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When are we going to get actual conclusive events? (Like the Void)

Ahri Body Pillow·6/20/2019, 5:03:49 AM·26 votes·14,794 views

I like the League of Legends lore. But i feel that with every new champion Riot is just adding more and more storylines to build on.

The thing about stories is that...they end. They have a climax. Where is all this build up going? This is a really pessimistic thing to say but League of Legends simply can't live forever. Let's say this game pulls on a TF2 and is still going relatively strong in 10 years. Will we still not have any satisfying conclusion to some of these story lines? Sometimes I worry that this game will die with all of these lines not coming anywhere near an end.

Don't be afraid to tie up some of these story lines. You can make new arcs. Like, it seems like in the lore the Void or Darking or whatever gets closer and closer and closer, but it never arrives. But it's right around the corner! Any day now! Aaannny minute.... Closer and closer...

C'mon

22 Comments

Jaspers6/20/2019, 8:56:25 AM16 votes

I guess an issue comes from if the progression affects the characters in the game. You can't really have an ending for Kayn as that would mean either Rhaast or Kayn win and that's not how he is in the game.

That said, League's stories are surely no different to comics. Comics are an ongoing saga and while characters are killed, aged, deaged, change powers, blah blah, in the end those characters are still recognisable by their design and their standard costume/powers. Rogue is an mutant who absorbs powers, her most recognisable state is her green yellow outfit with jacket and Ms Marvel powers from the 90s cartoon. Even though she lost those powers years ago, then got Sunfire's powers, at one point gained control of her abilities and then lost it again, then gained Wonderman's powers. In the end, no matter how the writers in the comics mess with her, the depiction in media (games etc) are of the Rogue from the 90s or before. See Marvel Contest of Champions as an example.

This is what Riot need to do, not be afraid to tell stories that might affect the character, as in game they can remain the same. Infact they could make it like special events and tie them in with a 'lore skin' to make money from it.

Within reason obviously, no world ending things.

BLIGHTBRINGER6/20/2019, 8:07:32 AM10 votes

And then there's just me sitting there and wondering if Varus will ever become a full Darkin (seeing as he only just got his new body now).

https://i.imgur.com/IsNWwpU.gif[]

Sillae6/20/2019, 2:49:06 PM9 votes

The last time serious progress was made in the "main" lore, I think was the Bilgewater event where Gangplank was temporarily killed off by MF and came back as a man who realized his mistakes (not in a moral sense but in how he underestimated his enemies) and everyone was pissed that they couldnt play GP for a week (including people who were never going to play him in the first place).

Major developments might merit gameplay changes in Riot's eyes and Riot might not want to risk another backlash.

MarcReady6/20/2019, 2:33:51 PM5 votes

I don't get what's wrong with ending plotlines: a character accomplishes his mission? Does he need to disappear? No, we can still play him: Riot said somewhere that the summoner's rift is completely set aside from what's happening in the lore. Otherwise they'd need to make omnipotent characters like syndra or xerath very powerful, while ordinary soldiers like darius weaker.

What if a character dies in his lore? Then we get to play the character nonetheless, knowing that some characters are dead may also add some depth to the lore, giving to them a layer of nostalgia/epicness and may help players feel attached to them.

BLIGHTBRINGER6/20/2019, 8:05:58 PM4 votes

Wow someone went on a full massive spree of downvoting in the comments section lol

RyzeTheSmurfMage6/20/2019, 6:44:01 AM3 votes

First, they gotta finish setting it all up aka build the foundation. Second, Void is endgame. Many regional or champ plotlines must be continued/finished first. Rn Demacia event is going on (Sylas's rebellion). And even when it finishes, we still have many major plotlines for regions and their champs (ex: Shurima, Freljord, Ionia, Noxus etc)

Eternal Torment6/21/2019, 12:40:03 AM2 votes

The Ionia vs Noxus war was progressive. If Noxus had won, Ionia would have been a bunch of rebel tribes instead.

That said, most events influence the lore of many champions outside the meant reaches. There are champions like Yasuo who won't be touched by any lore changes because he lives in exile and prefers to stay there no matter what.

But take champions like LeBlanc. No matter what you do, if it involves ANY noxians, it will influence her in one way or another.

Most of these lore events are built to involve the entire world. Like the Void Invasion. Fat chance it will stay within Shurima alone forever. Then there is Mordekaiser, the Black mist, Asol's Wrath, Darkins, the Mage Rebellion and several vengeful spirits like Brand.

It will take years to conclude even half of that list. And in all likelyhood, champs might get removed, or changed like GP was on his supposed Death when MF yeeted his ship

DarkTree16/22/2019, 1:13:03 AM1 votes

conclusive endings stop money production. it's why annual franchises exist: why kill off a money printer when you could just go "oh wait but THIS ending is the REAL FINAL BIGGEST ending for SURE, NOTHING can top this (until our next film/game/etc)" until it becomes irrelevant? like yeah i'd really like a big void/darkin or even a targonian or shadow isles event, but anything that progresses the story beyond "this person is injured now" or a land acquisition change is probably not going to happen.

also inb4 buy the event pass for your side (targonians/void, ascendants/darkin) and the side with the most event passes purchased gets the positive outcome

FireGryph6/20/2019, 1:43:16 PM1 votes

Nami finds the Aspect that can create a moonstone. Gets Moonstone. Returns to her village and saves it. The end.

No more Nami in game?

I understand you want some conclusions to some of the story lines, but how does that play out well into the game itself? Heck, some of the champions are directly linked to others, in a way that the only logical outcomes are the actual deaths of one or the other. Kha'zix/Rengar, for example.

Velzard of Koz6/20/2019, 4:06:24 PM1 votes

Don't be afraid to tie up some of these story lines. You can make new arcs. Like, it seems like in the lore the Void or Darking or whatever gets closer and closer and closer, but it never arrives. But it's right around the corner! Any day now! Aaannny minute.... Closer and closer...

They learnt this from A Song of Ice and Fire's White Walkers having Tour de Beyond the Wall for five books straight now with barely any real progress. Though seriously speaking, GRRM could always make excuse they are searching for the Horn of Joramun.

mrmeddyman6/21/2019, 4:39:35 AM1 votes

Right now the only payed stories are the physical Ashe and Lux comics and that Demacian novella in the works. If all the lore can be monetized and become self-sufficient (aka justifies them making more stories irregardless of the state of League of Legends) than yeah Riot will have impetus to continue League stories after the game implodes.

That isn't the case right now though. The lore serves as deeper advertising for the game. To "end" the story in any kind of satisfactory way would directly effect engagement with the game after that conclusion blows over. They would lose their "hook" and that would impact their bottom line. This obviously cannot happen and the writers have acknowledged it before at that PAX panel.

Linna Excel6/21/2019, 6:42:12 AM1 votes

Riot murdered that idea with the trundle rework. OG trundle had a story with an ending. Now he doesn't.

Riot's trying to make a setting with 130+ main characters and I don't see it working for a number of practical reasons. Frankly I think the setting would be better off and more cohesive if some of the champions were relegated to secondary and tertiary characters. Riot can't produce 720+ quality short stories in one year (each champ getting 4 a year) and keep a proper continuity to it all.