Brand, BIO update /VGU?
Hey, When can we expect a Brand BIO update, or maybe a VGU? He was released in 2011 and if im correct he got his first texture update in Patch 4.18, and its really starting to show its age, and his bio is kinda lackluster :(
11 Comments
Warning: expressing thoughts and feelings with exaggerated fluff and excessive rambling.
**Q: **Who is this Freljordian Kegan Rhode?
My Opinion: Why the hell should we care who this faceless person is, why not scrap him out entirely? Because his involvement is just to turn into Brand anyway. At least human Nautilus' name is forgotten/unknown, since it’s basically irrelevant to the character and even if he did have an official name it’s still the monster we came to read about in the first place.
If Kegan remains Narrative will need to decide if they want Kegan/Brand to be another Varus- where the two struggle for body control. Or to be another Pantheon- where we learn about the human, only to have it essentially killed off and now redundant to the rest of the champion’s lore.
Suggestion: Instead of yet another human possessed by a god-like being, how about we just make Brand the sole character and forget this parasite take-over bullshit as enough champs already fulfill this idea. Like Brand’s VO doesn’t exactly acknowledge Kegan, he exists in a single paragraph story and that’s it. Nothing too difficult to scrap and no one will miss him.
**Q: **What is this entity called Brand?
My opinion: Shruggs. The vague concept for a being made of fire and malice, with no rhyme or reason behind its actions/motivations. The current Bio says he’s a living “World Rune.” I’m yet to be convinced that Brand being a WR is any good, I guess that’s cause magically powerful beings who’re sentient inanimate objects already belongs to another demographic and if this did remain a thing for Brand I’d start to argue why he isn’t just reinvented into another Darkin, would make sense.
Suggestion: Well I have a few suggestions, but no clue if they would be any good in practice.
- Brand is a demon like Tahm, Nocturne & Evelynn with a strong heritage in Shurima culture. This is a very simple fit IMO wouldn’t affect the character too much and again IMO makes a fair amount of sense. Like I’ve said before Brand is a rather one-dimensional character, his goals are pretty narrow minded. Demons are confined to their core theme, as their personalities & motivations don’t extend to far away from them at all.
- Brand is a primordial being in the same vain as Malphite, whatever that may be. This sound good in thought, but I’m worried it’d be too similar to the Demi-Gods in the Freljord as they’re all god-like things who are spiritually related to others of equal power.
- Brand could be updated into completely unique that my imagination cannot fathom at the point in time. We leave what exactly that may be up to whoever takes on the responsibly of Brand’s LU.
Q: What is the point in Brand, what does he bring to the narrative table?
My Opinion: Well short of completely changing his lore in unpredictable ways that could give an answer to this better than his current lore can. Then I would say nothing, Brand brings very little to the table except fire and malice like I said earlier. Brand’s always had particularly limited character depth, which is fine as not all get to be compelling like Skarner, Swain, Camille etc.
Suggestion: Even one of the things I’ve thought about was what does Brand do in his spare time, like is every single step he takes in life just burn this, burn that? Sounds fucking exhausting even if you’re an all-powerful entity. At least if he was a demon, like Evelynn who does spend every waking moment torturing victims then some of their actions could be explained as a need for sustenance or satisfaction.
TL;DR: Fucking scrap the entire thing and start from scratch because nothing is truly compelling or redeeming from Brand's current Bio. Ditch Kegan Rhode he just distracts from Brand as the main character. Forget this sentient World Rune bull-crap, never except with Brand has it been implied that WR's are sentient things anyway. So I would rather Brand be converted into a Shuriman demon as it’s the easiest solution.
Regardless fingers crossed for an LU sometime soon and not something ridiculous like three years from now. I hope Reyla (JellBug) gets Brand’s LU, she’s proven to be quite accomplished at developing the monster characters of League.
I'd love to see him get an LU along with half the other champions in the game.
I think as things stand, Brand isn't in a bad place. Sure, he looks a little rough, but he is by no means the worst of it, and his lore is so ambiguous that it can last a while without needing updating, even if it's bland.
There are much worse, much older, much uglier champions that need work done to them to bring them to standards before Brand can be considered.
