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New Varus lore highlights general disconnect between lore and gameplay.

Quepha·12/4/2017, 8:11:00 PM·3 votes·671 views

This has been a common problem in champion backstories over the years, the lore team writes a backstory that doesn't relate to the gameplay of a champion, or the gameplay side of the champion has little to no relation to the story written for them. Infamous examples would be Lux's old backstory describing her using her light magic to render herself invisible, implying a stealth mechanic in her kit or Aatrox's story describing him as a being who inspired bloodlust in select soldiers who caught his eye (Tryndamere being one of them) yet his actual kit had zero mechanics that brought out anything from his allies, just a simple, selfish diver kit.

Varus's old lore described him as a trained warden for a sacred Ionian temple. From a fortified position he singlehandedly defeated an entire army. Varus's gameplay, whether by intention or not, seems to fit this kind of warrior as he has exceptional range of both his auto attacks and abilities and some of the best waveclear of any adc. While safe under a tower Varus can simultaneously clear waves and harass the enemy team, making him incredibly useful against sieges. His play is efficient and impersonal.

Varus's new lore changes him to a mix of two hunters and a Darkin. The nimble hunters regularly trek through thick wilderness without clear visibility and their success depends on their intimate knowledge of the local flora and fauna. The Darkin is described as a sadistic killer who loves to torment his victims. When you think of a kit for a character that's an almost schizophrenic mix of these three people, you would think of abilities to let you track, trap and assassinate specific targets and mobility to follow them through the twisting paths of the jungle while also staying safe from their allies, maybe a kit like Kindred's or Jhin's. Varus's current kit has none of these elements.

I just think Riot's lore team really needs to consider the gameplay of the champion they're rewriting more often, this feels like the lore of a completely relaunched or new champion but the reality is that it's tacked onto an established and completely unrelated kit.

22 Comments

Rindin1412/4/2017, 8:17:03 PM3 votes

I would say that the problem with Varus's rework is that they took an established and interesting story and chucked it right out the window.

I find it hard to grasp why a company like Riot would invest in changing an existing lore that worked the way it was rather than working on filling in one of the many other holes in the rest of their lore

Stars Shaper12/4/2017, 8:12:34 PM2 votes

I don't see it this way. Varus looks like some1 who exploits raw power and corruption which is exactly what he does ingame.

Zezockary12/4/2017, 8:21:58 PM2 votes

Originally Lux was going to have her W make people go invisible instead of giving them a shield, but it was removed late in development. Her doing it in the story is kind of a reference to that.

I don't really have an opinion on the rest of it, just thought i would drop some quick info on a small point you made.

Tesla Effect12/4/2017, 8:32:25 PM2 votes

Read "Dark Kin", it uses gameplay abilities within the story itself.

WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOO12/4/2017, 8:36:59 PM2 votes

While the lore and gameplay are officially divorced, I would still rather lore not be forced to slow to the speed of gameplay change. If we had to wait for a champion to get a VGU in order to receive new lore I think I'd die of boredom.