It’s been three years since Jinx and Vi’s saga of strife started; since Jinx murdered Silco, sending her Tremendous Mega Dying Rocket hurtling in the direction of Piltover’s council chambers, intent on bringing the town of progress to its knees. However, for me, it’s additionally been three years since I actually felt like League of Legends was good. In 2021 there was the much-maligned Sentinels of Gentle occasion which, whereas it launched Akshan, completely obliterated half of the sport’s lore. After 15 years there’s nonetheless a number of champions who don’t have anything greater than a single paragraph of story (poor Shaco), and within the wake of Arcane Season 2’s conclusion, there are extra questions on the desk than solutions. However, for maybe the primary time shortly, I feel LoL may be capable to rectify its considerably complicated lore state, and Season 2025 would be the catalyst.
I’ve obtained a full breakdown of the whole lot that’s coming with League of Legends Season 2025, however I wish to actually concentrate on the rotating, thematic seasons. The MOBA’s calendar will likely be cut up into three distinctive seasons per 12 months, every with their very own themes. These initially appear to be centered round numerous areas, however I really feel like they may increase out into universes like Star Guardian, Excessive Midday, or Challenge, too. Every season will see the debut of a brand new champion from the spotlighted area, numerous Rift adjustments to replicate the overarching theme, and current characters from the world may even get some TLC. As somebody who’s a giant fan of the sport’s lore and its areas (particularly Shurima), this all sounds nice.
Whereas I loved Swarm earlier this 12 months, and Arenas earlier than that, they felt extra like disparate modes than absolutely built-in components of the LoL expertise. An Anima Squad-themed season and the addition of Swarm would have felt extra cohesive, and that’s one thing Riot agrees with. “In the past we’ve had these big releases like Swarm or Spirit of the Hearth Home that are super memorable and fun, but they’re not connected to a larger, integrated moment,” product lead Chad ‘Makivor’ Ballard says in League of Legends’ November 25 dev replace. “In [the new] seasons we want everything to connect together.” It’s music to my ears, actually – for 3 years League has felt considerably disjointed; this new method is a should.
However then I watched the tip of Arcane Season 2. Whereas I’m not going to place any spoilers right here, the lore implications are enormous and even nix current lore in some locations. It’s made much more perplexing by Riot’s affirmation that Arcane is canon as a result of, within the wake of the finale, a number of components of the MOBA’s precise gameplay merely stop to exist. I’ve watched numerous lore-focused YouTubers’ heads explode over the course of this weekend, and it’s definitely put us again in a fairly complicated scenario.
Whereas some have heralded it as Riot struggling to keep up cohesion, I feel the fallout might really be optimistic. After all, I’m not okaying blowing up 15 years price of storytelling – the rationale I fell in love with LoL within the first place was Amumu’s tragic little story – however I do imagine that Arcane has prompted this renewed concentrate on the sport’s lore. It’s definitely confirmed there’s fairly the urge for food for it, and I feel that’s mirrored within the new seasonal mannequin.
It’s a query I ask sport director Pu ‘Pupulasers’ Liu throughout a Season 2025 roundtable: has Arcane’s success prompted 2025’s narrative-focused path? “Arcane certainly is awesome, but for a very long time – since the beginning of League of Legends – players have demonstrated their passion and love [for the game] through cosplays, events, fanships, and so on,” he tells me. “Each time we had a giant summer time occasion, gamers all the time informed us they needed extra depth and coloration in these areas. So, [renewing the focus on lore] is one thing we’ve been actually fascinated with for some time now, and I feel Arcane is a results of that as nicely.
“It starts and ends with players for us, but I do think the timing for us was really opportunistic with Arcane ending,” he continues. “Personally, I think a lot of us felt like ‘hey, we’re going to be hungry for more, and players probably will too.’” In consequence, so as to “satisfy the sadness of the ending of Arcane,” Liu notes that “taking some of that over in the game was definitely a strategic timing for us.”
It’s an thrilling reply to what’s a giant query. Whereas some avid loresmiths could have been burnt by the concluding section of Arcane, I see this as a much-needed swap in mindset. As talked about, I don’t need Runeterra’s total 15 years of lore confined to the annals of historical past, however what I do wish to see is a reintegration of these tales into League of Legends’ gameplay. It’s what I’ve been hoping to see for the previous three years, and if it took Arcane to be the catalyst, I’m alright with that.
In my view, the brand new seasonal mannequin is the right manner to do that. Whereas everybody and their Poro is aware of about Zaun and Piltover now, Runeterra is a big, advanced place. I wish to enterprise out to The Shadow Isles – and perhaps even Helia, if we’re going that far again. I wish to cry with Amumu in a tomb in Shurima. The seasonal mannequin shines a light-weight on all of those thrilling locations and makes them enjoyable and rewarding to interact with. By altering up the Rift and dropping new, themed champions, it’s such as you’re really interacting with that area. There’s no disparity between the brand new mode or character and the overarching theme anymore – the whole lot’s wrapped up in a Re-gifted Amumu-style bow.
Nevertheless it’s not nearly appears. Season 1 forces gamers to play aggressively, channeling Noxus’ very essence. Once more, it’s a intelligent spin on the area’s lore, whereas concurrently forcing you to alter up your gameplay. As an enchanter help participant, I’m not precisely famend for flashing onto the entrance strains, however so as to rating Atakhan or the Feats of Energy targets, I can see myself doing it – the reward, on this case, is price it. In future, an Ionian-themed map might see a shift in the direction of magic, whereas Demacia might punish mages as a substitute – the probabilities really feel countless. Conceptually, Riot’s hit the nail on the pinnacle right here; we’ll simply need to see if it could actually stick the touchdown.
We’ve seen glints of greatness this 12 months. Jinx Fixes Every part is a simple spotlight, and Swarm proves that Riot can get it proper. Having all of those nice concepts mixed and streamlined is a genuinely thrilling prospect, and it feels totally different from the mindset we’ve turn into accustomed to. So sure, Arcane has its bombshells, but it surely has reinvigorated Riot’s curiosity within the lore that varieties the constructing blocks of League’s success. My requirements have been fairly low since Sentinels of Gentle, and I need to be confirmed improper. For the primary time since 2021, I feel I simply may be.
