Kayle's personality and a possible compromise that might fix it.

Elswayre·Feb 21, 2019·6 votes·3,382 views

With tone deaf comments like this from scathlock "As we've said many times - "good" and "evil" are relative, and we're not aiming for such 2-dimensional tropes anymore." its clear we aren't getting a rework on the VOs for kayle or her lore. We're stuck with this travesty so now I'm going to try and offer a constructive solution.

But first i need to make one thing clear. Riot, stop it! get some help. People like playing good characters some people like playing bad characters. this doesn't mean that all characters need to be good or evil but this nonsense about not making paragons or villains anymore needs to stop. if you guys don't want to make games that a portion of your player base likes YOU WILL LOSE A PORTION OF YOUR PLAYER BASE. Not today maybe not tomorrow but eventually you WILL lose them. So now that we've established that. lets talk about compromises and solutions that stand a chance of maybe making both parties happy.

Riot seems to want to rewrite every character as an A-hole Aatrox is a screaming A-hole, Akali is a stealthy A-hole, Ezreal is an immature A-hole and Kayle is a self righteous A-hole. We get it you don't know how to write compelling characters so you make them all morally grey A-holes. That's ok. if you have stats that show it increases sales or profit that's awesome! So let me float an idea that could make you even more money. Make some skins for champs like these that aren't jerks or A-holes. for example aether wing kayle is no longer a hopeful and positive personality. line likes "transcend imperfection" are gone. that line told us that kayle wanted every one (not just her) to improve and to try to be better. So try making skins with new VOs that are more uplifting like Star Guardian Kayle, or Not-a-D***bag Kayle. Anything to remove the 12 metric tonnes of heavily concentrated self righteous teen angst you guys injected directly into her femoral artery. I main Yasuo, i already get enough brooding BS from him.

lastly, here's a pole. if you agree or disagree with me about making light hearted skins as a compromise then vote!

Edit: don't forget to upvote.

9 Comments

BoringLittleFFeb 21, 20197 votes

People forget several things

It all took place during the Runic Wars. The very wars that gave Ryze PTSD. This place was hell.
People were at each other's throats. It probably wasn't uncommon for surviving groups to try and consume the weaker ones.
It was a dog eat dog place with lots of killing, maraudeuring and pillaging because everyone was convinced they are not going to live through this mess.
People were scared back then and relied on laws to keep them safe.
Kayle brought order to the chaos. Instead of hiding she went and eliminated the threats while making the people who followed her stronger. Her militia wasn't with her because they feared her. They were proud to fight on her side. They no longer felt scared.
Kayle gave them the hope that the ruin is over and they are marching towards a stable, safe world.
Kayle thought that too: and if her mother found salvation in Acension, this is how it should be.
As for the person who assumed leading position, she did a lot of work that secured the survival of her people.
Targon is NOT the goody-good kingdom on top of the mountains. It clearly doesn't care for people of Runeterra.

ElswayreFeb 21, 20191 votes

sure, there's a lot of lore there. but either you missed my point or didn't read my post. I understand we can't undo this new lore. so I'm trying to offer a compromise that hopefully would make both Riot and the players who like good guys happy.

BoringLittleFFeb 21, 20196 votes

{quoted}

sure, there's a lot of lore there. but either you missed my point or didn't read my post. I understand we can't undo this new lore. so I'm trying to offer a compromise that hopefully would make both Riot and the players who like good guys happy.

I didn't. Of course more skins with different personality will come. There is no doubt of that.

However, I don't just agree with the idea that "everyone is an asshole now"

Aatrox - tortured man stuck in the horrible condition and his wraith actuall feels meaningful

Ezreal - cheeky adventurer

Nunu - kind dreamer and yeti

Swain - calm, pensive general

I can agree with Akali and Irelia with you (mostly Akali) because her attitude doesn't match her bio. However, she was a jerk before the rework as well, so it's not really a change here.

Also, Morgana is not exactly an asshole now. And I love this idea because we have vengeful dark characters/characters who speak about inflciting pain and suffering Kalista Hecarim Thresh Evelynn Veigar

A dark-themed champion who is not bent on destruction for self-gratification is something new and fresh. Yes, she could be the Queen of Evil, but they have already established that LeBlanc is a centuries old cunning sorceress who uses the darkest magic and was so horryfying that she backstabbed Mordekaiser himself.

ElswayreFeb 21, 20191 votes

Aright, I can give you nunu and swain. however i disagree with you. my point is kayle is an a-hole. though i will say that morg's story is pretty cool. still Baval said it pretty well.

{quoted}

Riot forgets that if you ONLY do the "3 dimensional bet you didnt see that coming" archtypes they end up becoming 2 dimensional. If every good character and civilization is "surprise theyre only good because theyre tyrants" and every evil one is "maybe theyre not so evil after all, just misunderstood" it gets boring fast.

BoringLittleFFeb 21, 20191 votes

{quoted}

Aright, I can give you nunu and swain. however i disagree with you. my point is kayle is an a-hole. though i will say that morg's story is pretty cool. still Baval said it pretty well.

I think, planning an intricate, novel or comic worthy lore for a MOBA is not always a good decision. Developers are still tied to the gameplay, so it comes first and not all players really read the lore, but they ask for cool reworks of the old champs.

I cannot say I don't generally like how the design and the concept has developed since 2009, but unless Riot decides to launch a full-scale comic universe with plot arcs and everything, their drive towards multi-layered morality is bound to have issues.

BavalFeb 21, 20193 votes

Riot forgets that if you ONLY do the "3 dimensional bet you didnt see that coming" archtypes they end up becoming 2 dimensional. If every good character and civilization is "surprise theyre only good because theyre tyrants" and every evil one is "maybe theyre not so evil after all, just misunderstood" it gets boring fast.

The WizzFeb 21, 20192 votes

The leader, and especially the 'judge', is often seen as a jerk/power hungry/unfeeling by those on the other side of her wrath. I always felt Kayle was what I would expect a leader in the Crusades to be like with super powers.

I do dig the idea of different skins with different personality shifts. They seem to already be doing that though.

BoringLittleF had a point when he brought up that Riot is first and foremost focusing on direct gameplay. VO is probably the last part and thought of as fluff (where we like it and think of it as flavor). The flavor vs cost/benefit is definitely a disconnect.

So I'm voting Yes on this because I really do like new voice overs on the skins. Updated audio with the visual effects adds some definite value to paying for new skins/themes.

ElswayreFeb 22, 20191 votes

thank man! that's why i like to see it as a compromise