Too Many Ionian Champs?

Zombie Slayer·2/5/2018, 9:56:50 AM·11 votes·1,732 views

Hey I was just wondering on other peoples opinions on how much Ionian champions we have currently. Ionia has 18 total champions and the highest regions have a total of 12 total champions. I personally would like to see more champions in different regions. Of course they don't decide on the region and story until the champion is more developed but I believe that they should at least think about it because all these other areas of the world have lots of potential for growth but due to everything with Irelia and Akali's we still have a lot more Ionian based lore to come.

35 Comments

GreenLore2/5/2018, 11:04:00 AM17 votes

Honestly it is not surprising that we get so many ionian champs. I mean ionia is largely based around asian culture,mostly japanese culture and lets be honest here,japanese culture is one of the more popular cultures,especially when it comes to fantasy settings.So pretty much any champ that is based on something japanese,chinese or maybe even on something indian,is almost automatically going to be an ionian champ(the exception is Xin Zhao,who is likely from ionia,but lives now in demacia).

Sure riot could do a jaguar warrior based on aztec culture,but almost no one would recognize such a character as a jaguar warrior and instead see them as just a random dude wearing the fur of a jaguar. However pretty much everyone will recognize a ninja or samurai.

Meanwhile european culture is pretty much split up among the different factions,especially with the typical "medieval knights,kings,etc."-stuff being split up between demacia and noxus.

And in addition to that Ionia also is the faction based on mysticism and magic,so its not surprising that a lot of champs based on these aspects will also automatically go to ionia.

And in addition to THAT,we also get the fact that the ionian history of it nearly being conquered by Noxus also leads to a lot of different story elements,we get champs based on the idea that ionia is starting to pick up hextech tools,some based on revolution and most champion ideas for characters that were scarred by the war will also go to ionia.

That being said I agree that they should focus on other factions a bit as well,last year 3 out of 5 new champs were ionian. Just because it is easy to make champs for a faction doesn't mean that they should pump out too many champs one after the other. Especially since we are getting 2 ionian VGUs this year anyway.

DarkSoul19942/5/2018, 11:29:25 AM9 votes

To be fair, Ionia isn't a single place - it's an entire region of Runeterra and it's an incredibly diverse place in terms of races and factions. You've got Shen and Zed's Ninja Orders, you've got a plethora of Vastaya species, you have a few Darkin.

And that's before you even start to consider the general (human) population of Ionia. I'm pretty sure there are multiple Villages/Nations in Ionia (probably similar to how there are several nations in Naruto if we're comparing Ionia to Japanese culture here). Then you've got independent champions such as Yi and Syndra that don't necessarily represent a faction or race but are too powerful to be left out.

Grimm Howl2/5/2018, 2:17:34 PM7 votes

I do believe in terms of scale per region.. Shurima and Ionia are separate continents, just like Valoran (where Demacia/Noxus/Piltover/Zaun are located.) I'm not sure if Freljord is part of Valoran itself, or considered to be part of it's own continent as well, but I'll consider it anyways. Demacia, Noxus, Freljord and Piltover/Zaun are City-states within Valoran, just like how Ionia and Shurima have large cities of their own, but are all joined under their empires/orders that control a majority of it's land. Runeterra is huge, Ionia is a thriving continent with rich history and a plethora of Asian cultures to cherry pick champion concepts/stories from. Shurima is a fallen empire, resurrected from the sands with the ascension of it's long dead emperor, so more champions from this region is to be expected. Valoran as a whole is full of medieval European concepts and ideals, so even though the faction rosters seem small.. the whole of Valoran is actually quite abundant.

Ionia - Ahri Akali Irelia Jhin Karma Kayn Kennen LeeSin MasterYi Rakan Shen Syndra Varus MonkeyKing Xayah Yasuo Zed Shurima/Icathia/Void - Amumu Azir Nasus Rammus Renekton Sivir Skarner Taliyah Xerath Chogath Jax Kassadin Khazix KogMaw Malzahar RekSai Velkoz Zilean Valoran (Demacia/Noxus/Piltover/Zaun/Freljord/Bilgewater) - Anivia Annie Ashe Blitzcrank Braum Caitlyn Camille Cassiopeia Darius DrMundo Draven Ekko Ezreal Fiora Galio Gangplank Garen Graves Heimerdinger Illaoi Janna JarvanIV Jayce Jinx Katarina Kled Leblanc Lissandra Lucian Lux MissFortune Nautilus Nunu Olaf Orianna Ornn Poppy Quinn Riven Sejuani Shyvana Singed Sion Sona Swain Talon Trundle Tryndamere TwistedFate Twitch Udyr Urgot Vayne Viktor Vladimir Volibear Warwick XinZhao Zac Ziggs Mount Targon - AurelionSol Diana Leona Pantheon Taric Zoe Soraka Shadow Isles - Elise Hecarim Kalista Karthus Maokai Mordekaiser Thresh Yorick Bandle City - Corki Lulu Rumble Teemo Tristana Veigar Unaffiliated - Aatrox Alistar Bard Evelynn Fiddlesticks Fizz Gnar Gragas Ivern Kayle Kindred Malphite Morgana Nami Nidalee Nocturne Rengar Ryze Shaco TahmKench Zyra

AmazoX2/5/2018, 2:17:58 PM3 votes

Too many Ionian champions where they all are uniquely fucking different so I have no problem. Align all of them in a line, they are all good & different which is perfect.

Darkin Hybrid2/5/2018, 3:21:17 PM2 votes

But I love Ionia tho

SEKAI2/5/2018, 11:50:01 AM1 votes

That's because Riot made it so Ionia is a separate continent (not just an island, a continent) that is comparable to the size of Runeterra (or whatever the "main" continent is called) by itself, and that it's also supposed to be a bracket to include all eastern cultures, hence a larger roster than other factions is ofc expected.

Eternal7912/5/2018, 6:37:35 PM1 votes

I would very much like for a break from Ionian champs after Akali's rework. Asian culture and fantasy never really interested me all that much. I'd rather learn more about the Void or the Shadow Isles or pretty much anywhere else (I'd say Piltover and Zaun but we have gotten a lot of lore for those regions in the past year or so).

Ahri Baka2/5/2018, 8:07:01 PM1 votes

True but , Ionia is large , they have a lot of races and types , ,Vastayan birds, a Fox , Ninjas , Assassins , Monkeys , 2 Gays in 1 body and a Syndra

Naalith2/6/2018, 1:32:30 AM1 votes

I don't see it as a problem. If there was one giant nation in Ionia that everyone was from, similar to Noxus and Demacia, it could be an issue. However, you have Xayah and Rakan with their Vastayan friends who don't even like humans, Shen and Zed's orders with all the ninjas who come with, as well as other small villages where characters like Karma, Yi, and other unaffiliated champs come from. The region of Ionia isn't the same as the country of Ionia, and lots of Ionian factions all hate each other. I honestly think Ionia could be split into smaller subgroups on the Universe site and it would be better, but I see no problem with adding more Ionians.

It's the same as the Frejlord, there are three warring tribes up there. It doesn't really matter if a ton of Frejlord champs were released and the number went up to 20 or so, because they are all in separate factions or independent of everybody like Ornn. If Riot sees an opportunity to make an interesting character, I don't think it's a problem no matter where they get placed into the world as long as other areas aren't ignored. I do think Riot is looking at getting characters from each region out right now though so they can update the lore, so I doubt we'll see many Ionians soon especially because Irelia and Akali are both from there and are releasing soonish.