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I know it won't happen, but I still think Riot should undo the Retcon

SaintCrazy·5/17/2015, 9:12:02 PM·15 votes·1,767 views

It would fix so many of the problems people have with the Lore, and I honestly think it wasn't necessary to get rid of the League to tell "better" stories about the champs they've released.

For example, a big problem with the current lore is that too many champions have stories that only raise a million questions, with no answers. (The "mysterious creature of mystery" effect) These champions have no real backstory, and no real conclusion to their story. Even though for some champs the old lore mostly just consisted of "....and then they joined the League of Legends", at least that is some sort of conclusion. A conclusion where they might still have the opportunity to develop as characters after they gave up their old lives, through things like the JoJ and League Judgements.

The reasoning behind deleting the League was something along the lines of "Well now we're free to tell bigger and better stories about characters and the world without worrying about tying it in with the IoW". Except now there's nothing to tie them to at all, since the IoW was so deeply ingrained in the world of Runeterra. And honestly, there were already plenty of champions pre-retcon that just kinda did their own thing and then joined the League anyway for little to no reason. As odd as that was, it at least gave me a reason to care about them, because I was a Summoner. That feeling of having a greater purpose is a huge reason why I play a lot of games. That idea that I could be saving the world, or bringing justice, or even taking over the world is a huge draw to a lot of people. Now, I don't know who I am supposed to be while playing this game, and I don't really have a reason to care about this dude from Shurima because they have no connection to me, the player.

And that's another thing, the existence of Summoners and the IoW was enough to tie the world together before. Take RekSai 's lore, for instance. It was pretty well done and fleshed out, but there's still nothing to explain why RekSai is now happily tunneling her way through Summoner's Rift. But in my own personal headcanon, where the IoW HASN'T been abolished, Summoners from the IoW are powerful enough to contain and control powerful creatures and people and are able to coerce them into being champions that fight in the League. Just look at Fiddlesticks and Nocturne , both were captured by Summoners and made to fight in the League so that they wouldn't wreak havoc on Runeterra. And it makes PERFECT sense that a peacekeeping organization made up of powerful mages would be able to capture RekSai to prevent her from terrorizing the citizens as she had been before.

And all it would take is the addition of "...and then she was captured by Summoners and joined the League of Legends".

In my head, I can do this for just about any champion, even the evil ones like Syndra could theoretically be overpowered by powerful Summoners, or she could even choose to join the League, using it as an international safe haven to avoid persecution from her enemies.

It makes so much more sense and honestly, I will keep pretending the League of Legends exists because there's no reason for me to play this game without putting in some sort of backstory that ties everything together. I still remember having my heart break on reading the announcement of the retcon and I think my interest in the game has waned ever since. I still love the characters, the world could be interesting, but it was so much better with something that ties it together and gives me a reason to play. But I shouldn't HAVE to do that on my own.

**TL;DR the lore could be just as good, arguably better, if the League and IoW still existed. **

I don't think anything that Narrative could do would make me happier than seeing the Retcon reversed, or the IoW coming back somehow. It would be really cool if there was some new organization of Summoners in Runeterra that could replace it, since I highly doubt the lore team is just going to undo the Retcon entirely.

34 Comments

kitcat3005/17/2015, 9:27:53 PM8 votes

I have thought about it, and I agree with there reasons for dropping the institute of war. What is disappointing was that they failed to follow up on the now Runeterra sized hole in the worlds story.

I Honestly believe that they are writing new lore in the background. They might even have some stories finished right now. However, they can't release what they do have finished, because anything that isn't covered will lead to severe backlash. So, They are probably keeping silent until they have covered** EVERYTHING**, and plan to release it all in one fell swoop.

The downside is that the longer it takes, the rage accumulated by us readers only grows. So I sincerely hope that whatever they have planed better be good.

GreenLore5/17/2015, 11:08:24 PM3 votes

The big problem with the IoW capturing Rek'sai is the same one that Fiddle,Brand,Renekton and Nocturne had(at least in chos case it was implied that he'd be smart enough to break free and smart enough to join back the league willingly for whatever reason). It means that she will never be able to do anything meaningful,ever again.She'll be on the list of captured champs and remain there for eternity,never attacking anyone,never defending her territory,never trying to expand her territory,nothing at all.

Also it kinda fails to make sense for champs like Syndra who are supposed to be geniusses with overwhelming power at her disposal,to be so much weaker than some random other mages.

Vistha Kai5/18/2015, 6:12:47 PM3 votes

something something something Syndra is evil something something something

Please. I've been through this shit once before. Don't make me copy paste all arguments why she isn't just evil.

Dr Poro5/17/2015, 9:46:44 PM3 votes

I thought they swiped everything so they could make a new story (which they already made) and reveal it piece by piece. However... We've had the first piece BUT WHERE'S THE REST???

I think it's fine that they all have their own side stories (it kinda feels like game of thrones) but there needs to be more story... They wiped a bunch of story when they came up with the Shurima theme, but then nothing happened anymore. I really expected more of Ezreal's story and I hope there'll come more.. But it's taking too long. It seems like Riot wiped the stories without even having new ones ready to be revealed. Or maybe they did have new ones but decided right before revealing that they weren't good enough?

I wish some day there will be a series about LoL where every character plays a role. That would be pretty hard, though as new characters keep rolling in and being forced to add them in the series limits the freedom of both the lore in the series and the choice of champion to be added. Like being required to add that kind of champ just because he's needed in the lore. Or missing opportunity in the lore because that champ wouldn't fit in the game. Although lore and game don't have to collide really (there'll definitely be a lot of characters in the series that won't be in the game) and champs don't have to be added in the series chronologically. But this would create a neverending job for whoever is working on it. But hey, if it pays off, why not?

Tesla Effect5/17/2015, 10:19:23 PM2 votes

Once a change has begun, you can not revert to the subjective good old days.

SaintCrazy5/17/2015, 9:53:33 PM2 votes

I do understand that the IoW is probably never coming back because I figure they will stick to their reasons for deleting it... that's understandable. But it left a giant hole in the world behind, and we need SOMETHING to fill it. I think the game's lore is much better off with something to unite it, rather than having characters whose stories branch off in a million directions (especially if those stories don't go anywhere).

Jeddy0175/19/2015, 2:15:42 AM1 votes

So say Riot undo the Retcon.Okay,the world doesn't have a giant ass hole in it anymore.But what about another issue with the lore that the presences of the League won't fix by itaelf?The issue of a lack of progression.

The return of the league won't suddenly give progress to the champs & plotlines stuck on chapter 1.With the League or not,this problem lies solely with Riot & their writers.Same with the problem of a lack of community engagement with Riot about the lore.Sure,players will have a solid lore world again & have a narrative reason for their in game battles,but the lore will still be stagnant for many characters.