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Who's your favorite champion, storywise?

BlazeRiver·5/20/2015, 3:20:20 AM·17 votes·8,791 views

I really like the newfound lines of communication between Riot and us, and I'd like to keep this type of discussion. Let's see if we can attract a few more Rioters to this forum.

So, who is your favorite champion, storywise? And why?

Personally, my favorite is Quinn (and Valor). Her story is absolutely amazing -- she is a highly ranked soldier in a place where your caste determines everything. Her very existence is probably a cause of conflict among Demacian nobles. (I have a headcanon where the only reason why Quinn was allowed to do what she does today is that Prince Jarvan IV created a new position just for her, so she could continue to serve Demacia to the best of her abilities.) Plus, I like the concept between having a giant bird of prey as a companion.

Quinn also has interesting connections to Talon. They have remarkably similar fashion senses, and she seems familiar with his assassination style. I can't tell whether I want them to have a sibling-friendly-rivalry or romantic relationship, though. I can't go further with any headcanons about that until I decide which one seems like a better fit. (Riot please at least tell me if Talon is Caleb!)

79 Comments

RiotAD Yuumi5/21/2015, 7:51:46 PM8 votes

The Piltover/Zaun champs as a whole. I'm a bit biased of course (I've worked Vi, Jinx, and Ekko), but I just think there's so many cool stories to tell about all of them and how they interact with each other.

goldensilver095/20/2015, 11:38:09 AM7 votes

Lux. But not Lux Lore but for her League test. Read'it. it make more than one cry.

Other one is Varus. All family died. l friends died. Everything died. And so will they die. He lost everything. Every. Single. Thing. The only things left was what he protected, he's body and trusty bow.

One man can't take down an army. But it could do'it an ancient Evil? Letting he's body become the new vessel of the ancient Evil. Given him overhuman powers at the cost of that some day the ancient evil corrupts he's body and he's souls is consumed, only to revenge what he lost. (Why just invoce Kalista and let her do the job Kalista )

TheHedgehogsDilemma5/21/2015, 3:58:19 AM6 votes

Without a doubt for me it's Diana and Leona . Ahri is my favorite to play, but Diana is the whole package for me. From her design, to her gameplay, and especially the lore/character.

I'm a sucker for the whole total change of character style of back story. If you were to tell her story from the beginning, with out knowing she becomes the opposite of what she is, you might not guess she would become the Scorn of the Moon. But, events take her down that path.

(SPOILER ALERT) + Like in Lost, you see Jack on the island, but when you see his flashback he's like "THERE IS NO WAY I'M GOING TO AUSTRALIA TO GET MY FATHER." And yet you know he's on the island, so he goes to Australia and gets on Flight 815, but at that point you're like, "Oh man, how's he gonna get there, he is so vehemently opposed to it right now. But he has to be there eventually cause he ends up on the island."

She was a Solari and something along the way changed her so much, that now she's filled with such anger towards them. I really like what I believe Iron Stylus said on a story post about her from when she came out. "What's more tragic than having to kill something you love." Or, something along those lines. I think it's really cool and interesting to know they had a relationship where Diana probably looked up to Leona and loved her. I don't really ship them, but more of like a sibling style love. And then to feel so betrayed that now Leona's her worst enemy. Even if Leona was away, or had no idea it was happening, and Diana still feels betrayed. I think that is a really interesting thing to explore.

I'd really love to see her journey from inquisitive Solari who feels connected to the moon. and tries to change the minds of the Solarian Elders, to her current self. I think the relationship between her and Leona would be great to explore and see how that changes. And, how she becomes so deadly with her Moon Scythe Sword thing. The whole story of her I think is awesome, and I sympathize a ton with her. It brings to mind The Dark Knight quote, "You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain." or whatever. I feel like she totally believes she is in the right, but is going about it in maybe the wrong way. But I love her for it.

Also, honorable mention to Jinx/Vi. (Again with the Batman references I guess.) I like to think of the obvious similarities between Jinx and the Joker, and how that relates to Vi. Where Jinx could, possibly to me, sensing that Vi and her are just like each other. And she's trying to get Vi to come to the "dark side" in a way, and embrace the chaos.

Celindrea5/20/2015, 11:01:07 AM6 votes

Riven. I highly enjoy the fact that she forced herself to wield giant swords just to prove how goddamn Noxian she was, and determined she was to stay that way up until her final battle in the Noxian military. The moral conflict at that point is also something I find really interesting. Yes, she did slaughter countless Ionians, but she believed it be for a just cause, the Noxian cause: that they were simply stronger than they were and that's just how it goes. And yeah, it wasn't until her own troops started to drop like flies did she realize that this whole thing just was not working out for her. (granted her league judgement does state that she and her men didn't particularly want to dispatch civilians, they were just kind of ordered to, but still) Also I dig the whole, "I'm gonna ditch my past ideals and since my sword is the symbol of those past ideals, I'mma break it!" thing.

Yasuo's lore I like because apparently he was a prideful prick about his mastery over the wind technique of his school and that later came to bite him in the ass when no one even tried to defend him when accused of murdering the Elder. Not even his brother, like damn D:

Neamean5/20/2015, 3:44:54 AM5 votes

Poppy is life, Poppy is love

Chromatic Eagle5/20/2015, 4:49:07 PM4 votes

Shyvana. Outcast trying to find acceptance. I'm not the most happy about Amumu's retcon, but he's in a decent place for his story. I'm surprised at how much I like Azir.

Legacy of Xion5/20/2015, 3:56:14 AM4 votes

Kayle. The fact she had to make hard decisions that she upheld justice despite trying to uplift rhe evil...it shows how strong she is.

Hell. She gave herself to the IoW for 1000 years, just to ensure they didnt meddle and her world could finally have peace. It's on eof the reasons she's my favorite.

Then Lux. Just...just Lux...

4nth0l0gy5/20/2015, 11:25:46 AM4 votes

I'm a sucker for the "my species is genocided, im the last one" storyline, so SkarnerAlistar ring with me.

I also love characters that are lost/purposeless in the world they exist in (for similar reasons), so AzirMaokaiGalio ring with me too.

Two other honorable mentions: Zac, for overcoming his nature and being awesome. Fiddlesticks, for WHAT'S IN THE BOX??!!?

skyfall6195/23/2015, 7:12:08 AM3 votes

cant choose between Viktor , Diana,and Zac

Viktor i just started looking more into zaun and they are by far my fave faction being the city that looks bad from the outside but is filled with limitless potential (sorry syndra). Viktor being the man that has a vision that but that vision is far to great for "Inferior constructs.". "All will soon change."

Zac was made with the purpose of being a weapon, but overcame what his masters intended for him and created his own path. so much respect for this guy.

Diana was laughed and mistreated for having a different belief then those around her. she went out to prove what she believed in was legit and did. but only to be disrespected even further. they had her put to death even though "i speak only the truth". if only they weren't "Blind to the truth."they backed Diana in a corner and "They leave me no choice." "They would not listen." but know they know "Embrace the night." "They called me a heretic, now they are dead." love this chick.

PS: blood moon Diana plzz riot

pinwheelviper5/21/2015, 12:26:31 AM3 votes

Well before The Great Recon Of Terror I liked Elise (I also like Diana)

Svddenly5/21/2015, 7:52:21 PM3 votes

My favorite lore is easily Shaco (and it hasn't been hit by the retcon yet). "Whatever you do, don't tell him you missed the punchline."

Volibear is another one of my favorites.

Sneak Dog5/21/2015, 10:04:00 PM3 votes

Used to be Trundle.

A naïve kid, always bullied by his peers, made fun of. The runt of the tribe. Suddenly it is discovered he is special, he is offered a chance to save his entire tribe, become a hero for eternity.

Eagerly he takes it.

He is praised by his entire tribe. They all love him and praise him for his noble sacrifice. Nothing could be better for Trundle.

Then his tribe starts shunning him.

His tribe, now over the initial gratitude of their new hero, starts shunning Trundle for what he has become after his sacrifice. For Trundle, he is back to square one, the runt of the tribe. Except for one thing. No longer is Trundle the naïve kid. He leaves his tribe, embittered by his experience, cynical by what he learned.

New Trundle basically never learns. He takes the opportunity to save his tribe, gain their adoration, and he himself turns hungry for more. He is just a power-hungry brute and his VO reflects this accurately. in his old VO you could hear Trundles pain, physically and emotionally. His new one oozes the hunger for power.

I can't trust Riot anymore. They blatantly removed one of my favorite characters for a new one. No reason for me to get new favorite characters, they'd probably just get the same treatment.

Kinjishi5/21/2015, 12:56:29 AM2 votes

TF and Nautilus... though there is so much room for development with both of them.

Vistha Kai5/20/2015, 11:57:26 AM2 votes

Syndra I've told this story like a hundred times. I think need to save it somewhere and copy paste in threads like this.

Misunderstood by her peers, Elders and even parents, with only her magical talent as a friend, that ironically made her a pariah, without a chance to lead normal life, Syndra was sent to a remote temple, that most likely was only occupied by the old man with a little magic knowledge. She's been treated like a magical bomb her whole life. I feel pity for her, but at the same time I love who she turned out to be, regardless of how mistreated she might've been.

Plus, "Fuck that, I'ma gonna lift this temple with it's foundation into the sky, cuz I can" thing. And her laugh. "Run, playthings!"

The Soulforged5/20/2015, 11:10:38 PM2 votes

Poppy is the yordle that continued walking when her father died. Literally...

Ironclad Dragon5/20/2015, 3:36:48 AM2 votes

Insert vitriol of there not being lore here.

Lady Septimus5/21/2015, 7:59:29 PM2 votes

:C old trundle lore was the best now he's just some stupid ice king with no real cool story to try to empathize with :/

TerraRising5/21/2015, 8:07:22 PM2 votes

Varus.

It was a collaboration between Penny Arcade and Riot Games. The story itself, the lone warrior seeking any source of power to exact revenge on the perpetrators, is pretty generic at its core. Still, Varus's story stands out as a good example of telling a generic story well.

It was also the last League Judgment released before Riot gave up on giving the fans good lore for years.

Laughing Fish5/21/2015, 8:15:38 PM2 votes

Viktor. He was a man that had his life's work stolen from him simply because of the greed of another. He fell into depression, and was no longer able to face the world. But even then he wanted to make the world a better place. So he did what he did best: He built something. Something that could remove the sadness and anger that was consuming him, something that could ensure nobody had to suffer ever again.

But emotion clouded his judgement. He couldn't remove his sadness, anger, and resentment. He simply transformed it. And this transformation consumed him more literally than emotion ever could. This transformation became his obsession. And in his obsession he came to a realization that would change everything. Humans are broken. Not just emotionally, not just physically, everything about their existence is flawed. And what does an engineer do with flaws? He fixes them.

Voidac5/21/2015, 8:44:23 PM2 votes

Lissandra. She's like the only one who has her shit together. She has a plan and she has all the time in the world to make sure it's done right. She's patient, years spent getting everything ready for the eventual return of the Frozen Watchers. And even if they don't return, she's amassed enough power to definitely do some damage.

Up next is Viktor who was hurt so bad (emotionally) that be began replacing his own body with his inventions. Now no one can steal his creations.

Ziggs tried to hard to impress those he respected and looked up to, only to result in them looking down on him. Even still, he came to their aid. He CHOSE to save them, even after everything that's happened. True hero, this one.

Varus Varus, man... Poor guy. Seriously... these kinds of decisions are hard to make and either way you're screwed.

Brand Brand isn't evil. He's wildfire. He wants to cleanse this world of the corruption of humanity and science to make way for a new world. And in the words of Parthurnax, "Who are we to stop the birth of the new world?". Brand is that force, a force of nature (or a creation during the rune wars) that seeks to stop the destruction of the world my cleansing it with fire. Seriously, google "wildfire and plant life diversity". It's the same concept.

Syndra Holding her back was like pulling back a rubber band. Something's gonna snap. When she learned what they were doing to her, it didn't sit too well with her.

Just some of my favorites simply because of their lore. Lore defines a champion, gives them purpose. I like to know what drives them.

naitohikari5/21/2015, 9:18:27 PM2 votes

Oh boy, oh boy. Be prepared for a long-ass rant.

Vi got me into the game before I even realized what League of Legends was. That and my friends/boyfriend invited me to play, but I've seen Vi around a lot on the Internet beforehand and was immediately hooked on her character.

I'm a huge sucker for people who are tough on the outside but complete softies/do-gooders at heart. I loved the complexity of Vi's character past her punching - the fact that she used to be a criminal and had a change of heart at such a young age meant that she wasn't inherently malicious, she was probably sticking with the group to scrape by and survive. She's a kid prodigy at hextech, while at the same time being physically powerful enough to defend herself/fight even without her gauntlets. And let's face it, she probably has the worst best fashion sense in all of Runeterra (srsly rito do you know how much of a pain it is to cosplay Vi with like her half-tutu-thing and her backpack and her boots wheredidsheevengetthemfrom)

Jokes aside, I think Vi's super underrated when not viewed from the perspective of her rivalry with Jinx. She's headstrong, stubborn, overconfident and cocky, but also actively trying to reform and atone for her past - besides being part of the Piltover PD she's seen with a lollipop in her concept art, which I headcanon as being one of her coping mechanisms for weaning off her habit of smoking, which shows how much she wants to change. Even her fashion sense says something about her - she's most likely scrapped together all that armor by herself, and they seem to be worn in places where she must've had been injured before (for example, the knee protector on one knee and the brace on the other - I like to think that she injured herself from her left knee down and didn't want it to happen to her other leg). That to me is character development.

One thing that gets me is how Ekko's voice lines hint at some expanded backstory on Vi. I think Gypsylord mentioned that due to trauma in her childhood she has amnesia (though I don't know from which point on, because she doesn't seem to remember Jinx and that they're both sisters cough), which when coupled with how Ekko addresses her (as someone he looked up to once, was disappointed in, and as a Zaunite?????) makes for a very intriguing, colorful past...

I don't just love the living heck out of Vi, I identify with her as a character. She's got some battle scars, dude, but hell, she's fighting as much for a better tomorrow as Jayce is. I wish more people would appreciate her as she is beyond her relationship with Caitlyn/her rivalry with Jinx/her expanded rivalry with Ekko??? She feels more fleshed-out to me than the other champs in the game, or perhaps that's just because I'm biased towards the underdogs of society :P She's cocky and confident in her abilities, but she has her insecurities; she's actively trying to make herself a better person, but in her own way (though I don't doubt that Cait could be one of the reasons why); she's got a great sense of humor :D; and despite how much she teases Cait, she seems like the kind of friendly person anyone would warm up to (well, if they're not completely off their rockers like Jinx) judging from her lines for Cait and Jayce. Her lore isn't where her story ends; it's everything from her story to her lines to her character design to the way other characters interact with her that paint a picture of her as a person, not just another champ on the Rift. I feel like a lot of it is reduced to her identity as Jinx's rival after Jinx was released, and the "canon" lesbian in the League (that is still sexualized to some extent - like the boobs on her Officer skin and her skintight Neon Strike skin - but I think Debonair is a step in a better direction, though I've had enough of the community calling her a dyke and reducing her character to just that.)

Big kudos to Riot and Gypsylord for creating a character I genuinely care about and identify with, in a way I haven't felt about a fictional character in a long while. As a girl growing up loving games and presented with strong male archetypes as protagonists, Vi is a breath of fresh air and the depth of her character feels empowering. I do play a lot of Leona, Sejuani, Soraka, Diana, etc. but Vi is someone I can relate to - you can be female and punch faces in, you can be strong, and you can be smart, even if it's not the kind of "smart" that society would normally think of.

I didn't really get "into" the game until Debonair Vi came out (that's when I decided to say "fuck it" and drop my money on getting Vi and her skin, back when my account was level 10-15 or so), and since then I've been playing her top and jungle until my account was 30, and only then I've branched out and tried other champions (because I kept getting beaten in lane as toplane Vi lol). I don't play her as much anymore, and thanks to Mata's incredible showing at last year's Worlds I've taken a shining to the support role, but Vi continues to be my #1 favorite champ.

Once again thank you Riot and thank you Gypsy for making such an awesome character :D