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What makes Evelynn, Evelynn? Why do we like her? An open discussion. Reds welcome

deceptopus·3/14/2015, 6:53:26 AM·9 votes·2,059 views

Evelynn's due for a champ rework/update. It's a long LONG way's off, not even started in fact. The champ update team has said a few times they don't have clear plans for what to do with her and haven't begun brainstorming yet. Given the size of Eve's fanbase, it wouldn't be surprising if there weren't any Eve fans on the team, so I think as fans it's all the more important we speak up. This is the perfect time to have a discussion on what makes Eve Eve. Now, before the details are set in stone. There's been a lot of turmoil in this sector of the league world for a while. Some quality teamwork on this project could do a lot to help warm relations here on the lore board.

When breaking down a character there's 2 distinct parts that make up who they are, their in game mechanics and their "character", broadly meaning their appearance, personality, and backstory. Since I feel that both are equally important to a character's identity, I'll try to cover both aspects, and I welcome anyone else to do the same. I'll also try to keep to "high" concepts over minutiae like numbers and specific story ideas. This thread is more about highlighting the things we consider important than proposing end solutions. If you have a super rad idea for her I won't stop you from posting it though, this is an open discussion.

I'll also be heavily relating her in terms of the old lore, in which the League existed. This is not exactly a call for a redaction of the reboot, but because that is simply the only lore that exists right now, and how Evelynn is viewed in game and in lore I feel is heavily colored by the existence of the league as an entity. A lore reboot I feel should take that into consideration in order to preserve her identity.

-The person- Eve is a mystery to others. We know Eve doesn't like to tell people all about herself. The people of runeterra don't know who she fights for or why. She's widely considered to be just an assassin for hire. It should be noted however that mysterious does not equate to hidden though. In a lot of ways Eve comes off as a social butterfly. Becoming a champion in the league, a very real form of celebrity in Runeterra, her public exploits with fellow champions, her extravagant eye catching attire, it all paints Eve as a person who desires attention, either in fear or adoration. A flamboyant character who captivates others, but doesn't reveal her true intentions, Evelynn comes across very much as a classic femme fatale.

Eve has a dark side. While it may seem obvious, it still should be stated. Eve delights in the suffering of others. While she may be capable of putting on a civil face for the public, in battle Evelynn fights like a monster. Whether a vampire or not, she feeds upon her victims. Whether for sustenance or for fun, she's invigorated by it. Older Eve players may remember a time when her ult would restore her health on kills and give her highlander level movement and attack speed. Even when not in battle, Eve's been shown to be temperamental and hot headed. More Katherina than Bianca, for any Shakespeare fans.

Eve's allegiances are unclear. During her time in the league, Eve was a free agent, and much speculation has been made about her origins. Probably foremost would be speculation that she is from the shadow isles. An important note is that the shadow isles didn't really exist at the time of Eve's inception. None of the other shadow isles champs that existed at the time were stated to be from the shadow isles. Karthus was from a non specific swamp, and Mordekaiser simply appeared in Noxus. Whether intentional or not, it does seem like Eve suspicious activities should tie in with the Shadow isles' stealthy appearance on the Runeterran stage.

Ties to Mordekaiser? Between sharing a potential origin, a catchy motto "Misery loves company", a sadistic streak, and a wardrobe that could only be described as "prickly"; if it were all just coincidence, they'd be a match made in heaven. I know I want to know what's going on there at any rate, and it'd be pretty disappointing if it were glossed over and never mentioned again.

-Powers- Powers? How Eve does what she does isn't particularly clear. She can hide in broad daylight, in plain view, in an outfit about as subtle as a Carnival dancer's. Not as well as she used to, but still, well enough that her ability to disappear seems like more than just walking on tiptoes. She's also able to lash out at enemies with pure malice. These things point towards magical abilities, but Eve's also capable of a lot of brute force as well. Ripping and tearing at enemies with her nails and moving with superhuman swiftness. Eve is equal parts dark sorcery and monstrous strength, with a very likely literal vicious bloodlust.

-The Look- Eve's look is... unique. Love it or hate it, it's instantly recognizable and it's a big part of who she is. I admit I may be biased as a member of the love it camp, but I don't think any major changes would do her any good. Her flamboyant appearance does a lot to help her mesh with the look of the shadow isles, which is eclectic in a fantastical fairy tale style of exaggeration. There's the obvious hot potato topic of sex appeal of course. Eve's got a very exceptional physique, and she shows a lot of it. Whatever the argument may be to change that, I think it's a big part of who she is and it's well within her character to keep the curves and the body baring bdsm wardrobe. As mentioned above, Eve shouldn't have any problem with flaunting her looks, taking any advantage she can to throw her prey off guard or lull them into a false sense of security. Maybe it wouldn't be appropriate if Eve got retconned into a Noxian gladiator or something, but uh, I think if that's where the update ends up, there's bigger problems at hand. With so much of her story left unknown, Eve's appearance really should be the last thing that gets changed for her identity to survive an overhaul.

-In Game- What is Evelynn's identity in game? At the bottom line, I feel that it's finding holes in the enemy, and exploiting them. So far Eve has been balanced around her ability to stealth, often to her expense, for the sake of the game's health. Is stealth that core to Eve's identity? Possibly, but I feel it's more of a tool that she uses to enable her identity. Much like a spy or secret agent, she plays the opportunist, looking for the enemy's weakspot, be it positioning or a blown cooldown, and then she pounces. Like an animal or monster, she's on top of you tearing you apart. If this play pattern could be kept, even without stealth, I think she would remain the same in spirit. If that play pattern can't be kept, even with stealth she wouldn't be the same. I'm sure many Eve players remember her days as the roaming ward without much fondness.

Agree? Disagree? I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on what makes Eve Eve, or even just lore tidbits that you like and would want held onto.

16 Comments

turkeyBACON3/14/2015, 5:40:46 PM3 votes

After reading your post, I'm starting to see her as more natural disaster rather than mythical beast a la succubus or vampire. Appears out of no where, tears shit up, makes a scene, leaves a trail of horror and damage in her wake and then disappears just as quickly.

It might be interesting if they made her a harbinger or personification of impending disaster. Not exactly sure what that would look like though.

SunGold3/15/2015, 2:17:54 AM2 votes

Evelynn

I like to think that eve is not a weeaboo champion like ahri, sona EZ and whatever... for me she is more like a, shhhh, dominatrix (at least this is how i feel when i play her), a champion that feeds on the enemies (and sometimes her allies) misery and pain hihihahahahahah!

67chrome3/14/2015, 7:47:34 AM2 votes

Agree? Disagree?

I'm not sure wearing revealing clothing shows much personality. The way revealing clothing is used in western culture it's mostly the opposite, creating cardbaord cut-outs of characters devoid of personality, fulfilling no other purpose than titillation. That isn't to say revealing clothing can't be done well (or titillation is bad), in Nidalee's case her revealing wardrobe totally makes sense for her character - especially because it's practical for her environment and implied cultural background without serving the explicit purpose of attracting a mate.

But in Eve's case? I don't really see any practical purpose for Eve's outfit.

Besides her boots, which are awesome and used as weapons. While most of her outfit is awkward, her boots are amazing - and give Eve a very unique, signature weapon that seperates her from the other 120+ champions in the game.

I remember a Rioter opened a post on whether a potential Eve model update should include biological clothing like Zyra or Elise, or be more humanoid with actual clothing (as she currently is). If he phrased it biological clothing like Kerrigan from Starcraft I'm sure a lot of people would be on board with that option, but a lot of responses seemed skeptical at the idea Elise's clothing being biological, and thus how well Riot could pull off a similar look with Eve.

I'm more for just clothing clothing, as, again, really like Eve's boots and kicking things to death. If she was changed more to a Kerrigan-esque aesthetic, her weapons would probably feel more like the basic claws/fists that a solid 1/4th of LoL's champions use to AA things.

As for her play-style: It's always been so awkward, and Eve's gone through 1 kit re-work already, so I don't really see much beyond "she's an assassin" in that.

She's usually been a fairly unique type of assassin based more on sabotage than the more standard "dive on a carry in the midst of a team fight" assassin, though I'm 99% sure the whole not-diving-on-a-carry-in-team-fights deal is what's causing so much issues with her kit. Shaco and, until his rework, Rengar, suffered from similar issues. Pretty much useless in a team-fight to the point they split-push 100% of the time, focus on exploiting a crazy powerful early-game, do things like counter-jungle and inspire terror with roaming the map early, and doing a lot of tricky RL assassin things over flashy acrobat things that seem healthier for the game.

As long as Riot keeps Eve as something recognizable as an assassin, her kit should probably feel fitting.

InvisaBishh3/15/2015, 1:57:37 AM1 votes

Very well thought out post that hits everything I love about Evelynn. The only thing I don't agree on is the stealth changes because Evelynn is the quintessential stealth champion, there will be no one like her.

KidSpectre3/17/2015, 3:29:47 PM1 votes

Eve feels like a shadow-dwelling stalker to me. Even in gameplay, I find myself skulking about on the edge of their vision, just watching and waiting for them to make a wrong move, blow a vital skill on wave clear/trading before I pounce. I even follow people through the jungle waiting for them to get alone. It's quite exhilarating (and difficult!) When Eve gets reworked, I wish they would preserve that stealthy, stalker-like feel.

To clarify, this isn't the same kind of feel as a hunter like Rengar, though it is similar in ways.

moogle8903/18/2015, 11:59:32 PM1 votes

I always saw her as a sort of vampire. But not the blood sucking kind, more like the psychic emotion draining kind. Her looking like a dominatrix and saying things like, "I like it when they scream" makes me think she feeds off the emotion of pain. That was one way I thought of her.

Another way I thought of her was that while she's.....extreme in her methods of causing destruction, I don't really see her as an evil character. I mean in the old Journal of Justice, she was in a relationship with Twisted Fate and taught a dance class in effing Demacia. They obviously trusted her enough to teach people something, so she can't be all that bad.

As for her origins, while she's connected to the Shadow Isles (as far as we know right now) I had a idea that she really gives no shits about what the ultimate goal of the Shadow Isles is and is sort of a traitor to them in order to fuel her own agenda.

WhiskerWow3/14/2015, 3:22:20 PM1 votes

I've played Evelynn a few times, and I really hope they keep her play style in some way or form. It's super satisfying to just spam everything to rip someone apart. Almost all of the skill of playing her is planning on when to go in and how to go in. Sometimes, it's the waiting game and you have to wait for the enemy to extend just a little too far.

mirAcIe3/14/2015, 7:47:46 PM1 votes

Considering she was in a relationship with TF and that she's an assassin for hire, I see her as one of those "neutral" villains with superpowers who have sad backstory and they would temporarily side with bad guys or good guys if it's in their interests.