The Release Rant Syndrome

I've been silently reading these boards for a few years now, and enjoying most of it, but there's one thing that bothers me a lot. Every time a new champion comes out the urge to write this little piece comes and I resist it. But with the combo of Galio and the two lovebirds, I have to say now's probably the time. It all boils down to one thing.

We should not complain about the fact that the champion doesn't match our expectations before we get the full experience.

What do I mean by this? Well, let's take a stroll back to about a year ago. The release of Jhin.

Nowadays he's the closest we've had in years to a complete success story in league. He has become a quintessential ADC, being played in every rank by a great variety of people, his gameplay remains fun and enjoyable, fresh and unique. And his character design is one of the best Riot have ever produced, like him or not.

Cut back to a year ago, the announcements happen. Champions' pages getting changed to make it seem like they were killed in dazzling displays by a mysterious sniper. A breath-taking animation with beautiful music, cutting to a distressing view of the man himself. The hype was built, and you could feel the expectations. And then, when the kit is released, the nightmare begins.

"He's not artistic enough." "Why aren't there more animations?" "I thought there would be a tree with blossoming flowers in his kit." "You've duped us with your promises, this champion's kit is very uninteresting."

Don't act like this didn't happen. It did, and if you go look at the release, comments very similar to these are still there. See for yourself.

http://na.leagueoflegends.com/en/page/champion-reveal-jhin-virtuoso

And there's where my problem lies. I'm not saying you shouldn't complain about a lackluster release, don't get me wrong. But hasty judgement leads to mistakes. And in this case, there was one thing missing for a fully informed judgement.

Jhin's VO.

The greatest part of the champion. The nexus of his identity, the glue that kept the character together. And once you heard it, you understood. He's not doing art. He's not making something beautiful. He thinks he is, but in reality he's a maniac. A murderous psychopath that makes horrible things pretty in his head. And that's why the teaser was called "Mind of the Virtuoso". See, this is nothing new here, I'm not imparting great knowledge, just emulating the thoughts someone would've had after all the pieces fit. You all know this now. And you also know that, contrary to popular belief back then, Jhin's kit fits like a glove because it is coordinated to a VO that has yet to be matched in brilliance and the character identity more akin to that of a delusional killer than that of an artist.

Essentially, this rant on rants is meant to say that I don't think most champions deserve the flak we give them on release. It's like reading a book and then going to see the movie and finding out that character you imagined a certain way doesn't look like you what you imagined, and now you're disappointed. I've felt this, and probably so have you. But then you go through the movie, and leave the room at the end with a big ol' smile because it ended up working perfectly despite not matching your expectations. So maybe, just maybe, let's look at the whole picture before declaring a verdict, and allow for these champions to defeat our skepticism and reshape their image with the arsenal at their disposal, from a good background short story to a unique twist in their kit or a very, very nice skin.