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Update on Illaoi

l Helios l··60 votes·30,930 views

So with the update that launched recently on the Harrowing that is coming up soon, Part 3 discussed on conversation between Illaoi and Miss Fortune. Here's what we know from it.

  • She is a she (obviously)
  • She is a priestess of the Bearded Lady who lives in a temple near Bilgewater
  • She carries a stone sphere
  • She is apparently quite large, in what way I'm not sure, but obviously strong.
  • Very crass from the dialogue with MF
  • Insightful in reference to the Shadow Isles invasion of Bilgewater
  • Update on stuff I missed:
  • Clad in colorful fabrics.
  • For Miss Fortune, the sphere that Illaoi held was like a stone idol.
  • The Bearded Lady is also known as Nagakabouros. Possible reference to a snake deity, something that was common in ancient cultures.
  • "Nagakabouros is in everything we do that moves us along our path" which sounds a lot like a Loa when it comes to Haiti Voodoo.
  • Her and GP were apparently an item. Hubba hubba ;)
  • She likes mangoes. That's all I can deduce atm. I'll update this as I sift further through the dialogue and lore. Thanks for reading! :)

184 Comments

RiotBioluminescence47 votes

For reference, there was also a line of VO that appeared and then disappeared from the PBE. Surrender@20 caught it and some players translated it.

http://www.surrenderat20.net/2015/10/1021-pbe-update.html

(I'm trying really hard to only discuss the information that is publicly available. Please don't quiz me - I can't say anything! I am excited for Illaoi though.)

lightdragoon881 votes

QUIZ: Apple? Oranges? or Mango?

Shénzhì3 votes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9wOuSyralQ

Kitsuki057 votes

The pirate was after her booty... >_>

Sharjo2 votes

Can you tell us how her name is pronounced? I have conflicting sources.

kitcat3007 votes

https://twitter.com/RiotKateyKhaos/status/659066170587283457

"ill-ow-ee"

Boulderox2 votes

or is it "ill-ow-ey(eh, literal sound of A when you say it)"? as the spiritual, almost mystical witch doctor accent.

all i hear is ill-o-WEEEEEEEEEEEEEE with that prononciation.

RiotRiotJaredan16 votes

ill-OW-ee

Sharjo4 votes

Ill as in a sickness.

Ow as in "OW! That hurt goddammit!".

Ee as in Donkey.

Got it!

Jeddy01712 votes

I know all I want to know.Illaoi is a new female champs who's physically stronger than your average Joe or Jane with a personality that isn't grimdark or serious (I like Shadows & Fortune so far but can Riot chill with the grimdark & serious for a bit after this?)

Pyrodinium9 votes

Tahm Kench is not grimdark, nor are Gnar, Braum, Bard, Wolf and Azir.

Ralanr25 votes

Eh...Braum yes, everyone else has a dark moment in them. TahmKench is god damn frightening.

Pyrodinium13 votes

Having a dark moment is not the same as being a dark character.

Conflict is crucial to make a character interesting. The tone is what defines a champion as being grimdark or otherwise. Braum is hearty, Gnar is wild, Bard is alien, Azir is regal and inhuman, Kench is smug. Ekko is dark, as his character is about loss, and Kallista is even darker, her hat being about betrayal, vengeance and eternal unrest.

KING OF MASKS13 votes

There's also a substantial distinction between "grimdark" and your average run-of-the-mill darkness. Even Ekko, as deadly serious as his story is, can't accurately be described as grimdark because at heart he's still an idealist (which is completely antithetical to the whole grimdark thing).

People sure love throwing words around, I guess...

Jeddy0178 votes

I don't know,Burning Tides was pretty dark if you ask me. All I want is some more lighthearted,more fun stories like Zac or Braum lore.Stories that show the good side of Valoran. Like you said,having a dark moment is not the same as being a dark character.But it seems for a while we got nothing BUT dark moments.In the last year,when did we get any lore that makes one smile or laugh? I cool to have dark moments,but dark isn't the end all be all of story telling.I just hope after this Harrowing,we get some fun stories/lore.

l Helios l2 votes

Gnar's lore made me laugh :) it was kind of funny considering it was Rengar biting off more than he could chew, and his interaction with Gnar was hilarious.

Valaran Nara4 votes

{quoted}

I know all I want to know.Illaoi is a new female champs who's physically stronger than your average Joe or Jane with a personality that isn't grimdark or serious (I like Shadows & Fortune so far but can Riot chill with the grimdark & serious for a bit after this?)

Jeddy, Bilgewater Burning Tide was grimdark because that's the kind of place it is.

Shadow and Fortune is Grimdark because it is the Harrowing.

Shurima event was NOT grimdark.

Snowdown SHOULD NOT BE grimdark.

Most will dismiss you during an event meant for Halloween when dark and spooky stuff happens.

if grimdark gets into Snowdown, then everyone will hear you more loudly.

Jeddy0175 votes

When did I say grimdark was bad?I just had my fill of it for a bit & want some fun from Riot. Of course a story around Halloween can be dark (though it can also be fun).

I'm not saying Burning Tides or Shadow and Fortune are bad because they're grimdark.I just want some more diversity from Riot.I'm not asking Riot to completely stop with the grimdark.

a rabid cupcake6 votes

She's female, she's a priestess... if she's a big woman, I might have to break out the wallet.

I've wanted a strong large female champion since Closed Beta.

By the way, story is amazing!

L Rayquaza2 votes

Can you say whether you worked on her or not and/or if you find her kit fun?

RiotBioluminescence17 votes

[{quoted}](name=L Rayquaza,realm=NA,application-id=6kFXY1kR,discussion-id=kyEq7nYq,comment-id=00050005,timestamp=2015-10-27T21:58:50.254+0000)

Can you say whether you worked on her or not and/or if you find her kit fun?

I don't work on the League team directly (though, if I'm SUPER lucky, I might have managed to get a VO line in there - I'll have to wait and see.) so I haven't worked on her other than that. I've not even played her yet - though I did watch over the shoulder of someone who did. I was envious.

Sharjo6 votes

If the line got in you've gotta tell us!

Iceborn Pippin11 votes

What I find interesting is that Illaoi's deity, Nagakabouros aka The Bearded Lady, sounds like a snake to me. Just hear me out on this.

The word Naga is often associated to the mythological snake people Naga and the mythical Naga snakes.

The part that reads "bouros" is very close to the word Ouroboros if you rearranged some letters and took a few out. Which refers to a great mythical snake that eats its own tail.

Now you might be wanting more of a connection that makes even more sense. Well here is an eye opener: Both Ouroboros and Naga come from Hindu mythology.

lightdragoon882 votes

So maybe a giant snake that takes the form of a breaded lady?

Iceborn Pippin1 votes

{quoted}

So maybe a giant snake that takes the form of a breaded lady?

THAT is the part I myself am stuck on. It sounds like a fairly crude nickname, The Bearded Lady, and the rest of Bilgewater only call Nagakabouros that because the name is unpronounceable. So I am trying to picture in my minds eye why Nagakabouros would be called that.

l Helios l1 votes

Well "Naga", the root tends to refer to snakes, and bearded often refers to some species of lizards or snakes. Bearded dragons off the top of my head. Could be a link there. And he was right the orobouros part. DnD has a species of snake warriors, forgot their names, but there may be something there too. Bilgewater is use to wacky stuff, ie Fizz. Worship of snakes was often a thing in ancient times

Iceborn Pippin1 votes

{quoted}

Well "Naga", the root tends to refer to snakes, and bearded often refers to some species of lizards or snakes. Bearded dragons off the top of my head. Could be a link there. And he was right the orobouros part. DnD has a species of snake warriors, forgot their names, but there may be something there too. Bilgewater is use to wacky stuff, ie Fizz. Worship of snakes was often a thing in ancient times

Yes there are snake warriors in DnD, which are based on the Naga in hinduism.

The only link I could find with Bearded Snakes is that they were a thing in Greece and were apparently a sign of protection. Its actually one of the more obscure types of esoterica.

EDIT: What if the stone sphere is a symbol for a pearl or egg?

l Helios l4 votes

Perfectly reasonable assessment. An egg may be the most likely, since it seems we're dealing with a snake type deity. It could be the duty of the priestess to protect it until it hatches, if it is an egg.

SpecterVonBaren12 votes

There was a drawing of The Bearded Lady during the Bilgewater event andthe reason is obvious from it. Her "beard" is large web membrane with spikes on the ends. Its the same reason you would say Cthulhu has a beard.

Further, since I'm on my phone, she was also about 300 times larger than a ship.

Iceborn Pippin2 votes

{quoted}

There was a drawing of The Bearded Lady during the Bilgewater event andthe reason is obvious from it. Her "beard" is large web membrane with spikes on the ends. Its the same reason you would say Cthulhu has a beard.

Further, since I'm on my phone, she was also about 300 times larger than a ship.

Say could you link the image of The Bearded Lady from Bilgewater event into this thread? I am actually really curious on what she looks like.

{quoted}

"Nagakabouros is in everything we do that moves us along our path"

I don't know about you, but this phrase instantly made recall Tahm Kench's "The whole world is a river..."

Possible that Tahm Kench learned it from the Bearded Lady but twisted its words to suit his needs.

SpecterVonBaren8 votes

http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/leagueoflegends/images/c/ca/Bilgewater_Serpent.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20150829165026

Found it!~

a rabid cupcake3 votes

Came here to point this out, you beat me out by an hour. Good job!

They may also be a play on the idea of the World Serpent. There is definitely a snake thing going on.

As for the "Bearded Lady == Nagakabouros" non-issue, it is wholly possible it is the same deity that has shown themselves to different groups in aspects that they understand. This can result in some pretty interesting situations, especially when the same deity between two groups has different qualities in each group. For example, there is a deity worshiped in Afro-Caribbean traditions in the Americas that is sometimes portrayed as an aspect of another deity, as its own deity, as a male, as a female, as both, as neither, as able to choose which it is, as formless, as merfolk, as a salamander-person... which one is it? Well, if you mention the deity and its basic traits to each group with these different representations of it, they'd tell you which one it is. If you ask for the name of said deity, its name used in its origin country, they'd give you the same name.

But it's the same deity.

As for the stone Illaoi has, it's likely a totem.

ArbiterOfTruth2 votes

The Bearded Lady goes by two other names: Nagakabouros and the Mother Serpent.

IggypuGoblinKing2 votes

Don't forget the "ka"...clearly from The Jungle Book's snake, "Kaa". Clearly!

Lintu Puck7 votes

Eat Mangos. Be K.

darkdill4 votes

Hmm, maybe Riot's finally got their "Voodoo-esque" Champion.

A Horde of Rats5 votes

{quoted}

Hmm, maybe Riot's finally got their "Voodoo-esque" Champion.

Sounds like it. Voodoo in theme but not in name. Apparently RIOT does not like the Voodoo Lands in Runeterra because it references a real world religion. Soooo the logical answer would be to make up your own religion and pair it up with a new champion like Illaoi. Right?

Pyrodinium8 votes

I am betting on Illaoi being similar to Tia Dalma from Pirates of the Caribbean.

darkdill4 votes

Yep. Naming the religion "Voodoo" would be really weird and hard to write properly. Making it just SEEM like Voodoo, but calling it something else, means you have all the freedom to make changes you want.

Baunjo3 votes

I swear... Are they seriously making another champion already? They need to be fixing older ones rather than releasing new ones every 2 weeks

Iceborn Pippin11 votes

{quoted}

I swear... Are they seriously making another champion already? They need to be fixing older ones rather than releasing new ones every 2 weeks

Dude. This is the LAST champion of the year. Also every 2 weeks? They don't do that anymore. Its more like every couple of months.

Baunjo2 votes

No, kindred was just released like 2 weeks ago if im not mistaken

Pyrodinium14 votes

Kindred was released a patch later than intended.

RisenDarkKnight3 votes

Yeah Illawoi is coming out relatively soon to Kindred, but firstly, they haven't released her yet they only teased some audio files. It will probably still be about 3 weeks before she's released to the public (they usually do 2 weeks on the pbe first). Secondly, Illawoi will only be the 5th champion released this year which is less than one every 2 months. They used to do way more champions, but they slowed down the schedule so players who don't buy RP can keep up. (Bard, Ekko, Tahm Kench, and Kindred are the only champs released so far this year).

LordForrest1 votes

Uh, first couple of things if you have been paying attention to most of the riot discussion on designing champs you would know that she has probably been in development for months, at least, by now. Also, we weren't even suppose to be aware of her as an actual champ, the only reason we are and they confirmed it is because of an accidental leak of her champion select quote on the PBE in another language. She probably wasn't intended to be teased, let alone released until the end of November, most likely December.

Baunjo3 votes

My point still stands, I am sick of seeing so many champions just become obsolete because riot releases 2.0 of almost every champion in the game and never actually compensates older champions.

LordForrest2 votes

I am trying to think of a way to respond to this without inciting a flame war that i want no part of, so i am just going to say this. Are we even talking about the same game?

Baunjo3 votes

The same game where:

We still have a huge base of champions with no mobility that struggle heavily now that almost every new champ has a dash or crazy high movespeed buffs?

Where " Unique abilities " Are recycled into other champions and made better, or can generally do the same thing 300% better ( See Tryndamere and Kindred, Vayne and Poppy, Thresh and Janna, Skarner and Warwick, Volibear and Rammus, etc. )

Where JUST THIS PATCH tank items were nerfed like a motherfucker mainly to keep juggernaughts from shit stomping even harder, and yet still they plan on buffing " Marksman " Next season?

Yeah I think were talking about the same game. Why do you ask?

LordForrest6 votes

Okay first of you are heavily over generalizing things, so you lost my belief that it might be more then you just salty because you can't use the same champion the same way all the time and win like you use too. Its called adaptation.

To directly address your "points" that you brought, i provide counter point.

Your first point has some merit, but you are taking it out of context and aren't addressing all the points. Some champs are literally designed immobile because of their power budget, take the fairly recent champ Vel Koz for example, he is crazy strong when you and your team play to his strengths, but struggles if you let them get in his face. Other champs are designed with mobility in mind and they try to adjust the power budget in mind with that, unfortunately it is fairly hard to quantify exactly how strong mobility itself so that they don't have too much damage or don't have enough damage where they aren't even a threat. Also Riot has already address the "mobility creep" argument and they stated they actually have plans for champs with out a lot of mobility.

With your second point, your entire argument is utter garbage. You are comparing champs that fulfill different roles or who don't even do the same things. Tyrn is a melee adc who excels at dueling and split pushing, his ult only prevents him from dying for a short time. It doesn't not give him health back and because of the nature of him it doesn't guarantee survival. Kindred on the other hand is a marksmen who excels at teamfighting and champion killing, who ult also affects everyone in the radius preventing them from dropping below a certain health and healing those still inside when the effect ends. Unlike with tryn, kindreds ult can kill your entire team and cause you to lose a fight you would have won, whereas with tryn its only him if he messes up. Vayne and poppy aren't even related at all, besides poppy's rework is up soon anyways. Thresh and Janna cannot be compared because they do different things. Janna is the ultimate disengage support, Thresh is more of all rounder, he can disengage, engage, and harrass. With Skarner and Warwick they fulfill different niches so thats not a good comparison, and if its just the ult you are talking about why aren't you including Malzahar. Volibear and Rammus, i got nothing because i can't even see what you are trying to say about them being the same.

Your complaints about the juggernaut items are wrong. That's not why they were changed and they certainly weren't "nerfed like a motherfucker" they were changed to give diversity in the tank role and because a couple of them were way too gold efficient. Some of them were nerfs, just so they could address the efficiency issues, while others were changes to their role to give better diversity.

Also, its not a buff to Marksmen, so much as its an update to items and a pass over the champions to give better build diversity and Champion pick diversity by better defining their niches.

DreadlockedRasta3 votes

Well fucking put... This guy just some salty bronze player who can't make comparisons with any logical back-statement.

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