Does Anyone Else Feel That Champion Releases Aren't As Exciting As They Used To be?

Impetual··5 votes·839 views

Despite the fact that champion's were released bi-weekly back in the old days, each new release felt like a big deal.

With each new champion introduced we got more perspective into the going's on of Runeterra. Since every champion's lore was connected through the Institute of War, whenever a new champion was introduced, it would have ripple effects that would affect every other champion.

And those ripple effects used to be discussed in the Journal of Justice.

These days, new champion's don't make a splash in existing lore...heck, they don't even seem to be a part of it.

New champion's being introduced to Runeterra don't even seem to have any effect on it anymore!

Currently, Riot has not provided any insight into what day to day Runeterra is like for the average citizen.

What's going on with Morgana's Bakery?

Or Blitzcrank's Fleshling Compatibility Service?

Or the random antics of Jax and Gragas?

How will that aspect of lore be preserved in the "new lore"?

What happened to the non-serious cool lore Riot?

11 Comments

Valaran Nara7 votes

They don't cause a ripple effect because they are myths.

Azir caused a ripple affect because he dealt directly with other characters. Then there was Bard, Ekko, Tahm Kench, and now Kindred.

Ekko had impact onZaun because he grew up there. We understand that Zaun is inhabited by kids who aren't generally insane. There are memorials, so on and so forth. We even got some idea that not all of Piltover is bright since the "Whistling Man" was from Piltover probably doing some black market work in Zaun.

Then there's Bard, Tahm Kench, and Kindred. Why do they feel like they don't have a ripple effect?

They are the "mythos" of Runeterra. They are what caused Runeterra to be what it is, or, at the very least, helped stir some of the cultural phenomenon found within it.

For Bard, he is the reason there are people that work around the idea of pasing down stories from word of mouth. They identified and labeled themselves under his name, "Bard." They are bards. Stories of a Fallen Kingdom (Pre-SI), tales of Watchers and even the downfall and destruction of Shurima. They all had something to do with Bard. And if they didn't, the bards still believe, and it is one of the many tales they tell of the constellations, the STARS THEMSELVES.

Tahm Kench, an ancient Crossroads demon older than what any of us could imagine. So old, in fact that even his image was carved into the cultures of other places. Just like Aatrox, people made figures of him, busts, and carvings. This is a demon. A supposed boogeyman that embodies the very concept of gluttony and greed. What better thing than to inspire Bilgewater, a place where it is kill or be killed. A culture where you have to con the very man next to you just to have enough gold to buy yourself a loaf of bread. A place where if you were foolish enough to make a deal that's seemingly too good to be true, you will lose EVERYTHING.

Then there's Kindred. They are the concept of death themselves. No. Not the concept. They are death. And sure, Kindred may be at a battlefield, but death is prevalent everywhere. Kindred has the power of omnipresence. They can be anywhere at anytime in more places than one. Remember, this is a being who goes by different names in DIFFERENT cultures. Their very existance serves as the focal point, the inner workings of how life is wrenched from the body and disappears. Either through acceptance of one's end with the piercing shot of Lamb's arrow or by the losing battle of one fending themselves from the gnarled fangs of Wolf's hunger. The earliest stories and myths in our world revolves around death itself, and Kindred is the image and personification of that very myth. They are the grim reaper.

These three beings are the foundation constructs of what Runeterra is today. Through centuries and millenniums of influence, they cannot cause a ripple within the water, for they are the streams from which the water flows out of into the primordial pool of Valoran and the Legends of Runeterra.

**TLDR; ** They are influencing basises for the world cultures. The impact and ripple effect they had has occurred long before most of the other champions even appear within the Lore.

GreenLore4 votes

No I'd say it is more of the complete opposite.

Back in the day,champs were released at a very fast pace and they rarely had much of an effect on the world as a whole like you describe it. It was mostly "a new champ appeared and joined the league for reasons".

Also you quickly drift offtopic in your own opening post,complaining about the lack of non-serious lore and the day-to-day-life of the citizens(not that these day-to-day-lives where really fleshed out in the first place)

ModAttysu The Poro3 votes

I've never been so hyped for a champion like I am for Kindred. They've been pretty underplayed I admit, but I love their concept so much, I practically imploded in a hype train mess.

Impetual3 votes

{quoted}

I've never been so hyped for a champion like I am for Kindred. They've been pretty underplayed I admit, but I love their concept so much, I practically imploded in a hype train mess.

Seriously? I don't see/feel the hype. It's just another champion with insignificant lore.

Back in the early days of Riot, a new champion release had the potential to shake the foundation of the established lore and introduce a new element that could affect most, if not all, other champions.

While Kindred is a cool concept, it's just gonna kinda exist within the pre-existing establishment.

The way Riot's releasing it, Kindred's lore/existence doesn't have much of an impact on Runeterra.

Outside of the gameplay ramifications of a new champion, there is very little reason to care.

ModAttysu The Poro1 votes

I like the concept of death itself walking around, and controlling the natural balance of things. I also like how they go against Shadow Isles, and that can surely be stirred up during the Harrowing, and their overall concept seems so badass. I dunno I just like them a lot. Plus the voice work for them is top notch.

The Whamboozler3 votes

Yeah, riot seems to think pretty videos of fights that don't really have an context are "lore". The animations were kinda cool, but nothing in the game tells a story. And the game itself doesn't LET you tell a story. Back in the day you could imagine why the champs were fighting and for whom. Now the rift doesn't exist, the summoners don't matter and the game is all a fart in the wind. The recent few lore events have been... ok. The Bilgewater was all right, but it didn't really add anything to the game except a few skins. They resolved the story at the end at least... with MF taking over the city. The lore before hand didn't matter AT ALL. Lissandra is scheming to overthrown the world! Oh... I guess she's still scheming then.... nothing happened. Azir has been reborn from the blood of Sivir! He's just... hangin' around now, I guess. The old lore created a world. The new lore tells unconnected stories about people and then doesn't really resolve them.

Peridition2 votes

How is that really any different from the old lore?

Champions would just join the League for X reason and then it would remain completely unresolved.

The Whamboozler2 votes

True, but there were lore events happening frequently and an overall story to the game and the intitute. Swain taking over Noxus, the Ionia invasion. It was building towards something... and it may have never been resolved, but it was interesting. The old lore had a fairly developed world with a core story and a bunch of dangling champs that didn't really have a part in it. This sucks if you're a die-hard Syndra fan or something, but the world as a whole was developed and the matches you played had a place in it.

The NEW lore is a series of unconnected stories that give very little show of all taking place in the same world. They're decent stories, but they don't affect anything. There isn't a sense of the world as a whole, or of what everyone's place in it is. The matches we play don't exist in this world. Because of this, champions that aren't specifically mentioned as interacting with each other probably haven't. The Bilgewater event was the best event they've had in a while lore-wise and it didn't affect much. Now this might change, with the next lore event coming off the violent overthrow of Bilgewater and the chaos that causes elsewhere... but it won't give the world shape until the stories in it connect... and it won't give US a place in it ever.

That's the main issue people have with the lore, actually. We were removed from it. Sure, summoners were nebulous and poorly defined and a bit silly if you really thought about it. But it put people IN the game. It got them invested! Even shitty mobile games strive for immersion... addressing the player as a commander and pretending you are a character in the game. People enjoy that immersion, and the new lore lacks it.

Macropla1 votes

Personally I hate champ releases (for the first week), I usually stop playing league for a week when one comes out. To many people play them when they're released making the game unbearable to play. IF they were to put a week or two wait before they're able to be used in ranked that would be amazing. I love the introduction of new champs but it ruins the league environment for the first week or two after release.

Fasmodey1 votes

Seriously, are they people who think old lore was better or are they just trolling? New lore has far more potential than '' Summoners are using champions in the battle of field that include ones of the most powerful entities of Runeterra and it's because what they want, get used by players' reflections in lore, because why not? '' logic.

This lore nearly made me cancer. item 3151

Just wait and see Shadow Isles event. I'm really excited and hopeful.

(ALSO SEE IT IN HERE FIRST, WE'RE GOING TO SEE HARROWING THEMED SR MAP AS ALL WE WANTED IT ON PAST YEARS)

DariusDemiurge1 votes

Recently the champs released have been pretty boring in all aspects. So yeah feel you on that. The last ones I enjoyed were Vel'koz and Kalista.

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