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Why I believe Yorick's New Premise Is Inferior.

TerraRising·8/26/2016, 1:40:18 PM·11 votes·1,216 views

It doesn't take a genius to see that New Yorick has a story that is radically different than the old one for a variety of reasons (I believe it's because the vast majority of Rioters have never had to work a blue collar job and can't relate to having a rigorous work ethic).

While we don't have a full lore released as of 8-26-16, we do know enough about New Yorick's lore to make a few assumptions:

  • He's a generally good guy, a “practical man” who isn't afraid to use evil things to accomplish his goals.
  • He's a former monk who remembers his life story, if not remembers life before the Ruined King's fall.
  • He's constantly tempted by the mist he carries, which speaks to him like Kindred 2.0.
  • His shovel is not necessarily “magical,” but practical.
  • His lantern was replaced with a bottle of holy water that hangs around his neck. He either uses the shovel to kill an opponent or the water to save them. (This is not expressed in the gameplay, so it might be a wasted detail.)

To me, this is just cheesy and inferior to what Yorick used to be. Allow me to explain.

The original Yorick was a forcibly resurrected mortician with an apparently magical shovel. He doesn't remember his past (or any sins he may have committed in life) and doesn't know why he was resurrected . All he knows is that he won't be able to rest until he “meets his quota,” Not that he knows what that means. All he wanted was to remember and be remembered.

Old Yorick's story is full of tragedy that's relatable to many people, if not the white collar employees at Riot. Think of the Tennessee Ernie Ford song “Sixteen Tons,” as an example of the struggle of the work-a-day man, only change the 16 tons of coal to 16 tons of dirt.

This new story, with a monk who is “mostly” good, but uses the very evil he's fighting in his quest to eliminate it, is a trope and a very silly trope at that. This new story is, frankly, the premise of “Suicide Squad” without all the attempts at humor. Hell, even the concept is a combination of Varus and Lucian, with a lone warrior accepting a corrupting influence while fighting the evils of Shadow Isles.

Maybe the full story will prove me wrong, but this is what I'm thinking right now.

22 Comments

ModAcademy Kayn8/26/2016, 3:50:24 PM14 votes

As a Writer, I don't think old Yorick had the ability for his story to go anywhere. His aspirations, to be remembered? Was he helping the Isle's cause or just chilling out trying to remember what he was? Although Old Yorick was was certainly interesting with his premise, I don't think anything short of him going on a Spirit Quest to find himself would give him a story.

Now, one could argue that Yorick could've used some more fleshing (get it? flesh?) out to make his original premise work, but I disagree. Yoricks potential stories are very self contained, because in the end, Yorick's desires fall around himself and not the world around him. He wants to remember/ be remembered, but how is he going to accomplish that? His original character did not give any premise unless he was to be an evil Shadow Isle champ who invades the real world, and last i checked people didn't want another bad guy Shadow Isles champ.

New Yorick touches and interacts with the world around him. He has potential stories interacting with the Shadow Isles and Shadow Isle champs, and a rather interesting idea of how Lucian would see him. Hell, I'm looking forward to someone who could potentially deal with Mordekaiser himself.

Final nitpick i have, is that Varus did what he did for very selfish reasons. He wants his family avenged and he wants to kill every damn Noxian that's ever lived. His corruption is based directly off his selfish-ness and perhaps if he could get past his anger he could control it. Yorick does not have that choice. He is corrupted for the right reasons already, and no amount of self change aside from freeing the Shadow Isles can potentially free him, and even then, he may even die if he breaks the curse since that's the thing that's been extending his life, which i think that working towards a cause that may lead to you dying by achieving it is rather tragic

OurLestrade8/26/2016, 2:20:42 PM5 votes

Old Yorick was a tragic man who'd resigned himself to his fate, with no glory in his past or his future. Very unique in a roster full of heroes and gods and all that junk. New Yorick is another edgy super hero with a burden. Swap around a couple of words and his new lore is practically Ryze's.

Kwattigor8/26/2016, 2:33:15 PM2 votes

he doesn't fit his fantasy any more of the grave digger that's for sure

Meep Man8/26/2016, 8:10:18 PM2 votes

I thought Suicide Squad was villains being forced to do good, not good being forced to use evil to fight evil. Suicide Squad is evil using evil to fight evil.

GreenLore8/26/2016, 6:19:57 PM1 votes

While I think old Yorick was a bit more unique,I have to say that he had a lot less story potential.

I mean Yoricks job as a grave digger made so little sense that he became the ferry man of the shadow isles,which pretty much became redundant once the black mist was introduced(the undeads don't need a ferryman anymore and barely anyone would want to to get to the isles anyway).

Jalkan8/26/2016, 6:25:21 PM1 votes

Old Yorick's lore was basically that he was a gravedigger who forgot everything about his life and now he does nothing. He digs graves and is a ferryman or something, that's it.