The Story Differences Between Arcane and Canon Universe

[@Necrit]

A correction when it comes to Shimmer in the core Universe: Shimmer was actually mentioned once in a single sentence years back during Urgot's color story. Thank you to those who pointed it out. This is quite an old teasing gem.

[@5-Volt]

It's funny that it was barely mentioned anywhere in the game lore but it is extremely important in the show.

[@rezasevenson6026]

@@5-Volt it may be because Shimmer become Chemtech later so it just changed names

[@raxzen-1610]

@@rezasevenson6026 didn't the undercity run on chemtech before silco took over? At least the arcade the kids used to hide in was chem-powered, right?

[@essay2111]

@@raxzen-1610 I"m pretty sure it's been stated that chem-tech is a stronger, more volatile form made from hex-tech. and in the series, we literally see jayce and viktor inventing hextech after the arcade scene, so I would assume not.

[@austinwatts3649]

Its also mentioned once in the Janna Color Story as well. Mentioned in one sentence where its even hinted as being dealt like a drug. So its been mentioned twice then

[@MunchingOrange]

I don't mind the Arcane universe being it's own thing since it means even Champions could die in future seasons. Not that I want any of them to but it would feel like the stakes are real

[@วิชชากรสุขวัฒน์]

It Kind like Reboot the Universe base on LOL so it a Good Thing Arcane is a starting point of new LOL Universe Project L story should be in it own Universe too not base on Core Univere or Arcane Universe

[@Nata-ch2bk]

Yeah, at first I was thiking Arcane should be made cannon. But after reading a few comments that made a similar point as yours, I now think that Arcane should be its own thing completely. And maybe 15 years from now they can turn it into cannon when the series will have covered all the areas and most of the champions.

[@Wurstbrot03]

I'm on the other side. Arcane started my interest for the League of Legends world and since then youtube basically recommends me only video that tell me how much of a shit company riot games is that only cares about creating new sexy male/female champions since they sell better than monsters/unique heroes and the management gives a shit about the actual lore. This hyped up ruined king villain, as an example, looks like cheap fanservice e-boy for otaku girls/gays. I honestly don't find the world of LoL that unique after diving into LoL lore. Arcane took this setting and made it awesome but if it isn't canon, why should I even bother with the rest of the Runterra universe? Riot Games management doesn't seem to think that lore is important if I believe several LoL KZbinrs.

[@Nata-ch2bk]

@@Wurstbrot03 Well, Arcane does use the universe, the regions, parts of the character stories etc... that already exist in the lore. It's just that they can't use everything to the letter because the website stories were not designed to mix with one another in a bigger scale storyline that includes multiple characters. So unless they literally re-write all the stories of the characters in Arcane on the website, Arcane will have to be its own thing for now. But you can still learn about what kind of other regions, characters etc we will possibly get in the future by looking at the website. You just have to be conscious the details of the character storylines themselves will most likely be adjusted when they adapt it to an Arcane season.

[@IZZY404_]

@@วิชชากรสุขวัฒน์ no lmao. thats why lore channels exist. whats the point of books and all the stories if they are all pointless lmao

[@theheavenlyfb4071]

Honestly they don't need to make Arcane 100% canon, but a majority of it is significantly more satisfying than the main lore.

[@Nata-ch2bk]

They can just keep it a separate thing for now to keep all the freedom they need, and 10-15 years from now, when the animated show will have covered most of the regions and champions, they can turn it into the cannon lore.

[@theheavenlyfb4071]

@@Nata-ch2bk Potentially, I personally would like to see some aspects of the Arcane lore be put into the canon lore simply because it either fills in blanks or provides a generally better version of events such as the relationship between Jayce and Viktor.

[@Nata-ch2bk]

@@theheavenlyfb4071 Yeah I'd love for the current lore to be updated as soon as possible, but it's not simple. I'm going to copy paste here what I wrote in another comment thread : If they want to make Arcane story cannon, they will literally have to erase all the Arcane characters' current biographies from the website and re-write them from scratch. That means : Vi, Jinx, Ekko, Caitlyn, Viktor, Jayce and Heimerdinger's stories. At this point they can't just change a few lines, they need to rewrite them completely to fit exactly what we see in Arcane. That's probably why they're not doing it yet, they wait till season 2 is out so they actually have the full stories to write.

[@Paladinbaroque]

Aye, some of the coolest stuff for me was how they linked singed about - cannonising and leaving elements open will be tricky but we'll see >.

[@DraknorDragor]

I really hope ekko and victor get more fleshed out as they are the only two characters I'm worried will have completely different storylines than the lore.....and victors story is too good man :D

[@mojoneko8303]

I'm less concerned about Arcane adhering to "cannon" than continuing to be a good story with interesting characters and a decent plot. I never played the video game of this and probably never will but I have really enjoyed this series.

[@chaaaargh]

i don't play the game but i think people just want their origin stories to be updated to what's shown in the show. that's reasonable and i have to agree honestly

[@uzairahmed4197]

@@chaaaargh yeah like jayce/viktor, vi and jinx stories deviate a bit from canon but their origins are so meticulously told its ridiculously good and should be the new canon. In the games the lore is more vague and certain things dont add up with the show, like jayce and viktor never being friends but colleagues. Arcanes writing doesnt break any characters intruige or backstory but it enhances them so much, so most people just want LOL to update around arcane for specifically the 9 champions

[@jacobnorris8256]

@@uzairahmed4197 Lore is supposed to be vague. It's a framework for writing stories, not a story itself.

[@uzairahmed4197]

@@jacobnorris8256 yeah true but thats why the show shouldnt completely adhere to the lore and pave its own path

[@MonoReaper]

@@jacobnorris8256 The point is its not vague because the "story team at Riot" wanted it that way. But because upper managment loves to fuck around as they have no idear/give zero shits about the story stuff (Yet their very passionate & competent story/art team does) we have several vauge or almost empty lore descritpions for champions. Greatest example. Seraphina a riot upper managment idear/order that flopped so hard/had huge backlash from the community because of how much it was just a hypermarketed Champions sole focus to sell a skinseries. Everything that fails story wise is because upper managments pushed for more marketing/puplicity stunts for Skin sales. VS Grand Storytelling/building the art/story team did with all the Shadow Isle characters or the current Void storys. Its very clear why Ruined King was a dumpster fire. Not because of the teams who worked on it but because upper management always fucks these things up. Its ironic that Riot the company is so out of touch with their own product yet the lower level peps who work for them understand LoL so well yet dont have the power to go against upper corp managment. I am suprised how upper managment didnt fuck up Arcane with some kind of skin series advertisement. Oh wait wanna know what else they did? The french animation studio they tasked with the show was severaly underpaid. That several people from it spoke up about it that while they are glad their work is liked by the community/viewers they are left with a bitter aftertaste as Riot treated them in their partnership like trash. For all we know Arcane at this point is more cannon than the lurkwarm lore describtions of all the Piltover/Zaun related chars we have because in Arcane you can literally see the potantial & competence the Art/Storyboard team of Riot has in them only held back by the greed & incompetence of Riots Corp upper Managments

[@xdax5324]

i really like how arcane made the universe “smaller”, more interactions to other champs which actually helps not only the newcomers but also cutting down the unnecessarily vast story.

[@taddad2641]

and did to more smoothly.

[@Imaworldstar-jw3yj]

Isupport studied English with this I restarted English after 10 years I am a beginner studying English with asmr. Please come and take a look and .

[@ssr8555]

100% agreed. It’s also really cool from the perspective of someone who has played LoL and knows these characters. It’s amazing to go ”oh hey, I know that guy” and it gets me excited to see more of them actually being alive and interacting with each other.

[@Smevil]

its only season 1 im excited for 2

[@alondrita3107]

Everything is connected too!

[@AscendantStoic]

Wow, It's actually great that Riot confirmed that Arcane ISN'T canon in relation to the game, which means that they can now actually kill LoL characters and/or take them in more interesting directions than in the game. It's great because they won't have to tie down Arcane's story with LoL character bios and let it develop on its own organically (which will increase the stakes and unpredictability of the show), making Arcane basically an alternate reality.

[@MonoReaper]

Dont take Riots words for it rather keep always that perspective in mind. Arcane is what LoL could be aka is the potential/competence the storboard/art/championcreation team has in them. That is if they arent held back by Corp upper management to force rewritte stuff in order to sell skin series. The reason we have shitty or fractured lore isnt because the story/art team sucks. But because Upper Riot Managments keeps pushing their agenda/stupid things that fuckes everything up. They are so out of touch with their own product yet what keeps them aflot are the glimpes & waves of competence of the lower workforce who sometimes can get their wishes/projects trough the storm withouth corparte machine fucking them in the knee.

[@mah1ro267]

Well, I don't think they will go this far. There are quite some differences, but the majority is more or less the same. And they are even reworking some of the Character Backgrounds to fit a bit more. To be clear: Runeterra has a major story, but the single characters have no really stiff canon. They change every year the backstories of so many champions slightly to fit a bit more in the "new" landscape of the major story. And with tons of short stories and some comics they tell interesting stories, that sometimes do not 100% fit together, but help to get the larger picture of the character. I hope they don't make it an alternate reality, but more of a story thats still loose connected with the "original world" and they will update this world so both fit more or less together (just how they do it with the short stories) And to be clear: the "shitty or fractured lore" at some parts is (with a few exceptions) not really the managments fault I think. Runeterra and its characters never had a real story at the beginning. Just dozens of separated characters with their own background. And since ~5 years they slowly tie all these loose ends together and merge them into one "world story". But this takes time. And the stories they rework are often really well done after this.

[@MistyKathrine]

Indeed. With Arcane finding a mainstream audience who know nothing of the game, and Jinx set up to be the main antagonist for season 2 and possibly beyond, people are going to expect her to either die or be redeemed at at some point before the series comes to a conclusion (however many seasons later that ends up being). With how we saw her as this sweet lovable child for several episodes, people are going to want (and expect) for her arc to come to some sort of conclusion and bring closure. That's going to be neccesary for the show, even though it would be completely antithetical to the game.

[@googlefish80]

Where? Also if its not canon, why is there mentions of jinx and vi being sisters through interactions in league?

[@googlefish80]

@@MistyKathrine I can live with that if they can pull off a decent "Darth Vader" redemption style thing.

[@jdfigs5916]

I personally like the changes everything feels more connected and Arcane filled in some blanks in the cannon universe like how Vi and Caitlyn meet and Jinx’s origin

[@MrGoomakoo]

While I agree to an extent, it does consequently make the world of League of Legends as a whole a little smaller. Vander clears the mystique of Warwick, the cute insanity of Jinx becomes humanized and less “flamboyant” without being sad, Jayce’s “righteousness” becomes a little less glamorous, etc etc etc. It’s inevitable in order to saturate the lore of things, you must sacrifice an individuals imagination, but it is substituted with a fantastic story, so it does get a pass.

[@tuskular]

@@MrGoomakoo I disagree if anything they are exaggerated and even more complex, we have more information on who they are and the relationships actually make sense rather than being empty with random characters that no one cares about.

[@marchoo9849]

@@MrGoomakoo shut up.

[@hexogramd8430]

@@marchoo9849 bro it’s ok to have people who disagree with you, they aren’t your enemy and you aren’t a warrior. Stop the larp and just act like a civilized human being rather than gutter trash.

[@thwomp1542]

@@MrGoomakoo Everything you just said just makes it sound like you don't like complex lore

[@Kitbats]

The retcons for Jayce and Vik were a very good decision. Their Arcane personas acted like actual ppl. Their canon ones are like caricatures.

[@owo4470]

I'm in agreement with you. I really hated jayces and viktors old kore

[@waidwml8443]

Nope. I don't like the way they're going with Viktor. Been maining him since 2015 so my opinion should count for something right?

[@dreamchaser3012]

@@waidwml8443 Yes, but not because you've mained him for years. Every opinion counts no matter if theyre negative or positive. But, its also important to be able to recognize when changes made on characters or plotlines are healthy or not for the setting as a whole. In my opinion, ingame Viktor is borderline cartoonish with how zealous he is. Arcane Viktor actually feels like a human being with very relatable motivations.

[@waidwml8443]

@@dreamchaser3012 His *updated* story and his ingame interactions doesn't actually match with each other and that's why so many people think of him as a cartoon villain like yourself. Sadly you have to invest and read his bio, short-story to get a glimpse of his glorious actual self.

[@Aon_Duine]

@@waidwml8443 it's ok if you don't like it, your opinion counts, but that doesn't mean you are right. It doesn't matter if you've been maining him for 6 years. There are no rights or wrongs in this kind of things, just opinions. Personally I couldn't care less. I loved his interaction with Jayce. I was expecting Viktor to be an asshole and they really surprised me with how he is in the show.

[@emilemerle5607]

I'd really love to see Ekko try to rewind time as far as "when everything went wrong" only to understand that even with his new Z-drive he cannot fix everything and help Jinx all those years ago, with Heimer then telling him he can only get seconds, which would be a nice parallel to his introduction cinematic in which he says he only needs seconds, and a good motivation to create the Z-drive at all even if it falls short of his expectations. It would help him accept the reality that Powder is truly gone that he doesn't want to accept deep down as seen on the bridge fight scene.

[@hazelstratum]

Oh yeah...and Ekko might get visited by the -TVA- Zilean after

[@Malhaloc]

Dude! That would be such a good episode!

[@Skishe]

I think Zilean is the reason he can't time travel too far.

[@pretends2know]

I thought the pocket watch was a Z Drive.

[@jacobnorris8256]

@@pretends2know It's not, but it's basically foreshadowing for the Z-drive. Time-obsessed kid creates something that lets him rewind time. Fits perfectly. If the pocket watch was the Z-drive then he wouldn't have lost so many gang members to Jinx at the start. He'd rewind even thousands of times to get it right.

[@theschnoozler465]

I love how seamlessly the characters' stories weave into each other in Arcane it all seemed so natural and not forced. As for Ekko's lore, it could be shown in S2 where he keeps rewinding time to reminisce of the good old days pre-Jinx, his family in Arcane maybe

[@jimmyredd]

Did he not die on the bridge? I don't recall

[@theschnoozler465]

@@jimmyredd I ain't gonna say much except: Nah, he ain't ded

[@MonoReaper]

I thought he can only rewind 6 to 12 seconds inlore at most? Unless he mets Zilean i dont think he can overcome that limit.

[@theschnoozler465]

@@MonoReaper Oh is that the case? My b I don't really play LoL, I just deep-dive the lore

[@anonymousfellow8879]

Arcane!Ekko is pretty forward-thinking. And him not being able to “deliver the final blow” to Jinx after he beats her is honestly only human. She’s his enemy, but they still had a shared past, so of course he still cares about her. (He’s still going to fight her until she’s subdued, but actually killing after that may be “smart” but it’s not heroic. It’s more conscious than simply killing in the moment.) I think it’s more likely that arcane!Ekko tries to make his z-drive(right term? I’m arcane not LoL) to go *forward* in time, then realizes it’s easier to *reverse* time and gives him basically the same effect: ie, prediction, protection. And Ekko’s, well. The Boy Savior

[@wiksolop72]

Things get a bit easier once you realize rito isn't trying to create a singular, rigid, canonical lore. They're interested in establishing a unique world that serves as a framework in which to tell interesting stories. So long as each story is deeply immersive, it won't matter if it contradicts a previous one. Or in other words. Professional-grade fan fiction.

[@omerginawi9768]

Made by professional writers with a true fandom mentality

[@ivan_d_feets4495]

Pog

[@ethanalspencer7294]

I always got that vibe anyway. the implications (though brief and limited) of lore in the actual characters in the game itself are very slightly tweaked from their stories on the universe page or even between stories in the universe page, which in turn are slightly tweaked from how the characters are presented in Legends of Runeterra. I mean Legends of Runeterra, it seems like every other person is a mage or has magical capabilities, meanwhile in Arcane it almost feels like mages are a myth or are damn near extinct. Nothing wrong with it, and I agree I like it, makes things easier to tell the stories you want. Probably only really upsets lore nerds who have tried to somehow piece it together for years for some reason. Wait, shit...

[@drakehellstone208]

Ye but then you get stuff like the ruined king event....

[@Nata-ch2bk]

"No one yet knows the exact reason why or how Vi came to be working alongside Caitlyn-" -> from Vi's website Lore "No one knows for certain what happened to turn that sweet young child into a wildcard, infamous for her wanton acts of destruction" --> from Jinx's website Lore At some point, we just need to honestly look at the current champion lore on the website for what it is : a bunch of isolate stories that have little to no connection to one another. Yes, they look cool on their own, but they were made up on the go without thinking of a giant story scale including multiple champions. That's why it's impossible for an actual story including multiple characters, like Arcane, to use the current lore as a reference. It would just be a total mess. Therefore, I'm glad they took all the creative freedom they needed to make a good story and re-writed most of the characters' storylines and personalities.

[@МомчилМихайлов-я2ш]

I agree with you a 100 percent. But they also cant write down a big part because it will be a spoiler for upcoming seasons(I think Necrit mentioned it a few videos ago). Maybe re-write some of the story that is to this moment in Arcane? Like an update or something. Either way the lore should be updated and we might get the depth we need, for the as you said ''isolated stories'' and make the connection in between.

[@Dian_Borisov_SW]

And it makes sense why riot are hesitant to change the canon lore, it gives them exactly this creative freedom

[@МомчилМихайлов-я2ш]

@@Dian_Borisov_SW Exactly maybe in a few more seasons time we might get an updated lore including the Arcane one in it. But until that I will just enjoy the show and what it has to give. Cheers

[@Dian_Borisov_SW]

@@МомчилМихайлов-я2ш Съмнява ме да има продължение на втория сезон, но никога не знаеш

[@МомчилМихайлов-я2ш]

@@Dian_Borisov_SW Е те официално го обявиха че е в продукция втория, но мисля че ще го продължат все пак това им е голям бонус, а и бая пари ще вземат.

[@quantumplatinum3029]

I dont feel like a lot of the retcons in Arcane were that bad for the story as a whole. It makes the champions feel more connected to each other.

[@78konjo]

I agree with this 100% arcane is its own medium, the idea of "cannon" is overblown and overall hurts things IMO. Each thing is their own story, if the story is good than awesome! If its bad then its bad, it doesnt matter if it matches OG "cannon" its just about the quality of story being shown

[@hophuongnamnguyen6349]

Some I agree some I don’t , I don’t like the change of Viktor and Ekko story it make their story seem weaker in my eye, it also delete cammile and Zigg and half of the plot in PnZ especially after zigg got his color. By the way cammile is 80s confirm by her writer, take away her gilf is a cruel. I also don’t like tie the void into PnZ plot. The other story like Jayce, Vi, jinx and heimer is better I agree. Cait is fine.

[@Samuel-th6fw]

@@78konjo True. If something should be canon it's the tv-series, there are just so many more possibilities for good story-telling.

[@hophuongnamnguyen6349]

Like ekko relationship with his parents and Arjuna is one of the beautiful thing we lack in the lore ZAC use too have to but they retcon him. Viktor do everything not for himself but for human also make him a more respectable character.

[@hophuongnamnguyen6349]

I would like they take the good things from arcane like Silco jinx and Vi plot may be add Caitlyn and Jayce but not including change in ekko or the void part because lack of these 2 is not that bad, ekko can tie to Heimer and no need to change Viktor and Stanwick, change heimer character in arcane to stanwick. Take the good think in rewrite the story.

[@itsmicycle]

"Blitzcrank was developed to help people and save lives." Blitz: THE TIME OF MAN HAS COME TO AN END

[@imanidiot1725]

I think Blitz is trying to warn the people of its end

[@alisabosconovitch558]

xDDDDDDDDDDD

[@MistsMagic]

@@imanidiot1725 Humanity's end at the hands of NUNU BOT!

[@MyLux777]

blitzcrank was developed to help people but designed to help himself. He legit grabs asses to pull em to the squad so they can have their way. Everytime i think of blitz crank i think of downbad guy sweating in a bush rubbing his hands together.

[@paolocatudan5833]

He made a Skynet reference, lel

[@tchao7075]

This is a good video but I think you miss some important detail about how jinx and vi connected in the cannon universe it is mentioned "She began tagging her works of destruction with vivid graffiti, and other taunting messages directed at the city sheriff’s newest ally in the fight against crime, Enforcer Vi... Jinx remains at large to this day, and is a constant thorn in Piltover’s side. Her schemes have inspired copycat crimes among the chem-punks, as well as numerous satirical plays lampooning the incompetence of the wardens, and even a smattering of new colloquialisms throughout both cities-though no one has yet had the courage to call Enforcer Vi “Pretty-in-Pink” to her face. Jinx’s ultimate endgame, and her obvious obsession with Vi, both remain a mystery, but one thing is certain: her crimes are continuing and growing in sheer audacity." by looking at this jinx always have a connection to the point that before arcane fans had theorized that they were sister which was later confirmed by the creators of lol which is why no one was really surprised when it was revealed that in arcane they were sister. otherwise and great video

[@AsphereLP]

Arcane's lore is like a hundred times better than canon...

[@Cyon2012]

It's canon for runeterra at least.

[@MistyKathrine]

Arcane is the official canon! It's the game that's wrong! Change my mind.

[@Cyon2012]

@@MistyKathrine Don't want to change it. It's also my official canon. Don't care what others say.

[@gamescgg6864]

@@MistyKathrine Not like the game story exists way, way before the Arcane story. Let’s ignore the truth that Arcane without LOL would’ve never existed, but LOL without Arcane, would still exist😂😂😂 The mind of some people😂😂😂

[@GummyBearKing1]

No it's not

[@raistlinmajere1000]

For me, Arcane feels much more well written both in characters personalities and interrelations and world building. The canon lore introduces way too many characters, while Arcane introduces less to explain little by little all the lore and champions of Piltover and Zaun. It is better than having some stories vaguely interrelated and with plot holes and inconsistencies (was the clan ferros or Jayce's patrons first in finding hextech crystals?)

[@cennix]

yes!!

[@marklesteralminaza6867]

I agree brothuh!

[@Nata-ch2bk]

Yeah, current lore is just a bunch of stories and biographies that have been added up in the span of many years, and there can easily be inconsistencies or just stuff that simply isn't well written in correlation with the other stories and characters. Everytime they added a new champions, they had to patch up stuff and they weren't all thought out as whole from the get go. In opposition to that, the Arcane story took them much more time and work to produce and just does it better, as you said. In conclusion, they need to use the superior material, aka Arcane story, as cannon and retcon everything that needs to be retconned from the current website lore. edit : But to be honest even if they don't use Arcane as cannon I don't mind as long as Arcane has all the creative freedom it needs to make the greatest series possible.

[@angelgonzalez5766]

Aside from Camilles lore, it's literally the best lore ever written for the game, you should read it

[@Yair-sw4mg]

I have only 1 big problem with arcane vs canon. In canon, Jinx has done some minor to med crimes and pranks like freeing zoo animals and switching road signs. In Arcane she SHOT S ROCKET ON THE COUNCIL I don't know how Arcane plans to either reduce her crimes or ease the now high tension between Jinx to Vi& Caitlyn

[@hoangvietnguyen949]

I still remember Vi’s lore when i first read it in 2015. It’s can be sum up like this : Vi woke ul in a collapsed mine with some of the miner there but she had lost all her memories and all she can remember is that she need to find her sister. Then she look around and found a drill machine, with some technical knowledge suddenly appears in her head she turned the drill machine in to a gauntlet shape and dig her way out and save everyone. After that she met Caitlin and Caitlin was very impressive with Vi ability so she asked Vi to join the Warden. After Jinx came out and has so many interactions with Vi. And Jinx line also mentioned that she had a sister. So many people started to theorize that they were sister but one is crazy and one had lost all memories so both of them didn’t recognize each other.

[@T0YCHEST]

Idk how they would write that into the arcane story and keep the emotions between vi and jink, if vi lost her memory of powder and jinx doesnt care about violets excuses of why she betrayed powder(in jinx's perception of betrayal) when she wanted to help(yes it was overboard but she didnt know) and left powder by herself. They had to go with one or the other and not both and im glad they went with the jinx stopped caring side because she was hurt, instead of the violet stopped caring cause she had amnesia.

[@Nickle_King]

I mean. When it comes to Vi and Jinx in the game universe, of course Vi's backstory doesn't mention Jinx. Jinx was introduced years after Vi existed. To retroactively add Jinx to Vi's backstory would have uprooted Vi's whole character. Which means, regardless of quality or preferences, Arcane should be the Canon overall simply because it's more complete. The continuity isn't bent at odd angles because of future character releases.

[@CodinskiSchwartzando]

I like the Arcane interpretation of the lore. It’s like they took the canon lore and put it through a “made for tv” filter.

[@JoshTGW]

I believe because of Arcane, Riot may be considering rewriting the story of the cannon universe to better fit with it. People want it that way and I don't blame them. But there's more reasons than just this one. For the first reason, Arcane adds another complete level of life to the story and gives meaning to those characters; their pasts, present, and what's to eventually come. The second reason is also the fact one of the new upcoming champions may be one of the Firelights and if this is this case, it'd be really awkward to fit them into the cannon universe without establishing that Arcane is the cannon story. The last reason is because this story does something the cannon universe doesn't and likely won't do in a way that's just as meaningful and expressive as Arcane, it interconnects the characters who honestly should be connected in the cannon universe because they are all essentially in one fairly crowded place. In comparison to the rest of the nations in Ruenterra, Piltover and Zaun are actually a relatively small place. It's hard to believe that most of these characters have never had run-ins with each other given their reputations and/or events without their stories ever acknowledging the events surrounding the other characters. People have every right to ask this, "are these characters all in the same Piltover and Zaun or what in the cannon universe, or are we seriously missing a massive detail?

[@meowt8464]

they miht be waiting till they finish arcane to rewrite it, as to not spoil anything

[@mohamedabdullahi3914]

I disagree with your third point. Piltover and Zaun might be small compared to other regions, but it isn't empty. I would go as far to say that it is the most dense city on Runeterra given if it's location(Speculation). Interconnectness is great when used sparringly, but if every champion knows every champion kinda makes the world feel small. It's like tying Orianna and Singed together when they have no reason to.

[@eternal7912]

@@meowt8464 They don't really need to spoil anything to rewrite character bios. Jinx and Warwick's bios work pretty well with the events of Arcane so far. They tell us who these characters are in present time, give some cryptic hints about their past, but mostly leave it to revealed elsewhere. They can easily do the same for most if not all of the champions that will be included in future seasons.

[@kenjik9867]

they can use this opportunity to rewrite the story of Seraphine cause lets all be honest her bio suck balls

[@gkarak1996]

As long as house ferros have augmented camille before before the storyand Azura, the friend of ekko, exists and dies in the story, I with any recon will be good.

[@FarmerSakki]

I love LoL Viktor and the Glorious Evolution just as much as Arcane Viktor and I know a lot of people agree with that. His story changed so much in the series, if they do decide to make Arcane canon, he'd be perfect for a VGU (maybe not so much gameplay) since his whole story is different. Current Viktor could probably become a Traditional skin. Hopefully Arcane makes Viktor more popular so Riot will pay attention to him :')

[@asneakypuddle]

You do realize current viktor is the next step and the stories not done right? At the end the hextech core, now tainted by the void, stops supporting his body after he holds the chair up to break it. So once again faced with his mortality and being abandoned by the hexcore the next logical step is for him to start going crazy and start the glorious evolution.

[@cryptictimez]

@@asneakypuddle Current Viktor is completely different from what we got from Arcane, the next step logically is of course for him to become the robotic form, but if ones motives are completely different from the other can you really call it the same character?

[@tentailedYuudai]

I know nothing about the game lore and I love ALL the characters in Arcane. Viktor is soo sympathetic to me, Jayce seems like the perfect package of brain and brawn, poor Jinx is so manipulated she can't be salvaged, Vi I connect with most as an older sister to a younger bro with engineering skills, but I understand LoL players wanting Arcane seperate.

[@asneakypuddle]

@@tentailedYuudai My main problem with Vi in the story is that she really fails to understand Jinx's Trauma and fails to help her in the way she needs. Its beautiful story telling though.

[@tentailedYuudai]

@@asneakypuddle I can understand that but Vi isn't exactly wise enough to deal with Jinx's trauma. Lol that just makes the story more compelling, they feel so human.

[@kylelacey1212]

I feel like it will likely be canonized. They rewrite and retcon champion stories all the time. However, I think they will wait until this storyline is completed before canonizing it. I'm sure Arcane will manifest as a continued series in some shape or form for as many characters as they can, and given some characters in this story have next to no real fleshed out stories, canonizing them would improve those characters immensely. However, whether it's canon or not, people are likely going to treat it as such.

[@tiramisumochi4787]

I 100% agree, I feel like they’re not going to tell us if it’s canon or not until it’s complete since they wouldn’t want to ruin any future changes they make etc by rewriting the canon now

[@วิชชากรสุขวัฒน์]

And Jinx Not Were a Bra Outfit anymore like arcane did except she change to it later

[@PandoraStrife]

They are canonizing it already since they gave Caitlyn a special line for killing Jinx in LoL: "Perhaps Piltover can rest easy without you, Jinx. But, Vi..." (her lines just about Vi don't count, they've been shipped together for a long time ^^).

[@Unelephant]

Is the gameplay itself canonical? Like what are all the champions doing in an arena taking down towers.

[@hohenburg5497]

Yesn't, more n't then Ye really. It once was Canon when League was New and the Lore was still figuring its way out. Long Story short "Summoners" summoned the Champions of Old in Order to settle Politics in the "Fields of Justice" (which are now simply called Maps) Because if they'd start another Rune War the world would fall apart, so yeah. Even Lorewise Summoners had Lore with 3 Arch-Summoners etc. now its all old forgotten and mostly overseen because who needs it really.

[@FrostyPhoenyx]

it used to be canon yeah, it was a whole organization and the champions even used to talk to the player in game as "Summoner" but some years back they retconned that lore to have more creative freedom

[@vitocorleone2413]

fuck that, what the hell a being like aurelion sol doing in summoner's rift? he could literally destroy a galaxy with a flick of his wrist

[@zeening]

@@vitocorleone2413 LOOK HOW DEY MASSACRED MAH BOY

[@crassus291]

No

[@asterissilly]

Honestly although I don’t play league but I know a bit about the lore and it’s just kinda confusing. I like that arcane focuses on certain champions. I don’t really care if Arcane is cannon or not I kinda just want it to be it’s own thing.

[@my.melody.gamingg]

Its not its own thing it is official lore and canon riot already confirmed it

[@x2433]

I like that arcane is its own canon, that way I get to enjoy the "core canon" universe for what it is and ALSO the arcane cinematic universe when it adapts/changes things

[@zach829-f3m]

I can agree with that

[@EmoCrusher87]

Maybe Arcane is Riot updating their bios , they didn't wanna do it in the game cause of obvious spoilers. I know they usually update them in game or through a comic or something like that , so Arcane could be the remake/update for most Piltover/Zaun stuff. Also shopkeeper in Aram always asked Vi about her sister , something along those lines.

[@peacebringer8801]

thank you necrit for reciting the full lore of league of legends to the demons that haunt me so that i can finally have a full night of sleep

[@srnoice2134]

Ikr? I wonder why they like league of legends lore

[@srnoice2134]

Probably because league consumes people's sanity and caused a lot of misery

[@GelusYT]

@@srnoice2134 your name haunts me

[@EVniomendoza]

To me, the existence of champions “Arcane Skins” in the game and Ekko’s Firelight skin shows Arcane is a fairly separate canon to their base game canon. but that doesn’t necessarily have to mean Arcane can’t affect the games canon too. The Vander is Warwick theory would be an amazing addition to Warwicks base lore and it wouldn’t hurt his character too much, not to mention that Riot would totally be looking for new skinlines to offer and a new Vander Warwick one would for sure be popular.

[@WaterfallYT]

Timestamps 2:05-(Jayce) 4:15-(Viktor) 13:12-(Vi) 15:58-(Jynx) 17:23-(Caitlyn) 18:32-(Singe) 20:19-(Echo) 24:23-(Heimerdinger)

[@SuperDanielHUN]

Hell, im one of the OG lore fans, but i still want arcane to be the new origin story of all of these characters. Like for real, arcane has 6 hours of movie level content (for now), meanwhile riot's true "canon" is just a few pages worth, told over multiple different comics, novels, mini stories, one shot adventures, random champion interactions, trailers and whatever else they felt like releasing over the years that also clashed with itself many times.

[@Veristelle-]

I mean, with OG lore, they had a hell of a lot, look at the journals they made weekly, let alone other snippets everywhere. It was really cool, actually, but hard to go through. The problem was they lost track of it all after a while, and some would have to clash with one another, or retcon, so they retconned. I do think they should do more with Arcane, though. The writing was great, and I don't think anyone would complain about retconning some to fit it.

[@katelynkaboom]

unpopular opinion: im fine with arcane not being canon if that means riot wont interfere with the arcane writers and we can continue with the same quality of story season 1 had. im scared everyone will demand that arcane be canon and then arcane will suffer because the writers will have to go through more hoops and revisions to make sure everything "fits"

[@alexirmendoza3600]

The stakes become higher if you don't know if they are allowed to kill a character. Making it canon means you know that the main characters live. Imagine the tea party platter scene w/o knowing if Cait was going to live.

[@Nata-ch2bk]

That is kinda true actually, hadn't thought about it that way. They can just wait for now and keep it its own separate thing, and later on once they have released like 10 seasons and covered multiple areas of the universe and most champions, they can just make Arcane cannon then.

[@HeroOfJusticeYT]

wait what? thats not a good idea. the reason Arcane is as good as it is is because Riot told them their first version was trash and so they completely restarted from the ground up. to say riot should have no say in arcane is nonsense

[@sorpilius1097]

They can still kill champs in their shows and they can form the stories around their shows. For example, they can easily change Caits story so it can fit with the Arcane version. Its way better than splittimg the universe in two parts. And like I said they can still kill champs, they just need to make sure its in the past so that every storie they have is still happening. They can kill Jinx off in Arcane if it would make sense lore wise and she can still be a champ in LoL because it doesnt matter if she is alive or not, like some cards from Runterra are about characters who have died.

[@Nata-ch2bk]

@@HeroOfJusticeYT The Arcane writers are from Riot. I think he meant to say that the current website lore should not interfer with Arcane writers

[@ris5171]

I love how victor is being a badass cyborg but is only concerned to the events of humanity. Such a character WE STAN!

[@NoOne-zd6zb]

As much as I love the characters in LoL, it's not really a storyfilled game and although there's a few comics and stories about them, it doesn't really do much to expand on the characters. So I just hope Arcane continues being great and include my favourite characters soon :3

[@Sishel]

I’m glad they changed what needed to be changed in order to create compelling relationships and story arcs. The show is a freaking masterpiece!

[@ShadowSlith789]

The reason a lot of champion lore have vague backstories is so that when they add new champions they don't have to do a lot of retconning and explaining. Whenever you solidify lore pieces like arcane does you can't add new champions because then it's like "oh where were these people all along?" This is the problem Marvel is having right now, trying to add characters I'm having to explain where they were during Thanos invasion

[@blvckl0tcs750]

well arcane would work if they didnt make differences on existing lore

[@MrAwsomness5]

I feel like they could always do something like add a new region or keep creating new characters that occupy each other. Because they have already fleshed out the regions of the league world they have a lot of leeway

[@blvckl0tcs750]

@@MrAwsomness5 imo we barely now things about regions like Ixtal or things about what Jax is

[@blvckl0tcs750]

@Tesla-Effect it's not hurting anything.

[@matth600]

@Tesla-Effect strange take, the thing that literally took Riot games from small indie company to billion-dollar company and continues to be it's primary source of income is "actively hurting the IP." Riot is working very hard on changing this, but for the next year or two at least LoL is Riot Games and the rest are side projects. The importance of it is slipping as it is no longer the only thing, but it is still by far the biggest thing.

[@DestronGaming1213]

I thought arcane is sort of the the beginning of these champs stories,? Vi before she was a enforcer, Cait before she became sheriff, Victor before THE GLORIOUS EVOLUTION.

[@gurentgc3546]

They already had origin stories.

[@DestronGaming1213]

@@gurentgc3546 aahh ok

[@vitorribeiro796]

But the Arcane One is a way better and more connected, in the actual lore you don't know How the hell Caitlyn meet Vi

[@Korinengamecorp]

@@gurentgc3546 It depends actually. Jayce and Viktor already had backstories and their Arcane version is very different. But for Cait Vi and Jinx, some gaps (like timeskips) were put in the stories and they can EASILY be filled by the new info Arcane gave us

[@texasallstar6969]

@Tesla-Effect thats so true. i never dreamed I would give a fuck about Jayce or Viktor, and now im so invested in them both. Jayce and his smile right before the mega death rocket hits. actually thinking he had done it. saved both cities.

[@MontoMori]

I like both iterations of Viktor. He's always been my favorite mage.

[@MistyKathrine]

0:27 Good. It means the show will not have it's hands tied and can go in the direction in needs to go. Game adaptations that had to adhere too strictly to a game universe often struggle to tell compelling or interesting stories. It also means knowing things about the game are not necessarily going to be spoilers for the show, as things in the show can be allowed to happen differently, and should reduce the number of characters who wear plot armor.

[@aqueladonao2982]

I love how Caitlyn in Arcane is much more realistic, less fit in beauty patterns and still SO MUCH MORE ATTRACTIVE than that doll they do in the game). Goes to show us we're really interested in real life characters.

[@aliebrubaker7473]

The entire retelling, really. All the characters feel real. They have motivations and aspirations, stuff doesn't go exactly the way they (or we) want... and all of them have flaws. Arcane has a lot of grey. Vander was a good guy but in his past he obviously wasn't. Even Silco, while a dangerous and manipulative druglord, wants Zaun to be free of the yoke of Piltover and loves Jinx even as he's using her. Vi wants to protect her family and find her sister but Vi is also the reason Powder ends up with Silco in the first place and helps create Jinx. Ekko is undoubtedly good as he creates a safe haven for cast offs but his stubborness helps prevent Vi from reaching Powder before she is entirely lost. Jayce and Viktor both start out wanting to help people and often drag themselves into morally questionable territory to keep trying. I agree that Arcane pretty much nailed how to make fairly one dimensional characters (in most cases) from a battle arena game into deeply compelling actual people.

[@ratedr7845]

I never see people hate good looking things in my life, man y'all sad

[@aliebrubaker7473]

@@ratedr7845 I mean... Cait is good looking in Arcane still so we aren't hating on good looking things. The LoL character art is very... male audience attuned? The ladies are all classic broke-back comic style. Fakey. I like that the characters in Arcane look and move more real. It makes them more good looking to me.

[@ratedr7845]

@@aliebrubaker7473 it's not a bad thing to be more male oriented

[@paulinemaeve1873]

@@ratedr7845 i don't mean to be rude but for literal CENTURIES, almost everything in the world has been male-oriented. women are viewed as objects and have to follow a strict criteria in order to be viewed pretty. and i think in the og league lore, that kind of criteria is perpetuated and marketed to men - proof: caitlyn, vi (who is supposed to be really strong since she literally punches through rocks using her heavy ass gauntlets but she doesn't seem to have any muscles to support the weight of her gauntlets in the game), miss fortune, evelynn, kai'sa, etc etc. and idk about you but as a woman, i'd rather be presented and viewed like "arcane caitlyn" rather than "league caitlyn" because arcane caitlyn is actually written and presented as an actual human being whose main priority isn't to just look pretty, but to have actual substance, struggles, motivation, character and personality rather than just being a pretty to sight to look at, while still being VERY gorgeous and attractive. and also, it seems to me like you haven't heard of the term "the male gaze" and all its harmful impacts on society's rigid standards for women. that's what i meant when i discussed "league caitlyn". and i'm really glad that arcane chose a different path than the "male-oriented" route. now don't think i'm mad or what. i'm just saying man. maybe things don't always have to be male-oriented.

[@nagashtheundyingking4404]

to me it seems that Riot doesn't want to commit to much to fast and might want to see how it goes seems like most of the changes comes from natural changes that has to happen to make a book story into a series/movie with cutting character making everyone more involved with each other while also cutting a few stuff tho personally i want arcane to be cannon and hope that one day we get more stories across all of runeterra like noxus the shadow isles and so on

[@hasuo9749]

How they dont want to commit to much to fast if this is a " work of years " ? it's already "done" how can they do to much when it already done ? again " a work of years ".

[@MrGalRoz]

it would honestly be better if they rewrite Bios to fit the new story of Arcane. the community need to push Riot to make that change. as you say- make them commit to Arcane even more. and nothing spells comitment(in this case) then changing the League Bios into updated Bios according to Arcane.

[@nagashtheundyingking4404]

@@MrGalRoz and lets be fair many of the stories that were changed is very old at this point and many other champions have already been changed so its not like it would break the lore

[@brolveth6665]

Hey dude, haven't seen you for a while after I stopped checking AoC forum

[@leetri]

@@hasuo9749 Because obviously they want to see how the public reacts to Arcane before they completely change the game lore.

[@tinykass]

Speaking of Game of Thrones- Viktor's voice actor is the same guy who played Daenerys's douche brother in season one! (The turd who got the gold crown treatment) That blew my mind when I found that out lol

[@onceuponagamemaster1588]

Ekko only has ONE story returning home to his parents. Which is Lullaby. And within said story it's actually heavily implied that Ekko just basically uses their long grindy factory hours to run off and do whatever the hell he wants. Which actually doesn't _contradict_ Arcane. It's just kind of sus if him having parents in Arcane is a thing or not...because he seems to _live_ in the Firelight Hideout. But then again in old Q&As it had been established long ago that Ekko feels the Lost Children of Zaun are his _real_ family. So since his parents are rarely ever home; and even when they *are* Ekko helps them into bed where they fall asleep anyway (Leaving him unobserved) is it really a stretch to think he spends more time in other places than his actual home? I say this because...Wyeth and Inna could be introduced into Season 2 and throw us all for a loop. Hell, we might even _learn Ekko's real name_ that way, because seemingly only THEY know it.

[@zetetsu7169]

It's also implied his parents passed away from overworking themselves to give Ekko a better life. Hence why he relives his favorite memory with them over and over again.

[@onceuponagamemaster1588]

@@zetetsu7169 ...Uh. It doesn't? He rewinds the moment just because it was such a rare and nice thing they did getting him a cake. He wanted to savor it. There was nothing that even remotely suggested in the short story that they died that night or later on in the future. (Although I could easily see that happening to them.) Ekko however DOES rewind several times over Ajuna dying in the Chronobreak comic though. Mostly to try and save him. He couldn't though and he proooobably would have ended up using it to beat the living shit out of the Piltie that murdered his friend. But because said Piltie damaged his Z-Drive he couldn't rewind again and had to make a choice...and he chose to spend the last rewind he'd done by being besides a dying Ajuna.

[@simiankleurde1544]

Who's to say Acane is not "canon"? Acane could be the new canon or there could be a League of Legends multiverse because even many of the League of Legends cinematics often contradicts another. The word "canon" has become a throwaway word that had kinda lost its meaning. You might say "but this is what the official canon is", well, that can always be changed. Look at Marvel and DC, there's always a new canon but that doesn't make any storyline less important, that's why the word "canon" has lost its meaning.

[@bluezsoicy9226]

you can say that. but right now the leagure of legends lore/canon has already been established -- it can be edited but it has yet to be.

[@powert2009]

Thats precisely what makes marvel/DC universes so boring for me. Fiction like this should have an established canon or else every story feels irrelevant because this is just another parallel universe in which all the established lore can be changed o fit the story without any reper,ussion. I hate thatthere is a like 10 versions of Batman and joker, it makes the original plot(whatever that IS atthis point) a lot less unique and impactful.

[@วิชชากรสุขวัฒน์]

What about Reboot? For me Arcane was a Reboot And everything Change

[@Vincinate]

Lol, keep coping

[@simiankleurde1544]

@@Vincinate huh?

[@Knight1029]

I would much rather have Arcane be canon and stories be told in this way. Not in a series but in this interconnect and character driven story. It feels more impactful and meaningful.

[@adamzielke3541]

i think the reason they cut and removed/changed a lot of stuff from the game canon is to make a better story that flows more AND to have the characters stay connected more. If Ekko's parents were alive we'd need to make time to show them instead of focusing on the main plot. Vi and Jinx being sisters was kind of a widely accepted theory before Arcane was announced, I think b/c of one of Jinx's lines. IIRC a lot of Champion bios are kind of "this person exists, and then here comes an inciting incident which makes them into the champion they are now", but a TV series can't have that one big moment. It'd be good for a short little websode, but not what Arcane has. Also, I SWEAR I remember reading about Shimmer in canon. But it was more of a gel that was put on the skin to feel pleasure or something.

[@marchoo9849]

We dont care what u think. Didnt even read it.

[@rashidaadekunle332]

@@marchoo9849 wow so edgy 😒

[@pearsegallagher9832]

@@marchoo9849 ......well thats just fucking rude

[@faith1034]

@@marchoo9849 but you cared enough to type that out and share your own opinion? Lmaaaoooo

[@marchoo9849]

@@pearsegallagher9832 no its not.

[@northstar67]

They should still make arcane the canon, i mean the writing and the story is just too good. You can't pass this up riot.

[@betababy8545]

But we all know Riot usually fuck their shit up on their own

[@LittleDyl32]

Theyve actually been rewriting some lore and voice lines in the game to fit arcane better

[@Nata-ch2bk]

Arcane = cannon Current website lore = needs to be retconned to fit Arcane story Always use the superior material as the cannon story edit : in any case, current lore must never hinder the creativity of the Arcane writers, is what I mostly mean. They should change whatever is needed to make the greatest story possible without ever considering inconsistencies with the website lore.

[@Clocktothetick]

I got to disagree here

[@angelgonzalez5766]

@@Nata-ch2bk It's like nobody even read the website canon tales,I can confidently say that Ryze's and Camille's stories are equal if not better than arcane itself, they just immediately say it's story is better because it looks cool

[@CrashBandicootFan100]

Riot "change canon on a whim" Games So far my experience with the lore is: hey I like this- they change it somehow Wether it's for a new champs release, a rework or just whatever reason... They CHANGE the lore CONSTANTLY. Why is THIS, which is a well done story, not to be considered canon?

[@Mactao100]

Yeah, because if they had made a series with old Warwick, old Swain, old Mordekaiser or the 3 different versions of Shyvanna and have the change that happened with them it wouldn't cause no problem on the series.

[@wiksolop72]

Things get a bit easier once you realize rito isn't trying to create a singular, rigid, canonical lore. They're interested in establishing a unique world that serves as a framework in which to tell interesting stories. So long as each story they tell is deeply immersive, it won't matter if it contradicts a previous one. Or in other words. Professional-grade fan fiction.

[@gastonzumbo9860]

because this took 6 years to make. do you want lore to be updated every 6 years plus maybe a second season a year later? Imagine if Arcane is a 3 season show that ends the Piltover and Zaun story in like 2023. That's incredibly slow. (Also I doubt that Fortiche will have S2 ready by this time of year in 2022 if thet keep up this level of quality so be ready for every season to take quite a bit lol)

[@dakotanelson8523]

I think you may have overlooked how Singed also substitutes for Stanwick's role in Viktor's backstory, even more closely than Heimerdinger.

[@gybyro]

I don’t know where you got the “everyone wants arcane to be canon” thing but I’m guessing you’re talking on behalf of league players. I don’t play league, mostly because I dislike mobas but I love arcane. Having arcane be it’s separate thing allows it to mold it’s own story to fit the show better while still keeping the original stories it’s based on in the game.

[@danielshepard8672]

I think you may have misunderstood what he meant by 'everyone wants Arcane to be canon'. He doesn't mean we (league players) what the show to be 100% faithful to the written lore of the characters and universe. Instead, I believe that he means we would like the lore of the universe to be changed to what Arcane is.

[@Korinengamecorp]

I do think that EVEN IF they decide to not make Arcane 100% cannon, some part of it will still be. Jayce and Viktor's stories differ a lot, but Vi, Cait and Jinx's story have stuff in their bio that can suspiciously easily be filled by the event of Arcane. Vi disappeared for a few years? That's when the event of Arcane happened. Same for Jinx and Cait where most of the stuff in their backstories are not explained. Just because the event of Arcane are not mentioned doesn't mean that it didn't happened. It was just kept a secret. Arcane's barely retconed anything for the three girls, it just added new information

[@blvckl0tcs750]

some of it should def be canon but not all of it. it clears up a lot of vague stuff

[@fis001r]

Quick thing I need to get off my chest about shimmer: in tft, there is the mutant trait which includes all void related champions... And Mundo. And if Mundo is powered by shimmer, which isn't unlikely, it could be another vague connection between shimmer and void.

[@ryanworth4502]

The mutation must survive! I think you're on to something. He's the only Chemtech that is also Mutant and that's because he is the only one that uses shimmer. All the others use Green Chemtech. Therefore Shimmer has turned him "Mutant" which is basically Void

[@cinecastmedia]

@@ryanworth4502 I really think the green chemtech is the more stable and improved shimmer with less disadvantages. Really excited on the Season 2 of this show.

[@PapaPaso1]

@@cinecastmedia A german youtuber made videos about arcane theories. One of the theories was that schimmer has some conncection due to the colour which in the lol universe is only connected to the void, and everytime schimmer was shown in the series there was no sound during the scenes which could be some kind of refence to the void.

[@munchcat]

Riot might be waiting for more of Arcane to be released before canonizing it, if only to avoid spoilers. It would be the smartest move on their part. The big retcon they did on much of the lore has been ridiculously vague for a number of characters and helps explain so much in a more satisfying way. Arcane even answers questions about Vi like how she came to work with Caitlyn and how Jinx went from a sweet girl to crazy deadly. Besides all that, they risk turning their backs on anyone drawn to the game through Arcane, especially since word is getting out that you don't need to know anything about the game to enjoy the show.

[@ADieVentures]

Frankly, I like the way Vi and Cait met each other in ARCANE and would like for this to be on the canon rather than the original way it was in the game. Because with ARCANE we have more depth of character and it did end up giving their relationship a better understanding(even if their relationship on the show is still new and not on the "Piltover's Finest" level...yet). Even Jinx got some new depth rather than just being the "crazy BOOM! girl" that is followed by "Fat Hands" and "Top Hat Lady". I also *desperately* want to see how ViCait grow up to become the Enforcer and the Sheriff we all love. The game did not show that so it would be interesting to see this on the show...even if it isn't canon.

[@corig573]

I really appreciate your content. Ever since I watched Arcane and become a little obsessed it is nice to come here and find so many videos on the lore, I am not sure if i will ever play the game but it is fun to learn about it!!!

[@Oscar-bj9ut]

I always thought this was an obvious conclusion since they seemed to be going off the path of cannon lore. I don't care about league lore that much, so Arcane being different and not held back by it makes me even more excited about the future. Likewise, I know you said no one would like this to be the case, but it seems like the best scenario. The MCU being different from the comics is a strength, and so far Arcane has shown it to be a strength as well.

[@zakk2153]

I'm pretty sure one of the main point's of Arcane existing in the the first place and it's purpose is to flesh out, fill in and build upon all the already existing lore. Is that's something that's needed? Just look at what the first season did. There's your answer. Even if they don't deliberately say it in interviews and stuff, it's so obvious. In a case like this, it's universally liked to the point there's zero reason to not call it a canon and make it so by actually rewriting it so people don't get confused. Not everything has to, that's all up to Riot's department on lore, but you can always do better.

[@straiteis9982]

So before Riot released that statement setting out their stance on Arcane's canonicity, I had a theory that the current Universe lore for Arcane's characters was intentionally different from Arcane because Arcane was likely produced at a similar time to the big lore rework that removed the Summoners/Institute of War and so they didn't want the new Universe lore to spoil Arcane until they could release Season 1. Their recent statement probably debunks that, but in the case of my theory (as someone who usually despises retcons) I wouldn't have minded the retcons Arcane makes as even compared to the Universe lore, it only changes the paths the champions took to get to where they are now as shown on Universe, it didn't really change their present-day selves.

[@dariusgunter5344]

What did Riot say, do you have a link?

[@Malhaloc]

I was so sad...and confused....when Riot took out Summoners and the Institute of War from the lore yet left voice lines of champions talking directly to the Summoner, still calling them Summoner Spells, referring to the player as "Summoners" like what?

[@FredMaverik]

@@Malhaloc that is just fourth wall breaking and the whole work of redoing that.... god you fans sure are obtuse

[@Malhaloc]

@@FredMaverik I know what 4th wall breaking is. I'm saying if you're going to remove summoners from the lore, then remove lines like "Think you can handle me, summoner?" It makes no sense anymore.

[@luzmariaguerrero7378]

@@dariusgunter5344 I'm searching for that too. Does anyone has direct riot confirmation or anything about the canonicity about Arcane?

[@IOTewks]

This is a fantastically well-researched and constructed lore exploration! (i did almost spit out my drink at the reference to Jayce/Viktor as "main protagonists", like ???)

[@jauxro]

I mean, they're more than side characters like Heimerdinger or somethin 🤔

[@Nix-vv3yu]

If Riot wants to put everything in it's place and make Arcane canon i think they could pull a really nice trick with Ekko, having him not just be able to rewind time for a brief period, but shatter the timeline all together, explaining why he keeps rewinding time when he is with his parents, because he grew up as an orfan before shattering the timeline. Camille could also become some sort of time travelling high tech assasin because of ekko, or something else would need to happen to her, as her story has been really badly f'd up by arcane.

[@what7156]

Feel like a whole show would be able to do a character more justice in explaining their story since it includes a lot more characters etc. And is generally a lot more detailed than the Canon written stories. I'm all for riot making arcane Canon.

[@zagu1985]

Viktor is such a good well written character, he's kinda like Druig from Eternals wants to protect people from their own selves imo.

[@Kangred12]

The origin stories of the characters were changed so it would easier to make connections for the one who don't know the original lore and makes it so much easier to write a story.

[@malidagonzales7623]

I feel like the biggest drawback for the lore being adjustet to arcane now is that it sort of deminishes the size and complexity of the universe. You can only fit so many characters, places and motivations in a linear story while games can offer glipses of many more unconnected events because much less coherence and completeness is needed in that form of world building

[@yhelat]

I genuinely believe it's for the better to have them as separate stories, they can improve characters to make them work for a series and especially so that some characters might die.

[@twentyonetortas5921]

ok i'm glad that this video came up bc i was curious on Vi's situation. Like in the game lore, it said a major explosion in a mine happened and Vi saved the people that were trapped there which later caused her to have amnesia and once Cait heard about her, she decided to hire her which gave Vi a fresh start as some memories slowly came back to her. I haven't fully watched the show but knowing the Internet, ofc there were gonna be spoilers all over so seeing younger Cait x Vi meet had me like ???? did they not meet as adults?

[@Thulgore]

"Some people will be confused" (I will be one of those people as I am also big into the lore) I don't fucking care if I'm confused as long as what Riot did with Arcane continues. Literally have not been able to watch another show with any sense of interest. In fact I haven't finished an episode of any other show netflix has. Hell, the only thing I've finished were a couple of stand-up comedy specials while I was cleaning. Arcane has become an obsession for me. FFS I get emotional watching clips from the show (More than I even got on first watch). I have watched the show so many times....I assume it has to be over ten times perhaps over twenty. I have watched basically every reaction channel that reacted to the show as it was coming out. After watching each act I immediately watched it again with TBSkyen's audio commentary. (which I've completed that twice as well......because it was nice to hear someone else reacting to what I was watching) (I am only social at work, and do not socialize outside of work at all) This was the show that finally convinced me to get a netflix subscription.......which I will probably keep just to rewatch the show at least several times more. I am not exaggerating when I wonder if I am obsessed. What sucks more, I don't know ANYONE that has watched the show yet. THAT is brutal. Yes, I've advised people to watch it. (passionately) It's brutal to realize how long I am going to have to wait for season 2 lol.

[@kevinmshields]

Feel ya on this bud, going through the same thing. This has blown everything else out of the water to such a degree that I prefer the show over just about all other media. I'm so impressed and none of my friends have seen it yet, reaction videos and reviews are how I'm channeling the extra excitement which sucks to process alone.

[@pielova305]

I think in both the core universe and in Arcane, I’m speculating Professor Standwick IS Heimerdinger using glamour. That explains why he existed in the past, and how he’s still the same one that recruited Viktor

[@georgebanin4812]

Heimerdinger is a yordle.stanwick is a human

[@rossalbertdelacruz6751]

I know Glamour's effects to yordles but I didn't know that Glamour would change Heimer's height

[@pielova305]

@@rossalbertdelacruz6751 Maybe Stanwick is short- lol

[@pielova305]

@@georgebanin4812 Glamour makes yordles look human. Check out "Ziggs and Jinx: Paint the town" comic, and you'll see Ziggs and Heimerdinger in their Human form using Glamour

[@YOKAVI]

I think it’s really cool that in arcane Jayce and Viktor are so close it’s said by Jayce that they are like brothers and he tries to do just about anything in his power to save his brothers life. I think what riot is doing with Arcane is phenomenal for the league lore. Can’t wait to see season 2 and the other stories to come.

[@AdorianDelmore]

IT'S CANON NOW! THEY ARE ONE!

[@parav0zz560]

On the one side, Arcane is great. If it became canon it will definitely improve game lore. On the other side, making these stories non-canon will allow Riot to create better stories in the future as they impose fewer restrictions up to the possibility to kill a champion. Game lore is used as the core to make a good story. It will improve "what in the box?" scenes for those who know the lore. Because right now we know that this pal/gal will be ok whatever happens. But I reeeally don't want things like Singed backstory from Arcane wasted. So I suppose Riot will take something in between: make Arcane a semi-canon. Here and there it updates lore but always stays kinda "what if" story. And I also wait for projects in alternative universes.

[@dominicguye8058]

I more or less agree with you more than any other comment I've seen so far

[@fuatyorulmaz5809]

I think the changes creates a better atmosphere, more complex characters but of course they shouldn't drift away from the canon universe completely, but the changes they made are probably the reason the series turned out so well and successful. The writing was just off the charts. Still, you made great points, nice video as always Necrit :D

[@masterciotkaser279]

Zaun (as a concept) exists in Arcane, Silco mentioned it to Vander

[@Onmydt]

I feel like league already had a good setup for a multiverse type lore with skins sets. Although I would love to see more of a continuum story, riot didnt need the world and characters to be cohesive for the game so it just seems that a non canon multiverse type series is just easier to keep everything straight and make it easier to plug certain characters with out going down their vague story lines.

[@deandredunbar9618]

I've never played one second of league of legends so I don't care if it's cannon or not it's a great story, and I hope it stays that way with season 2

[@RichardHorpe]

there's no reason to not make it canon, unless they want Arcane to take risks in the later seasons like killing a champion.

[@arthurmerkulov5904]

That would be amazing, I feel like there might be a lot of closure from either vi or jinx dying, like its a matter of time Also warwick

[@Jack_26]

They shouldn't be afraid from killing a champion if everyone survives you get superman problem.

[@kingvvk]

aslong as their core story is taken care off, i think they can get away with killing champions

[@Circurose]

Isn't League just a pick random people and fight game? Why does it need everyone to be alive?

[@Machiroable]

​@Tesla-Effect Where's is that rule? DOTA 2 killed one of it's heroes just years prior.

[@low-resghul8306]

Honestly Necrit, I know how much you despise retcons, but me personally I’d be 100% ok with them rewriting the hell out of the cannon universe. They already proved they can do it in a decent way, with Jayce alone. Jayce in Arcane can act quite arrogant, but we can see that his heart is in the right place most of the time; whereas in canon lore he is straight-up a stuck-up prick, he’d be one of the most dislikable characters in the show, and not for the right reasons. So yes, if it provides a better story in the long run, change stuff. Kill off Cait’s mom; Erase glamour; Make Heimer help Ekko with the Z-Drive; etc. And if there’s one thing I’m sure they’ll rewrite in the show, is the origin of the Hex crystals themselves, so as not implicate a disturbing relation between Skarner and their golden girl Seraphine. Won’t be my favourite change, but I can live with it. EDIT: Also, I’m sorry Necrit, but to imply that Singed got off scot-free from that big explosion in ep. 3 by saying that he covers his face because of Warrick, is a bit of a stretch and it just really sounds that you’re trying to convince yourself that his part stayed canon. The show heavily implies that he got disfigured because of the explosion, and the Warrick teaser at the end is just that, a teaser for season 2.

[@mastermewtwo5503]

Caitlyn and Jayce never talked? I do remember there was an event in Wild Rift where the two were solving a theft mystery, so at least currently they're doing something.

[@starace4031]

Arcane is incredible and honestly wish thr game was more like the series.

[@myaparker5510]

I agree. I don't play league of legends and I have nothing against it. But its story is kind of all over the place. But in arcane the story is actually a lot better.

[@alesiac8440]

The way i spit out my water when you said viktor and jayce at the beginning

[@rafalkosmala9781]

I believe you forgot one thing. In the arcane Heimerdinger keeps flashing back to the accident and because of it he doesn't want Jayce/Victor to develop hex cores. I think that accident is connected to Zillan.

[@AnxietyOP]

In my opinion, I like the Arcane as is, even as a League player and a Lore lover, maybe Riot just wanted to make this one different and more realistic because perhaps, if they Arcanized the official lore, the characters may seem too generic in a way to other people, especially to those who don't play, so I guess their goal was to make the characters real and understandable and hella complex for all audiences to enjoy, which of course, I don't mind at all if it's all altered, I simply enjoy what I was given, and Arcane was given, and I am happy to see a story unfold within these characters.

[@zerzexhs5913]

Imagine arcane is actually canon and its one of the parallel universe but Ekko is the only person who can confirm it since he can converge into the parallel universes

[@taylormaughan7428]

My favorite part of this series so far is having VIKTOR AND JAYCE WORK TOGETHER ON HEXTECH. That's easily the craziest part of this whole thing. And honestly sets him up fr

[@akay_2]

The Best option for Arcane to take is to focus on being a good show First and foremost. The Marvel Cinematic universe is the best example of a cinematic universe based on other media to follow. You can watch and enjoy the Marvel movies, without ever needing to care about what happens in the comics. Similarly, Arcane fans shouldn't need to worry themselves with knowing in-game lore, so that they can just sit back and enjoy the fresh, new storytelling that the writers of Arcane can offer.

[@peanutgallery4]

Yeah, just be the MCU but good

[@jacobnorris8256]

I don't think you can count Jinx not being part of Vi's story a difference. After all, there's tons of room within her lore for Jinx to have been there, just deliberately unmentioned. After all, Riot has been deliberately avoiding the topic of "are Vi and Jinx sisters" since Jinx's release, so there was likely deliberately made room for Jinx being hidden in Vi's lore. Also, you say that Singed "doesn't have a daughter", but do we really know that? The only reference we get to Singed's supposed daughter in Arcane is him saying that he used to have one. Which is easily vague enough that it could've been a thing in the canon lore too. After all, the dude's pretty old, so he could've easily had a daughter at some point in the past. Also, i'm not sure if it's right to conclude that Ekko is an orphan in the lore. He hasn't mentioned them yet, but that doesn't mean they don't exist. And Ekko has been off-screen for a vast majority of the series, so there's absolutely room for him to have gone to them. I don't believe there's a single thing that contradicts Ekko's parental status is different from canon, so I think it's best to assume it's the same as in canon until proven otherwise.

[@vulpex4105]

Singed is looking at a picture in the last episode in the last minute or so

[@jacobnorris8256]

@@vulpex4105 Well, doesn't change my point anyway.

[@vulpex4105]

​@@jacobnorris8256 Yup i just pointed it out as an FYI: "The only reference we get to Singed's supposed daughter in Arcane is him saying that he used to have one."

[@Tawleyn]

22:05 - What I gathered from the show was that Rio *was* his daughter. Which is why he is so adamant about keeping it alive through any means necessary. I'm also convinced that when he's healing Jinx, he's talking to Silco from a position of experience about what it takes to save your own child.

[@darthlazurus4382]

I am a firm believer that just because something works in one medium, it might not work in another with changes. This is why we use the term adaptation. In games like LoL, every character is tae be the star, as they will each be someone's favourite. That would be hard tae pull off in a story of multiple choices. It makes sense tae change things a bit.

[@etheriousjackal5577]

As a Jinx main, I absolutely love the story they've given her. They absolutely did her justice with this kickass story and hopefully Riot makes this the new canon.

[@levi4979]

I could see them implement the part where Victor doesn't just save his own life into arcane, as he might still see avoidable deaths as human failure. Especially so considering he probably blames himself for Sky's death.

[@t-1156]

Information that might be intersting about the MCU: it's, by its nature, hard to compare to League. Marvel has a lot of parallel universes and the MCU is just one of them. That allows to more easily distinguish what is and isn't canon to one storyline. Now, in league, unless they plan on using the same multiverse system (which, considering they already have a multiverse basically confirmed by Pulsefire, would feel odd), there is no way of doing like marvel if we're talking about everything being hard canon.

[@chazjohannsen]

Arcane is to LOLore Iike the MCU is to Marvel Comics: a reinterpretation of the canon using specific beats, characters, settings, and plot points to make a sprawling narrative.

[@gman7497]

That's a perfect way to describe it. Marvel comics are created to be very flexible and have many instances of being rebooted as the lore ages. the MCU is created to tell a very specific intertwined story over a number of years. Arcane is a similar introduction to the world as the original Iron Man, a relatively small story that gets expanded over time.

[@Wurstbrot03]

Doesn't Marvel and DC regularly kill off their current universe and replace it with a new reboot?

[@Heaven0854]

@@Wurstbrot03 yes

[@defaul_tm4886]

as much as I like the actual canon, arcane was a good retcon in terms of accuracy and story telling. It flushed out the main characters more as people with problems and issues as opposed to random key characters that get crazy abilities.

[@FlyingElbowKick]

1) If Arcane is different from the core universe, as in an alternate universe, then that's kind of what they mean by non-canon. 2) I'm personally in favor of it not being canon for the game universe. For one main reason: it's a prequel series. If it's canon, then we know exactly how the major plot points resolve. I don't like knowing ahead of time that Vi and Jinx never reconcile, for example; not saying they need to (though I hope they do because I love their relationship), but I don't want to already know what will or won't happen.

[@asterissilly]

Yeah that was exactly what I was thinking too. Like for example in the scene in Jinx’s tea party it really raised the stakes not knowing whether Cait was alive or not. Like if we knew that Arcane was entirely canon we would know that they couldn’t kill the main characters. It really raises the stakes knowing that they could do anything(not necessarily anything) with the story and characters. Making it canon would also force the writers to try and fill in the holes and try to connect it to canon universe while making it make sense. Also I agree that because of the game knowing some of the major events ahead of time would just lower the quality of the show. I know the writers would still do a good job but non-canon just seems better in general considering everything.

[@missingone9185]

I think Arcane should be a separate universe so that people who prefer Arcane can have a story to choose to follow and people who prefer the game lore can follow that instead. Both sides get to have what they want.

[@scotthenderson3519]

Arcane IS the cannon universe now. Things are going to get changed so they can fit more characters into a 9 hours story. They are not going to throw out a perfectly good story opportunity because of a single line in a small story no one read. Things will also change because some characters lore was written years before other characters even existed so to merge them together things will change for older characters

[@NRG-REC]

Yep. Arcanes viewership wont necessarily ever exceed total lol game viewing numbers but it will ABSOLUTELY surpass the number of lol players who are also heavy lore enthusiasts.(like the difference between a casual gamer and someone who plays professionally) They'll focus on arcane because it has a larger potential audience base to cultivate.

[@AcediaRulerOfSloth]

Funnily enough, Warwick has interactions with Jinx and Vi in game though, hinting that he is Vander and he vaguely remembers them. So is it canon I wonder?

[@MistsMagic]

Why would Jayce reporting that Viktor was trying to remove people's free will be considered an awful thing? According to what you say, they almost came to blows over it, so he really tried to stop Viktor from doing it before reporting him. Reporting him at that point is the best way to prevent that immoral act.

[@xanderjames8682]

Arcane got me into playing lol. So i got the benefit of watching the series with no character bias and just loved the series as it was. Eager for s2

[@honoyetameow5349]

in the core universe Vi and Jinx are linked, maybe not directly by their bio's but they have quotes to each other in game and Jinx literally released with a Jinxed version of vi's login screen. Plus Vi's story implies that when she was found as an orphan in the basenet that there should of been a second baby in it.