Boards›Story, Art, & Sound

I feel a bit sad for Aatrox...

HudnofskiBleh·6/14/2018, 6:26:58 PM·43 votes·21,789 views

I imagine the Darkin before the were sealed away. They honestly had a noble purpose. Rhaast seems like he honestly just wanted to kill things, while Varus... I don't even know how he felt about fighting against the Void. But Aatrox genuinely believed that he stood for something great. He fought to protect them, and they betrayed him. It makes me sad, listening to some of his lines.

"We march to battle... Let me carve flesh, let me cloak myself in the slaughter. Hide me in their carnage... Hide me from this suffering..." "I have no goodness left, it was taken from me, stolen! I... am the nemesis of life." "The heavens, the endless skies folding into each other. Where are they now?" "How far I have fallen! A god... reduced to a prisoner!" "Once in noble battle, I screamed against the silence. I stood as light against the darkness. Now, I serve a new master... oblivion..." "I am but an unholy copy of life... A mockery of its freedom... And born in the cruel betrayal of the noble ideals I would've served."

He truly feels betrayed, and listening to these lines makes me feel for him. Aatrox is genuinely suffering from the pain of being turned on by those he trusted, and wishes everyone else to be a part of his suffering. Good job Rito. You made me feel bad about being free because this imaginary video game character got betrayed by some other imaginary video game characters.[cass-cry]

42 Comments

RiotWAAARGHbobo6/14/2018, 7:43:44 PM52 votes

His anger, comes from his despair.

TheDevice6/15/2018, 2:59:16 AM7 votes

I really like how many levels Aatrox has.

He's not so linear as he once was. He almost has a sense of confusion, like he's at war with himself. He and the other Darkin are definitely on a crusade to wipe out the world but he still remembers what he was before. Like at some lines you can hear him sound doubtful, like he wishes he wasn't what he is now, or he'll sound like he's trying to convince himself of his convictions, but most the time he's completely set on oblivion.

Then you can also get a kick out of some of the jokes he says :P

Voidzilla6/14/2018, 9:12:42 PM6 votes

When we only saw his interaction-lines, it made him seem like just a mindless, rage-induced meathead. Now, hearing his other lines, it really contextualizes his rage and gives it more meaning.

He has several great lines. One of my favorite interactions now is with Zoe, and it's such a simple one: "Aspect of Change! Now you die!" Considering the context behind that in relation to his other quotes, it really conveys the pain and anger Zoe (or at least the Aspect) has caused him, and is actually just as heart-wrenching as it is terrifying.

Great work from Riot's art/sound team, both to the writers and voice actors.

JCPANDIT6/14/2018, 8:49:19 PM4 votes

His lines inspire pity from me - to others, he rubs his immortality in their face. To himself, he actually seems to resent his immortality, at times.

But I’m confused by his goal. Once he kills everything off... then what? He’s bored. He’s assumedly stuck on Runeterra. He’s created a new kind of prison for himself.

AviSolus6/14/2018, 9:27:04 PM4 votes

To be honest, the only part I don't like about the VO is the accent and how he sounds when he is screaming. I feel like it should just be deeper overall, but hey, personal preference.

Frontline Fury6/14/2018, 11:54:59 PM4 votes

I feel like Aatrox is an extremely relatable character now. One thing is for sure - when it comes to writing, you did us Aatrox mains justice.

Also, there’s no need for me to flame people when my champion does it for me so that’s a bonus

Ebonmaw Dragon6/14/2018, 8:17:22 PM4 votes

I feel very sad for him, but not in a good way... he is rather pathetic. Driven not only by anger, but envy, like a spoiled child who cant get want he wants and tries to take away what the others have in order to feel better about himself... He has no reasons for living anymore and decided to take the lives of others due that.

Im being harsh with him? Maybe

Renekton has basically the same conflict, he was a noble warrior trapped in a bad place for long time, convinced that he was betrayed by the person that he trusted more and driven to the point of Insanity... But the diference between them is that Renekton focus his anger on the one that betrayed him, not life itself like Aatrox. Even if Renekton is supposed to be the one who is insane, it is Aatrox the one with an insane goal, a goal that he will never reach.

Meep Man6/14/2018, 8:35:55 PM4 votes

Cool backstory, still murder.

DerMangoJoghurt6/15/2018, 9:05:41 AM3 votes

Don't forget his interactions towards voidborn:

Do I resemble you, abomination? Your form isn't my destiny... is it?

He seems so genuinely concerned about what will become of him.

SpecterVonBaren6/15/2018, 3:47:26 AM2 votes

Something fun that I feel like I'm the only one seeing in his lines are that it kinda sounds like he's trying to teach the various warriors he taunts. I don't know why but the way he puts them down sounds more like he's trying to rile them up to fight rather than truly seeing them as beneath him.

rtbf2256182416/15/2018, 10:42:01 AM2 votes

Now imagine if that kind of emotion was used in conjunction with the previous Aatrox VO. It would be far more impactful.

Trivictorman6/14/2018, 8:20:25 PM1 votes

Me too

NA Darklarik6/14/2018, 11:56:45 PM1 votes

Marked, because i just listened to his VO and its heartbreaking

Vlada Cut6/15/2018, 12:57:47 PM1 votes

Indeed. As if Aatrox IRL would resemble paet of the humamity who had given up hope.

NotaRobot10066/16/2018, 7:04:56 PM1 votes

To add some fuel to the fire, we don't know what Varus and Rhaast were like before they were sealed. It's possible that they were all at least reasonably decent people. The problem is that getting trapped in solitary confinement as inanimate objects for hundreds of years generally isn't a great way to guarantee someone's continued altruism or stability.