Noxus is just...so cool man.

Glescoron·10/19/2014, 5:19:35 AM·8 votes·2,698 views

Ok, this is kind of a gush post but I'm curious how many other people love Noxus as much as I do.

The culture of Noxus is just so fascinating to me in a kind of Ayn Rand kind of way. Survival of the fittest applied to an entire country. On the surface, this is a cruel place to live, where orphans are left to their own devices and the only place free healthcare is even more hated than the USA, but in a way it's also the most fair.

In Noxus you don't get mugged because you're black, latino, gay or transexual, you get mugged because he was bigger than you. Even when you're born with a disability, having the strength to overcome it and still make a mark on society is rewarded just as much as those who are born strong. Hell, a cripple became grand general. If that's not inspirational, then I don't know what is.

Speaking of Swain, his lore is the only reason I started playing him. I love to go over it again and again in my head, picturing every scene from his injury in battle up to the moment he freed sion. What was this master tactician thinking? I probably can't know, but it's so much fun to try.

My next purchase is definitely going to be Darius, and not just because his new skin is some of the best work Riot's ever done. He's yet another sentiment to the kind of Darwinian justice of the city-state. An Orphan, shunned and ignored by society, spits it's hate right back in it's face and rises up to become one of the greatest officers in Noxus' military history. Not only that, but he streamlines the political system for the sake of his country and you know why he got away with it? Because he was stronger than they were and everyone knew it. And while most murderers would put themselves on the throne of grand general out of the selfish desire to rule, he's humble enough to know he's not cut out for it, passing it on to Swain. That alone proves that Darius puts Noxus before himself in everything he does, despite and perhaps because he was shunned as an orphan.

Noxus' coldness, it's cruelty and strive for dominance makes it strong. You can argue ethics all you want, but their system ensures that every single citizen, whether they be cripple, leper, white or black, have the chance to be great, given they have the strength to become great.

Anyways, I've raved enough about it and I have lots of other favorite noxians that I didn't mention so please feel free to gush some more in the comments. I'd love to see how many other Noxus fans there are. :3

35 Comments

OuttaControl5610/19/2014, 6:50:32 PM5 votes

I think that the nature of Noxus is pretty neat, but ultimately unfair as balls.

If you're on the pedestal, like Kerian is, you're a target, and no matter what you do people will gang up on you and then squander the throne for themselves. Every single position, every rung on the Noxian ladder, is just as unstable. It doesn't matter if you're strong, you could be slipped poison. Doesn't matter if you're stronger if someone puts a knife through your back when you're walking home. Of course, it especially doesn't help if you have good intentions, lol.

Nothing matters, which I think is the ultimate paradox that Noxus presents. Sure, the strongest, cruelest, and most suited climb, but its fruitless. You're going to lose, some guy below you is going to trip you up. Best part of it is, you'll never see it coming. Paranoia much?

Look at the Du Coteau line. They had a good run but they're on the ropes now... Why? Just for working for the previous ruler. Thats a Nero-like condemnation. Its arbitrary and its bloody, and it definitely doesn't help jack didly squat.

Think of it like this: Sure the pits gave Demacia Xin Zhao, but only because they saved him. If not, he would just be another dead guy with his head smashed in by the newly crowned champion.

Also, Darius was handpicked by Swain to be his "enforcer", he didn't really make his own position, Swain had given him a bunch of help along the way.

I digress.

Despite what I said above, Noxus rocks.

GenoXx10/19/2014, 6:06:31 AM3 votes

I am a fellow Noxus fan. I like the Might is right rule. I also like the society and culture. Not only do they have military minded guys, they have a secret dark organization living in the depths of Noxus. I would love to take a tour in Noxus. I bought Darius, purely because of this, and the fact that hes one badass Noxian Officer. He's the ideal man of Noxus. Fearless and doesn't accept cowardice, I also like how they have a coliseum. And yes, if you are out on the streets, the you have to be strong if you want to survive. The exact opposite of Demacia. Demacians....I hate those guys.

Desmond Law10/19/2014, 5:28:31 AM3 votes

Zaun is an ally of Noxus, and I'm more of a Zaun guy. Viktor Their bodies are frail

Dreamspitter10/20/2014, 5:06:34 AM2 votes

Ok, this is kind of a gush post but I'm curious how many other people love Noxus as much as I do.

The culture of Noxus is just so fascinating to me in a kind of Ayn Rand kind of way. Survival of the fittest applied to an entire country. On the surface, this is a cruel place to live, where orphans are left to their own devices and the only place free healthcare is even more hated than the USA, but in a way it's also the most fair.

In Noxus you don't get mugged because you're black, latino, gay or transexual, you get mugged because he was bigger than you. Even when you're born with a disability, having the strength to overcome it and still make a mark on society is rewarded just as much as those who are born strong. Hell, a cripple became grand general. If that's not inspirational, then I don't know what is.

Speaking of Swain, his lore is the only reason I started playing him. I love to go over it again and again in my head, picturing every scene from his injury in battle up to the moment he freed sion. What was this master tactician thinking? I probably can't know, but it's so much fun to try.

My next purchase is definitely going to be Darius, and not just because his new skin is some of the best work Riot's ever done. He's yet another sentiment to the kind of Darwinian justice of the city-state. An Orphan, shunned and ignored by society, spits it's hate right back in it's face and rises up to become one of the greatest officers in Noxus' military history. Not only that, but he streamlines the political system for the sake of his country and you know why he got away with it? Because he was stronger than they were and everyone knew it. And while most murderers would put themselves on the throne of grand general out of the selfish desire to rule, he's humble enough to know he's not cut out for it, passing it on to Swain. That alone proves that Darius puts Noxus before himself in everything he does, despite and perhaps because he was shunned as an orphan.

Noxus' coldness, it's cruelty and strive for dominance makes it strong. You can argue ethics all you want, but their system ensures that every single citizen, whether they be cripple, leper, white or black, have the chance to be great, given they have the strength to become great.

Anyways, I've raved enough about it and I have lots of other favorite noxians that I didn't mention so please feel free to gush some more in the comments. I'd love to see how many other Noxus fans there are. :3

Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken.

Scrambled Anivia10/20/2014, 2:35:57 AM1 votes

IT WAS FROM HOST CLUB! an awesome anime! i knew it was familiar.

NeoJusteBelmont10/20/2014, 3:17:12 AM1 votes

I'm always a believer that Noxus is a more three dimensional state rather than "Mwa ha ha ha. I R Evil!" and your statement about Noxus really makes sense and really good.

In that case, let's move to the next subject, being... the presence of Riven and her ideals. You spoke a good way in praising how Darius and Swain are great, and I won't deny that they are impressive. But in the face of Riven, they are kind of problems within Noxus, saying that their new way don't match the vision of Noxus she clung with dear life. And with how sympathetic she's presented, it seems to push the image of Noxus being "Mwa ha ha ha. I R Evil!".

So, let's discuss on how you think of Riven in light of this favored Noxus way of thinking you said. Was she really the 'only good Noxian' as people believed, or was she kind of deluded of days long past that proved to be inefficient? Let's hear it.

Gapybo10/20/2014, 6:53:27 AM1 votes

But why would you then buy a skin for Darius that strips him of everything Noxus there is in his design?

Stars Shaper10/20/2014, 7:32:02 PM1 votes

I like that 90% of the Nuxs fanbase is composed by ppl that would not last 1 week alive in it.

WestTiger10/20/2014, 11:40:07 PM1 votes

Noxus reminds me of my country, Singapore. It's bizarre. Seriously, the meritocracy angle, even how Swain got power, the nature of their people and politics.

I think that's why the nation and it's champs appeal to me, well some of them. I guess I can give some interesting perspective on how a lot of say Swain's actions and attitude translates into real-world politics and effects on a nation.

Okay, a little background. Singapore is now a first-world nation and within the top-ten GDP per capita in the world. We're also tiny as all fuck, have no natural resources, and are in a fairly dangerous geo-political position. The nation itself is also technically only 49 years olds. My mother is older than Singapore has been a sovereign country! We were a newly formed (even forcibly formed) secular tiny country in the middle of pre-dominantly Muslim countries (Malaysia, Indonesia etc.), so much so Israel felt we were kindred spirits and sent us support in the forms of military arms and some cash.

So how did Singapore reach this point? One man - Lee Kuan Yew. Father of our nation, still alive, and still effectively in power till his deathbed, even though his son is now our Prime Minister (PM has the most political power, our President is meh). His political party, PAP, we elect it democratically each election (they even started losing seats recently), but have been in dominant power since we were an actual nation.

And he did it by being ruthless and efficient. He jailed the Communists, jailed dissidents, many fled to neighboring Malaysia. He made people live in harmony by making sure housing estates had racial mixing by putting race quotas. Oh yeah, he actually did the opposite of racial segregation in order to make Singaporeans live and work together. He also enforced the idea of meritocracy - you want something, you bloody well work for it.

Yes, to me, Swain is like LKY. People can call him a 'tyrant' and being ruthless and underhanded; yet you can't deny he gets results. Hell, in his backstory, we are told multiple times his troops would follow him to the very end, even if he feels he must send them to their death. Darius exemplifies this feeling to the extreme - he is strong so we follow. Until Swain actually does something that hurts Noxus, he's the best leader they could possibly have, and exemplifies exactly what they practice - meritocracy.

In Swain's backstory, he had a broken leg since he was a teen. And apparently, this was something that got you rejected from the army. But he worked up the ranks, and gained actual respect and loyalty from his troops. Hell, he would have been Grand General sooner, but Boram realized he had a rival in the making and stopped it. That was before the League was created, and they needed a champion to represent Noxus. Boram reinstated Swain, maybe because he felt he had no choice (or you know, he turns into a giant demon bird, I think that helps in fighting).

Either way, Swain's 'underhanded' ways are really nothing in the world of politics. If anything he got rid of the nepotistic Darkwill line and put a 'real' General back on top. Noxus was at first a feudal country like Demacia, who had the military coup, and then the military families got into the bad habits of the previous nobility which irked the military men like Darius who wanted to oust them out again.

Thing is, unless Swain is an actual 'bad' leader, like letting Noxus fall into economic depression bad, then he's not 'bad'. He's only 'bad' because he does things that in a fairy tale world, are considered 'bad'. But in real world terms, he did what he had to for the greater good of the nation he lives in.

The Red Warden10/19/2014, 4:17:36 PM1 votes

The thing I always find interesting about Swain is how his bird morphing ability and powers are barely mentioned in the lore.

What is Swain by the way, a magical Noxian, a bird person, a demon?

Scrambled Anivia10/20/2014, 1:36:57 AM1 votes

Ezreal : I hate those guys.

Scrambled Anivia10/20/2014, 2:01:38 AM1 votes

glescoron why does that name sound so fking familiar... what is it?