The proceed of modernizing League of Legends, Riot Games not only upgraded the gameplay aspect of the game, but also its visual appeal as well. From champion splash arts revamping to gameplay updates, the company has been hiring great talents all over the world to polish every corner of their most renowned title. The most notable feature of the recent years is that, every new champion released always comes with a unique teaser in various forms – a short cinematic, in-game teasers and events are just a few examples of their effort into introducing the new contender.
Sett, the Boss
The 124th champion – the newest addition to League of Legends at the time of writing this article, Sett’s introduction starts off with a secret mission which rewards the player with a mysterious item dubbed “Sett’s Calling Card”. There was no indication of how to obtain it or what did it offer when the time to open it came, but some hardcore players on Reddit discovered that it could be achieved by scoring 10 first bloods.
On release, Sett is warmly welcomed by the whole playerbase, not only because of his hyper aggressive and straight forward gameplay, but also due to his resemblance to the villain Dio from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders. Riot even made an emote for the mommy’s boy as a homage to the meme “But it was me, Dio!”, thanks to the popular association of the said meme with Sett.
Kalista, the Spear of Vengeance
Opening with cryptic messages and foggy layers all over champions who betrayed others lorewise, Kalista is introduced as a vengeful spirit offering vengeance for those who are betrayed at the cost of their own souls. It was speculated that the champion was meant to be Senna, the then-lore-only character until the reveal came out. The cinematic “The Pledge” shows her extracting revenge in place of the person who made a pledge to her in some of the most gruesome fashion for a T-rated game – impaling the betrayer several times with her spectral spears against a wooden door.
Jinx, the Loose Cannon
For a 2013 released champion, Jinx’s teaser and reveal were very impressive for a time when Riot wasn’t truly heavily invested into the lore of the game as they do in the present day. Her presence is known when Vi’s official champion profile on League of Legends website is vandalized with insulting pink graffiti. Her bona-fide appearance is finally revealed with a poster apparently forged by Jinx herself, along with one of the most explosive music ever in the history of Riot’s music department.
Despite being the first non-juvenile champion in the game to possess a notably less endowed top than most other female champions, Jinx’s generic but interesting gameplay along with her Harley Quinn inspired psychotic tendency attracted a tremendous number of players, male or female summoners. To this day she is still one of the most popular marksmen with the most memorable reveal in the history of League of Legends.
Azir, the Emperor of the Sands
The most anticipated champion of 2014, Azir was introduced along with the intention to rewrite the lore of League of Legends and the removal of the Institute of War – the old canon. With two teasers, several short stories and an awesome login screen music, Azir sandshifts his way into League of Legends, meeting positive feedback despite having more bugs that the desert of Shurima. His two Ascended subjects, Nasus and Renekton, his rival, Xerath and his descendant, Sivir had their lores rewritten as well.
(to be continued in part II)