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Ixaocan's reveal was uneventful and anticlimactic :/

Steel Lady·7/1/2019, 6:23:25 AM·40 votes·16,148 views

So Ixtal is supposed to be the Wakanda of Runeterra, a vast and extremely advanced modern civilization, emerging from the jungle with the rise of Qiyana, out to share great advancements in magic, technology, specifically in elemental control. Ixtal is supposed to be a vast oasis of knowledge and history opening Runeterra up to a whole new era of enlightenment, yet since Ixtal's introduction there hasn't been much enlightening happening. All we've been given was a new faction page, a couple of images of fancy buildings and not much else. We've yet to be introduced to Ixtali culture, what the people are like, what they look like, how they're dressed, how their streets look like, class systems, etc. Pretty sure we haven't had a faction introduction since the introduction of the Institute of War with the Journal of Justice back before it was discontinued in 2014. It's been more than 5 years since then and the moment we finally have a new faction to introduce, y'all do the bare minimum.

When Piltover and Zaun were reimagined they were given this whole new introduction page where you could scroll from Piltover down to the trenches of Zaun that described different parts of the cityscape giving us a taste of what it meant to live in either Piltover or Zaun. Years later we're introduced to Ixtal and it's the most anticlimactic bs ever. Ixtal's faction page looks so empty and blank and it's an eyesore if I'm being honest. I know we've only been introduced to one sole Ixtali champion but I mean if you're going to introduce a whole new faction into the game after years since the last, at least put some effort into it. A lot of us were excited to see this whole new facet of Runeterra, all the new content, new lore, new theories that could arise, you can imagine our disappointment getting nothing but 3 short paragraphs of text and 4 pictures of random buildings without expanding on what Ixtal is actually like.

Rito pls give us more Ixtal content, it feels like y'all got lazy and just pumped out whatever you had at the time, which honestly probably is the case D:

36 Comments

mrmeddyman7/1/2019, 7:11:11 AM23 votes

Kinda like that Bandle update where nothing new about Bandle City or any art at all was given despite being promised it last year. Maybe it's the new patch cycle. Updating Universe every two weeks doesn't really give them a chance to put anything substantial out. Malphite didn't even get a proper bio the poor guy.

Agent Corgi7/1/2019, 7:37:18 AM18 votes

I whole-heartedly agree. Considering this is a new region/faction on Runeterra, there should have been a Lore Event dedicated to that (think back to 2014's Shuriman Ascension Event & 2015's Burning Tides Event).

However Riot had to put Teamfight Tactics's Launch together,which undoubtedly took alot of the time & resources they had. Coincidentally, they had plans to bring back the Arcade Skinline & an event like that wouldn't take up too much of their time. There was also rumors that Qiyana was leaked far too early, but I don't know how much weight those rumors carry.

GreenLore7/1/2019, 9:28:55 PM9 votes

I actually think that they might have saved something for later.

Someone on the boards here noticed that the symbol on the teaser for the next champion matches up with Ixacoan, so Qiyana might be simply the setup for a bigger event.

Valor Bot7/1/2019, 5:20:36 PM9 votes

Personally, I just don’t feel the region is unique enough to provide any real interest outside of the factions we already have. Elemental society with architecture built to harmonize with nature? Ionia. Isolationist government? Demacia’s got that covered. Shrouded from sight by a mist that protects it from outsiders? That was the Blessed Isles’ thing.

I guess it’s cool that it’s situated in a massive rainforest (we didn’t have one of those yet AFAIK), and the arcologies are an interesting concept too, but the rest of the region’s identity doesn’t feel unique enough, IMO. Or as you said, maybe we’re just missing more information to make it truly stand out.

Tin Obliterates7/1/2019, 7:22:40 PM8 votes

I kept forgetting Qiyana exists until I see someone lock her in in champ select.

CytheGuy7/1/2019, 4:55:30 PM5 votes

I feel like after 10 years of plot development there shouldn't really be any more stuff added to the world, especially on the scale of an entire civilization.

Creating more demons? Sure, why not.

There's a big fish in Bildgewater-an waters that we didn't know about before? Sounds cool.

Giant space dragon? Epic.

New civilization? ... But where did it come from? With people like Ezreal and Cass (pre-snake) you'd think it would be really hard for anyone except Yordles to hide their existence.

SlowChemical7/1/2019, 6:58:54 PM4 votes

Keep in mind, Qiyana may have been rushed out early since China leaked her existence I believe. Possible the stories weren't ready yet. But just a theory, not positive.

Darius Strada7/5/2019, 11:37:28 PM3 votes

Wakanda? I thought they were Aztecs?

4 Step Cadence7/1/2019, 6:19:53 PM3 votes

I honestly was hoping for, well... Not more humans. We only have 2 factions that aren't humans(Bandle City and the Void), and given the fact that Runeterra is home to some pretty incredible things, I think Ixtal had a lot more potential in that regard.

MetaVolca7/1/2019, 3:14:32 PM2 votes

They had no reason to create a new faction/region when they already have 12 of them and like half haven't had any updates in over a year. Qiyana could have just as well been an Ionian (or better yet, non existent)

hewhodoesnotcare7/1/2019, 5:32:30 PM1 votes

The enlightment is in riots pocket full of cash

AbiwonKenabi7/3/2019, 9:10:39 PM1 votes

I did feel like it was a bit underwhelming.

I honestly didn't think we needed more factions and what's odd is that it isn't really new. Its basically Kumungu jungle but now it has a proper civilization in it. They could have said Qiyana is from Kumungu and it wouldn't have been much different. For whatever reason, they chose not to make Kumungu the "faction" but instead introduce a new one that is literally inside of Kumungu and associated with other Champions associated with Kumungu. Don't get me wrong, I am intrigued by Ixaocan's civilization and culture, but as you said, we didn't get much.

Feels better to think of it as fleshing out Kumungu (or Ixtal, whatever we're calling it now) rather than a new faction, but Riot really pushed it as a new faction for some reason. I think that was the mistake.

Also, looking back to the short story "At the Edge of the World" which came out months ago, their slow exploration of the jungle was impeded by the jungle itself. This was alluding to Ixtal's elemental magic months before Qiyana's reveal, which I thought was really neat. "At the Edge of the World" was a great read, too.

Caretaker Jack7/4/2019, 7:39:11 AM1 votes

I honestly think Kumungu should be its own faction seperate from Ixtal.

Camille Ferrøs7/1/2019, 12:24:42 PM1 votes

They really did nothing about it. Oh yeah, there is Wakanda Ixtal in Runeterra now and here is Qiyana. When Piltover and Zaun came out it was like an event. Color stories short stories etc, tons of art. But that was back then now they are busy rewriting every single champion they rewrote in the past 5 years.