Viktor's Rework - Why it Sucks

[@krokojur2910]

As a former Viktor main I saw it and simply deleted the game

[@franc8023]

based

[@Sizzox]

Maybe they did this on purpose in order to finally help some of the league addicts quit? xd

[@feiht5487]

pathetic reason

[@eebbaa5560]

@@feiht5487 for real like come on

[@magmatt7]

Im also thinking about it, For sure i wont play new version, just ban it to prevent people from picking it.

[@dragoshift]

Literally all they needed to do was release arcane Viktor as a separate legendary skin and everyone would have loved it. So much wasted effort

[@AladiahV97]

Except the silhouette wouldn't match, and Arcane Viktor wouldn't look good with current Viktor's model. And yes, even if the model for legendary skins is different the silhouette must almost identical.

[@MlCRO]

they tried to merge the lore into a single world and even changed viktor

[@azealiabanks5969]

@@AladiahV97 they could obviously ajust the legendary to fit the in game league model of viktor, this wasnt impossible use ur brain

[@MaelCott1]

It's funny how the good things from arcane (rune halo, hair, coloring, mask shape) didn't go to the league model

[@Sizzox]

Yeah it’s honestly impressive how they managed to adapt all the wrong things xD

[@plectrumdust6871]

He's self-made!!!! Exactly!! That's the term I was looking for. I liked the idea that he became the way he was in his old lore through his hard work and intellect. The new viktor took the word "evolution" literally and needed help from Singed ugh. I guess the only thing I can hope for now is that they make a more Dr. Doom equivalent character in the lore or even in game AND give the new viktor a new kit. That eldritch mannequin/puppet swarm thingy is really interesting

[@plectrumdust6871]

Also the idea that he can possibly go toe-to-toe with mages/monsters/warriors using the tech that HE BUILT is much MUUUUCH cooler than just getting new powers cause of that weird arcane thing. They had a choice to expand and fix his "lore inconsistencies" without changing his concept that made him unique.

[@Sizzox]

Yeah I feel like the general consensus is that people LIKE the arcane version but they would have prefered that version to not come at the cost of the previous one. It’s just sad that it would have been so easy to go for a great middle ground where everyone could have been happy but now it just seems like everyone will be annoyed at least at something.

[@cyberflame5149]

​@Sizzox Honestly, I think if Viktor kept the machine aspect of his character with the evolution (or enhancement) of his machinery (through magic) would've been quite a nice idea for the Arcane version. They obviously stuck with magic, but it would've been super cool if they found a way to do both of they *really* wanted to stick with the magic theme.

[@Night-Shade.]

This is an unfortunate violating retcon. Why retcon the scientist researcher that uses technology to utilize magic to a generic magic dude? They took the things that made Viktor unique in lore and scrapped it. Arcane is supposed to expand lore not delete a character from existence. He's not even using hextech. He's just a magic dude. One thing I liked is that they made him skinny. Viktor was always had poor health and making him disturbingly skinny makes sense concerning his identity. Viktor is not even one my favorites in game, but I loved his original lore. I would be even more pissed if they retconned one my faves. I can't imagine what Viktor mains feel like rn

[@TheEclipse252]

It blows they ruined my favorite champ for no reason

[@davidsantiago7808]

U cant imagine it because there are none. That is why they are reworking him. He has a 1% pick rate across all regions.

[@Sizzox]

@davidsantiago7808 Yeah, how about a source for that mate? Mobalytics, op.gg and league of graphs all show him with a consistent pick rate of around 3-4%. And when considering that there are almost 50 mid laners in the game, that is not at all a bad percentage. This fake narrative that people don’t play him just needs to stop.

[@lisandroluduena1167]

​@@Sizzox even if it was the case Viktor needs a gameplay rework, the champ is cool but the gameplay is painfully unsatisfying for most people

[@Sizzox]

@@lisandroluduena1167 Well I can agree with that for some parts of his kit such as his W, Q and maybe passive. But his kit is gonna remain almost entirely the same. His ult can be evolved to grow on champion kills but that is like the only change.

[@eebbaa5560]

honestly viktor needed a visual update, but they really just dropped the ball tbh. i think his arcane design is actually quite good, but the writing kind of detracts from his motivations as a character and the actual in-game model is really pathetic. in the show, viktor looked like a cool and imposing character, so lore inconsistency aside, if they could have properly translated that design into the game it would have been a good rework. the problem isn't the redesign itself, but the actual implementation of it within the game; decent idea, awful execution.

[@DillonMeyer]

Old Viktor: "I am the very definition of a self-made man." New Viktor: "I got help from god."

[@xeeker4521]

Wish this specific video gets so much attention for those who doesn't understand fans who doesn't like the new lore.

[@Sizzox]

Thank you, I appreciate that :)

[@MistaPeanuts]

Sorry in advance for my English. I agree in a lot of things told in the video, such as the skins being downgraded and he being too fucking skinny. However, I think that there are some overstimated aspects from the Old version of Viktor that are kinda forgotten by this video and by the defenders of the Old Viktor. Story - Everything said about Viktor's lore in the video was right, but you forgot a very big aspect of Viktor's lore: he becomes fanactic. You said that he lets people choose to become a machine (of have aspects of some) or not, which is not true. Viktor later decides that you WILL become a machine, rather you like it or not, and this causes problems. Simply because Riot didn't know what to do with Viktor. Is he a good guy, who wants to fix people's physical problems with tech, such as body parts? Okay.. but Zaun already kinda does it? Specially looking at Legends of Runeterra, we can see that Viktor's idea to help people with tech isn't very original, people from Zaun already managed to do that, even tho with very less tech. Perhaps that is the main difference, he uses HEXTECH, with is very powerful in contrast with home-made tech from a typical Zaunite. Continuing the "good guy" story, Viktor helps some fellow people with some tech improvements, and even creates Blitzcrank, and when ordered to kill it, Viktor doesn't. So he is a person with empathy, he has humanity after all. HOWEVER, at the same time he is also a person who will kill you or turn you into a machine if he desires it... so really what's the deal? Is Viktor a good guy who helps people with hextec? Is he a maniac who turns people into robots against their will? He doesn't pick a side, and Riot was clearly lost on this. Also, Viktor's old design for me was very weird and... comical. He is a guy who refuses the flesh and decides that the better human is a machine human. Cool.. but where does he show it? He doesn't look robot at all. Sure, it may look like shit because of such an old model, but his arms don't look robotic, looks like an armor. His body looks also like he is wearing an armor, such as his legs... why isn't just his metal body? Also, the video complains about his Arcane mask (which i will talk about it), but.. why does the LoL version uses a mask? If he rejects humanity, why don't he simply have a robot head? For me, using that mask with his hair showing looks so goofy and pointless to me. He represents this transhumanist idea... but he doesn't apply to himself? It looks comical to me, and really hypocrite. Urgot is more transhumanist than Viktor himself. I could say that "oh he looks like that because it's his begginning of the transformation" (just like the Miss Fortune being an old version of herself, and Captain Fortune being the present) but then what's the point of the Prototype Viktor skin? VISUALS - Yeah.. new Viktor looks like ass. He is indeed too generic, too skinny and basically he is Hwei but.. Zaunite. This bad design choice must be because Riot keeps FUCKING LAYING OFF PEOPLE, such as the guy who was in charge of Shyvanna Rework. Thanks Riot. But talking about the Arcane mask, I kinda like it. I completely dissagree with the video when he says "it doesn't hide his face, why use a mask? Isn't it the purpose of a mask?" For me that's the difference, it is NOT a mask. It's his new face. It's a symetrical mixture of Viktor's face with Warwick's splitting it in half like a cosmic terror. It is weird, because it's supposed to be weird, afterall he looks like a monster but still.. it's so symetrical that it doesn't. Also his original third arm was also.. kinda goofy. Riot itself said that they didn't know what to do with his third arm so then it just became a laser shooting arm, and even tho I find if goofy as hell, it became too iconic to change. I really like the idea of the New Third Arm. In the video he says that it's pointless since he could do things of the Third Arm with is bare hands or staff.. I disagree. In my interpretation, his New Arm is surrounded by an aura full of Runes, and it twitches because he is using the Runes (like when Viktor was using with the HexCore) at very high speed. I still think that is has some design flaws like, yeah they let the arm because of convenience, but if they had it removed entirely, the LoL fanbase would explode. Anyway, i really would like to hear the opinion of others, and please correct me if I'm wrong about the lore. Everything i said was simply my opinion, and like i said, i completely get the outrage of the old Viktor enthusiatists, i just wanted to express some points that i think are kinda overlooked about his old design. Also this was my first long comment so, forgive me for my lack of pacing.

[@deadbymeme2311]

Thank you for your comment. Your english was great. It was a good read and i agree. :)

[@Sizzox]

First of all, your english was super great and this was one of the most level-headed takes I have seen about all this in days :p Not to say that I fully agree but you do raise some great points. About Viktors augments and his fanaticism, I do understand your point that a design like the one current Viktor has wouldn’t quite work since so many people in Zaun such as Sevika already has robotic limbs that seems to be somewhat easy to get hold of (at least if you have some money/influence). However, Jayce makes a great point in season 1 when talking to Silco where he sais that hextech would totally obliterate chemtech if Piltover and Zaun were ever gonna go to war. So as you mention, I do believe Viktors core theme of mechanical upgrades could still work very well if they make it clear that he is specialized in hextech. I do actually like how his fanaticism was done in the show where it sort of came from him being influenced by the arcane itself. That is also something that ties in well with the hextech since it’s based on magic and the show would therefore still work the way it is only with minimal changes on that front. Regarding his mask and hexclaw that part of the video is just very much my opinion and not really anything objective or factual. I’ll say this and it is that I do think his mask looks pretty dumb with the split face behind it and such. Again, it is just my opinion and it’s not even something that bothers me much but I thought I’d still bring it up in the video mainly because it has been a somewhat contested point of discussion. I get what they were going for with it and I do think it’s s cool concept. It just sort of rubs me the wrong way in this instance. Maybe because they changed the character so much and then the huge focus on the mask all the time makes it seem like they made the mask different just for the simple reason that they could. As a sort of cherry on top or whatever. The arm I am more fine with and I’ve actually changed my mind a little about what I said about it in the video. The arm *does* have a purpose and I spoke a little bit unfairly towards it in the video. Either way, thanks for taking the time to write! I always like to be able to have my opinions challenged and you did so in a very clear and respectful way. People have a habit of getting carried away when qritiquing these things so that they just say random crap that aren’t even problems really and that is something I would like to avoid if I can.

[@MistaPeanuts]

@@Sizzox Hey! Thanks a lot for responding me and for the exchange of ideas! It was my first time watching your video and, even tho I disagreed with a lot of things, I really liked your style of commenting and analysing.I would really like to know what do you think about the arc of Warwick/Vander and your opinion about the design his design. About your response, I understand your opinion about his new face and I completely agree with the lore aspect. They could simply update it and just fix some plotholes of the old lore (since Riot is relatively better at writing lore than in the past), but I know that they want the Arcane Series to be the new canon so... yeah, it's a shame that we lost the Transhumanist Viktor and had to settle with the Arcane Viktor (from which i really loved his arc on Arcane, i find it pretty much perfect, but it's sad that we had to lose the original concept). When watching the interview with Necrit with one of Fortiche's employees, it's clear that they just wanted to make a new take of League's lore, not really thinking too big about the reflect on the impact on LOL. This is why they did not care about putting Blitz, Zeri, Twitch or Camille, they had no idea that what they were doing would simply become THE CANON, and I think Viktor's lore just got caught by it. They made the Season 1 remaking Viktor, making his relation with the Hexcore a new take on a new version of Viktor, and then boom! Riot Games says "guys what you make is canon, and since you already made the Viktor Hexcore and it's too late to turn back on his design, finish it and do your thing". I'm kinda glad that they did not hold back his Arcane design with concerns of adapting to LoL gameplay (CELESTIAL VIKTOR GOES HARD AF) but damn the Riot Team had a very tough decision: either simply update his visual to modern standard and ignore the new Canon lore, only making the lore skin Arcane Viktor (just like the Jayce Skin); or COMPLETELY REWORK and change Viktor's design and habilities to match with the Arcane version, like using his "healing" powers and metal robots (from which I kinda would prefer it...) but yeaaaah simply deleting an old champoin would be such a hot mess... imagine how MORE toxic Viktor's Reddit place would be if that happened. Sadly, we got none of above, and only got a very shit and lazy take combining both of them, getting a "VGU" that just looks like a scam. Sucks to be a LoL Fan After rewatching your video, I totally get your critics. Viktor went, from both in LoL and Season 1 Arcane, to a self-made inventor using the hextech and making inventions, to a Herald of the Arcane. I think that they just wanted to make a new take on Viktor's lore, I will talk more about it later on. About the new model and gameplay of Viktor, I completely agree. They messed up so bad, I didn't even paid attention to his In-game mask..... Jesus it looks bad. Also, they totally lost some details of the skins and I really doubt they will remake it since I am certain that their team is totally focused in the next thematic season. Looks like they only left us a Half Baked Viktor and now are too busy to cook it properly. I really hope that now that Fortiche is warned that *what they do is canon*, that they will take in account the Champions Lore and Gameplay in consideration from the beginning while they do the adaptation to the series. Because let's be honest.... If Riot managed to get such a big backlash by messing with a niche champion such as Viktor.... imagine how bad things will get if they do the same mistake with Leblanc, Riven or Katarina. Or worse.. what if they mess with the Ionian's champs.... oh god save us from the riots against Riot. Thanks for reading, and can't wait to see new videos from you!

[@Sizzox]

@MistaPeanuts Well when it comes ro Warwick I sort of have the same problem with his as I have with Viktor but not exactily. In episodes 3-6 he looks much more ”human” than his game model. Or at least his face does. This is not a problem in itself, I actually think it’s a good thing since it makes it easier for is to see his emotions when he interacts with Vi and Powder. I actually loved those 3 episodes and I almost lost my shit at the end of episode 5 with the whole ”he’s your dad too” moment and the flashback before it. When he got blown up by Isha in episode 6 I totally expected Singed to revive him or something using his regeneration and that he would then regrow his head but more wolf like. After all, he was shot in the head, and having to regrow his brain would be a fitting way for him to lose his memories (kind of like the movie ”wolverine” if you’ve seen that terrible film). But when we see him again in episode 9 he obviously looked very different in order to fit in with Viktors new zombie army. And then it seems like WW dies in the end? So like… he’s not gonna look totally wolf like either? I guess it is possible that WW survived that fall, but it is a lot to assume that he lived through both the fall, the bomb as well as Viktors evolution. But if he DIDNT survive the ending then it just seems like Warwick players won’t really get their champ fully represented either. So far it doesn’t seem like WW will be changed in game but I mean.. why wouldn’t he? If the arcane version is meant to be his new canon look then technically it would make sense ro change him right? I don’t think that’s gonna happen (nor do i think it should) because it seems like riot have just been hand picking what arcane changes should actually be in game now because they can’t realistically adapt the entire game based on arcane. The big problem seems to be that the creators of arcane made a really good show and riot then decided that: ”Cool.. We’re copying it!” And in reality it’s not that simple lol I have actually started making a new video about how some of the non-Viktor champs were affected so I’ll upload that when it’s done :) Glad you enjoyed what I made! :D

[@MythChains]

I can see a line they can take to fix some things. If Viktors story after Arcane removes the anomaly (went poof or smth) he could have a need to fix his body with tech, and possibly again starting to give that tech to Zaun, moving him closer to the old Viktor, he had ports on his body and if his body downgrades to something like pre ep 8 now without the anomality, mask can even be needed since the evolution split his original face, just a possibility since i could still see him regrowing a cult, (Zauns problems won't be fixed like that even if Savika got a seat on the board)

[@Sizzox]

That’s a great idea actually and it could work for a perfect middle ground. The only reason why I doubt it could ever happen is because then it’s just a strange choice to remake his in-game design if he’ll just adapt the more traditional look again anyway after the events of arcane. Still, it’s a a strange choice regardless that the in-game champion is based on the arcane character that looked like that for like 1 day in the new lore of the show lol

[@MythChains]

@Sizzox who knows, but the reaction hasn't been good and i don't think Viktors story can continue with almost godly power, and I really like Viktor in arcane, all the way, but he needs to come down to the rest of zaun and piltover, actually help and possibly still a bit culty

[@samm-sung5104]

the very lesson Viktor learnt at the end of the series is "imperfections make us authentic, the only prize for perfection is the end of the search", and you're saying that he needs to forget everything he learnt and go back to being old edgy Dr Doom copypaste Viktor? After so many years they've finally advanced his lore in a significant way and you're saying that it should be reverted? Also, i don't know how he's going to go back to Zaun since he was absorbed with Jayce by the acceleration rune, so he's mostly in other place in time trying to unmake his mistakes with his best friend.

[@Sizzox]

@@samm-sung5104 Technically that was the old version of Viktor who had been through that development but yeah, I guess the younger Viktor got to at least see that memory at the very least… would be very hard to provide a reason why he’d revert. But yeah, I’d really like my Dr. Doom clone back tyvm

[@czerodziej9287]

Bro you COOKED, this is the best solution i saw to the problem, we need to spread this, so as many people hear about this.

[@xeeker4521]

7:00 like as I commented to many videos, they could've just made jayce work tirelessly to revive Viktor learning his research on the hexcore and replacing some of his body a prosthetics, mechanics and stuffs essentially turning him into a cyborg. people say his old self isn't a cyborg because a mask and armor like... A CYBORG IS HALF HUMAN HALF MACHINE, FULL BORG IS A NO HUMAN PARTS LEFT... Anyways everything could play out as the same Viktor decided to help shimmered people by replacing some of their flesh into prosthetics making them cyborgs and the hexcore can be like a matrix a computer network but magic and then the community Viktor started can be a place where Cyborg people lives along with Sentient Machines. And the whole thing still plays out the same and like you said Viktor would upgrade himself after being blasted by jayce and making his body like Adam Smasher but with some human parts left and in the end the hexcore corrupted him because of shimmer is from the void and yeah that's everything I can think of.

[@tak8850]

You guys are delusional to think that Riot will prior 10 viktor mains over thousands of Arcane fans. Arcane viktor sucks in Lol lore but he keeps the money rolling in

[@HyakuSh1ki]

They took the coolest looking cyborg man in moba and made him look like Hwei, that's my biggest problem with the new Viktor.

[@Jummugest]

Dude his original design is generic as.

[@hsnzn1231]

@@Jummugest it looks generic to you because he is been around for your whole life you 10 yo r3t4rd

[@emadhafiz3507]

@@Jummugest While I agree with you to some degree, his old design brought an archetype that doesn't exist anymore in lol after the rework.

[@evil_forestman]

@Jummugest How generic? As generic as the new skin and bones male design?

[@Jummugest]

@ I’m not familiar with all the skins. Core Victor is just really vanilla cyborg.

[@TheEphemeralEternity]

I think it is a moot point whether we like old or new viktor more, but I agree with your notions about him being self made. While his own intelligence had "opened his eyes" to the potentials of machinery, new viktor "had his eyes opened" to evolution by hextech. Beyond the vehicle, the main difference is the autonomy of the situation. Still, the new lore provides a more interesting dichotomy with Jayce: they get along well, but they are always 2 halves of the same idealistic coin. It delves deeper into the what-if scenario of a brilliant scientist and altruistic human being gaining nearly limitless magic. It sounds like the perfect formula for paradise..But it's not. That's a VERY hard concept to manifest in a story coherently, but this is where arcane Victor shines; and having him come back to his senses in Arcane still lends more to that sense of autonomy from the original, he just needed a little help. Overall, I don't mind the change. I like old viktor's design far better, but I like the new lore of viktor a lot. They should have let it burn slower than 2 episodes for sure; but, if they released the arcane skin as a legendary/ultimate OR kept old viktor as a classic skin, then I think people would have been way more accepting. Edit: Also, the notion of the mask not really being used to cover his face is likely because it's actually symbolic (or literally) the expression of the Arcane being parasitic and using Viktor as its host.

[@roiking2740]

Its a reverse garden of Eden story, instead of eating of the fruit of knowledge Viktor rejects it. He proclaims that its more than worthwhile to sacrifice the good in order to destroy the bad. Viktor like many scientist is blinded by cold logic and is incapable of making moral choices. Morality can only be produce with logic that is combine with human emotional errors, otherwise the machine would always reach the same conclusion. The end of life.

[@kingofmetal256]

Viktor that never played the champ fucking love it, but will only play it the first month of release. Thats the worst

[@void-creature]

1:23 YES! 100% ABSOLUTELY. At its heart and at its best, Arcane has ALWAYS been a tale of two cities and two sisters. So the fact that neither Vi, nor Jinx NOR ZAUN as a whole (with the very slight exception of Ekko) really matter at all in the finale is beyond baffling to me. The season 1 finale does this so brilliantly and elegantly too, which is why it's so disappointing. Had the entirety of Zaun including the sisters, but excluding Ekko (who could've gotten to the battle some other way) been written out prior to the finale, genuinely nothing important would've changed. Are the people who actually matter in the finale (Jayce & Viktor, Cait Mel & Ambessa) still important? Yes, absolutely, and the finale is still undeniably good... But just really disappointing

[@loopyslop]

with all the time skips Id be really interested in exploring events taking place during these massive holes in Arcanes story timeline, because Im not upset with anything that happens in Season 2, I just would have liked more time getting there and a little more time fleshing out some of the world building and context that would make these really cool moments in season 2 feel even more epic or impactful. I know they had a lot of scenes that got cut of Ekko and Jinx rallying the undercity before the big battle which I understand why it got cut, to make their intro to the fight more exciting but I feel like now would be a great time to release some of the stories like that as like one off episodes or something to fill in the gaps... I would love a show that maybe doesnt focus on Vi and Jinx but has the events of arcane as a backdrop and fills in some gaps. Like what was going on while Vi was in Prison, what was Caitlyns reign as fascist dictator under Ambessas thumb like for the people of Piltzover and Zaun, what was life like for the firelights without Ekko and Heimer, What went on with Mel and the Blackrose and what was her trek back to Piltzover like? What was Sevika up to during the majority of Act III, Did Singed ever take Warwick out for a test run and prowl the undercity? How did Vi getting into pit fighting and what was the deal with Loris, what was his story?

[@Dragonzzilla]

Arcane!Viktor isn't perfect, as you said, but it's fine for an adaptation of the source material - they wanted an apocalyptic threat to close things out, and they made one. It's divergent, which isn't necessarily a bad thing... but, obviously, since LOL started and remains foremost a video game, if you want to onboard fans of your hit show, having such a difference of character may turn away that new audience. Hence why they're making these gestures of canonizing Arcane, for broader appeal (in spite of the ripple effect on the surrounding lore that you KNOW they won't touch because they weren't directly part of Arcane). And that's the problem. Instead of meeting halfway for this reconciliation - taking the best parts of Arcane!Viktor and ADAPTING them into Old!Viktor - they're favoring one side entirely; an adaptation consuming its own foundation, as if it had no unique merits of its own. It feels corporately motivated. But that's League of Legends for you. Fantastic clay, but its shape will always be dictated by a capricious patron.

[@Sizzox]

Couldn’t have said it better myself and trust me, I tried :p

[@sleepylilac69]

'when jayce blew viktor to bits' 🤨

[@mixtysix8541]

I like the VGU and everything to do with Arcane Viktor. That being said, they should make a traditional skin.

[@loopyslop]

I definitely agree, I prefer new Viktor but would love to see a traditional vik skin

[@victorpouderoux1122]

As a Viktor main as well, I agree with your take. However, I have to say I do like certain aspects of some skins , Prototype and Ex Machina, to be exact. The skinny figure fits better in those skins since Prototype represents a young, incomplete version of Viktor before his changes, and Ex Machina is a full robot, so it’s less jarring as well. Their two new splash arts are also really great. I also like the new split cape on the updated appearance , it’s more dynamic than what we used to have. But apart from that, I agree that everything else is just a straight downgrade or simply weird looking.

[@luizfma3244]

i don't know why everyone is susprised. When they killed asol completely and replaced him with a different character i already foresaw an arcane character being changed drastically, in a way almost none of the mains would like but the public would eat it up. This "protest" won't amount to much.

[@matoupetou]

Thank you for opinion. I really hope they'll do something.

[@davidsantiago7808]

Riot probably felt it was time to rework viktor because he is old and no one plays him. I play him often myself but lets be honest he has like a 1% pick rate in most regions. He is both weak in the early game and he gets outscaled by a lot of thr good mid laners. Hes stuck in a position where riot has to buff him to be playable but if they do that he will be broken. So a rework has to happen. Not even to mention the fact that reworks generate revenue very easily. So its a win win for riot. This is all from a game perspective of course. I somehwat agree that the old design is better though and they did do his lore a bit dirty near the end of season 2. It was good up until the cocoon.

[@void-creature]

It's such a shame because it started out so unbelievably strong. I even love that Jayce is actually the one that forces the Hexcore onto Viktor, explicitly against his whishes, it's something that makes their dynamic so much more interesting than the original "Viktor stole from Jayce" and reinfoces how much of Viktor's life is forced on him without his consent and then makes his own, active decision to walk away from Jayce to go and do the thing he always wanted to do, to help the people who need him most desperately all the more empowering (if we ignore that he's being led along by Sky, but since that never goes anywhere I will) It completely flips the frankly a little tired trope of "ooh, suffering makes us human so this transhumanist trying to erase suffering is really just erasing humanity" that old Viktor was adhering to and challenges it in a very real and fresh way, that such thinking is very easy for the privileged, but unbelievably condescending towards those forced to live in absolute squalor and misery, how may not have any other choice. It was incredibly promising, only to the immediately fall into EXACTLY that same old tired trope of "ohh, he thinks he's fixing them, but really he's just replacing them with mindless drones, spooky isn't it?" Which is just so disappointing. Like, are we supposed to take away from this that just leaving Huck and the other addicts to suffer and die is BETTER than healing them???? Not saying they should have portrayed his actions as unambiguously good, a nuanced exploration of the blurry line between "healing" and "replacing" would have been really interesting, and something arcane is usually really good at, but that's just not what we got.

[@timoteus5062]

i think you missed som things about viktors character in arcane... viktor in arcane season 2 is the personification of ai. how unstoppable it is once it exists. the lenghts it will go to for something it believes is right. how it emerges from and outshines humanity in every possible way, like a blooming flower which is what the mask is symbolic for. and ofc, how it destroys what we call humanity. We saw viktor making alterations to his body in season one and ultimately deciding he was going down the wrong path, but jayce healed him with his own dangerous creation and it took a hold on him. this represents the struggle we have with ai in real life. Viktor as a character explores what we call all things internet. how connecting many different minds ultimately destroys what makes them individuals to begin with leaving Viktor alone in an empty world in the alternate timeline

[@warlocke1894]

Yeah the "VGU" is the thing that annoys me the most since its not even a VGU rather they did an ASU with a mid-scope update on one ability and thats it. It frustrates me since his kit doesn't fit and empower the fantasy of his new look. I'd rather like Viktor to receive a full VGU and expand his thematic of an evolving robot guy gameplay and just give him a free Arcane skin OR have a VGU centered around his Arcane fantasy and just give him a free traditional skin.

[@kalev_knight]

Counter point on twink physic. Between full cyborg and crippled scientists would it not follow that “humanity is weakness but humanity can be perfected. therefore get buff as hell to remove weakness”

[@konokermitda]

but isnt that twink physic a humanity flaw itself? I don't think he got buff but just changed some of his human parts with metal to look more perfect and heathy since he was sick from an early age. Which would perfectly align with his view on evolution, because the point of it is to not get tied down to something that you cannot control as human such as illness (which is probably his strongest motivation). And if your problem is about the body then what about blitz? He is an invention of viktor and hes not beefy or buffed. It was purely subjective to viktors view about how he wanted a healthy body that fitted him. imo if he stays skinny as the show, it is perfectly fine but it doesnt show any progress and the take of evolution gets eliminated from the champion just because some wild natured power changed him, as far as I know, he didnt choose that alien type design.

[@kalev_knight]

@@konokermitda my logic is before cybernetic augmentation but during the evolution to the max ideology would stand a desire to reach peak body performance. Even the old skin had human looking buff elements like the wider legs. While i agree screwing up the lore for hero’s like blitz is a far more fundamental problem I wasn’t commenting on that here

[@konokermitda]

@@kalev_knight I'm sorry I didn't understood you well.

[@kalev_knight]

@@konokermitda no problem i am rather “challenged” when it comes to communicating with others to put it in acceptable terms

[@yuriislife2381]

LoR Viktor brought me to main him, and now it's gone

[@BajaLaNavaja]

at least Viktor lor is still cool 😫

[@ShardofWant]

His face splits in half if you look. The mask isn’t covering his face each side is further apart.

[@TwinklingMysticShot]

Tysm for making this I love you so much you are the best!!!!

[@duwanglover3424]

I think you touched it perfectly. Theyre removing the aesthetics and lore of the champion that I loved while keeping his gameplay almost untouched. I wouldnt even complain nearly as much if they didnt half bake this "VGU" and actually reworked his kit. Then I could at least say my Midlane Main is gone.

[@Sizzox]

Yeah… it would honestly be easier to let go if they just changed his kit as well.

[@TauonTu]

I disagree.

[@ceropuntocinco]

I like the mask "in the show" it represents how he reach enlightment, since his face is surging from the head. But originql Victor is cooler.

[@franciscoOrellana29]

I wasn't very familiar with Viktor's character before Arcane even though I've been playing lol for like 7 years now, I thought he looked ok, a bit dated in some parts and I would have liked to see more cyborg than just big armor. Now, his version of Arcane I already knew from the end of the first season that they would not make him do mechanical parts, first because the character did not seem to specialize in that, the only mechanical thing he really did was the hexclaw but it never seems that he was interested in mechanical parts, Sure they could have changed that in the second season but they did go for something more biomechanical so to speak? And my opinion of his last transformation is that I like some aspects of it, in fact I really like the almost skeletal body, I wouldn't have liked it if he had simply become muscular but I like that his size grew if you compare him with Jayce but he still maintains his original structure. They definitely went more of a "body horror" route with that one, the mask conflicts me because I like the shape and how the hair flows better than the hair on his lol version, the split face where his cheeks are seems a bit much to me, his new face is supposed to be him abandoning his humanity completely but they decided to still leave those portions of his old face there I really disliked that, and well the thing about him looking like a generic mage, that's a generalization, the only thing that's a mage is his clothes and the staff, and well he simply has the clothes and the staff is something personal of his so I could understand why he kept it, and the hex claw is there for some reason? I feel like it would have been better if they had clarified or shown that he went to his laboratory and fused that device with his body than just having it out of nowhere, in general I like Arcane's design but what they did in his rework was terrible It doesn't look like Arcane or its old version so we all lose there xD

[@loopyslop]

I personally feel like the ingame model looks pretty okay compared to Arcanes version, though would have loved the blanket and hood look haha, but the biggest issue for me with in game viktor is that his kit feels so weird knowing how he is in Arcane, which I do vastly prefer compared to his old design which did not feel cyborg to me much at all (the third hand looking like the hamburger helper glove) and I personally believe we have better robots and cyborgs in League, like Urgot, Camille, Oriana, not blitzcrank because he has a super dated model "Still super lovable though lol"

[@Matsk1]

*He still rejects humanity and flesh himself and upgrades himself. When ordering singed to begin the process victor ia the one using it not just being changed as singed says himself "it all depends on victor" as he can as well kill himself *Mask splits the face leaving husk of humanti that you barley recognize yet is to strange to call face. And it is not realy a mask. The efect where we se his face behind broken mask is shown in the hex anomaly plane not in real world as it just glows. *Hexclaw has more purpuse than old one tbh. It is constantly casting runes and controling the army. I get why people do not like new desgin. It would suck to have changed a character i liked. Personally i like new victor couse i never cared for the old one. I always just saw him as a generic "robots are better" villain like character in dr.doom armor. This version is different and i don't see it as just a mage with a staff and a cape. I can say that his skins suffered on this new direction for him. But between base desgins i prefer the new one.

[@Sizzox]

For your first point that *could* be true but if so then it’s only implied at best. It is very unclear how much control arcane Viktor actually has over his transformation and the way his mentality switches so fast, especially in episode 8, it makes it very hard for me to believe that his new changes is because he himself wants it and not because the arcane corruption is influencing him. Regarding his mask I understand what they were going for but it just seems so random considering that the rest of his body didn’t grow any additional features. Up until that point in the show, his arms, legs and torso was just replaced with arcane metal rather than being metal that grew through and on top of his skin. But as soon as his face is changed this pattern is suddenly broken. You’re sort of right about the hexclaw though. It makes sense that an additional part of him is added that can assist with specifically handling the magic and control. It actually serves more of a purpose.

[@diogamas]

What also bothers me is that in season 1 they foreshadowed the Viktor's engineered mechanical arm.. why did the arcane viktor's cosmic entity feel the need to create an extra limb that also shoots lasers and also combine runes? I cant get it

[@diogamas]

Oh nice, you adressed it!!

[@average_oddity]

idk any of the lore, but i personally like the visual design of the original more, except for the final scenes in arcane. i though it was a interesting take, instead of him following this path by his own choice he was swept along by the power of his creations

[@yoggsaron8968]

I see only one salvation. It is more of an afterthought and might be hard to do, but we could get a Gangplank treatment. If Arcane is cannon, that would mean Victor somewhat died. That arcane herald could become a temporary main appearance, but then they could release a comic of how Victor rises again through their new definition of arcane, but it also poses the issue of comics, where dwath is meaningless even more than it already is in League. But I suppose that's what you get hiring designers from Tumblr.

[@kakii1331]

very good video and underrated channel. Good luck man!

[@Sizzox]

Thank you! :D

[@caiuscosades362]

From what I gathered the hexcore was supposed to represent rampant AI and Viktor transformation is more based on software than hardware. This rework isn't nearly as bad as what they did to Trundle.

[@drewude327]

the idea of everything in arcane being the same except viktor fixing himself back up and going after jayce as a cyborg is so cool. wish we lived in that reality

[@icepl831]

...the in game model looks... ...demacian... like a rebel mage

[@shadowone01x99]

I loved that the songs are not just placed because they sound cool on superficial level. *ALL* the Arcane songs were exquisitely perfect to the allocated scenes not just in its music, beats or flow but also in its contextually fitting lyrics which feed to the story of the scene. It's utterly brilliant which added a richness to the audience immersion and impact!!

[@ogre7699]

Whilst I don't dislike how Arcane did Viktor, I do dislike them opting to rework Viktor entirely, instead of them doing an Arcane Skin for him. Especially if it felt half arsed. I also dislike that Arcane is outright canon now, rather than it's seperate thing. Arcane is great and all, but it should've remained it's own seperate thing so that it could both be unique in how it approaches characters, and would've made Arcane's Viktor all the more unique and cooler, whilst also not having to consider if the characters translate well into the game and the new lore or not. This gets especially messy when you try figuring out if League of Legends, the game itself, is actually canon in any capacity or not, considering that Heimerdinger, who's probably dead, and Ambessa, who's absolutely dead, are present as if nothing happened to them. Arcane cannot be canon, and then have dead characters from the show appear in the games, if the games themselves are at all meant to be canon somehow. I'm a casual guy when it comes to League, so I can't say for certain if this is the case or not, but my point is that if this IS the case, it's going to be a fucking nightmare for Riot, and they have only themselves to blame, when it literally was just easier to say that "Arcane is it's own continuity." They've also not handled the Arcane tie-ins particularly well in some cases, especially with Jinx. You're paying an absurd price for her specifically (to my understanding anyways, not familiar with how they go about these specific skins, and frankly, I don't want to be familiar with it either), and she's pretty much giving you less compared to other skins apparently, like Elementalist Lux. I think more egregious is that none of said Jinx skins come with the hood, which fans would've gone absolutely crazy for. Not even kidding, it was a great look for her, and they don't even bother to include it, especially to make the Arcane Jinx stand out more amongst the others. And whilst I don't dislike Jinx Fixes Everything, I do dislike that it's probably going to be a limited time thing, and that there's no indication if the exclusive Singed skin tied to it is going to be available anywhere else later once that's gone. Also, Singed being the skin tied to that is pretty fucking weird. Not a Jinx skin, not even a Vi skin, but Singed of all people. Well, I guess he saved her life in Arcane, but she wasn't exactly going to be aware of it unless Silco told her straight up, which I doubt. Although again, they half arsed it. That's the biggest crime of all, really. Viktor needed a lot more love than what he got, and he should've gotten the treatment that Fiddlesticks got. Fiddlesticks went from some Scooby Doo villain, to the kind of thing that nightmares are made out of (suck it, Nocturne). Fiddlesticks is absolutely awesome, and a god tier rework. So why couldn't they try a bit harder with Viktor? What's their excuse? It's times like these that remind me that Riot are sometimes the absolute worst, and not even an amazing animated series can fix that kind of problem, only make you forget the problems for a time. They need to do better. Not even a Viktor guy, but man, you guys got done dirty. I'll give them this though. Whilst it is another fucking humanoid one, we did kind of get a new monster champion with the rework, and those are REALLY rare to see these days from Riot. So it's not a complete L, but man, at the expense of the old Viktor? Yeah, it just doesn't work.

[@toyue4201]

I saw the leaks from the Arcane Concept book and apparently Viktor already had a super awesome re-design that kept the Cyborg power fantasy. However, for whatever reasons the writers went against it and made Viktor a literal Prophet mutating through magic through his tech touching the "Arcane" as well Singed Shimmer. I haven't played leage since Season 7, but I kept myself updated since I loved the characters and their stories. Having Viktor as one of my favorite lose his core concept... it disappoints me, especially because as you pointed out, Arcane S1 still kept that development open.

[@loopyslop]

I mean I personally prefer the Prophet approach, he is still gloriously evolving but his whole thing is he wants to reduce suffering and pain so the biomechanical upgrades makes sense and it also diversifies him to characters like Urgot or Camille who both dont care about viktors aims for peace and believe in upgrading themselves with Chemtech and Hextech respectively to strip away the weakness and dominate their enemies. Urgot feels more like old viktor now than new viktor and Im not too upset about that though I totally understand why so many people are, I still miss my old plague troll trundle lol but at least we got a traditional skin for him.

[@skourthsgiaoyrths9610]

the problem for me is the same as with every champion they rework. Viktor could stay as is. There s absolutely no problem for machine herald viktor to still be arround and for the arcane viktor as well. The story telling was amazing, what they should have done is rename the character. literally give him a different name. it would be jayce, the arcane dude and OG viktor. and it would be easy for viktor to jump to the conclusion that machine augmentation is far better than arcane since an apocalyptic event can happen depending on the person corrupted by the runes. Anyways im fine with the new viktor story, im just hating on his looks, the old viktor was so iconinc and cool. The newer femboy viktor cant come close to how cool OG viktor is

[@angelcortez462]

Amman I like a lot of aspects if the new Viktor but the execution boils down to just a purple guy, the concept art looks way better,it’s similar to the final product although he has wider shoulder which makes him more menacing as well as more metal with his forearms having another layer that makes it look like armor, Im just disappointed with the final product and I’m one of the few people that likes the new Viktor :(

[@slyan1]

i dont even play lol or know anything bout the gameplay or else. But even still i can tell a vialotion when i see one. Besides which ever viktor is the best, i dont comprehend the need to change things in game; this is just gona pose more problems for themselves when shows about other champions are released

[@longkhongvan254]

I hope Riot learns from the feedback, and tightens up future shows. The second season was still good television for average viewers, but they really shot themselves in the foot in the long run with these retcons. A Runeterra cinematic universe would be so dope, but I'm afraid they won't even get it going before people stop caring about it, like the mcu today.

[@Ekolas66]

I just wish for a way to keep old Victor in game, even if it's in a skin form. Ult looks ok, but the frail body doesn't gives me "Glorious evolution" vibes. Also some skins staff are just terrible.

[@aquiledelrosa]

I do find great that viktor become some sort of prophet, but he would be perfect if the arcane had fucking him up, then he realise that the only way, is the strenght of steel.

[@Sizzox]

Aaaaah man that could have been so great! His horrible experiences with magic would have been a perfect motivator for him to get back to the drawing board and to try and find a new way to improve with more traditional tech. Man, that would have been so cool to explore

[@aquiledelrosa]

@Sizzox i do find kinda bad ppl isnt defending ekko lore too, ekko was this insanely smart guy, now in arcane he needed help from everyone, and he become in the end "just a brawler"

[@mertruc.5242]

Augment to evolve concept completely gone which was the whole god damm point of the character

[@GCDio]

I dont main Viktor but I understand the sentiment as I was a Warwick main, and they did my boy dirty, especially in the last two episodes. I love the lore update, but transforming him into a mindless drone was extremely disappointing.

[@BajaLaNavaja]

I'm completely convinced that the arcane writers don't even like the characters they based their story on, they don't retain any fundamental parts of their lore or personality. Caitlyn lol would put her Arcane counterpart in jail for her crimes for example.

[@galanga21890]

The really stupid part of all this is that they actually had concept art that still had this twinkified build but his overall design was clearly more mechanical, so somewhere down the line they were either forced to or randomly decided to give him a more organic look for no other reason than that it's what Arcane did. Like, how come Caitlyn's asu made it so that her in-game version is actually what she becomes after Arcane (so she still gets to keep most of her og look with some changes), but Viktor couldn't get the same? It makes no sense.

[@loopyslop]

okay but Caits original design shouldn't of been worth saving... the new look is better but I would so much rather have the new Cait... And well we got skins so that works perfect... REALLY hope they give Vik a traditional skin with that mechanical design, his old fans deserve it.

[@pralenkaman8105]

I tried viktor recently and I enjoyed him quite a bit, we know they're keeping the kit qith some minimal but welcome changes, as long as they don't mess with damage values much I'm ok with his rework, I really don't mind his new design, unfortunately due to the model quality in league I don't think he is done a lot of justice, like you barely can see his split face behind the mask, which was the big thing about his new design, so that is quite the shame, I do hope they make a classic viktor skin so that people who mained him prior to the vgu can still enjoy their character Also I wanted to comment on viktor doesn't build things anymore after he merges with the hexcore, by the scene of him helping vander, we know that he is the one that helps people affected by shimmer, he is the one that "saves" the person trapped in there, so he built that community with the powers gifted to him Also the mask like you said is an allegory to viktor denying his humanity and it's not a random thing that he didn't choose, he said to singed, he could do it, he could fuse apex shimmer with apex hextech to create the ultimate scientific experiment, he chose to discard his humanity and his mask kinda looking like warwick's face is an incorporation of that apex shimmer part. His face also, like I mentioner above, splits, kinda like those biblical accurate angels, kinda shows his non human nature, I think his design is good, but again, you also mentioned it, the league model really doesn't do him justice

[@boldisorstefan9020]

You have to understand that this is not a movie company, but a gaming one!

[@krakenpriest]

this was a really cool watch, of course no one will ever happy about changes to characters but as cool as arcane is it feels like a misdirection to full ride it into league even if its canon. so far it seems to self create red tape for things that "need" or might need change all for the sake of keeping continuation with arcane. New viktor seems to be the victim of this, the design execution definatly feels off even if he might of needed a visual update. but even non arcane champs like shyvana are feeling the arcane effects, they been talking about her getting reworked for a while now and recently they straight up delayed her release until she shows up in any future canon shows... arcane is really cool but is it worth making league revolve around it? only time will tell leauge has had some really cool lore potential for a while and not everyones gonna be happy with it all but i just hope it doesnt trickle into making the game less fun. anyways sick video i learned a lot about pre rework victor lore i didnt know and its always cool to see league character mains hold a special passion for their champs. cheers

[@Sizzox]

Thanks man, that’s kind of you to say! :D And yeah I do sort of feel like maybe Arcane and League should stay as separate things. It doesn’t really make sense for League to have to adapt based on a TV show and it honestly doesn’t really make sense for Arcane to have to keep every lore detail from League in mind either. All of this only matters because riot dug themselves this hole and decided that arcane is now the canon lore.

[@lennycurses]

Honestly, I think the treatment they gave Viktor as an Arcane character is splendid, and although it is true that it was a bit rushed, I loved the story they gave him. I definitely prefer him as a friend and to some extent a counterpart to Jayce, and I like that the Glorious Evolution is more on the magic side (something constant in the Runeterra lore) than transhumanist. Although I like the "cyberpunk" overtones that the original character has, it feels like something very exclusive to Piltover and Zaun, and by extension it made Viktor, at least in my opinion, unable to transcend as a character outside that region (unless they superimposed technology over magic in the entire lore). The only drawback that Arcane's Viktor has is that he emerged from a previous version of the character that the public had already grown fond of. I think the old Viktor (or the concept behind it) would work very well as a chembaron in the new lore. Especially considering that in League there is only Renata as a champion holding that title. It would certainly be a good idea to rescue some of the visual and narrative concepts of the old Viktor and integrate them into the story of a new champion: one who is created to be a villain only for Piltover and Zaun, as Viktor originally was years ago.

[@mime514]

I’m not even halfway through the video and: wow. This makes so much sense, you expressed things so eloquently. I’m not a LoL fan at all, I got introduced to the fandom by Arcane. Thank you for pointing things out! I feel like the second season lost some of the charm and care of the first one, and I’d hate to see this franchise go through a similar fate as Marvel: starting out being universally beloved and praised and then slowly decaying into fanservice mush and half baked plot points tethered to cool visuals…. That’s my biggest fear regarding Arcane/its spinoffs: being there just for the sake of existing and making money.

[@nedron7346]

perfect summery, hope they will work in it

[@vaneetsharma2153]

I'm with you dog

[@Kutomi1]

I'm an Arcane fan who doesn't play League, nor do I intend to ever start playing it (I have played a bit in the past but didn't like it much so I thankfully stopped before getting addicted lol) but even I'm disappointed they decided to overwrite the original lore with Arcane's. It seems clear to me that the writers of the show didn't intend to make a new canon, and it was just meant to be it's own iteration without any real effect on the game, but Riot saw Arcane's success and decided to make it canon just for profit. I would've loved to delve into 2 different lores, one being the game canon and one being the shows, but alas, corporate greed ruins art once more.

[@marshall3753]

could be cool if they make the w into some sort of summon on arcane robot that grabs people leading into a stun

[@d3lusional.]

i saw the new viktor and ill be reborn into a viktor main soon, i love the twinkisha we're getting, def buying the upcoming skin as well xoxo

[@mstrikerwildrift]

Not a Viktor main but I agree with everything you said. Subscribed.

[@czerodziej9287]

The least they gave us is the prototype viktor skin, his abilities are the color of old viktor.

[@joaopereira2762]

I think they shlould either rework him fully and chance some abilities or not touch him at all.

[@Sizzox]

Or just update his model and stick to the theme like they did with Ahri, Caitlyn and Teemo. Let’s face it, there are tons of other champs that needed s complete redesign more.

[@shadowone01x99]

(A) The Piltover vs Zaun issue... I think it was NOT discarded and ultimately still addressed and resolved in the end. Frankly i do not think we would have seen anything deeply riveting with too much focus on riots and raids then attack and counter attack going back and forth in the Piltover vs Zaun when already knew it was happening so we mention it and allude to it and move on to what ACTUALLY matters and important. Perhaps we could have gotten some screentime dedicated to knowing the other houses on the Piltover leadership council and the other gangs/ factions in Zaun but it becomes filler whereby we just get shown politics just for politicking sake which are ultimately inconsequential to the primary characters and the central plot going forward. It was still Piltover vs Zaun then Victor and Ambessa issues became a higher threat level to *BOTH factions* until Ekko the boy savior did thing not only for Jinx but also uniting Zaun to join the fight which ultimately led to a Zaun representative seat on the leadership high table in Piltover towards peace and reconciliation as both sides lost many lives to save Piltover and Zaun from Ambessa's and Victor's ambitions. This probably leads... Hopefully... to a future similar to Ekko's alternate timeline where Zaun and Piltover melded together in harmony. (B) Regarding the focus of magic issue... B1) Folks complaining that the magic story came from nowhere in sn2 when IN FACT a literal wizard was shown giving Jayce the rune stone/ hex stone IN SEASON 1 and the entire hex-tech inspired from that also based on MAGIC right from season 1. B2) Bases on B1), it also makes sense to show there are other types of magic in this world aka BLACK ROSE MAGES as a SUB-PLOT tied to character development of Mel and Ambessa. B3) The same magic provides pay off to the Jayce and Viktor dichotomy whereby both of them want to do good for humanity but diverged on ideology with different circumstances for their motivations only to find out the Viktor himself used Jayce as a silver bullet to stop himself from his compassionate ambitions for a perfect world which would have ultimately destroyed everything. (C) Ekko... Period! Ekko ... Oh boy... This dude had little scream time but carried the BULK of the final act INCLUDING [i assume] uniting and convincing Zaun to join the war to save Piltover against Viktor and Ambessa based on the lessons he witnessed, learned and experienced in the alternate timeline about forgiveness (Silco and Vance) and "sometimes to take a leap forward you gotta leave some things behind". For all we know Ekko kept using that time device repeatedly with Jinx by his said after saving her until he was able to successfully unite Zaun to join the war. My only gripe here is Ekko should also have a seat on the leadership council to balance the more peaceful [Ekko] and violent-prone gangster [Sevika] sides of Zaun. This also have Ekko placing Sevika in check so that she never develops any ambitions that will ruin the peace between Piltover + Zaun on the leadership council.

[@astrofeeder777]

i dont mind some degree of creative changes as lore develops (since the game is 15 years old) but i prefer old viktor as well. your explanation of why old viktor makes more sense is 100% facts. i love the look of new viktor but it really was designed for eye candy with no regard for his lore. my thoughts on the changes are mixed because i never really played him, but it really is sad watching all of the original champs get flushed down the drain. the worst part about new viktor is that hes fucking naked. im tired of all of the sexualized champs. armor is cool af.

[@ogre7699]

Volibear is also naked. Does that make him sexualised as well? What about Cho'gath? He's also naked. We definitely can't forget Malphite either. Bro's naked as fuck too. Sorry mate, but that argument does not make sense to me. How was he sexualised? Is it because he isn't wearing trousers? Is that literally all it takes for you to take issue with the design, despite the fact he has no junk? That's like saying Fiddlesticks is sexualised, because he does not wear trousers. Monsters don't really need clothes, at least not all of them do. Mundo probably does. But the new Viktor probably doesn't.

[@Sizzox]

My guy, none of those champions are human. I really shouldn’t need to explain to you why that is an absurd statement… If a human walks naked down the street then you wouldn’t think that’s normal just because a dog beside him also isn’t wearing any clothes. Viktors literally has abbs in his new splash art. I think I missed the part where you can see how much Cho’gath works out in his splash lmao

[@drbonerstein8411]

​@@Sizzox tbh, his design is very much trying to be a thirst trap. The splash art quite literally emphasizes his crouch that is barely covered. As someone who has looked at several fanart who uses similar techniques as the splash art it's clear that Viktor is meant to be sexy. Given the reaction of several league players as well... Yeah it was a success

[@ogre7699]

@@Sizzox I must've missed the abs, ngl. And you actually make a good point, the more I think about it. I'm still hesitant on the idea, as Viktor has kind of become more monster than human now, buuuuut you're not wrong. Even some malformed Silent Hill monster that ever so vaguely resembled a human not wearing pants would be pretty fucking freaky. I think it works, but that's a subjective take. ...Still, him getting abs is weird. I genuinely did not notice that, and man, now that's perhaps the more freaky thing about him. Riot, what the fuck are you doing to the poor guy?

[@Sizzox]

Don’t get me wrong, I DO see your point. Just because he has a humanoid body it doesn’t mean that he is ”truly human” anymore. But it’s just a very strange combination of choices where riot 1. Goes from an ultra armored design to a compleatly non-armored design, 2. Gives his base splash art abbs for some resson and 3. Releases the rework with a bare-chested legendary skin with bright colors and a prettyboy face. I’d argue that the Viktor we saw in the show was not sexualized simply because he wasn’t wearing anything but I can’t say the same for the game itself.. :/

[@hawkindietz9469]

I hate how they are calling this a VGU when its just an AGU that comes with a buff for his R. I do think most of his skins got an upgrade apart from deathsworn and high noon tho I do love his new legendary too

[@markusholmes585]

As a viktor player since hes been released this shit is just sad to see while watching arcane i loved viktor until the god stuff like why do you need this you had all the stuff to make him tie back in too his original lore but then i makes a sharp 180 and goes in a completely different direction. Giving him a "rework" and not giving him any abilities that are based off his action in the show is riot just being lazy. Thats all i can so its sad to see my boy go but they wont listen to the people who actually play him

[@1ItzMyStory1]

I agree with the idea his visual is worst just because the skin design is worst. Or low effort. I think the idea from arcane are sick, I still love the original but also like acrane version. I don't think that changing him bad move I just know they didn't really put a lot of effort into it which hurts. My favorite champ gets mild update because he doesn't generate as much money as others. That's where my problem with this all occurs, just give me a good visual update and I'm cool. His kits not crazy but it works.

[@tcgjanitor9111]

The new Viktor is unironically overdesigned visually.

[@ramonmus2991]

When i was cheking the gameplay on pbe, i noticed that there's still some of the vfx made for skins, with the difference that you need to evolve your abilities to see them...still even tough i like his new mesiah look, yeah, this rework sucks being the canon one, he should have at least an "og" skin, btw i hate they didnt change the w and the q abilities, that doesnt feels like something arcane viktor would use for combat

[@Sizzox]

Oooh, I didn’t know about the evolution thing for vfx. That is actually pretty cool and makes a lot of sense. Only fixes one of the smaller problems imo but I’m glad you brought it up! :) And yeah, his Q and W are pretty awkward with this new version. It’s very hard to see any form of arcane connection when using them.

[@LaraIngvaldsen]

11th December will be a sad day 😢R.I.P machine herald i will always love you

[@aurorasdrawingcorner]

The old Viktor had a neat concept, but the design was not that great. It looked like typical Terminator or Dr. Doom. However instead of removing it completely, they should've stuck to the theme and thought on how to improve it. It wasn't that difficult to create a machine Herald with an interesting design.

[@SammyTurtle233]

Finally someone adressed that they changed him for the sake of the show and model doesnt even look like one from arcane it looks ridiculous as it is now it shows that rework was pointless for me at least hope they will change him to match one from show

[@Akiraspin]

Viktor fans cope is delicious. Now you know how us Swain mains felt. Except at least your characters abilities weren't completely mutilated to suit the new "meta". Swain: Debilitating strategist lifesteal god who fuses with his beloved crow into a fucking cool ass tanky as shit demonic bird creature who legitimately can throw down in melee with Mundo and Darius for an extended duration... into dime-a-dozen edgy mage with erectile dysfunction whose only good ability is just a 3-5 business day xerath ult. Wow, thanks Riot, totally asked for this.

[@josephstalin5414]

I hope we still see the classic design for Victor I imagine Victor surviving the events of Arcane(Jayce sacrificing himself) and see a depressed Victor staying away from the arcane magic stuff but it's still being inside of him.

[@RacismBadd]

valid take even i like arcane viktor way more but damn that new model is the most abysmal monstrosity i have ever seen in league i rather have the old one but the problem is league team is halfass out and not commit to new design and viktor model supposed to a lot taller than that

[@Sizzox]

Yeah I also liked the arcane version in many ways but it sucks that it came at the cost of the old character. I am all for writers having creative freedom so they aren’t limited by the backstory of like 180 champions, but if they wanted to make such huge changes then it would have been better if arcane was just a story in one possible timeline or something. S2 even introduced time travel and a whole separate timeline in ep7 so it’s not like it wouldn’t work.

[@FFVogter.-em6zz]

Viktor's rework sucks because it removes the steampunk aspects of his character and transforms him into an Eldritch quasi-zombie made of magic first and cybernetics second. Viktor should have become Cyborg that realized that the Hexcore in it's current state was a danger and created his prototype that is cleaner as well as using cybernetics to replace his transmogrified flesh to become the Viktor we all know and love. The Problem with Arcane is that they claimed that it was a prequel when in fact it it's own alternate universe that makes a complete mess of the lore, Viktor is just one example.

[@Aarongan555]

Removing a badass character for a half-baked fan service, not nice rito

[@guywithmanyname5247]

I agree i would have prefer victor to be more machine than magic

[@kentuckyfriedchildren5385]

honestly my only complaints for s2 are warwick's and viktor's designs

[@youmomanaldestroyer6378]

so true they f up warwick at the end so much

[@fabriziomayorcoloma1332]

dude you say that it would be the same if he aaugmented himself, but how would it make sense the fact that he was the mage that gave Jayce the rune or the whole magic robot things, a lot of things would have to change to keep him like the machine herald

[@Sizzox]

I’m not saying that he *shouldn’t* have real magic. My point is just that the magic does not have to be what changes his physical form to that extent. It would have worked just as well for him to have done it himself

[@shadowone01x99]

I like and prefer the Arcane design for Viktor MORE THAN the game version.

[@Parzival1-cg9ps]

What if Viktor and Jayce will make comeback and Viktor will build his armor so nobody will recognise him. And from that he will help rebuild what he destroyed. That future will be epic. I don't agree with your opinion about Viktor, I love the design. I can only agree with one thing, and that is that the second series is already over and what she wanted to tell was too much for just one series.

[@Merafry]

Saying that the new victor is generic while defending a doctor doom rip off is quite bold. "why does he have a mask?" He doesn't that his face, he is no longer human "he didn't choose to leave his humanity behind" WTF? Yes he did , that the entire point of Sky, when he decided to abandon his humanity Sky disappear and then he transform into the weird arcane monster that he is at the end. Did you even watch the show?

[@Sizzox]

Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that he is a compleate dr. Doom rip off. Does that mean it is somehow better to change him just to a different kind of generic? This is ignoring that his only thing in common with dr doom is that they are both masked and has armor. Everything about both of their stories are compleatly different. Meanwhile, the new Viktor has more in common with Xerath than with the old Viktor. As for him deciding to evolve, he specifically asked Jayce in season 1 to destroy the hexcore and as soon as he wakes up after being transformed in episode 202 he sais ”I was supposed to die”. He did not do this intentionally. If anything it is suggested that the arcane corrupts him more and more during S2 which is the real reason what he goes off the deep end. But it was 100% not a choice that he made while of sound mind and body.

[@Merafry]

@@Sizzox both are cliche, the old victor motivation is even a popular meme : "'THE WEAKNESS OF THE FLESH". it's just odd to attack one while defending the other. as for the choice, yes it's a choice, the hexcore didn't corrupt him, he showed him some alternatives. and if you want to talk about sound mind and body, he asked Jayce to destroy the hexcore when he was grieving Sky so he also wasn't mentally stable at that time. He decide to fully transform at the end because of the discussion he have with singed and because he saw what dmg the human's emotions can do and how emotions are an obstacle to the world he want to create, he have a monologue about that at the end of episode 6, the hexcore had nothing to do with that. If he was corrupted the alternative timeline victor would not have done a 180 on the whole philosophy, it doesn't make sense.

[@Sizzox]

”Attacking the other” is a bit much lol I’ve stated my reasons why I prefer the old one. That’s hardly an attack. The reason why it’s even a discussion is because the new version literally comes at the cost of the old one. The Viktor I prefer will be gone and replaced with this version. This situation is not like when a new champion is released and the options are to either play that one or to keep playing my current champs. Then it would be all too easy to just not bother with complaining. No, one of my current character is fundamentally involved here. It is not some sort of hypocisy to defend that. And what the future alternate timeline version of Viktor would or would not do is hardly a great argument here. That version is highly mysterious and we know precious little about what he himself experienced and how long ago it was. That guy has even been restored to look almost entirely human again while also having access to time travel which would mean that he has more than likely had a loooooot of time to reflect and to realise that his quest for perfecrion was a bad idea. Even the main timeline Viktor did that very same 180 turn in ep 9 when Jayce showed him that so I am not at all sure what would make you say that it doesn’t make sense for the older version of Viktor to not make that same turn when given an infinite amount of time to change?

[@nhatquang2763]

​@@Merafry You're just a mad Arcarne fan at this point. I doubt that you even play Viktor ingame.

[@Kronosfobi]

I dont like the Arcane interpretation of Viktor for the very similiar reasons to your own. OG Viktor is essentially Lex Luthor/Iron Man of League of Legends. Everything he has, he earned. Everything he is, he made. Anyone saying there cant be a good story with that kind of a character, living in what is essentially Chempunk/Steampunk society, is a fool. Viktor brought an alternative to the table. Not juicing yourself temporarily with chemicals or relying on your magical prowess. But a permanent, consistent, logical growth over trial and error. Arcane Viktor is pretty much Jesus done with a corruption arc. Nothing that happens is caused by Viktor actively seeking it. Everything that ever motivates Viktor has some direct effect on him *first,* which then causes him to *react* and always leave the rest to face the consequenses. Arcane Viktor always and always reacts to shit. Even his eventual rise is motivated by Jayce killing him first. He doesnt choose to ascen- sorry, ''evolve'', the choice is made for him. He doesnt choose his form, arcane corrupts him. He doesnt choose to save Jayce for the sake of it, He tries to save Jayce across different universes to try and save those universes from his own failure. He is too passive, too withdrawn to actually be a threathening figure he is on LoL lore. Even as Void Jesus, he poses danger through Noxians, WW and the new soldiers he made through Arcane. We barely see *him* use anything personally to subdue an enemy. Just his puppets running around. There is also the issue that Arcane writers didnt want to make any of our main characters the villain at the end. Cait, who went through a corruption arc, ended up completely okay with none of the authoritarian tendencies remaining. Made an 180% turn in character development the second she saw Vi again. Viktor, who is moments away from achieving his goal and is only stunned by Ekko's core, comes to see the error of his ways and surrenders at the very last moment. Medarda herself dies in peace at the arms of her daughter (Darth Vader, anyone?) as if she has done anything to deserve a hint of redemption after all this mess. JINX FOR SOME REASON have been redeemed at the very start of S2, turned into a figure that represents freedom/hope. Vi is pretty much useless the entirety of S2. Jayce never became the superhero he is on LoL (real dissapointment) and he too is pretty much useless the entirety of S2. Nothing he ever does throughout S2 matter to the story. Even at the end where he's supposed to talk Viktor out of turning everyone into soulless puppets, he doesnt do that. Viktor see's himself talking to himself through Jayce's dialouge. Ironically, Jayce serves no role greater than the puppets we saw Viktor use. Heimerdinger is wasted on both seasons. Seriously, nothing with the exception of him sending Ekko back on S2 does ever serve the plot, story or anything really. Dude see's the equalivent of a demon core and after being fired he goes ''Fine, IDGAF, I'll go to the undercity with this boy I've never met and live out my life as you guys nuke everything I've been working to uphold for centuries!'' He doesnt even try to stop them. Not really. Now, With all this said and done. I like Arcane. *As a separate story from League of Legends.* Its a good story working off its own characters that only share their names and looks with LoL counterparts. I enjoyed watching Arcane. I specifically love S1 and most of S2 despite everything I've said. But anyone who says LoL lore is bad and needed to be replaced by Arcane is an idiot who doesnt even read LoL lore.

[@Sizzox]

Yeah the real big problem is really that they keep Arcane and League too connected… no matter how they spin it, it will be impossible to please everyone in the long run. Arcane could have just been a different timeline or something and they could have made any changes they wanted in the show, but to also have to adapt the game randomly as well is just stupid.

[@PsicoPrime]

bunch of arcane fans could only like the new viktor, mention he's straight and they also starts crying

[@misterdeer5261]

I missed old doctor Doom Viktor, I hate the new oh everyone have to be a morally grey character

[@Obscursus]

Old Viktor was morally grey, just didn't show in game through the voicelines.

[@wrexonus]

I agree with skins and gameplay. Rest though.... In terms of lore he was terrible in execution. OG is bipolar (wanting people to be robots while he only has 1 machine arm and that's it, so much for "glorious evolution"), swapping from villain to anti-hero every story. One time he's a tyrant who kidnaps and basically takes away people free will, only to allowing people to get one arm (which was always common in Zaun either way) without issue While his new design in LOL ain't great (in show he looks 100x times better than in game), but his old one is just.... man in iron man suit with 3rd arm (for some reason). Not to mention that you ask good questions for both Viktors. You ask why new one has mask, but same can be questioned about old (cause he hides his humanity? If so he's a hypocrite that doesn't actually believe in his own logic etc.)

[@icedtea3347]

They changed his design from a cyborg to a mage. Gross oversimplification but the new model has barely any indicator of him being a machine like human. Plot wise in Arcane, having Viktor be a time traveller is such a downgrade. It creates more problems than answers and what would come from this new Viktor and his current lore in universe. Arcane looks cool but could have been a different character because this simply is not viktor. He's not a mage messiah he is an inventor and engineer.

[@loopyslop]

why would viktor try to be stronger or more war like, he is above war, he hates war and believes he can cure it... he is not about being a combatant, not now and not before, his old lore was all over the place but the truth was his glorious evolution was not a war campaign it was an enlightenment... He choose to evolve himself, cocoon or not Im still reading it as him building this new body... his magic is not offensive, nor is it really "true" magic, its still hextech, the third arm his the only potentially offensive tool he invented in arcane season 1 and he uses it again in his evolved form because he needs it to get into the hexgate, he is not using it offensively, its a tool, not a weapon. I think the mask is a little weird in the new form and I would have liked it to completely hide his face as well, but the rest of his design and silhouette does not feel any more generic than old viktor, whom I feel felt really was generic and lacked any real story telling in his design, besides the mask. His old design had the staff and limp but also choose to make him rather buff with the armor... if he was just going to augment himself to get rid of the weak parts why did he not start with the legs, and why the hell was he concerned with be strong? The skinny alienlike form of new viktor tells me that he is not human anymore, he is beyond human. For quite a while in old Viktors lore his cult was not bulky machine augmented people, they were sleek augmentations that were not about killing or hurting others... his old lore kept bouncing between his Battlecast skin being canon and then it not, but I do not see battlecast viktors lore as what the character was ever truly about. I would have loved more time in arcane to see how viktor decided to just evolve everyone by force, because that felt a bit quick, from being a savior for the fallen to now going full crusades and convert everyone by force, perhaps he could have felt it was the best way to prevent ambessa and noxus from waging catastrophic war on the city he cared about, and felt the evolution would keep the world safe from war but its just kinda "BOOM he is evilish now"

[@shadowone01x99]

Sn2 was better than sn1 for me because it brilliantly builds on sn1.

[@JuddDangle]

Arcane lore is just as good or better than old viktor. The difference is that 95% of league players don’t know the lore. Now with arcane they do.

[@SawatakeUwU]

I like arcane Viktor and I really want his normal not hextech skin tbh. (Pre evolution I mean) But in game he looks bad, I like old better.

[@g0dp4rticl3]

I really dislike to overly skinny corpse look and the "mask" just freaks me out tbh. not a fan of body horror and especially not when it comes to split up faces. I loved the Machine Herald the way he was. yeah his model could have needed an update, this is where I agree and the kit too. but hitting him with the Arcanification beam and then just calling it a day is just not it for me. his skins look horrible and do not translate to the super slim body he has now. also I'm one of the few that really loved his old lore. was it perfect? no. but I highly enjoyed everything about it. call me old-fashioned or whatever but for me personally it did not need any changes.

[@hominusest3053]

As a long time Viktor main, who even played the absolute first one who could upgrade only one spell, i am very happy about the rework. I agree that the design is bad. Viktor looks now as if he didn´t had a beefsteak for a long time. I wanted a powerful mecha-mage, but we got a demigod arcane herald being omnipotent, while having no muscles at all. But this video is misleading when it is about his kit. As it doesn´t get the huge dimension of the changes. Let me sum it up: First off his passive: His Hex-Fragments can be farmed faster now, as he will get 10 stacks per canon minion. That alone will make him a good champion again, as he can gain lane prio by farming during laning phase. Current Viktor is shit in Solo Q and bad in LCS, as his new upgrade system was based on a feaster-femine mechanic which just worked out during laning phase in case you had on your side a jungler babysitting you. Playing Viktor right now is highly risky. The Q got a bigger shield and better Q+AA animation, which is a major buff to his 1v1 reliability. His W had numerous bugs and it got rescripted by Riot, which will apply all stacks for 100 percent. This bug-fix (fuck you Riot for not doing it before) will make it again a very powerful defensive and zoning spell. Also the zone where the stacks apply is bigger now and the slow is stronger. Also a slow after the stun is applied, which is insanely strong. He will be a pain in the ass to engage in, as he will be tough to challenge, especially in late. Now the absolute ATOMBOMB: The Ultimate. Guys, you must get how Viktor worked to understand the current Chaos Storm. The Chaos Storm was a spell designed to be used around choke points most efficiently. It has on first hit a slow, and afterwards it stays 6 seconds without a continuous slow. Riot couldn´t let this spell as it was after the rylais nerf, so they were desperate and let it autotrigger after he died, to make sure also the noobs get a kill with suicide moves. Rito did now something with this ult which is Hiroshima, Fukushima and Nagasaki combined into one spell: It grows not just in size, but keeps the old scales, while extending the size per each character dying who got touched by the storm. A potential 18 seconds storm growing to the size of Jupiter is not OP enough for some ? This is not overpowered, this is an absolute lategame god mode. Guys: No mage can do a potential 15 k damage per person standing inside it. Viktor was already strong in late, but this changes will make him a glorious version of Godzilla laserbeaming and thundering all to death. He is gonna be a force with huge damage potential, but still with weaknesses. He is now pretty damn balanced, but a true threat for the enemy team. I compliment Riot for the changes, they did a great job.

[@Sizzox]

Yeah I didn’t go too fair into his kit because honestly, I wanted the focus to be on the areas that needed improvement and his modified kit is probably indeed gonna be turbo busted. I didn’t go into his normal abilities mainly because the changes there are kind of few and mainly affect the numbers rather than adding new mechanics like the ult does (though thank god they finally fixes the W bugs). His new ult does seem very extreme though. Only thing is that it is one extra ability to evolve but with those passive stack changes you mentioned it might not be that much of a problem. :P

[@wretchter]

I 100% agree. Riot should see that video and think a little about it. And god I would like to see late game Viktor to be able spawn minions like in arcane one way or another they wouldn't even have to be strong just something like bel'veth minions.... o7 old Viktor you were cool now you are just a skinny generic weirdo obsessed with arcane. :/

[@Valyrianne]

After the initial hype he'll go down to one of the lowest played midlaners, SAD!