2 things I don't see mentioned in Irelia's rework announcement

Linna Excel·Oct 18, 2017·1 votes·519 views

Is she still going to be ionian?

This seems obvious that she should be, but at this point I've got no read on what riot is going to do to her background and ties.

What about her aspect of the underdog who wins against all odds?

That is one thing that attracted people to her, both in terms of her lore and her kit. She was designed to be able to survive as the underdog. Her Q lets her last hit under tower very easily. Her W gives her sustain and a small way to deal with people who stack armor. Her E is meant to be used once her HP is behind the other guy (even if people complain about it, it's a part of her theme). Her ult gives her both burst and sustain to win trades.

Her lore casts her as the survivor type and I really don't want to see that go.

8 Comments

Grimm HowlOct 18, 20171 votes

First off, when has a VGU ever changed a champions faction?

Second, the Champion Roadmap is an announcement that Evelynn's team is moving on to Irelia, and that they are just now diving into the finalization of their new concept/direction for her and towards general production. The only thing from her kit that Reav3 stated they'll try to preserve is her Bladesurge, but the rest of the kit could be scrapped, replaced, tweaked, modified, etc.

KuroCaliberOct 18, 20173 votes

Urgot had his faction changed

Grimm HowlOct 18, 20171 votes

Ehhh, yeah I guess you're right. I forgot about that because Urgot's art, kit, and model never felt Noxian to begin with. His previous lore was also mixed between Noxus/Zaun so it we an interesting and nice approach that Riot took into account when solidifying his identity.

I don't see anything in Irelia's lore that would cause Riot to sway her toward any other faction than Ionia. She's even a wielder of the Mantel of Decorum, one of Ionia's greatest honors.

Jeddy017Oct 18, 20172 votes

Which make sense in Urgot's case. He always had strong ties to both factions & he still does after the rework. It's not like he's 100% one or the other. But there aren't many champs that have strong ties between multiple factions. So faction changes wouldn't make sense with most other champs, especially someone like Irelia .

Oh, there was also Ziggs .

Linna ExcelOct 19, 20171 votes

Urgot like Kuro said. Elise was changed from shadow isles to Noxus.

Second, the Champion Roadmap is an announcement that Evelynn's team is moving on to Irelia, and that they are just now diving into the finalization of their new concept/direction for her and towards general production.

This is what I don't like. Reav3 basically ignored a big part of her lore and thematic appeal in his roadmap even if you leave the gameplay stuff out.

Grimm HowlOct 19, 20172 votes

The thing about the Roadmap is that it's insight into the direction Riot has decided to go forward with when working on new champs or VGUs.

For example, a lot of people are up in arms about Swain's theme playing off a ruthless dictator instead of focusing off of his "Master Tactician" title. The reason behind this decision is because in order to try to preserve Swain's current gameplay patterns of being an "in your face battle mage," the theme of being a master tactician goes out the window.

So when it comes to Irelia her theme/archetype is "Telekinetic Sword Mistress." They'll try to weave more of that into her kit, and translating back to her current lore, she's an Ionian general who carries the Mantel of Decorum. I can understand her to be a survivor, and I'm 100% sure that her update lore will touch more on the infamous Noxus v Ionia War. We can't read to deep into the two paragraphs that Reav3 shared with us because she's very early in development, and nothing other than her thematic and/or early concepts have been drawn out.

Just have faith in the team working on her. So far, no reworked champion has been a failure, and each rework has brought something incredibly new to the table in terms of lore, gameplay, and art.

Linna ExcelOct 19, 20171 votes

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Just have faith in the team working on her.

That's part of my problem. Riot's VGUs have largely lost my faith in them to do a good job to turn out something I like playing.

CetriOct 19, 20171 votes

Elise is still listed as being a Shadow Isles champ though? She may come from Noxus, sure, but so does Kayn, yet their stories and loyalties ultimately lie with other regions/factions. Urgot had heavy ties to both Zaun and Noxus pre-VGU, and while he mainly operates in Zaun, his worldview seems steeped in Noxian ideals of strength.

Also, unlike Urgot, Irelia doesn't really have any ties to anywhere other than Ionia. I'd say the chance of a faction change is so slim it's practically 2D.