League of Legends Capitalizing on Arcane For 1 Character Is a Mixed Bag

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home November 27, 2024 2 Views 10 Min Read
League of Legends Capitalizing on Arcane For 1 Character Is a Mixed Bag

League of Legends has long been one of the biggest games on the planet, so it’s only fitting that its adaptation would eventually become lauded as one of the best ever made. Arcane has officially ended after two short seasons, with the finale providing a bittersweet conclusion for fans of the series. Arcane has even helped draw in new fans that may have never interacted with League of Legends otherwise, but this has come with some previously unintended consequences.




Despite the immense popularity of Arcane Season 1, Riot insisted that the show was not canon, and that it would not have any broader consequences for League of Legends. This has completely changed as of late, with Arcane now serving as the official backstory for League of Legends, and several corners of the game’s lore being adjusted accordingly. This is great news for fans of Arcane and its original characters, but some League of Legends veterans are biting their nails over one classic character receiving a design overhaul.

Vi in Arcane and Ella Purnell in Fallout

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Arcane is Slowly Replacing League of Legends Lore

Arcane‘s first major impact on League of Legends was the simple addition of skins that referenced the show. This is about as inoffensive as it gets, as it allows fans of the game and the show to embrace whichever version they prefer. However, Arcane Season 2 brought with it a very different approach to adaptation, which has begun to sound alarm bells over the much-feared concept of brand synergy.


This was first felt when Ambessa joined League of Legends as a playable Champion. Ambessa was released as a powerhouse reflective of her reputation in Arcane, and she has already left a lasting impact on the game’s meta. Ambessa’s design was a solid dose of fan service for fans of Arcane, and showed that Riot was serious about making Arcane into the new canon for League of Legends. These efforts have only grown more prominent since, for better or for worse.

Just like her mother, Mel Medarda was first introduced in Season 1 of Arcane. Despite not showing much potential for a playable kit in Season 1, Mel’s arc in Season 2 changed this drastically. By the end of Arcane, Mel has acquired a powerful set of abilities, and the end of the show coincided with an announcement that Mel will also be made playable in the near future. However, the most controversial decision doesn’t come from new releases, but from the changes made to an existing character.


Viktor’s League of Legends Rework Aligns with Arcane Design and Backstory

Viktor was released as a playable Champion in 2011, only two years after League of Legends first launched. Now, more than ten years since his release, Viktor is receiving a rework. Viktor’s gameplay will be mostly untouched, save for a buff to his Ultimate, but his design and backstory are both being updated to reflect his appearance in Arcane.

It wasn’t long after the announcement was made before this decision was met with the expected controversy. Some fans are livid at the loss of Viktor’s classic design, others are celebrating the arrival of his new one, and plenty more are more lukewarm on the whole subject. With reasonable arguments rising from all sides, the pros of Viktor’s redesign are just as readily apparent as the cons.

A promotional visual for League of Legends showing several Champions.

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Comparing Viktor in Arcane vs. League of Legends

After all, Viktor is one of the most important characters in Arcane. Although the main plot undoubtedly centers around Vi, Jinx, and Caitlyn, the show’s main subplot is guided by none other than Jayce and Viktor himself. Viktor’s story is ultimately one of fighting against a perceived flaw, only to find acceptance with the people who have loved him not despite those flaws, but because of them.

Viktor’s narrative in Arcane has touched many hearts, causing numerous viewers to fall deeply in love with this interpretation of the character. However, that doesn’t change the fact that this depiction is rather different from League‘s original version of Viktor. First and foremost, Viktor is much more mechanical in League of Legends, compared to the more organic Eldritch horror fans were introduced to in the final episodes of Arcane Season 2.

This simple design change does reveal a significant difference in each version’s lore. In the original lore of League of Legends, Viktor believed entirely in the supremacy of machines, and would stop at nothing to prove that supremacy. Known as The Machine Herald, Viktor blamed most of history’s tragedies on human error, and was determined to replace that error with a more perfect machine.


In Arcane, Viktor is much more similar to a cult leader. Viktor subjugates the wills of his followers, and claims that they all live in perfect harmony. While technology is still very much a part of his character, it is handled with an element of mysticism that is profoundly distinct from his origins as The Machine Herald. Despite this difference, the core of Viktor’s character remains the same, as both versions ruthlessly pursue their ideal of Glorious Evolution at the expense of everything else.

League of Legends May Stake its Future on Viktor’s Arcane Rework

Despite the heart of Viktor’s character remaining intact, some fans remain angry at the major changes Arcane has made to League of Legends lore. This is an unfortunate consequence of many adaptations, in which the source material can be overwritten by the version that becomes more popular. This immediately calls into question why Riot would make such a divisive design change the new status quo, especially given its earlier remarks on the series’ canon.


There is one simple hypothesis that appears to make this contradiction make sense, and is likely the motivation behind Riot’s priorities here. There are very likely relatively few League of Legends players who have not seen Arcane, compared to the no doubt countless number of fans that have watched Arcane without ever logging onto League of Legends. Riot no doubt wants to close this gap as much as possible, and the first step in doing so is catering to fans of Arcane who have no other prior attachment to League lore.

This unfortunately means that years of precedent may be erased in the blink of an eye. On the other hand, the game may reach wider than ever before, with new fans being met by what made them fall in love with the series in the first place. Whatever the case, there’s no denying that League of Legends lore wasn’t exactly consistent to begin with. With the series now treating League of Legends shows like Arcane as the new canon, it may actually find a more consistent road map than ever before. Of course, the full implications of Viktor’s impending rework are yet to be seen.


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