Best Lore Update, In Your Opinion

Breezy Boyy·12/20/2018, 11:22:58 PM·5 votes·6,211 views

Riot has done a lot to flesh out Runeterra, and make it feel like a realized world. Out of all the updates, whether it be an entire regional update, or something on a smaller scale, such as an added short story, or simply a rewrite of a champion's bio, which do you feel was the best?

For me, it's a tough choice between the Zaun Update, and the Vastaya Update.

My reason for considering the Zaun Update, though a bit biased, is largely because it includes Janna, one of my favorite champions. Her short story "Deep Breath" honestly moved me to tears, and the story "The City of Iron and Glass" made Zaun seem scarily real. The artwork alone that went along with this update was gorgeous, and it was interesting to see each tier of life within the slums of Zaun, from those who essentially live alongside the lowest parts of Piltover, to those who are stuck in the sump, mechanized bodies and all. My only criticism is that Janna's new purpose, as a protector/goddess whatever you want to call it, feels as though she has very little actual impact. Aside from that one mention in "The City of Iron and Glass" she's simply nowhere else to be found in any of the Zaun lore, which just seems odd considering she's been around since long before the accident that created Zaun, and helped the survivors themselves. Aside from that, everything else was perfect, and I especially loved Warwick's new lore, which was my second favorite part of the Zaun update, after Janna.

With the Vastaya update, it was so fun to explore and learn about a race that has lived alongside humanity, and their own unique cultures. Nami's comic was wonderfully done, and it was interesting to see how it interconnects with both the Void and Targon, weaving it deeper into the lore, and helped truly show the importance of her getting the Moonstone for her people. Having a soft spot for more tragic characters, the lore update also helped me actually like Ahri, a champion that up until that point, I had more or less written off as being fanservice, which is partially true. Seeing how she took the life of a man that loved her for her, and how the guilt affected her so much that she tried to rid herself of the memories. All in all, it was good lore, though my one complaint is with Ahri. She's actually a pretty fucking horrible person.

She's killed hundreds, possibly thousands, all so she can essentially get high, and while yes, she may have been addicted to the action of it, and does feel true remorse, that doesn't excuse all the blood on her hands. Maybe if after she felt so guilty she decided to try and give back, perhaps by using her control over emotions and memories to help people fight depression, or help soldiers with PTSD or something, could I forgive her. But no, she simply feels bad, decided "I'm only going to take a little bit of people's emotions and memories" and goes off to find her people. I feel like, in the end, we were supposed to excuse her and view as being more of on the lighter side of the moral spectrum, purely because she's sexy and felt bad.

I don't care HOW SEXY YOU ARE, I don't want you anywhere near me if you gonna try and steal my memories and shit.

SO, back to my question, which lore update do you think was the best?

13 Comments

d00mface12/21/2018, 1:43:14 PM3 votes

For me, personally, I really enjoyed the darkin update. I know that a lot of people disliked connecting the darkin to Shurima and making them fallen ascended, but I actually really liked that. The darkin lore update is part of what got me into league (as opposed to just being a casual observer of league). The old lore was fine for its time, but the update helps connect the darkin better to Runeterra and gives them more interesting motivations imo. Nothing wrong with having them be aliens or w/e, but the way they went about it made them feel... somewhat disconnected from the other happenings on Runeterra and under-fleshed out. Also Shurima is my favorite region so having the darkin be connected to that is just a bonus for me.

4 Step Cadence12/20/2018, 11:41:14 PM2 votes

Well Nunu went from being a champion that I didn't care about at all to being one that made me cry, so there's that.

I didn't really care about the lore when I first joined so I didn't understand the Vastaya update. I tried to read the Icathia and Darkin stories, but they lost my interest pretty quickly and I never finished them. The only reason why I read Akali's new lore is because I was hoping she'd have bigger ties to Jhin besides the few lines of text where she in mentioned in his color story, but instead I got... Whatever the fuck her color story was. Other than that, I haven't really read any of the new stuff. A lot of the characters, as interesting as they are, just don't grab and hold on to my attention.

Warwick Main12/21/2018, 4:37:26 AM1 votes

I liked Nunu's update the most in terms of biggest improvement. His lore isn't my favorite but it's in my current top 5. I don't like Noxians in general, the Ionia update kinda ruined Karma for me, Icathia was snoozeville, I dislike pirates so no love for Bilgewater, but I do like the direction of the Darkin/Targonian fiasco.

RyzeTheSmurfMage12/21/2018, 6:30:43 AM1 votes

For me its either Ryze or Shurima. The recent Ryze lore update didn't retcon anything and it kepts true to his character and respected his powerlevel. The Shuriman update from where Azir was released and when Taliah was is also gold. The complexity of the situation in Shurima, Azir raising his once-great nation again, Taliah being confused but ultimately a good character, Nasus abandoning depression and retirement, the magic in Shurima (which I like very much), it's all on my taste.

Falrein12/21/2018, 1:27:54 PM1 votes

Not gonna lie, I really liked Syndra's lore update. I know some people didn't (and by some I mean a lot), but I did. The reason why I like her in the first place is because she's a really powerful human, and that she wants to be able to use this power freely. I know some liked her better as some sort of political force in Ionia, but I really like the concept of immense raw power. I know her anger issues are a problem to some, but I really like that part of her. Once again, that's just a personal opinion, I like unleashed power driven by emotion, even tho I hope she'll grow wiser with time.

On another note, I really liked lore this year overall. It was a really good year in term of lore (apart from, maybe, the first Karma changes, but hey, everyone makes mistakes right?)! I really liked the Soraka update in particular. I didn't like her before, but her new lore makes her very interesting, and I like her now.

Zapzya12/20/2018, 11:41:06 PM1 votes

Noxus update or Ionia. I really like what they've done with the Noxian campaign on Ionia. That being said, I think the Noxus lore update will remain my favourite. Swain became a badass strategic dictator, Darius is an actually decent guy and not just a brutalist. Let's not forget Talon's amazing lore update as well!!!! (R.I.P. Talon, you'll get your own update eventually) But for real, Noxus scratches my dark fantasy itch, I almost can't believe it used to be where the evil dudes hung out with a skull rock.

EdgeLady12/23/2018, 12:42:42 AM1 votes

This year, my favorite was definitely Nunu's update. He's so adorable! I want a whole Pixar movie made for him! The only downside to that is how confusing Lissandra's bio is, but I do think it's still implied that she's power-hungry, not destruction-hungry like the Watchers/Void. Which is a good distinction to make for a villainous force, because with a lot of evil overlord types (especially cliche ones) it seems like they want to both destroy and conquer the world...but those two things don't exactly go together.

I also liked the Bilgewater update, especially the new lore for Tahm Kench. And I'm quite grateful that Riot listened to the fans and kept Nautilus's lore interesting, even though his lore is a...bit similar to Pyke's. However, I can't call it my favorite, because there was no sign of my certain favorite Bilgewater champions there. You can probably guess who they are. Although I think they've mostly gone away from Bilgewater now, in their lore.

I wasn't around for the Piltover and Zaun updates at the beginning of last year, but I do like the direction the cities are going. Definitely putting the punk in steampunk and giving it a very familiar air that feels rife with the actual pros and cons of the Victorian age. I suppose Ezreal's lore update this year counts in with that, and I do like his update too. Especially that it confirms that him and Lux could be a thing after all.

Opop12/21/2018, 1:49:55 AM1 votes

Shadow Isles, I was glad that the mystery behind what happened there was finally solved after 6 years Plus I love Mordekaiser's lore