No Growth

Latest champ lore updates have me agitated again. I am far from the first to be vexed by all the retcons, heck I may not even be the first to post these thoughts (too many pages to sift through to be sure), and Riot has valid points about the League making it difficult to introduce new champions, but I'd like to put in my two cents on the matter / vent a little.

My problem with the retcons is established upon two main points. 1.) When a champions lore is changed, it changes the champion. A rioter said, in response to a comment saying changing a character was like taking them out of the game: > {quoted} > > But we aren't taking any champion out of the game? I don't feel like that's a fair analogy. I'm not in charge of lore, so you're all set there!

• This is technically true; When playing a match champions have the same abilities, graphics, and voice overs (usually) as they did before a retcon. However the core of what a champion is based on, their inner machinations and motivations, are fundamentally different. This leaves us with a facsimile of the champion from before the retcon, so while the champion is not actually taken out of the game they are replaced with a stranger that leaves invested players missing an old buddy. Admittedly the majority of players don't care, but it is deeply disturbing to have and idolized character suddenly be something else. Like if DC suddenly made Superman an earthling who got hit with a piece of kryptonite and obtained superpowers. Same look, same powers, different person.

2.)The other problem with retcons is that they hobble story growth.

• The Freljord, Shurima, and Bilgewater events were/are fantastic, but they all **ADD **very little to the story. The reason I say they add little is because they all replace what already existed, leading to minimal net gain. *_New Freljord lore added a bunch of background, replaced old with Trundle changing the most. No growth. ---*Shurmia added new lore for several more champions, the stories for Nasus,Renketon, and especially Skarner were completely new. Majority of this new lore replaced the old, some radically changing champions character, nominal growth. --Bilgewater is adding new story as I type, so I wont judge yet. However it has already added new lore to Champions like TF, by replacing the old. I think I established the point.

The most substantial problem from so much retconning is that it stagnates characters and stories. Almost everything added lore wise in the past year has been accomplished by throwing something out, leaving us right where we metaphorically started at the games launch; with a bunch of really cool characters that don't actually do or accomplish anything.

However the reason the retconning perturbs me, and I believe a fair portion of those who care about lore, most is that it would be so easy for Riots writers to add to the established lore. While I know not the true challenges they face I have read all their works and find it to be truly inspired, and am left certain that if they wanted to they could pen marvelous additions to the current world state.

For example: If they had written that the League had been dissolved due to all three members of the High Council of Equity (the ones whose power was the threat keeping the nations from fighting elsewhere) where gone, (leaving the Institute toothless and letting everyone else do whatever the hell they want) instead of just saying it never existed, I bet my left foot far fewer people would be so livid.

To put this whole argument into a sentence. ~_ If all you do is retell the past differently, then no matter how much changes nothing actually grows._