On Kayle's Armour (and Female Armour Generally)

Camulos·2/18/2019, 7:16:53 PM·8 votes·3,115 views

The above video by Shadiversity, a YouTube channel which explores medieval combat and it's applications in fantasy, addresses a lot of the concerns which people have with feminine armour overall; but for those who'd prefer to read, here's a summary:

  1. Armour with feminine designs weren't made historically, not because it wouldn't be functional, but because next-to-no women fought in war during this period.
  2. IF female warriors had been more common, it's entirely feasible that armour made to accentuate a feminine form would have been made, as many traits of male anatomy were present in historically accurate armour. These included different fashionable chest-to-waist ratios, pectoral muscles on the breastplate (men had boob-plate), and codpieces (which were basically big metal penises for your armour).
  3. The design of larger mounds on the breast-plate will not have enough of a detrimental effect on the armour's ability to deflect strikes to discount the design; at least, no more so than contours typical, male armour.
  4. Armour-bikinis are a stupid idea though, he has a separate video on how to get the "Barbarian" look with better functionality.

As for KayleKayle's armour specifically, the main issue isn't the feminine design of the armour, but the distinct LACK of armour on her abdomen. However, this can easily be explained away with the assumption that the cloth section his a type of fantasy, skin-tight gambeson. While not AS effective as plate, gambeson is an effective armour option if you're looking to trim down the weight of your armour, about as effective as leather armour overall. Gambeson is Shad's recommended armour of choice for the typical "Adventurer" character, but here it can be argued that Kayle's trying to make it easier to fly.

Now does this mean that all female armour sets are made with functionality in mind and not just to use sexual appeal to market the character? Of course not. Gotta make the money to keep papa Tencent happy. However, I've seen a lot of people look down on feminine armour designs out of a misguided view on functionality, so here we are.

28 Comments

GreenKnight2/18/2019, 7:19:21 PM6 votes

Riot went the safe route with it's stereotypical fantasy armament. Stupid design.

Warlord Dienekes2/18/2019, 7:29:31 PM5 votes

Holy shit I am sick and tired of having to disprove this guy on this forum.

As I did here: https://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/story-art/wxIVYlJ0-get-your-facts-straight-already

And here https://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/story-art/uMIZPRf9-boob-plate-isnt-a-problem-of-functionality-change-my-mind

I mean I like Shad. He has a love of medieval history (as everyone should) but he’s not a historian, or even a recreator. And what’s more I doubt has ever worn armor or studied it as much as he has his castles (by the by his castle videos are actually really good).

At this point I may as well just make a thread just so it’s easier for me to link to rather than having to search through my comments.

Anyway, yeah, Kayle’s armor is bad as armor.

Stars Shaper2/18/2019, 7:32:45 PM3 votes

Armor being functional overall makes sense when it's an important defense. Most of the characters (especially from Targon) that are either magic users or super-human beings use their armor and clothes as a display of power and charisma, like they actually are in a parade, demonstrating what they are. Take a look at Taric for example, he is the errant knight of Targon, the Shield of Valoran and his only armored part are the shoulders.

CHODES AND LOADS2/18/2019, 8:20:09 PM2 votes

its a video game u sperg

Linna Excel2/18/2019, 7:32:02 PM1 votes

Since she's not a tank or bruiser, should she have any armor at all?

Sir Saltarin2/18/2019, 7:30:24 PM1 votes

Check this comment about this topic, it's really interesting:

https://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/es/c/story-art/uMIZPRf9-boob-plate-isnt-a-problem-of-functionality-change-my-mind?comment=0004

Quoting u/Warlord Dienekes

General Matty2/18/2019, 7:39:37 PM1 votes

SHADiversity. lol

Zapzya2/18/2019, 8:59:48 PM1 votes

It just looks bad in my opinion. The league of angels joke is actually spot on. If I see an exposed abdomen and armour on the same person, I just think “do you want to be protected or not?”. I don’t fully know how to describe why I dislike it, it just looks tacky.

Axzarious2/18/2019, 10:06:08 PM1 votes

This video is a great look at things, and it's nice to see it crop up here.

However, I think the most defining aspect of this that rustles people's Jimmies isn't the current look so much as how it breaks from Kayle's traditional look. They basically pulled a reverse-sejuani with this re-design: Armor was removed that shouldn't have been removed, where Sejuani had armor added that didn't need to be added. It's a prominent break from an aspect of a character that had already been established.