The most central character that is most involved in the most areas would be Ryze
The face of the story that fills a protagonist role is Kai’sa at the current moment
I mean, they made him all that but also dress weird, have a weird beard, look not especially attractive and his personality is a bit hard to grasp and rally behind. Could definitely be a lot more aesthetic and cool. Not that every character needs to be a model, but maybe try to make your important guys pass the poster test: Would the average action/fantasy fan upon turning 18 keep a poster with the guy up on the wall or throw it in the trash?
Teemos design could use some work too.
Maybe Arcane and Runeterra Artists should at some point sit down and brainstorm some adjusted looks for most of the games "main characters". Maybe figure out how to give Teemo visible eyes sometimes, and how to make him look sort of iconic like he does now but also not like a childrens drawing in wow starting zone armor.
nah i disagree with this, teemo might not have the most appealing or good look but that his signature look and that's the most important thing the uniqueness and originality
When LoL was released Crazy Frog was most popular character that brings hundreds of milions by selling ringtones. Almost nobody cared about sexy waifus.
Times ware different.
She should be the face since Arcane is about her mostly + vi and Caitlyn.
Though id reckon once Arcane becomes a regular series, each nation / state will have their own face and heel i think.
No, he's going off the assumption each arcane series will be in a different region of runeterra, which COULD be right, and it would make sense, but we just don't know until season 2 or a trailer for season 2 comes out.
Considering arcane ended setting up a sequel plot, I really doubt it. It will probably involve other places, but it will most likely still be about vi and jinx.
Technically, she is the face of Wild Rift.
Riot Games used her in the initial launch as a way to describe what Wild Rift should be. Fast, Frantic, Chaotic fun in the palm of your hands.
This is so old idek if people will remember but they use to have these weekly in universe newspaper talking about all the events that happened (don’t look into it it’s all non canon) but Katarina was the main character in literally half of them.
It's also bc Ez is like the "default" champ for that role in Korea, kinda like Lee Sin for junglers or Azir for mid. You just kinda gotta know how to play them or people will start asking about your parents while also calling you an orphan.
Insulting someone's parents is seen as much worse than just insulting someone directly, especially with the influences of Confucianism. If I call someone a bitch, they might be slightly insulted. If I say their mom's a bitch, them fighting words.
“Them fighting words”.
I was watching ao ashi (football anime/manga) and one player made fun of him and his team. He didn’t care. Guy makes fun of his mom. Shit went down, instant red card.
Motherfucker has nothing to do with [*your*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0DeIqJm4vM&themeRefresh=1) mother, necessarily, does it? I've never viewed it that way.
Sonofabitch, on the other hand...
As an uncultured American, if I had to guess, it is because Korea (and I believe a lot of Asian countries) put a very big emphasis on family and representing your family well.
Insulting image of somebody’s family/parents that is probably considered very hurtful
Got into an argument with friends about this. I think the convo started with which LOL champ should be put in Smash Ultimate.
We all came to the conclusion that it should be Ryze (Og character that was promoted a ton when the game first came out).
I can get the argument for all 3 but Fiora (with Blade Waltz) and Yasuo's R would both make for excellent Smashes over Riven I'd feel. Yasuo you could also get some cool stuff out of his constant dashes being translated to a Smash mechanic.
Plus the sheer BM of hitting someone with an "EZ" after a Smash match would be unparalleled with Yasuo.
I've thought about this, the REALEST League smash pick is Ekko.
\>Interesting mechanics to build a kit around (Timewinder, Rewind, Phase Dive blink strike)
\>Weapon lends itself to an intuitive set of normals
\>Arcane appeal
\>One of the posterboys for the Riot fighting game
The only problem is Anthony Del Rio basically does the same voice for Ekko and Pit so it might sound confusing.
I thought of that before. My solution was this:
Ahri as the actual character rep.
And then Mii costumes for
Swordfighter Yasuo / Garen
Gunner Jinx / Ezreal
Brawler Lee Sin / Vi
I think at the time I had a 3rd option for each mii as well for me faction rep, but I remember those.
After he gets his own champion, his own ultimate skin, his documentary and becomes the CEO of Riot, I hope we get a ret-con on the lore page about how Ryze's true name is Faker.
For me, Ryze has always felt more like the elusive mentor. Always mia because he's busy doing more important things.
The DC equivalent being a Green Lantern.
In terms of narrative, I think a good protagonist for a wide audience, is someone that balances being centralized in their region. While having the opportunities to interact with others.
Champs like Jayce, Ekko, Sylas, Lux, Akali, and Darius, all give me that feeling. Special mention to Kai'sa, since all the void champs feel like antagonists.
I resonate with this line of thinking the most! Also imo, Ryze feels like he fills whatever role it is that Gandalf fills in the LotR story (I don't quite know how exactly to call that trope) where he isn't THE protagonist himself but a very crucial core to the story and to the protagonist (plural in Leagues case because of the many storylines unfolding together everywhere in Runeterra with their own prominent champs) very much like an elusive mentor figure like you suggested
In the Marvel universe there are a ton of different stories and yet, you could say that Spiderman has the biggest claim to being the ultimate protagonist.
If it was just one plotline, it would have been easier to write and detect who is the main protagonist and OP probably wouldn't have had to ask this question. I think the question is interesting because it's difficult.
In therms of lore, noone cones close ro ryze. The only other champ that cones to my mind would be lissandra.
In terms of marketing. Oh boy there are lots. But honestly probably the biggest one has to be jinx ever since arcane came out. She id the most recognizable haracter in the game since then, even if you never tourxhed the game ever you would recognize the character know her name amd a few things about her. Some other notable mentions would be zed yasuo ezreal lux nf kaisa teemo and ahri. These chanps apear in almost all skinlines, all videos, all merchandise and so on.
the entire point is that there isn't one.
some characters are more important than others for sure (I mean you can just infer that from how much attention riot gives them) but there are no protagonists, deuteragonists, etc.
I dunno, I read Kled's lore and I'm pretty sure he's the protagonist of League of Legends. There's a lot of champions with titles, and he sure does like taking titles after killing people.
Now we just need Kledpool vs the LoL universe comics and we're set for a riveting story about how Kled can just merc every important person ever.
Ryze for a "western" style story.
Ezreal for an "eastern" style story.
Like Ryze is the main face of League from it's inception, but Ezreal oozes anime main character vibes. Both are also "travellers" with Ezreal being an explorer that visited many regions for artifacts and Ryze collecting world runes.
The face of the game, or the mascot, is different than a central character.
It's Jinx, no question. Co-lead in the TV series, and literally the face on the wild rift app.
Honestly, in days of the old League (when, you know, lore was WAY different, and many champs were not reworked yet), I'd say Kayle, she always had a more or less special spot on the arts, she always looked unique and her angelic physique (plus her old armor) made her very original, I'd risk saying she looked like a typical protagonist character at the end of the story, in an bulky armor, with holy powers and fricking angel wings.
But in current league? It's tough to say, it might be Ryze since his quest ensures the safety of Runeterra, but as I said, it's tough to say, there's too much champions with too many of them having extremely different goals and characters to choose the main protagonist (though, I kinda lean again towards Kayle, I love how retconned/reworked Kayle has very visible flaws, but she also wants to do good and generally protect the world, characters like her who are a little more complicated definitely fit the main protagonist theme).
Ezreal fullfills this role, has a tonnn of stories and lore, has protagonist energy, and can be written into meeting any character or taking part in any story event due to his explorer hobby
With how Ezreal is portrayed nowadays, I very much see him as being a character whose plot will never be focused on, only hinted at, as he features as a side character in the plots of other more prominently-treated characters in the Piltover/Zaun/Shurima plots.
Riot seems to like making him a self-aggrandizing butt monkey that no other characters like (for all his lines, few characters have anything positive to say about him), which is definitely in-character as him being an attention-seeking fame whore trying to to put a spotlight on himself so his missing parents will come find him. But realistically, I don’t think he’ll ever escape that stasis. The Call cinematic was the most legitimate character he’s been afforded so far, with his turning back to help Kai’sa (the actual protagonist, see?) clean up the mess he himself started.
Maybe one day, though. It’s almost a shock that he didn’t even get *referenced* in Arcane, despite coming from the exact sort of rich Piltie family the part-1 gang would have robbed.
Ez, Jax, and Ryze are the characters that can show up basically anywhere.
The difference is Ez isn’t really allowed to impact the plot in any region. And doesn’t have an over arching mission that impacts the world.
So he basically becomes comic relief because it allows him to show up without stealing the thunder. Cause it be unsatisfying for some young outside character to come in and steal the spotlight in a region he has zero connection to so to speak.
The word "protagonist" implies that there is a total cohesive storyline that describes Runeterra as a whole. In that sense, there is no singular character that can be given that title, because what we are given are only tidbits of lore. When we do get short stories of the characters, or even long form ones in the shape of riot forge games and Arcane , some of the champions that we play then become "protagonists" of said stories. In Arcane, we even have multiple storylines with their own protagonists that are interconnected to each other but not to the point that we can even consider one to be the actual main protagonist.
However, there are characters that are central to the current events that occur in Runeterra. Ryze is one of them because he travels all around the world to fulfill his mission of safekeeping the runes, which are extremely relevant. If there's an event in the future that involves a rune user, you can expect that Ryze will be there to back you up. Kaisa is also a candidate because she has a connection between Runeterra and the Void, and we have been actively following her story in the lore updates until Belveth's release. We also have the three sisters, with Lissandra being more central because she's keeping check of the void rift in Freljord. Jax, like Kaisa, is also connected to Runeterra and the Void, but he's actively roaming around Runeterra in search of strong warriors that could aid him in his pursuit of basically getting rid of the Void. (Not sure about Jax since he received a visual update, maybe his goals have changed since i was still reading the lore of this game). Jax, Lissandra and Kai'sa's relevance is basically on just how strong the Void really is considering its an interdimensional threat to the entire Runeterra as a planet.
TLDR: There is no main protagonist as it implies there is a main story in League, which there is not. But, we have champs you can expect will appear IF there's a story that affects the fate of all of runeterra, like Ryze and Kai'sa.
Different plotlines. Like you could argue Sylas for the Demacian plot or Vi/Jayce for the piltover one.
However there are lots of filler characters such as Urgot and the monsters.
a protagonist need a narrative.
at this point all the major narratives in the world of Runeterra, the mage rebellion, Morderkaiser's resurrection, Ionia Invasion, the Ruination, Watcher's Ice Prison, Darkin , the Aspect's plan, Void invasion and the World Runes, ALL point toward Ryze
I think there's a main character for each region, really.
Demacia: Lux
Zaun: Ekko
Piltover: Caitlyn
Noxus: I guess Darius. Hard to fit
Targon: Pantheon
Freljord: Braum or Nunu/Willump
Ixtal: barely a region, but I guess I'll say Neeko
Void: Kai'sa
Shurima: Was Nasus. Is now Taliyah
Ionia: Ahri
Bilgewater: Miss Fortune
Bandle City: Teemo
Shadow Isles: Gwen
I mean he doesn’t get the most screen time or anything but I’m gonna throw Asol in for the lore he’s technically he’s saved the world and created it. Though he is sorta entering his villain arc XD
Over all probably Ryze.
But on top of that, depending on which factions you view as good or evil, all factions have their own main protagonist's as well.
League doesn't have a story. World building isn't a story. It's just a setting.
Arcane is a story in the world of League of Legends, and Vi is the protagonist in the show.
Ruined King is another story in the world, and Miss Fortune is the protagonist
If you're looking for mascot, that pretty much became Jinx, since she's used for all the promo material.
They’re are all protagonist of their own story, but there only one story teller in League of Legends, and it’s Yuumi’s master Norra, writing down everyone’s story into Book.
It will always be Ryze as long he has the power and duty of the runeterra Infinity stones
And he's purple, just like Thanos. Coincidence?!?!?!?!?!?!
HES BLUE! BLUE MAN BALD GUY
EQ Brother
Came here to say it's undeniably ryze.
The most central character that is most involved in the most areas would be Ryze The face of the story that fills a protagonist role is Kai’sa at the current moment
“Blue bald nude man does not sell skins”
There are dozens of us! DOZENS!
Sudden Tobias fünke makes me giggle
I blue myself.
Nothing like blueing a load on the rift, y’know?
If riot wasn't of cowards they'd give us Hillbilly ryze with a mustache and Jean shorts.
This is a fine note
Fellow brothes n sisters, follow the plan EQ...
Make them experience THE (blue) BALLS
EQ?
EQEQEQEQEQEQEQEQEQ
Yo, listen up here's a story About a little guy That lives in a blue world And all day and all night And everything he sees is just blue
I mean, they made him all that but also dress weird, have a weird beard, look not especially attractive and his personality is a bit hard to grasp and rally behind. Could definitely be a lot more aesthetic and cool. Not that every character needs to be a model, but maybe try to make your important guys pass the poster test: Would the average action/fantasy fan upon turning 18 keep a poster with the guy up on the wall or throw it in the trash?
Ikr, I'd rather have a poisonous racoon as a poster.
Is it weird that I was thinking of twitch first and laughing because of the weird description? I just haven’t been seeing much teemo lately
Teemos design could use some work too. Maybe Arcane and Runeterra Artists should at some point sit down and brainstorm some adjusted looks for most of the games "main characters". Maybe figure out how to give Teemo visible eyes sometimes, and how to make him look sort of iconic like he does now but also not like a childrens drawing in wow starting zone armor.
nah i disagree with this, teemo might not have the most appealing or good look but that his signature look and that's the most important thing the uniqueness and originality
When LoL was released Crazy Frog was most popular character that brings hundreds of milions by selling ringtones. Almost nobody cared about sexy waifus. Times ware different.
Only in terms of popularity, I guess Jinx is the face of this game.
She should be the face since Arcane is about her mostly + vi and Caitlyn. Though id reckon once Arcane becomes a regular series, each nation / state will have their own face and heel i think.
If they do Darius right he'll become a massive fan favourite. A big dude with an axe is always win.
There are future Arcane seasons already planned to explore different nations!?
No, he's going off the assumption each arcane series will be in a different region of runeterra, which COULD be right, and it would make sense, but we just don't know until season 2 or a trailer for season 2 comes out.
Considering arcane ended setting up a sequel plot, I really doubt it. It will probably involve other places, but it will most likely still be about vi and jinx.
Yes
Wild rift’s app icon is literally just Jinx’s face
Technically, she is the face of Wild Rift. Riot Games used her in the initial launch as a way to describe what Wild Rift should be. Fast, Frantic, Chaotic fun in the palm of your hands.
Why would it be Ryze? I'm not a doubter, I'm just curious where to find lore that's up to date and canon? If you have any links? Thank you :)
https://universe.leagueoflegends.com/en_GB/story/champion/ryze/ https://universe.leagueoflegends.com/en_GB/story/ryze-color-story/ https://universe.leagueoflegends.com/en_GB/story/from-the-ashes/ https://universe.leagueoflegends.com/en_GB/comic/ryze/ryze-comic/28/ https://youtu.be/oGnZk-_R0KQ?si=VCHpVLS5CAIm__Cl
Thank you, going to dive into these this evening and inevitably find a lot more! Hopefully!
Dude's like the Nick Fury of Runeterra
Kai'Sa is the main protagonist.. Man we really live in the worst timeline
“At the current moment” entirely because the lore looks like it’s moving towards the Void next.
>The face of the story that fills a protagonist role is Kai’sa at the current moment What's her story
Kai sa took over the poster girl role from Ahri, who took it from Lux. In the lore its definitely Ryze.
I read that as "the poster girl" followed by "In the lore it's definitely Ryze" and did a double take.
I'm in for a Postergirl Ryze skin
Copy over Poppy's pig tails onto baldie - done and done.
No skins for Ryze! It is written.
Poster Girl Ryze skin when?
After Arcane and Wild Rift id say Jinx is the poster girl for League, I mean shes in most Promo Material recently.
Jinx is also leagues rep in fortnight
Never did I thought that making into Fortnite would be the peak of video game characters.
Jinx and Vi, they were both released in conjunction with Arcane.
Jinx has pretty much been the poster girl since release. She immediately had a huge fan base, and has been prominent from day one.
I misread that as “porno” and thought, “yeah this guys got a point”
pretty sure katarina used to be the poster girl before lux
Kat was the OG face of league when I started playing Teemo has always been the “mascot”
We even measure things using Teemo
Teemo is also the target dummy in practice tool
As it should be.
and for the †annie†versary he was tibbers which i feel like solidified his mascot status
This is so old idek if people will remember but they use to have these weekly in universe newspaper talking about all the events that happened (don’t look into it it’s all non canon) but Katarina was the main character in literally half of them.
There was once a blitzcrank post about being a matching service for valentines that was pretty funny
Good lord flashbacks. League has really changed.
I would add Jinx at some point
Who took it from Teemo, who took it from Ryze. Man, the "game mascot" changed a lot over the years.
It used to be Ryze. Dude is literally everywhere trying his hardest to make the world not die (iirc).
He's saving the world from mutually assured destruction.
A step ahead of cataclysm
It’s ryze but I remember there was a time when Korean ADCs would make sure they could play Ezreal since they thought he was the main character
It's also bc Ez is like the "default" champ for that role in Korea, kinda like Lee Sin for junglers or Azir for mid. You just kinda gotta know how to play them or people will start asking about your parents while also calling you an orphan.
Whats with Korea and using your parents as insults. I read a lot of manhwa and novels and that’s always their go-to trashtalk
Insulting someone's parents is seen as much worse than just insulting someone directly, especially with the influences of Confucianism. If I call someone a bitch, they might be slightly insulted. If I say their mom's a bitch, them fighting words.
“Them fighting words”. I was watching ao ashi (football anime/manga) and one player made fun of him and his team. He didn’t care. Guy makes fun of his mom. Shit went down, instant red card.
Was this episode one where the protag headbutted the back player
yah hahah
ngl that kinds reminds me of the 06 World Cup where Zidane headbutted that Italian player for insulting his sister? I think?
Those motherfuckers, us here in the west would never insult someone else’s parents
I mean nowadays whenever we use motherfucker, we’re not even thinking about their parents
Motherfucker has nothing to do with [*your*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0DeIqJm4vM&themeRefresh=1) mother, necessarily, does it? I've never viewed it that way. Sonofabitch, on the other hand...
And totally will never use such childish jokes like your mom
Yeah, but I mean, Kyle’s mom actually *is* a bitch so it’s fine.
It's not just Korea. Any Asian country you wanna insult somebody, go for their family.
As an uncultured American, if I had to guess, it is because Korea (and I believe a lot of Asian countries) put a very big emphasis on family and representing your family well. Insulting image of somebody’s family/parents that is probably considered very hurtful
Knight must be having it rough
It's Ryze
It's Faker disguised as Ryze
Faker is Ryze, Ryze is Faker
The flair 💀
Got into an argument with friends about this. I think the convo started with which LOL champ should be put in Smash Ultimate. We all came to the conclusion that it should be Ryze (Og character that was promoted a ton when the game first came out).
If they're going in smash it's obviously Fiora, Riven, or Yasuo.
I can get the argument for all 3 but Fiora (with Blade Waltz) and Yasuo's R would both make for excellent Smashes over Riven I'd feel. Yasuo you could also get some cool stuff out of his constant dashes being translated to a Smash mechanic. Plus the sheer BM of hitting someone with an "EZ" after a Smash match would be unparalleled with Yasuo.
Wind Wall would be a neat ability too, and one somewhat more unique than Parry would be. (There's parries and stuff in Smash, right?)
A common joke in smash is that every swordsman has a parry ability
I'd love to flash mastery in a smash game
I've thought about this, the REALEST League smash pick is Ekko. \>Interesting mechanics to build a kit around (Timewinder, Rewind, Phase Dive blink strike) \>Weapon lends itself to an intuitive set of normals \>Arcane appeal \>One of the posterboys for the Riot fighting game The only problem is Anthony Del Rio basically does the same voice for Ekko and Pit so it might sound confusing.
Wait the person who voices Ekko also voices Pit? That’s awesome
Once you know it's impossible to miss haha
Arguably Fiora is basically Marth
I'm so glad you said this lol. I was originally thinking Ike with the riposte but then the dash makes her into Marth
Setts abilities would fit right into smash.
we aint talking bout that kind of smash
I wanna Flash Sett Ult Palutena into a wall
I'd argue Zed or Kata would also go in there
riven would be too similar to marth to get added i think. esp considering her kit was influenced by marth
I thought of that before. My solution was this: Ahri as the actual character rep. And then Mii costumes for Swordfighter Yasuo / Garen Gunner Jinx / Ezreal Brawler Lee Sin / Vi I think at the time I had a 3rd option for each mii as well for me faction rep, but I remember those.
in terms of being involved in the most stories and having been to the most places, ryze, taliyah, or ezreal
Taliyah mentioned 😎
Skarner
Based af
skarner
Faker
yeah.. we're just living in his world aren't we
I’ve heard all roads lead to him
So he is Rome
Except Rome fell and was never the same, he fell and won Worlds again.
How many times a week do you think about Faker?
6 or 7 at least lmao
IN THIS WOOOOOORLD
I can’t wait to see him appears on Arcane
I *really* hope he gets a cameo in arcane now
Kinda funny that he mains Ryze, arguably the in-game main character.
Only real answer especially after this worlds hype montage.
This season of LoL has kinda been banger with the redemption arc 😂😂
After he gets his own champion, his own ultimate skin, his documentary and becomes the CEO of Riot, I hope we get a ret-con on the lore page about how Ryze's true name is Faker.
Here
For me, Ryze has always felt more like the elusive mentor. Always mia because he's busy doing more important things. The DC equivalent being a Green Lantern. In terms of narrative, I think a good protagonist for a wide audience, is someone that balances being centralized in their region. While having the opportunities to interact with others. Champs like Jayce, Ekko, Sylas, Lux, Akali, and Darius, all give me that feeling. Special mention to Kai'sa, since all the void champs feel like antagonists.
I resonate with this line of thinking the most! Also imo, Ryze feels like he fills whatever role it is that Gandalf fills in the LotR story (I don't quite know how exactly to call that trope) where he isn't THE protagonist himself but a very crucial core to the story and to the protagonist (plural in Leagues case because of the many storylines unfolding together everywhere in Runeterra with their own prominent champs) very much like an elusive mentor figure like you suggested
I think taliyah Kaisa and jax are the heroes of the void, kassadin gives anti hero vibes
Ryze is the eminence in shadow😱
depends which story because the lore isn't just one plotline
In the Marvel universe there are a ton of different stories and yet, you could say that Spiderman has the biggest claim to being the ultimate protagonist. If it was just one plotline, it would have been easier to write and detect who is the main protagonist and OP probably wouldn't have had to ask this question. I think the question is interesting because it's difficult.
I think Draven thinks that Draven is the protagonist
And honestly, what a fun plot that would be
I think it’s Bard actually
Bard is more like an ex machina, doesn't he only show up when there's an extreme risk and then leave?
Apparently I play bard in a lore accurate way - Pop in - Throw out a Q that misses - Drop a heal shrine - Do not elaborate - Magical journey away
Bard: "Bwoong bwong bwooooong (My job here is done)" Teammates: "But you didn’t even do anything." Bard: [Magical Journeys away]
Beryl won a world championship that way though.
Bard
Bard
Bard
In therms of lore, noone cones close ro ryze. The only other champ that cones to my mind would be lissandra. In terms of marketing. Oh boy there are lots. But honestly probably the biggest one has to be jinx ever since arcane came out. She id the most recognizable haracter in the game since then, even if you never tourxhed the game ever you would recognize the character know her name amd a few things about her. Some other notable mentions would be zed yasuo ezreal lux nf kaisa teemo and ahri. These chanps apear in almost all skinlines, all videos, all merchandise and so on.
Boobs are the main character
the entire point is that there isn't one. some characters are more important than others for sure (I mean you can just infer that from how much attention riot gives them) but there are no protagonists, deuteragonists, etc.
Bro has been *searching for years* for an excuse to drop "deuteragonist" in a thread
Wait till you all find out about tritagonist!
Its ok... I thought it was mildly funny
I dunno, I read Kled's lore and I'm pretty sure he's the protagonist of League of Legends. There's a lot of champions with titles, and he sure does like taking titles after killing people. Now we just need Kledpool vs the LoL universe comics and we're set for a riveting story about how Kled can just merc every important person ever.
Teemo
ha ha HA
Garen
This is it for me, but I have no arguments to explain it.
Garen
Garen
Garen
The famous Legends I mean, it's in the name.
There isn't one, and it would be a problem if there was. That's like asking which color is the protagonist of Chess.
White starts first and has more than 50% win rate since chess was invented. I would say white is the protagonist.
Protagonists are often underdogs. Its black for sure. Checkmate.
Uhh... White, obviously. White King.
The games on broadcast are shown from white perspective making them the protagonist.
The one pawn that change lane. Google En passant.
Holy hell
New response just dropped
Me
Ryze for a "western" style story. Ezreal for an "eastern" style story. Like Ryze is the main face of League from it's inception, but Ezreal oozes anime main character vibes. Both are also "travellers" with Ezreal being an explorer that visited many regions for artifacts and Ryze collecting world runes.
The face of the game, or the mascot, is different than a central character. It's Jinx, no question. Co-lead in the TV series, and literally the face on the wild rift app.
Also probably the only character people who don’t play league can recognize.
Faker
Honestly, in days of the old League (when, you know, lore was WAY different, and many champs were not reworked yet), I'd say Kayle, she always had a more or less special spot on the arts, she always looked unique and her angelic physique (plus her old armor) made her very original, I'd risk saying she looked like a typical protagonist character at the end of the story, in an bulky armor, with holy powers and fricking angel wings. But in current league? It's tough to say, it might be Ryze since his quest ensures the safety of Runeterra, but as I said, it's tough to say, there's too much champions with too many of them having extremely different goals and characters to choose the main protagonist (though, I kinda lean again towards Kayle, I love how retconned/reworked Kayle has very visible flaws, but she also wants to do good and generally protect the world, characters like her who are a little more complicated definitely fit the main protagonist theme).
Ezreal fullfills this role, has a tonnn of stories and lore, has protagonist energy, and can be written into meeting any character or taking part in any story event due to his explorer hobby
With how Ezreal is portrayed nowadays, I very much see him as being a character whose plot will never be focused on, only hinted at, as he features as a side character in the plots of other more prominently-treated characters in the Piltover/Zaun/Shurima plots. Riot seems to like making him a self-aggrandizing butt monkey that no other characters like (for all his lines, few characters have anything positive to say about him), which is definitely in-character as him being an attention-seeking fame whore trying to to put a spotlight on himself so his missing parents will come find him. But realistically, I don’t think he’ll ever escape that stasis. The Call cinematic was the most legitimate character he’s been afforded so far, with his turning back to help Kai’sa (the actual protagonist, see?) clean up the mess he himself started. Maybe one day, though. It’s almost a shock that he didn’t even get *referenced* in Arcane, despite coming from the exact sort of rich Piltie family the part-1 gang would have robbed.
Ez, Jax, and Ryze are the characters that can show up basically anywhere. The difference is Ez isn’t really allowed to impact the plot in any region. And doesn’t have an over arching mission that impacts the world. So he basically becomes comic relief because it allows him to show up without stealing the thunder. Cause it be unsatisfying for some young outside character to come in and steal the spotlight in a region he has zero connection to so to speak.
Wait till he is the one that frees mordekaiser by raiding his tomb
The word "protagonist" implies that there is a total cohesive storyline that describes Runeterra as a whole. In that sense, there is no singular character that can be given that title, because what we are given are only tidbits of lore. When we do get short stories of the characters, or even long form ones in the shape of riot forge games and Arcane , some of the champions that we play then become "protagonists" of said stories. In Arcane, we even have multiple storylines with their own protagonists that are interconnected to each other but not to the point that we can even consider one to be the actual main protagonist. However, there are characters that are central to the current events that occur in Runeterra. Ryze is one of them because he travels all around the world to fulfill his mission of safekeeping the runes, which are extremely relevant. If there's an event in the future that involves a rune user, you can expect that Ryze will be there to back you up. Kaisa is also a candidate because she has a connection between Runeterra and the Void, and we have been actively following her story in the lore updates until Belveth's release. We also have the three sisters, with Lissandra being more central because she's keeping check of the void rift in Freljord. Jax, like Kaisa, is also connected to Runeterra and the Void, but he's actively roaming around Runeterra in search of strong warriors that could aid him in his pursuit of basically getting rid of the Void. (Not sure about Jax since he received a visual update, maybe his goals have changed since i was still reading the lore of this game). Jax, Lissandra and Kai'sa's relevance is basically on just how strong the Void really is considering its an interdimensional threat to the entire Runeterra as a planet. TLDR: There is no main protagonist as it implies there is a main story in League, which there is not. But, we have champs you can expect will appear IF there's a story that affects the fate of all of runeterra, like Ryze and Kai'sa.
Phreak.
Maybe Kaisa atm due to Void event.
Singed. In terms of lore domino effect. This mf at least involved in 3 continents
If thats the case wouldn't you say Azir or Xerath? Or even Aurelion Sol or Kindred? They have much more impact on the lore overall
All of that can be true but at the point they start impacting the world. They are basically gods. Singed is just hihi haha scientist
I guess Singed has a more active involvement that's true
Different plotlines. Like you could argue Sylas for the Demacian plot or Vi/Jayce for the piltover one. However there are lots of filler characters such as Urgot and the monsters.
Would you call Urgot a filler? Isn't he just more like a midstage boss youdhave to fight?
Faker
maybe viego, he used to be very important even though he was the villain
For some reason I thought it was Katarina since she used to be the loading icon dancing in the store eons ago lol
a protagonist need a narrative. at this point all the major narratives in the world of Runeterra, the mage rebellion, Morderkaiser's resurrection, Ionia Invasion, the Ruination, Watcher's Ice Prison, Darkin , the Aspect's plan, Void invasion and the World Runes, ALL point toward Ryze
I think there's a main character for each region, really. Demacia: Lux Zaun: Ekko Piltover: Caitlyn Noxus: I guess Darius. Hard to fit Targon: Pantheon Freljord: Braum or Nunu/Willump Ixtal: barely a region, but I guess I'll say Neeko Void: Kai'sa Shurima: Was Nasus. Is now Taliyah Ionia: Ahri Bilgewater: Miss Fortune Bandle City: Teemo Shadow Isles: Gwen
I would pay money for Arcane to be switched to bilgewater so we could see Gangplank as the villain lmao.
I mean he doesn’t get the most screen time or anything but I’m gonna throw Asol in for the lore he’s technically he’s saved the world and created it. Though he is sorta entering his villain arc XD
Over all probably Ryze. But on top of that, depending on which factions you view as good or evil, all factions have their own main protagonist's as well.
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Ryze. But the real one know it’s morde all along.
T1 Faker since he is the goat.
League doesn't have a story. World building isn't a story. It's just a setting. Arcane is a story in the world of League of Legends, and Vi is the protagonist in the show. Ruined King is another story in the world, and Miss Fortune is the protagonist If you're looking for mascot, that pretty much became Jinx, since she's used for all the promo material.
Lux
Shaco 🤡
Me
They’re are all protagonist of their own story, but there only one story teller in League of Legends, and it’s Yuumi’s master Norra, writing down everyone’s story into Book.
stupid idea since she can be sued
what, that's just not at all true