What's With Jhin's Shoulder?

Mr Vulcanator·Jan 16, 2016·4 votes·45,625 views

Try as I might I can't figure out what the deal is with his shoulder.

35 Comments

James StoneJan 17, 201613 votes

The RIoter in charge of his design (can't remember his name) said it is a Mass Accelerator that connects to his pistol and the gun he uses to fire his W to create enough energy to fire his ult. Take a closer look at his pose during the Curtain Call's duration or his ult icon.

... Meanwhile, at the other side of Valoran, we have pirates riding wooden ships and firing cannonballs at zombies

SharjoJan 17, 20166 votes

... Meanwhile, at the other side of Valoran, we have pirates riding wooden ships and firing cannonballs at zombies

Well Hextech is rare and expensive. Super expensive. Ridiculously expensive. The champions who have hextech in some form are quite numerous among the playable roster, but are part of a massive minority within the various nations of Runeterra.

Do keep in mind Jhin is the only Ionian champion with hextech devices at his disposal and is potentially the only Ionian in all of Runeterra to have hextech at their disposal.

James StoneJan 17, 20164 votes

{quoted}

Well Hextech is rare and expensive. Super expensive. Ridiculously expensive. The champions who have hextech in some form are quite numerous among the playable roster, but are part of a massive minority within the various nations of Runeterra.

Do keep in mind Jhin is the only Ionian champion with hextech devices at his disposal and is potentially the only Ionian in all of Runeterra to have hextech at their disposal.

True, true. I was just poking some fun.

You still gotta admit that a freaking Mass Accelerator might be pushing it. I tend to draw the line when my fantasypunk settings start using terms that find themselves at home in Mass Effect

SharjoJan 17, 20165 votes

I'd reckon that those Ionian councilors that are behind Jhin have some connections here and there. I can imagine Jhin's prosthetics, weapons and Mass Accelerator being payed for through a large "investment" to someone in Piltover or Zaun.

I mean I guess a mass accelerator would just speed up the hex-bullets to be substantially faster? I dunno.

James StoneJan 17, 20161 votes

{quoted}

I'd reckon that those Ionian councilors that are behind Jhin have some connections here and there. I can imagine Jhin's prosthetics, weapons and Mass Accelerator being payed for through a large "investment" to someone in Piltover or Zaun.

I mean I guess a mass accelerator would just speed up the hex-bullets to be substantially faster? I dunno.

I don't think there is such a thing as "hex-bullets". There are hextech guns that fire bullets. I mean, you don't call steampunk weapon's ammunitions "steampunk bullets" [dibs on that for a Metal Band name].

Anywho, I'm much more ok with the idea of Mass Accelerators than I thought I'd be, but that's mostly because I still hold the theory the current lore is separated in periods of time, and different champs exist in different periods

MrBuffingtonJan 17, 20161 votes

gypsylord is the designer :) (He also made Vi, Jinx, Ekko, and Gnar)

Jeddy017Jan 17, 20161 votes

He's the GAMEPLAY designer,yes.

MrBuffingtonJan 17, 20161 votes

Yea, gypsy commented about the shoulder before though, so I figured he had a part in coming up with it even if he didn't draw it himself

RiotKindlejackJan 17, 201618 votes

The Bravo Ray designed the appearance of Jhin (concept artist =/= gameplay designer) and was excited about the idea of a 'mystery box'. You see this creepy thin guy who is asymmetrical because of a huge shape on his shoulder, you have no idea what it is... until the final act.

What it is is four huge magically infused artillery shells racked up on a hextech accelerator built right into his mechanical shoulder (he's sacrificed much for his art). When attached to Whisper (and the extended barrel for accuracy) it forms the final piece in the biggest, most powerful gun Runeterra may have ever seen! Kinda reminds me of Shen in Kung Fu Panda 2.

James StoneJan 17, 20163 votes

{quoted}

The Bravo Ray designed the appearance of Jhin (concept artist =/= gameplay designer) and was excited about the idea of a 'mystery box'. You see this creepy thin guy who is asymmetrical because of a huge shape on his shoulder, you have no idea what it is... until the final act.

What it is is four huge magically infused artillery shells racked up on a hextech accelerator built right into his mechanical shoulder (he's sacrificed much for his art). When attached to Whisper (and the extended barrel for accuracy) it forms the final piece in the biggest, most powerful gun Runeterra may have ever seen! Kinda reminds me of Shen in Kung Fu Panda 2.

I have to admit, very interesting. I'm a junkie for biocybernetics so I love to see someone put as many details as you obviously have in stuff like this.

Still, I gotta ask, what's the deal with the technological differences all across Valoran? Gangplank managed to fix his arm with a full metal prostetic that apparently works as an actual arm, Jhin's weaponry sort of speaks for itself... while we still have wooden boats and metal cannons on Bilgewater and, if the champions are any indication, the most advanced personal weapon of Demacia is a crossbow.

Huang ShaotianJan 17, 20165 votes

Spoken like someone who's never been to a third world country. Technological differences are pretty common even IRL, Go back 200 years ago before you could easily travel continents and the differences would have been much larger.

I would imagine throwing in magic, isolation, xenophobia, influence by mystical powerful beings and multiple more avenues of technological progression would do a lot to make this even more noticeable.

RiotKindlejackJan 18, 20168 votes

It's true that Valoran can often feel like an unbalanced game of Civilization, but when it comes to the League of Legends we are definitely talking about LEGENDS. The champions in LoL are almost like super heroes and sometimes are literally mythological. Vi's gauntlets are a product of a master mechanic in the most advanced city in the world, same goes for Jayce and Heimerdinger. They are one of a kind legends crafting one of a kind weapons. I think this is one of the reasons why some champions are so renowned! Can you imagine, when all you've got is swords and bows, seeing Lucian dart across a battlefield spinning and blasting light energy from twin pistols? I'd just drop my weapons then and there.

I don't know for sure but I'd dare say that Gangplanks arm, in order to work, must have a little magic in it (along with a bunch of pulleys and springs). I'd also make a guess that whoever made it for him was no ordinary biomedical engineer. And again this is just rumination because I have no info on it, but when I think about who could have performed such a miracle the list of people is very short.

SlashPancakesJan 19, 20163 votes

{quoted}

It's true that Valoran can often feel like an unbalanced game of Civilization, but when it comes to the League of Legends we are definitely talking about LEGENDS. The champions in LoL are almost like super heroes and sometimes are literally mythological. Vi's gauntlets are a product of a master mechanic in the most advanced city in the world, same goes for Jayce and Heimerdinger. They are one of a kind legends crafting one of a kind weapons. I think this is one of the reasons why some champions are so renowned! Can you imagine, when all you've got is swords and bows, seeing Lucian dart across a battlefield spinning and blasting light energy from twin pistols? I'd just drop my weapons then and there.

I don't know for sure but I'd dare say that Gangplanks arm, in order to work, must have a little magic in it (along with a bunch of pulleys and springs). I'd also make a guess that whoever made it for him was no ordinary biomedical engineer. And again this is just rumination because I have no info on it, but when I think about who could have performed such a miracle the list of people is very short.

Wow. I honestly wasn't expecting that kind of enthusiasm from a Rioter. Gotta admit, you can practically smell the wonder coming from the words. xD

RiotKindlejackJan 19, 20163 votes

I was a player and huge lore fan since the game launched, I've only been working at Riot for a couple of years - and most Rioter's are the same. We love this game so much we spend every day trying to make it better! Sometimes we get it right, sometimes we don't, but our actions come from love - and hopefully it'll just keep getting better >:D

DecritJan 19, 20161 votes

Guys we have to nerf to the ground Kindlejack' s first to fifth favourite champions

RiotKindlejackJan 19, 20161 votes

My favourite champions are Fiddlesticks, Swain, Maokai, Nocturne and Karthus so...

DecritJan 19, 20163 votes

Looking at what you do like i bet Galio is, like, 6th or 7th place!

SlashPancakesJan 20, 20161 votes

{quoted}

I was a player and huge lore fan since the game launched, I've only been working at Riot for a couple of years - and most Rioter's are the same. We love this game so much we spend every day trying to make it better! Sometimes we get it right, sometimes we don't, but our actions come from love - and hopefully it'll just keep getting better >:D

lol Well that would make sense. But I know a lot of people are a bit upset about the lore. To tell you the truth, I really miss the Summoner's Weekly thing (can't remember what it was called). I think it would be awesome if that was brought back : /

RiotKindlejackJan 20, 20165 votes

Yeah I was disappointed with the removal of the Institute of War, I liked LoL's quirky rationalisation for Summoner's Rift and IP. However I also understand why they felt it was a blocker moving forward and ultimately removed it.

If you're talking about the Journal of Justice I was very interested when I started at Riot to hear what had happened to it. Apparently it was never really written with the intention of supporting the Lore of a hugely successful game - ie Rioters could write whatever they wanted to without some kind of consensus or a properly developed world to support it. I seem to remember one of the writers claimed to be dating Nidalee? Now lore is very carefully planned out over the context of a fully fleshed out world supported and directed by a fantastic foundations team. Yes, it takes a lot longer to produce content, but you can be sure it's of a high quality and will all sit within a cohesive world. Every time i talk with the writers I get shivers, there are big plans for Runeterra! I can't wait >XD

Stars ShaperJan 17, 20163 votes

So it was his choice to get all those prosthesis? I thought it was a result from the aftermath of the fight against Shen, Zed and Co.

RiotKindlejackJan 18, 20165 votes

I actually don't know how it went down, but he certainly embraces hextech more than other Ionians.

BrutusnessJan 18, 20161 votes

{quoted}

I actually don't know how it went down, but he certainly embraces hextech more than other Ionians.

I was wondering, does the briefly mentioned character of Magnus Dunderson still exist in Zaun's lore? I know it's older stuff, but I feel he could be put into newer works without a problem. The reason why is that he would make for a great champion idea, as a powerful and possibly hextech-wielding business magnate. He could be involved in numerous backstories or interactions and a behind-the-scenes financier of accidents or "recoveries", like Gangplanks', using his power and connections throughout Runeterra. Of nearly all Zaun's champions, we've mainly gotten mad scientists and rebels, and I think the character of a tyrannical businessman is a great concept for a champion that hasn't been explored yet. He could be, "Magnus, the Tycoon" or something like that.

Your thoughts?

RiotKindlejackJan 18, 20162 votes

I don't think with the way champions are being made these days that we are going to see Magnus Dunderson. They are developed around core thematic and gameplay hooks and built out from there, so even if an idea started out as 'Business Magnate that uses Gold as a Resource' there's no guarantee that it will still be either of those things down the line.

I think the first question is if we did design a champion around the idea of a Tycoon, what would be the appeal? Why would players want to play this character over the other fantasies available? Figuring that out is the most important step.

BrutusnessJan 19, 20162 votes

{quoted}

I don't think with the way champions are being made these days that we are going to see Magnus Dunderson. They are developed around core thematic and gameplay hooks and built out from there, so even if an idea started out as 'Business Magnate that uses Gold as a Resource' there's no guarantee that it will still be either of those things down the line.

I think the first question is if we did design a champion around the idea of a Tycoon, what would be the appeal? Why would players want to play this character over the other fantasies available? Figuring that out is the most important step.

I see. I suppose I understand your view. Since you mentioned building a character and lore around the moveset and workings of a champion as the basic way of creating a champion, how would this transfer to a champion such as Swain? He's a favourite of mine, but one of the common complaints of his style is that for a tactical genius in the lore, his gameplay is centered mostly around running at grouped enemies and basically just being near them until they die. Is this something that may be addressed in an update at some point?

RiotKindlejackJan 19, 20162 votes

That depends, with big reworks like Sion the character gets redefined along with their kit. For smaller gameplay reworks like Graves then yes, there is a conscious effort to blend more of their identity into how they play. Caitlyn snipes more now, Quinn feels like a scout etc.

Photos of GhostsJan 20, 20161 votes

Tactics are into Swain's kit. How you survive as a short ranged, not that tanky caster with high mana costs and a mana regeneration passive that requires him to last-hit, when he only has DoTs, a delayed ground targeted ability, and terribad autoattacks? Tactics. I only know Nunu as other champions who stop to last-hit minions in the middle of a teamfight.

Photos of GhostsJan 20, 20161 votes

It's actually on the same side IIRC

Omega T33moJan 16, 20162 votes

Its where he used this hyper pulsor thing that attaches to his gun to create a shoulder mounted weapon for his ult

Mr VulcanatorJan 16, 20162 votes

Huh. I'd wondered if that might be the case but the showcase and gameplay I've seen didn't really suggest that. But I looked his model up on lolking and you're right.