League of Legends is a game and franchise that has been around for quite a long time. Originally released in late 2009, Riot Games has since updated the game countless times, added over a hundred playable characters, developed other games within the same universe (which will all soon be on Xbox Game Pass), and so much more.
Throughout all these changes, it only makes sense that the lore of certain Champions would become outdated or need reworking. In fact, the actual "League," or Institute of War, that all these Champions originally joined has long since been retconned out of the franchise entirely. Here's a look at some of the Champs in League of Legends whose lore has been completely redone.
6 Yorick's Humble Gravedigging Family
Yorick of the Shadow Isles has been disrespected by Riot more than once. Not only was Yorick's entire story changed to make him a part of Viego (AKA the Ruined King) and the Black Mist's storyline, but even in doing so, the developers barely let him contribute to fighting against the Black Mist in the Sentinels of Light event, which is where his story should have been the focus.
Yorick Mori, in his old lore, was from a long line of Gravediggers who was the last of his name due to not having any children. He stumbled into accidentally becoming undead and took up the mantle of burying the dead until he had filled a quota, and was able to pass on himself. In his updated lore, Yorick was a special child on the Blessed Isles who could see ghosts and was brought to the inner island to become one of the "Brethren of the Dusk." But, due to Viego corrupting the Blessed Waters and accidentally creating the Black Mist, Yorick is the last survivor of this ruined nation. Now, he exists solely to command spirits and hopefully build an army to stop the Ruined King.
5 Aatrox's Origins & The Darkin
The Darkin and the Champions who are Darkin, such as Varus, Kayn, and most importantly Aatrox, have gone through a lot of changes and speculation. Originally, Aatrox was just a "mythical figure" that appeared on battlefields to rouse the losing side to victory, while also apparently "corrupting" them into committing atrocities through battle from that point on.
As time went on after Aatrox came out, fans tried to figure out what the Darkin were. Originally people thought of them as a race of demon-like beings. Then, they were assumed to be from another planet, before finally being confirmed as Void-corrupted Celestial Aspects (wonder if Bel' Veth had a hand in this?) that were tricked and sealed within weapons by Myisha (Zoe's Aspect). Funnily enough, these aren't the only supernatural beings the Celestials tricked, as Aurelion Sol and all of his Draconic creations have a bone to pick with them as well.
4 Zac's Retconned Tragedy
This next retcon is small, but a lot of League players were very much against it. In both versions of his lore, Zac is a Zaun-created biochemical experiment called the Zaun Amorphous Combatant. But the big retcon is the fate of his scientist parents who were a part of the Z.A.C project.
Both versions have the parents running away from the lab with Zac after bonding with him as if he was their child. However, in the new version, the parents die tragically while the old lore had them kidnapped and ultimately saved by Zac. Once again, it's a small change, but one that felt needlessly dour and almost like a manufactured tragedy.
3 Leona's New Religious Devotion
The story of Diana and Leona has always been interesting, as these two represent the Sun or the Solari of Targon, and the Moon or exiled Lunari of Targon, respectively. But Leona in particular has had a massive shift in her lore and overall personality. Leona's original lore talks about how she excelled in the Rakkor, but never accepted their overly violent traditions. In fact, Leona is almost killed for defending a child she should have killed during an ancient ritual. But right before her execution, Leona becomes bathed in sunlight and becomes the personification of the Sun itself (although it's not explicitly stated that she became an "Aspect Vessel") before being taken in by the Solari.
In her new lore, the "defending the weak" and "fighting against her own people" aspects of Leona are gone, despite her being a literal "Guardian" in the current Teamfight Tactics Set. Rather, Leona is a fervent believer of the Solari gospel, so much so that she spends much of her young life trying to teach and convert her friend Diana, who keeps asking questions. In fact, she even follows Diana up Mount Targon in order to try and "save" her, but ends up becoming the Aspect of the Sun while Diana becomes the Aspect of the Moon.
2 Blitzcrank's Sentient Origins
Blitzcrank is a surprising champ to have their lore retconned. What could possibly be changed about a literal robot with a grapple arm? A lot, apparently. The old version of Blitzcrank is an automaton with AI that gained sentience at creation, while the new version is only sentient due to the Brackern crystal (a race that Skarner is a part of) as its core or some other unknown magical factor.
It might seem like a small change once again, but the new lore now includes connections to other characters such as Viktor, possibly Skarner, and more, while the old lore was pretty self-enclosed with no notable characters. Though, funnily enough, both versions also include one Professor Stanwick Pididly. In the new lore he's the one who took credit for creating Blitzcrank instead of Viktor, while in the old lore he stole the credit for Blitzcrank's creation from a band of random scientists.
1 Soraka & Warwick Are Strangers Now
This last entry actually includes two Champions and the retconned connection they once had. In particular, Soraka has gone through a series of lore changes, from being a talented mage of cosmic mage to an immortal celestial being who came to Runeterra to help humans. Originally, Soraka was so talented among the Ionian Races that she transcended humanity and essentially became a god. But when Warwick (who was then a chem tech Mercenary of Noxus) caused destruction for her people, Soraka cursed his outside to look as horrific as his insides, and gave him the werewolf-esque appearance. This act caused Soraka to transform as well as punishment for her violent act.
In the new lore, Soraka, who is currently overpowered as a Jade Unit in TFT, is part of the Targonian Region and Warwick is with Zaun. Neither of their new stories has anything to do with one another, and the actual Champions themselves are vastly different. Warwick was once a man who was experimented on by Singed and is now a shadow of his former self with no memories. Meanwhile, Soraka is now a Celestial being who has descended to Earth to help anyone in need and now lives relatively close to the peak of Mount Targon itself.