Can we just acknowledge that new Galio's just as somber and melancholic than the old one?

Malicious Metal·Mar 8, 2017·77 votes·5,544 views

Now, before you get your pitchforks and call me insane, let's take a good look at Galio's new character.

He's basically the protector of Demacia that awakens every time there's a source of magic in his vicinity, staying awake only as long as that source persists. Once he finishes the job he was designed for and destroys the magic source that threatens demacia he goes back to sleep.

He only exists to fight and protect. Think about it, he can't make friends, he can't form any lasting relationship, he only exists for ONE task and if he succeeds in doing what he was created for he shuts down.

He's just a weapon, he's designed to just do his job like an obedient little soldier. People he might meet when he's awake are going to be gone the next time he's lucid, unable to see the world, or form bonds with mortals. He's alone, because he's forced to destroy the thing that keeps him awake.

It's actually really depressing. He even laments this, going as far as suggesting Lux to accompany him so that he can see the world. Which would be a great plot element, seeing that both Lux and Galio are prisoners to Demacia's rules.

They're forced to obey, forced to salute even though they seek more than just being Demacia's soldiers.

98 Comments

RalanrMar 8, 201744 votes

"I like you little blue thing, you never change."

Oh the feels. In the end, Poppy and Galio are still friends, always being that familiar face in a sea of changing times.

Axle the BeastMar 9, 20177 votes

It's ironic though considering that Poppy HAS changed immensely from a super confident warrior-woman into a much meeker character. (There's a huge dichotomy between her old voice and mannerisms and the new.)

Part of me is worried that Riot intends that line as an actual jab at people who don't like those changes but I'm going to refrain from going too deep into that line of thinking, especially since I have no idea how much complaint there actually was at the Poppy rework.

Sexy Jack RabbitMar 9, 20174 votes

Poppy was a very controversial update. For Old Poppy players she is effectively a completely different champion. Besides her E the entire set up of her kit is entirely different. Shes really not the Poppy that people loved.

On the other hand she's an entirely new champion for Tank mains. She's extremely solid and fun to play, but her entire identity has changed.

There was a very big split on Poppy's update, and I'd argue that hers was the only VGU that completely failed to capture what the OLD champion was about.

RalanrMar 9, 20172 votes

Hard to fail to capture what isn't there.

Sexy Jack RabbitMar 9, 20175 votes

Pretty easy to argue. She was stoic, stubborn and bad-ass. She was determined and her lore was hardcore. Her father died on a mission and she carried that shit to the end. She had personality, she was just dated.

Even old Sion and Taric had identities, same with Urgot, Nunu and Evelynn.

VGU aren't bad, they just tend to show how bad the design team is at their job.

RalanrMar 9, 20173 votes

While she's not exactly stoic anymore, she's still incredibly stubborn when it comes to her duty and that doesn't stop her from being badass either.

Her lore presented a personality that wasn't presented in game, kinda like how Galio wasn't really that sorrowful in game.

Warlord DienekesMar 9, 20172 votes

Eh there were hints. The old "I don't know any jokes." And general terse attitude is still an attitude.

One I happen to like more than bubbliness and bad hammer puns.

So many damn hammer puns.

RalanrMar 9, 20172 votes

Eh, it's more of an opinion I guess. I just feel she has a lot more personality now.

Warlord DienekesMar 9, 20175 votes

Oh she certainly does, it's only:

Not at all what her old VO was hinting at her personality being
An incessantly annoying personality.

I enjoyed the only serious yordle in the entire game. Now she's annoying, like every other yordle.

Axle the BeastMar 10, 20172 votes

This is starting to get silly. Do we really have to have an in-depth breakdown every single time someone who actually saw merit in the old champions and kits -- that literally got the game to the level of success it has now -- says a few bits about the personality of an old character?

Do we really have to sit here and justify that impressions multiple entirely different people seemed to perceive may have existed in SOME capacity?

Even a cursory listen of both Poppy's old and new voice-overs shows a few clear distinctions. I don't need to justify the impression that old Poppy was confident, determined, and basically adamant. Just about every single line definitively communicates through its text but is also vocally performed to show that she is absolutely, and utterly certain of herself. Every line states facts, and in deeply unsubtle ways. ("Valoran will know harmony." "Their defeat is non-negotiable!") and the only lines that communicate any hint of uncertainty is "If it is necessary." and "If it will bring peace.".

New Poppy is literally not even aware of her own stature, worth, and power. This is a core tenet and backbone for her entirely storyline, and it's reflected in a lot of her dialogue. The biggest change really is that there's a distinct maturity and adult woman aspect to old Poppy, whereas the new one's lines are distinctly playful and girlish.

Look old Poppy's joke is literally "Jokes? I don't know any jokes.", in accordance with her grim determination and overall seriousness. New Poppy's lines are almost all whimsical. And that's weird considering the space for the "whimsical cheerful gnome girl warrior" was already occupied by Tristana.

RalanrMar 10, 20171 votes

We don't but you continued it anyway.

Axle the BeastMar 10, 20172 votes

summoner 3

Axle the BeastMar 10, 20172 votes

Oh okay. Thanks for the info. I didn't like it either. xP

I'll agree that it's the only one that completely failed to capture the old champion but I can think of a lot of others that miss things here and there, especially with gameplay updates and Riot's obsession with skillshots, which would make the devs of like, any other MOBA cringe. xD

Sir FuzziMar 9, 201712 votes

Zac's personality and theme on a mana-based version of Shen's kit. I'm surprised to see you of all people defending the personality.

Somber? Melancholic? Guy, his reveal opened with a guitar. I know you're trying to find silver linings, but please... don't give us that. Just as serious a character, maybe, but this new Galio almost has Zac beat for chipper attitude.

It's not Galio. Sure, Sion was goofy Arnie zombie, but the lore (and relatively the theme of his kit) was terrifying zombie butcher. And, boy, those might be about the only three words new Sion can be called by.

But Galio was the somber, dutiful protector. This Galio feels like the opposite-- a vivacious, loose-cannon destroyer. It's not that it itself is bad-- it's that this almost feels like an idea for a Zac skin that went a little too far into Galio's yard. The lines are great, the voice is great, the attitude is great, and none of it is even remotely Galio. About the greatest similarity is that they're AP-scaling guys made of rocks. And, frankly, Malphite would like a word if that's where we're going.

Honestly, this could be made into a Zac skin very easily and I doubt Zac players would argue with a skin taking a unique approach to his model.

Axle the BeastMar 9, 201711 votes

What you're doing though is reading into a single line. Yeah the lore does mention that little thing about it being bittersweet that he is only awoken by the thing he must destroy, but that is pretty inadequate when you consider the other issues that differ between the two versions:

"It's bittersweet (their actual word choice) that I must always go back to sleep when not fighting" is NOTHING compared to "MY MASTER IS DEAD I CAN NEVER REDEEM MYSELF" (his champion quote literally used to be: "There is no such thing as redemption. Only penance." There is no comparison in terms of how sombre these manage to be.
Galio was literally the "Sentinel's Sorrow"; if a character is defined BY TITLE and all their lore by an emotion, and that emotion isn't at the forefront of the re-done version of the character, then no, you have not succeeded in translating them. It doesn't matter if he has sombre elements, because he's very clearly overall pretty jolly about things.
None of his old lines are happy; tons of his new ones are. I don't need to tell you this; listen to the new voice-over. He isn't too broken up over anything.
The voice-ACTING of the lines is completely different too; the old one is, well, sombre; the new one is basically a jolly superhero.
Using rock-and-roll to advertise the new Galio honestly speaks volumes and I don't understand how that point is getting glossed over.

You really can't take a single detail like the last third of his new lore, and then try to stretch it and say it applies to the entire character's tone. A character's tone is defined by a lot of things.

This all comes as very strange too in the midst of Riot's current trend of trying to diversify their cast. A cocky proud warrior? Yeah, we've got different versions of that in Garen, Darius, Draven, among others. But old Galio was basically an oddly masterful depiction of DEPRESSION. He was a character basically broken in terms of motivation who -- through Poppy and his involvement in the story -- was only starting to come out of it. The old Galio actually was a more distinct entry to the cast; the new one basically doesn't add anything, or at least adds very little.

Big LincolnMar 8, 201710 votes

they should make an immortal friend for him

i wonder who would work Amumu

Ebonmaw DragonMar 8, 201732 votes

[{quoted}](name=Big Lincoln,realm=NA,application-id=6kFXY1kR,discussion-id=ubsGnNtE,comment-id=0000,timestamp=2017-03-08T17:22:27.190+0000)

they should make an immortal friend for him

i wonder who would work

Poppy

Big LincolnMar 8, 20176 votes

Skarner

Mira Arya EntheMar 8, 201717 votes

Fuck Amumu, he gets no friends, he only gets counter jungled. That is the only company he gets.

Papa AndreiMar 8, 20177 votes

Even the raptors don't wanna be his friends

Automated RivenMar 8, 20179 votes

you know. your screen name totally makes me imagine you as a 12 year old girl. and then it shocks me when you say stuff like fuck.

Oh well I guess.

Mira Arya EntheMar 8, 20179 votes

I am 25, and work 70 hours a week. I use to have a clean mouth, then life happened.

Automated RivenMar 9, 20176 votes

fair point XD no offense intended btw

TyrekGoldenspearMar 9, 20172 votes

Someone bitter about jungling against Amumu?

Or is this a disguised battlelust derived from murdering the poor child in his jungle over and over?

Mira Arya EntheMar 9, 20174 votes

A joke, I play Amumu. He gets counter jungled harder than just about anybody, especially by Shyvana.

TyrekGoldenspearMar 9, 20174 votes

Must be why I don't see too many Amumus around at our ELO.

Axle the BeastMar 9, 20173 votes

What, Amumu, have friends? PFFT.

KeysheMar 8, 201710 votes

No. The developer said themselves he is "cheery." His look, tone and voice lines are not somber. If 'some' of the reality of what he is has room for his back-lore to match with the old tone, k. But the new Galio is not somber. He is a cheesy super hero, who comes off as a meat-head with perky cheer.

Potential=/= reality. Just because you can stop and take apart of the reality of WHAT he is and what he goes through and YOU or I can see it in a 'somber' light will not change the real tone and style of the champion.

--Can we just acknowledge there is 'room' for Galio to be somber-toned in fanfiction or the reality of his situation in lore/backstory-- is a better title. New Gailo is not somber as a champion. Sorry he is not. the old one was. Not JUST in his 'predicament' and backstory but also tone and attitude. He was a medieval gargoyle...

Take a good look at Lux and Yorick. Is Lux somber, or a peppy perky girl? Doesn't matter if the lore has dark moments, Lux is not serious or dark. Now, Yorick, both lore, his situation, and his look and attitude ALL have a somber tone. Just like Lux, Teemo is also NOT somber, lore wise there is darkness but him, nope.

ModCaptainMårvelousMar 8, 201715 votes

The problem is that Galio does acknowledge his sad nature. However, he's extremely happy to be around and enjoys being "alive" for those moments when he does get to move and stretch his body.

Examples:

"Going to sleep means saying goodbye." "I'm NOT going back on the pedestal. Not yet." "Tragedy is worse when you can do nothing about it." "I wish they'd chisel me a friend, someone who won't break." "They made me to stop magic...but I hate when it's gone." "It's hard to be a symbol when you have a soul."

Galio is like any other person. He has ups, he has downs. When he wakes, he's thrilled to be alive and relishes every second he gets to fight for Demacia and be a guardian. But when it's almost time for him to return, he gets upset. He has painful memories. He has reservations. There -are- somber aspects of Galio.

Is he 100% sad and depressed all the time? No. But he's more human now. He isn't just forever moping. The only thing he loves more than defending Demacia and fighting is being alive.

KeysheMar 9, 20171 votes

Still the Lux vs Yorick example holds true. :/

New Galio is not a somber and melancholic champion. You said it yourself, "extremely happy to be around and enjoys being "alive". That is who he is now at his core. Doesn't matter that you can take his backstory and find sadness there. Or that he has few short lines for his lore. HE is not somber toned.

More human or not changes nothing,. You can not use adjectives to described characters 'core' when it's only from a small, small part of them.

"Is he 100% sad and depressed all the time? No. But he's more human now. He isn't just forever moping. The only thing he loves more than defending Demacia and fighting is being alive." Problem with this is it's not really a good point or argument for your stance, but for the most part a heavy counter, while the logic is missed place. For a character to be described "somber and melancholic" that has to be the majority, but with 'new' Gailo it's the cheery/peppy super hero. He's what, 90% happy?, with what %10 or less "somber and melancholic". More 'human' after all, but, a flip from somber now ant he?

Old Gali was relatively HAPPY/content/ in his attitude, but the whole tone was somber. Go to lol wiki and re-look at him. They are not at all a like in tone or personality... Could have been, easily, but no, Riot rework team wanted someone new.

ModCaptainMårvelousMar 9, 201711 votes

Yorick has also (arguably) incured far more tragedy in his lifetime than either Lux or Galio. More importantly, Yorick doesn't "win". Lux and Galio have successes. Yorick trudges in in Pyrrhic victory after Pyrrhic victory, erking out a living agains the shadow isles.

Perhaps your greatest problem is that all your characterization of Galio came from his snippit of lore. If you look at his actual quotes...

He has 15. More importantly, these don't have any tonal consistency between them nor do they have any sort of deep character portrayals. He talks about being prepared. He talks about assaulting from above. He talks about defending people. etc etc etc. All things the new Galio does just as much. And no, there is no alternate tone here. He retains pretty much the same tone. Gruff, stalwart defender. More importantly, Galio is sad his creator died...but from the lines picked from his VO ("Tragedy is worse when you can do nothing about it"), apparently the same thing carries over.

Your problem is that you're ascribing tone and ideas that were never there in the first place. Whatever you thought Galio was took place in your mind's eye. That's not an insult, by the by; Riot left him alone for so long that we just filled in the blanks. We had one tragic backstory so we all assumed "Oh well Galio must be super somber and sad all the time". Now Riot is giving us updated information and giving Galio more room to express himself. We -also- have to take into account that we're seeing Galio in his prime, in the middle of combat, when he's happy to be alive. We don't see him near the end. We don't see him when he's quietly on his pedestal, we don't see any of that. We only see Galio in the best situation he can be in.

It's not that Riot changed Galio. It's that Riot filled in the blanks and you (among others) don't like what filled those blanks. I can understand your disappointment but don't incorrectly attribute it to Galio having a sudden personality change when he had nothing to his personality in the first place.

KeysheMar 9, 20175 votes

Yorick has kept a consistent tone in both versions, which is distinct from the personality shift you agree happened with Galio here (where you say they filled in the blanks with non-sombre aspects). Lux's tone is a good counterpoint to Galio's because her life kind of could be hell, but she has an inherently cheerful personally despite or maybe IN SPITE of it. Old Galio's life had one, distinct, terrible happening, and he never fully recovered from it but, as you said, has managed to start having successes.

Though I'm not actually trying to do it, characterizing old Galio by his lore shouldn't be that odd since the new Galio, like all recent reworks, is heavily lore-oriented. (And for what it's worth, his old lore was more than just a snippet; he was one of the lucky champions to get expanded on in a "Judgment" piece. He was actually one of the MOST expanded-on characters in terms of written lore.) This thread's premise is to defend new Galio using his lore, so surely we can use his old lore to point out differences.

The real issue though is this: You're saying his old lines were just a mere 15, all about assault or defense... On paper you're right, the new one is arguably even MORE sombre because he has more lines that actually make sombre statements. But there are two problems with that.

The first, is the ratio problem. The first Galio never said anything that was particularly sad, but he never said anything HAPPY. Absence says as much as presence; this is a fundamental of characterization. The new Galio has, what, the 6 lines you posted that are sombre, but also one of those huge, modern selections of voice lines, most of which are cheery, boastful, proud, or whimsical. Just taking a casual listen of his 14 minutes of voiceover, even ignoring his jokes and taunts, and he's cheerful more often than not. That's flooding his character with new traits, not really just filling in the blanks.

The second, is acting. And this might be impossible to really be definitive about, but it's plain to me when listening to most of Galio's new lines that this guy is proud, boisterous, mostly pretty happy, and certainly lively. Old Galio only communicated as much pride as he did humbleness -- "An honor to serve." "By your command." -- was never a braggart, and wasn't especially happy and not especially lively either.

Axle the BeastMar 9, 20175 votes

Keyshe addressed your point more directly so I'll let her reply stand, but I had to point out something that bothers me a lot about your post...

What does it matter if people ARE reading into something that isn't there? How is that relevant? Hear me out...

Whether Riot intentionally created an aspect of the character or not doesn't have any major importance here (they've illustrated by their willingness to strongly change or expand on the character that they don't particularly care about the exactness of how he used to be). What matters is whether or not this pre-existing character's strengths have been preserved (not just for his fans but for everyone), and the fact that a lot of people have chosen to describe old Galio AS sombre (including the OP, who's actually defending new Galio) means in no uncertain terms that, whatever was actually intended with old Galio, everyone's takeaway and what they see as his core is... sombre.

That's all that matters here. People took him as sombre. For whatever reason. It's what they value about him. Clearly Riot don't feel there's some inherent message to his original tone that was so crucial they had to preserve it, so with original author intent aside then the only thing of importance is fans of the character and what they identify him as. The reason behind that identification is irrelevant.

RecuroMar 8, 20176 votes

I won't deny that he's not sad anymore, but that doesn't make him like old Galio. There are plenty of sad champions, they aren't Galio either. His old personality was very solemn, he was a quiet protector. New Galio is still sad, but he's also really boastful and dramatic. He went from being sad and quiet to being sad and loud. Being sad wasn't the only aspect of his personality.

SpecterVonBarenMar 9, 20175 votes

"Assault from above!" "The will of Demacia." "Preemptive strike." "With great force." "Justice will be done." "So be it."

"In flight."
"An honor to serve."
"I will protect.."
"On the approach."
"Moving out."
"Remain alert."
"By your command."
"Without fear."
"I will not fail."

Does any of this sound like it has much in the way of distinctive personality?

KeysheMar 9, 20173 votes

Listen to them. The actor made his personality very clear. The writers did too. Read his lore as well.

SpecterVonBarenMar 9, 20175 votes

I have listened to them. He didn't. The lore also doesn't count for this because we still don't have the new Galio's lore so there's no fairness in comparing the two yet.

RecuroMar 9, 201712 votes

The quotes themselves weren't very distinct, as is the case with pretty much all old champs. But it's not just the words, his voice was always calm, solemn, melancholic. You could give new Galio the same exact quotes but his personality would still be vastly different because of the way they both talk. New Galio is much more cheerful and and jock sounding. The words aren't the whole story.

SpecterVonBarenMar 9, 20172 votes

None of those lines give you any hint of solemness in the actual voice, every one of those lines is delivered with the exact same volume, tone, inflection, and emotion which is that of someone just following orders. Actually listen to those lines, the solemness and melancholy you're thinking you hear is only there because you've read his previous backstory. New Galio has at the least, two emotions, happy and solemn while old Galio's voice is completely one note with no emotional feeling in either direction.

Axle the BeastMar 9, 20176 votes

Welcome to what depressed people sound like?

Look people fault Keanu Reeves for being a terrible actor but a fundamental of his personality is he's actually gone through a terrible loss and is literally going on purely for his fans. (I'm serious; read about him.) Sorrow and especially depression is arguably a "weak" emotional state, and I'm not saying that as an insult but rather trying to illustrate that they are often very soft-stated emotions or ways of being.

The entire point with old Galio is he basically gave up on everything; he only went on at all because Poppy inspired him. That is pretty much a depression analogue; devoid of emotion and/or motivation. It's not a surprise that whatever emotion is there in his voiceover is pretty understated. You can argue I'm reading into those lines then, but considering the lore is clear about his emotional (and motivational) state, I doubt it. Especially since the voice-actor who voices him (if I have any ear for voices at all) is David Lodge, who is fully capable of loud, boisterous characters like Kenpachi from Bleach or Jiraiya from Naruto. (He was also the very emotional Skarner.) If they had this guy sound how he does in the old VO, then it was for a reason.

Axle the BeastMar 9, 20177 votes

No one's going to contest the production quality and writing detail put into the new lines in comparison to the old ones. But your point falls flat:

Firstly, Galio -- like any character, particularly in a gameplay-driven competitive title like LoL -- is defined by a lot of things. Since the story doesn't unfold in-game, hard plot is outside it. The lines are only a portion of his story and characterization, and a rather small one considering that, since he was one of the few champions to get a written Judgment, is actually one of the MOST expanded-on champions in the game prior to the big lore reset. Galio's personality and his overall tone as a character is better defined there.

But more importantly, someone else in this thread made an excellent point, which is that absence is just as important as presence in characterization. Galio is defined not by obvious emotion, because he is literally the "Sentinel of Sorrow" according to his old title; he is a clear depression parallel and thus is defined by a lack of strong emotion or motivation. What's important -- and it IS important because you can see left and right that lots of people DID take his old character as sombre, solemn, etc. -- is that in his old voice-over he never says anything particularly happy.

The difference, and the point of contention, is that the overwhelming majority of new Galio's lines and his overall presentation is mostly cheerful or cocky. That's not like old Galio by any estimation. And it wasn't a necessary change if the only goal was to expand on him or to give his voice lines a better look into his character. Better writing on the obviously outdated VO would have done it.

Ebonmaw DragonMar 8, 20174 votes

I see a huge problem in the whole part about being awoke by magic users... is Lux the ONLY mage in Demacia? The only mage in CENTURIES? Does this mean that Demacia do not actually have talented and powerfull magic users? Arent the guns of Lucian magical? Isnt Poppy a Magical being with a magical hammer that has been in Demacia since the begining, why cant she awake him? Or the magical users that "give" energy to Galio need to die?

Seriously, If Demacia cant or doesnt have magical users, I can see why Noxus is free to invade Shurima, Ionia, Freljord and Piltover without the interference of Demacia.

RalanrMar 8, 201719 votes

I think it's more that Demacia is against the use of magic in general. The giant colossus who destroys the source of magic that wakes him up is probably related to this.

SharjoMar 8, 20175 votes

Magic did almost destroy Runeterra before. I'd say Demacia's right to be wary of it, though going too far in one direction leaves you unable to learn from past mistakes and thus vulnerable.

RalanrMar 8, 20175 votes

{quoted}

Magic did almost destroy Runeterra before. I'd say Demacia's right to be wary of it, though going too far in one direction leaves you unable to learn from past mistakes and thus vulnerable.

This is Demacia. They pretty much have one of the best guardians against it.

SharjoMar 8, 20175 votes

But he's not infallible. What happens if Galio is brought low? Or what happens when an enemy of Demacia finds a means of dealing with that petricite stonework?

Shutting yourself off from something doesn't make you safe from it, it makes you ignorant of it and scared of things you just don't get. Demacia would be better served learning the intricacies of magic and learning what limits exist with it. Better to be educated than oblivious, y'know?

RalanrMar 8, 20174 votes

I know, I'm saying Demacia is taking the oblivious route as tradition unless it's antimagic. Which makes Lux's story all the more interesting.

KuroCaliberMar 8, 20177 votes

It would make sense if Demacia is more concerned with physical power, and since they don't have enough magic compared to other nations, they use Galio as a kind of "Evening the field." He gets rid of their magic power, and they win due to their superior military might.

Ebonmaw DragonMar 8, 20172 votes

{quoted}

It would make sense if Demacia is more concerned with physical power, and since they don't have enough magic compared to other nations, they use Galio as a kind of "Evening the field." He gets rid of their magic power, and they win due to their superior military might.

But Galio can only be used as a defense of the City, not to attack or invade other places. Due that, they cant actually win, only defend themselves... They cant expand their territory like the Noxians do or anything. Raw physical strenght is not enough to win against the rest of the world.

Its really weird to think that one of the most powerfull City States of Runeterra has no magic in a magical world

However, my question still intact: If Galio awakes when there is magic near him, why cant Poppy awake him? or maybe she does?

XIII VanitasMar 8, 201712 votes

Demacia doesn't care about expanding because it's a stable society. Noxus, on the other hand, HAS to conquer new territories, because its soldiers fight for land and riches and there's not enough for every single one of them. If they stopped expanding, the majority of their military would rebel against those who are in power.