let them think they’ll manipulate me when I’m in power. And be certain to blow their places of power up twice.

I expect some great general or two will escape. Swain or Darius would be the most likely. Likely escaping toward the center of the continents and drawing allies as they go. I expect the rest of the decade will be dedicated to wiping their forces off the map.

This really just leaves Demacia. Demacia for all their discipline is a very backwards land. They have an Air Force and use them to fight in melee range! They have anti-magic armor? I have guns. I’m thinking a two-pronged invasion landing by ship on the isthmus a few months early to pull their forces west. Then send my main force to invade from the East. Low tech. Low magic. Backwards tactics. I expect they’ll fight longer and harder than Noxus. But less effectively.

The real problem is Galio, the guy that can crush an army by landing on them. The only real weapon I have is rockets. A lot. Of rockets.

Thankfully Galio does have a weakness. He needs magic just to awaken. And Demacia has done a decent job of exterminating them for me. So if i see a wild Galio appearing the tactic is to shoot everything I have at the people by his feet. This should either kill the mages. Or. Force Galio to stand in protection of his mages. Then went use the rockets on him.

And honestly after Demacia I think I’d be done. I don’t want Freljord, Targon, or the Shadow Isles. Shurima has too much high powered magic that doesn’t seem to have clear exploitable limitations.

I may try for Ionia. But I’d first need to go over the accounts on why Noxus lost.

Spideraxe12/14/2018, 9:29:05 PM3 votes

Hmm, if i were to conquer Runeterra I'd start with one the centralized regions, no Bilgewater or Ionia because they're in the middle of the ocean would take too long to send soldiers and supplies to the mainland especially given the amount of advancement in that region. I'd start somewhere smaller then Noxus because it'd take too long to gain full control of its empire, somewhere where there's already dissent amongst the populace, maybe Zaun with the Sons of Ur, and topple its current ruling party and annex any nearby areas like Piltover and cutoff any strategic trade routes. Then with advancements in technology, develop hextech/chemtech warheads and the rest is free real estate.

LoLIsFunKid12/15/2018, 1:13:18 AM2 votes

Simple, start with Kled, and then make him take over everywhere else if they refuse to join his army, noxus bitches!11!!!11!11a!

QMighty12/15/2018, 2:17:10 AM1 votes

Frejord would be the most major foothold, because it's so large and has no centralized government it would be really difficult to establish any meaningful hold on the area. And supplying an army for an invasion of the Freljord would be very difficult, especially if they weren't equipped to handle the cold.

So basically Freljord is Russia.

LordGeovanni12/15/2018, 2:38:10 AM1 votes

Id probally start on a contient that isnt Valoran.

Terozu12/15/2018, 3:03:28 AM1 votes

Piltover is the absolute best place to conquer because they control the Sun Gate which is essentially Runeterra's Panama Canal.

The reason they remain neutral is because of how insanely profitable their location is. You take control of that, you disable a shit ton of trading, and cripple a large part of the Shurima and Valoran continents. This makes proceeding with your campaign much easier.

Warlord Rhinark12/15/2018, 2:17:44 PM1 votes

(Long post incoming)

Spideraxe's suggestion is pretty accurate.

I'd probably start in the Piltover/Zaun area. They are very poorly defended and don't even (to my knowledge) have a military. Plus, Zaun is in a constant state of infighting so don't expect an organized defense force there.

From there, I'd allocate all my resources into making it a defensible location (possibly inventing some kind of hextech barrier around the city?) and developing the latest technology for warfare purposes.

Then I'd go east into Bilgewater.

With how lawless it is anyway (and also, surprisingly, possessing no military), it should be easy enough. Plus, the technology in Bilgewater, although advanced compared to other nations, still pales in comparison to the hextech in Piltover.

Since I'm starting out in the smaller places, it won't raise as much suspicion and the other nations won't begin to make defensive measures until later.

With both Piltover and Bilgewater under my control (which are both coastal maritime nations), I now both have the most sea access out of everyone else, AND I also control a majority of the trade, meaning my coffers are always full to fund my weapons research as well as my war campaigns.

Then I'd probably go further east into Ionia.

They aren't a militaristic people so they don't have a large army, and they are certainly lacking when it comes to technology (that the Noxians didn't possess during their invasion) so it should be fine.

The only one that might be a problem is Syndra, although a couple of rockets should be able to bring down her floating fortress (and her with it).

That was the easy stuff though.

Then I'd sail from Ionia all the way around Noxus into the Freljord.

I have the utmost faith that the warring barbarian tribes stand absolutely no chance against advanced hextech technology. The only ones that might be a challenge are the demigods there and Lissandra but the rest should be easy pickings.

Unite them all under one single banner and look towards weaponizing True Ice (perhaps combining it with hextech?).

After taking over Freljord, Demacia and Noxus might start to take defensive measures, but due to their hatred of each other, I do not expect them to unite.

Then I'd go into Demacia.

Although incredibly defensible, since I'm predominately using technology, their anti-magic capabilities are ineffective.

Now, after surrounding it on all sides, I go into taking over Noxus.

The greatest strength of Noxus is it's numbers, but now, with both Piltover, Zaun, Bilgewater, Ionia, Freljord, and Demacia under my control, their numbers mean nothing.

Most of Noxus' outer territories would probably also be inclined to rebel against them.

Now, with the entirety of the north under my control, I push south.

Shurima and Targon might look into creating an alliance since they are close to each other, have close ties from the past with Targonians helping the Shurimans, and both of them have incredibly powerful magical beings.

So for now, I'd invade the Shadow Isles.

Since it is said that silver can harm the creatures of the Shadow Isles (and Demacia has silver in abundance), I'd make sure that most of my weapons are made out of it.

After taking over the Shadow Isles, the greatest challenge of all comes. Trying to take over the Shuriman Continent.

I start off by taking the northeast. Kumungu is uninhabited, and the north was already under the control of Noxus prior.

Icathia is of no interest currently, so it is ignored.

The first major targets are Nashramae and Kalamanda. Taking both down will allow complete control of the north and a safe route from Valoran to Shurima.

With the north-east under my control, I try to take over the far south. Marrowmark, Zirima, etc. etc.

After that, by surrounding it on all sides, I try to take over The Sun Disc.

This will be tricky as Azir is a powerful being, but hopefully Demacia's anti-magic capabilities could come in handy.

After taking over The Sun Disc, I mop up the rest of Shurima and then go into Targon.

Targon is incredibly defensive given it's remote location on top of a mountain, and their Aspects are powerful. If they sent Aurelion Sol, I'm pretty much done for. It might be better to try the diplomatic route and maybe even be a bitch and actually submit to them instead of them having to submit to me. After all, the only thing Targon really wants is to defeat the Void.

After either getting Targon to submit (or submitting to Targon), I've conquered Runeterra (most of it), and the only thing left to do is venture into Icathia and defeat the Void, although that is an entirely different subject.

So yeah, that's how I would conquer Runeterra.

Really the only flaw I see in this is the early invasion of Freljord, but that's mostly because the power level of the demigods there aren't specified. I don't know if advanced hextech technology is enough to take down a god-like being.

As for your questions:

(Since question 1 and question 3 are similar, I'll just merge them together)

Most vital position is Piltover. It's the center of everything, has sea access, controls the trade, and is technologically advanced.
Hardest places to try and take over would be Demacia, Noxus, Shurima, and Targon. Noxus made Ionia look hard to take over, but I don't actually think it is that hard with the proper technological superiority. The only alliances I foresee would be one between Shurima and Targon. I don't think anyone else would ally.

Jerry SeinfeId12/15/2018, 5:52:36 PM1 votes

Zaun, Singed's lab specifically. I heard he makes pretty effective weapons, don't destroy property either.

or do i need to do it in a humane way?

Blaiz Fenix12/18/2018, 10:35:55 PM1 votes

Zaun. The Freljord is a frozen wasteland with a powerful witch and demigods protecting it. Targon is a virtually uninhabitable cliff with the power to control stars. Noxus, Demacia, and Shurima have powerful rulers, armies, and magic. Bilgewater is filled with filthy, cutpurses who are more loyal to coin than thier own lives, not to mention the dangerous Shadow Isles just off the coast. And we know how the conquest of Ionia went.

Zaun's people have poor health, inadequate leadership, and no hope. And that's what I would give them. I would create the Church of Janna to make her more powerful and thus make the winds in Zaun stronger, removing the cancerous fogs and slowly improving health. Gain their trust. Gain their love. Gain their loyalty. Once I have that, it's just chess after that. Zaun's strategic location make it perfect to threaten Piltover with utter destruction. If Zaun were to crumble, so would the throne the Piltovans sit on. A few well placed chemsplosives should make negotiations easy. Piltover has everything to lose and Zaun has nothing. Mutual self-destruction would a blessing to most. After a "peaceful" takeover of the technology of Piltover. I'll have everything I need. Money to buy the mercenaries of Bilgewater, strategic location for conquest, and healthy business with Noxus.

After, that I'd just wait for the right time to use the power and resources I've gained to plan my assault. Something tells me the creatures from Icathia may be the perfect tools to fullfil my desires.

RyzeTheSmurfMage12/14/2018, 11:37:58 PM1 votes

I think I'll start with Freljord. Why? Because it would be almost imposible to invade so I will always be on the offense, not having to worry about the defense. Why didn't I chose Shurima? Cause trying to take over Shurima with Azir being there to defend it would be suicide. So moving on, once I conquer the entire Freljord, I form a full trained Iceborn army (obviosly after Lissandra has been dealt with) accompanied by mages and warbeasts. I then proceed to invade Ionia the same route Ivern used to invade it before he became a tree. Only this time, I would have at least 1000 trained Iceborns armed to the teeth, most of them with True Ice weapons that have freezing properties, accompanied by mages to bombard the forests where resistances may hide. After I conquer Ionia, I go to conquer Bilgewater to get acces to their fleet (what remains of it). Then I shall gather my forces and lay full assault on Demacia in order to get the anti-magic armor (ok I probably should have done this before invading Ionia so my casualities are less). Then I take on Noxus. A fully trained Iceborn army with True Ice weapons and anti-magic armor along with huge warbeasts and mages from Ionia and Freljord, as well as the constant supply harrasment from the Bilgewater fleet would eventually make Noxus crumble. Then I get to the Immortal Bastion, where I order every Black Rose member to be executed publicly, and I get the Darkin sealing method that's probably hid there. Then I'm finally ready to take on Shurima on its own land. Yes, by the time I came to this step Shurima might be almost full power again, but I have number advantage, as well as quality advantage in special troops cause of my magic-resistant True-Ice weilding Iceborns. They would keep the Ascended bussy long enough for my mages to get to use the Darkin seal method. Yes, the causalities would be great, but only one player would remain. Piltover. Now that I got acess to the Shuriman warmachines and SunDisc, I make like 40 Ascended and take over Piltover in less than a day.

The Trent12/15/2018, 12:05:46 AM1 votes

Imo if you're going to conquer runeterra you have to understand that if you don't build a huge army yourself, you're leaving outside threats like mount targon and the void to take advantage of your carnage. I would form alliances with the strongest of the strongest. Pretend you're lissandra's bestie but then back stab her and steal her army. Shurima is made out of sand people controlled by azir, so you can't steal his army, but before you back stab lissandra just have her freeze his army. Sand people don't work against ice people. It's literal basic facts. Try not to get your army walled off by Taliyah tho... Most likely she'll just trap azir by missing her ultimate tho. Once u have ur ice army go find Zoe. Tell Zoe u have a game called who can punch the strongest. Tell her magic is allowed and ur just trying to punch someone really hard. Have her punch everyone to death. She won't understand it's not actually a game. Tell her ur the judge tho and if she punches u, she's disqualifies. That'll render you immune. Once everyone u don't like is punched to death by Zoe. Find Aatrox. Aatrox will gladly end Zoe before she kills someone important to u. Make sure Zoe tells u how to trap Aatrox first tho. Now u gotta try to free aurelion Sol. Once u do, tell him to visit demacia and noxus and scare them. Once they're scared u make ur move and destroy their leaders and make them join ur forces out of fear. Now runeterra is urs!!! Congratulations!!! Ur army is big enuf to fight off the Void. If Bard get's annoyed by anything u do tho, ur screwed. He will make u golden forever. Or he'll miss his ultimate and make someone else golden.

DarkSoul199412/15/2018, 1:56:46 AM1 votes

Depends on whether this is an new/unknown force, or a pre-existing one. I think Noxus or the Shadow Isles/Mordekaiser are the biggest potential invading forces in Runeterra that I could join the ranks of.

Otherwise, knowing what I know as a player, I would start in the dysfunctional Freljord or Shurima and unleash the Void upon Runeterra and rule a graveyard.