On Visual and Gameplay Updates, concerning the Lore

For the past couple of years, we have seen VGUs hit the rift on the regular. Every time, we see people take a wide variety of positions, the extremes of which are "great, they're fixing that character" to "how dare they touch my favorite champion". Even if you always found both of these, it was usually only in relatively few number, especially if we are to compare them to the huge backlash and discussion we now see with Varus. So, what changed?

To figure it out, I decided to compile a little list of the recent makeovers, and give grades (out of ten) based on Riot's handling of several aspects:

Lore Change being how drastically the character's backstory and situation in the world was changed. 1 is no change, 10 is massive change. Identity Change being how drastically the character's defining traits, values and goals changed. 1 is no identity addition , 10 is a complete overhaul. Character Loyalty being how much they kept to the character's original feel and their fanbases' expectation of the character. 1 is no loyalty, 10 means excessive loyalty (no risks were taken). Story Improvement being how much the change in all the previous categories improved the lore. Now, note that, unlike the previous scores, this one is an actual judgement value, going from 1 to 10 where 1 is a VGU that dramatically worsened the lore, 5 is one that didn't improve or worsen it and 10 is one that absolutely improved it.

Do note these have my own personal bias, so I want to hear your thoughts on whether these VGUs deserve (or not) some of these grades. Do note I'll be starting with Sion because, in a sense, he heralds the beginning of the new era of VGUs.

Sion: Lore Change: 7 Identity Change: 8 Character Loyalty: 5 Story Improvement: 10

Sion went from being a walking battering ram to being one of Noxus' greatest warriors, dying honorably whilst killing a king. A wonky, boneheaded zombie turned into a maddened monster, twisted to only wish for murder. Not to mention the fact that his reveal literally set the pillars of the new Noxus lore. I believe no one can disagree that this change only did him good, and if his Arnold persona was to live on, it was only through a legacy skin or something of the sort. I will always have a spot in my heart for old Sion, but it was only through this VGU that he earned a respectable, valuable place in League lore.

Tristana: Lore Change: 1 Identity Change: 1 Character Loyalty: 9 Story Improvement: 6

Tristana suffered the consequences of a general lore change (ahem meglings ahem), and yet retained her personality and identity almost entirely. She was left so untouched that some would argue she didn't really undergo a VGU (lorewise). There's also the fact that Yordles allow for a lot of freedom lore-wise, meaning their "magical" aspect justifies a lack of narrative clarity. Well, you know what they say: don't fix what ain't broken, especially if it's a cannon-wielding yordle soldier.

Miss Fortune: Lore Change: 4 Identity Change: 6 Character Loyalty: 5 Story Improvement: 9

Part of the Golden Duo, Miss Fortune received a rather powerful shaking. The foxiness was not abandoned, but dropped heavily in favor of leadership qualities and a decisive personality. Add to that the powerful character-building that an event provides and Miss Fortune, changed for the better, gained a new and improved core. So appropriate it is, that fans to this day complain that her in-game quotes are lacking in comparison to what has come to be expected from the new identity of Sarah Fortune: a sarcastic, meticulous captain with the slyness of a fox, willing to go as far as necessary to keep her people safe.

Gangplank: Lore Change: 5 Identity Change: 5 Character Loyalty: 9 Story Improvement: 9

An exceptional VGU, arguably the best one to date. They didn't touch his mean personality, his ruthlessness or his love for citrus, only adding a great many details to his story (may have lost the dad in the process though) and drastically toning down the goofiness to produce results like those obtained through the Sion treatment. Add in some flavorful short stories, quality voice acting and a fresh side of good story event and you're set to have a real scourge of the seas in Runeterra.

Fiora: Lore Change: 2 Identity Change: 3 Character Loyalty: 9 Story Improvement: 6

A good premise found itself improved with almost pristine loyalty. Almost all aspects of Fiora's story were maintained, becoming more detailed and adding a little more depth to the character, though some might say the change in her relationship with her father might have given her a more tragic side and made her less of a cold, victory-obsessed character. It was an interesting choice to refocus more on the issue of honor, but ultimately one that introduced little change and little challenge, not to the demerit of the story team. Fiora already had, after all, a coherent, solid lore.

Poppy: Lore Change: 9 Identity Change: 8 Character Loyalty: 3 Story Improvement: 7

All right, now here it starts getting complicated. Poppy's lore was basically demolished (RIP Blomgrun). Little to trace of any of it besides the fact that she is a Demacian sympathizer. Some of it was outdated, granted, but some of it was enjoyable. They also gave her a new identity, as she went from being a noble yordle with an attitude to being a clumsy, unlikely hero with cutesy side and a heart of gold. All in all, a complete makeover that gave us a satisfying end result, and yet changed the character entirely (makes one question how valid the Character Loyalty aspect is in some scenarios).

Taric: Lore Change: 7 Identity Change: 4 Character Loyalty: 8 Story Improvement: 8

Hey, I loved this guy as much as the next support main. But his lore was as incoherent with Runeterra as old Renekton and Nasus' was (don't even me get started on the Shuriman gang), and most people felt this way about it. And so, he needed change drastically. His personality was a fan-favorite though, so that had to be taken into account. The splendid choice by Riot was to make him part of the Targon crew, given his old lore already made him sort of an "outsider", and to turn him into an Aspect (which, if you’ll recall, people were excitedly predicting during the Targon event). It solidified his identity as a protector, made him better fit in Runeterra whilst maintaining his defining traits. Very little was lost, very much was gained, both in micro-lore (he character's side stories and color text) and macro-lore (the larger scope of narrative in the league universe).

Ryze: Lore Change: 6 Identity Change: 3 Character Loyalty: 6 Story Improvement: 5

A rather average VGU lorewise, if you’ll allow me. They refitted Ryze to the new Runeterra mold, threw in some “Saving the World” antics and gave him a darker, utilitarian side. It’s interesting and fun, but (and sorry in advance because I'll be bringing this argument in a lot) it’s throwing away the little story pearls of one of the most emblematic characters of league to favor the big lore painting. Ryze became the plot-device for the Rune Wars, and there’s nothing wrong with that besides the fact that it’s true. But reducing the micro lore to enhance the macro lore seems to be a safe, yet problematic solution, as we’ll see.

Yorick: Lore Change: 6 Identity Change: 7 Character Loyalty: 6 Story Improvement: 7

My man. Went from being the ferryman of paradise islands to being the last man standing in the land of the dead. But lore wise, a complete change. They kept the somber attitude and little more. And you know what? As much as I miss the old Yorick, this one feels fairer to the character. But still, one does wonder if it was justified. Does every league character have to be in a grand quest? Not really, but it seems to be a recurring theme in the VGUs. Like once before with Ryze, in order to give him a bigger role in the picture, they removed some of the juiciest flavor of the character as they reshaped him. A tendency seems to be forming...

Warwick: Lore Change: 8 Identity Change: 9 Character Loyalty: 4 Story Improvement: 7

Lore out the window! Oh boy, Warwick is a though piece. No more calculating, evil bastard in cahoots with Singed, now we get a thug with a sense of good turned into a lab-rat by Singed. Now we have a merciless vigilante of Zaun that haunts the criminals instead of being the very definition of a scumbag ("who is this goat-woman you speak of?"). Hey, we do get a bio-enhanced werewolf that is, beyond dispute, awesome. But that’s the problem with this VGU. It literally yells “look at how cool this is” in the hopes that we don’t see them shove under the carpet a complex lore too difficult to adapt (to be honest, I admit I also fell for this; I loved the Singed short story leading up to the event so much I might have dropped in an extra point in story improvement). Good quality, but not much loyalty. Again though, did it need to be loyal? Was the Soraka story-line that good? Or rather, was Warwick's core hurt in the process of abandoning his old self?

Galio: Lore Change: 7 Identity Change: 8 Character Loyalty: 4 Story Improvement: 6

Here is where we start seeing high controversy. They changed everything about this guy. His lore, his personality, his style. No more Durand, no more self-sacrifice and redemption to be sought. A once suave, thoughtful protector became an Iron-Giantesque blockhead with an appetite for fights and benign curiosity. That being said, the new idea of a magic-powered colossus (say what you will, the idea is very cool) did allow to cement Demacia in the lore as a magic-fearing nation, which is a good improvement. Again, macro-plot devices are favored, and micro plot points abandoned for the sake of building the world. But good old Galio is kind of lost in the process. Hey, at least he's still our gargoyle-looking dude, and his friendship with Lux is downright adorable.

Urgot: Lore Change: 7 Identity Change: 4 Character Loyalty: 6 Story Improvement: 8

All right, pardon me here, but I will abandon what little objectivity I had for this particular case. You all cheered and applauded when they remade my patron god, my savior, my dream, the one true Star Guardian. Let me say I liked his old lore a lot. His rivalry with Garen, his body being ripped apart because he was always in the front lines and good old Pididly being a mean bug as always. But the lore change was an improvement, mainly because Riot didn’t forsake the micro for the macro this time. They built on the fact that he was a headsman, on his cruelty and relentlessness, on his refusal to die. I had my rose-tinted glasses on too tightly to realize the lore of a champion I adored was being improved upon despite the quite radical change of affiliation and setting. Urgot became one of the cool guys, and he was still Urgot. Loyalty suffered a little, but quality soared.

Evelynn: Lore Change: 5 Identity Change: 3 Character Loyalty: 7 Story Improvement: 6

Evelynn had spent far too much time in the freezer, and the only way to get her out without ruining her was to have her transition into a demon. Any lore development was better than leaving her in stasis. It wasn’t a game-changing VGU, mainly because it didn’t have much to do in what concerned re-imagining the character, for we knew little to nothing about her. Riot had a lot of room to work with. It just did what it had to do: bring it back in line with the lore and carve out a place for league’s favorite femme fatale. Of course, tuning her power up some more for the sake of the macro-lore (demon oven is the simple, smart way to cook your half-baked lore to a crispy finish). And dropping in a good voice-acting always helps.

Varus: Lore Change: 7 Identity Change: 9 Character Loyalty: 2 Story Improvement: 5

Here it is. The dreaded one. The "unsuccessful" VGU that has all the boards in heated discussion. Now, you’ll notice three things. Firstly, Varus has the lowest score in Character Loyalty. I think by now we all know why: “he” became “it” (or “them”). I won’t add on the great many problems singled out by many others and just point out what, for me, was the biggest problem: Varus was always the man. Not the bow, not the demon, but the man. And so, we justifiably feel robbed of him in this new incarnation. Here, more than ever, we see the problem of Riot ignoring the costs of cutting on micro-lore to give more flavor to the macro-lore. An exceptional teaser and announcement, beautiful artwork and creative re-imagining all fall on deaf years because we’re not talking about Varus anymore. The character himself is gone, and that pain is not something players can shrug off easily.

The objective of this whole endeavor was simple. Judge all the VGU’s, see how they differ, see what was done well and what was done poorly. To be fair, taking Gangplank as the model is unrealistic because most VGUs won’t have the support of a whole event to solidify their quality. But taking Taric’s is also unrealistic because, at this point, few champions are in such a dire state of lore disrepair. So, I think a solid middle-ground is Urgot. Keep the core, some of the micro and introduce some macro that doesn't butcher the character's core. Essentially, Riot has to keep the soul of the champion. And that’s what seems to have been lost in some of these champions, but chiefly with Varus. For all others, the champion remained what they were and had always been.

Poppy is not the hammer but the hero that wields it; Warwick is not the werewolf monstrosity but the man with a bad past and an awful lot of bad luck and a new purpose; and Urgot is not the machine but the headsman that was betrayed, and willing to become a monstrosity to sate his ambition.

Despite what we may want to say out of nostalgia and anger at the loss of a character's old identity, Varus’ new lore is far from bad. It’s good, and many would argue far better and more complex than his old, borderline “topical revenge-story” lore. But at this point, I dare say, Varus is no longer the husband seeking revenge, willing to sell his soul to hell if it allowed him to do so. He is a monster being held back by the will of two tragic lovers. And, unlike any of the other VGUs we saw in this list, that change made him an entirely different character. And that's what no VGU has ever done, and hopefully never will do again, unless it has very solid reasons to do so, and that, sorrily, were not present for Varus.

TL,DR: VGUs have, for a while now, been too comfortable within their relative success, and in doing so got riskier and riskier with their reinterpretation of characters. Now, with Varus, we see the danger of messing too much with the core of a champion for the sake of innovation.