The League of Legends-based MMORPG that Riot Games is working on is likely not coming out for quite a long time. MMOs require an absurd amount of work, polish, and just development time overall. Plus, this one is based on a franchise filled with over 150 different Champions, 13 regions with diverse backgrounds and traditions, and all kinds of history, so it's going to require even more work.
So, just for fun while we wait and play the other Riot-developed games on Xbox Game Pass, let's talk a bit about some aspects of the League of Legends universe that Riot could explore in the MMORPG in some really unique ways.
8 Targon Prime & Mount Targon
Full bias here, Targon is our favorite region, and this is simply because the lore surrounding Mt. Targon, Targon Prime, and the whole "Aspect" system is so incredibly interesting. Just to give a few ideas on how Riot could explore Targon in their MMO:
- Players could pick which Aspect their character is the Vessel for (like Pantheon, Diana, and Leona) if they choose the Targon region as their background.
- Climbing to the top of Mt. Targon could be a part of the main story, and players could even speak to the Arbiter of the Peak or witness Targon Prime.
- There could be a looming threat of Aurelion Sol attacking Earth with his Celestials and Dragons as the power in his crown wanes, and the player character could discover the dark history of the Celestials.
- Players could explore the contrast between the Rakkor tribes, the alienated Lunari and the fanatical Solari while adventuring in the Targon realm.
This Region has had so much teased about it over the years, but so little of it has been fully explored at length.
7 Noxus' Dirty Little Secrets
Noxus, Swain, and the Trifarix Revolution that led to Swain becoming Grand General of Noxus are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this brutal, expansionist Region of Runeterra. Exploring this coup where Darius and Swain truly came to power is already interesting enough, but players could also see more of the Black Rose cabal that LeBlanc runs, get hints at what Mordekaiser (or his remains) are doing trapped beneath the Immortal Bastion, see glimpses of Annie's family before they died, or even witness Tybaulk being transferred into Tibbers.
Noxus originally started as a very classically "evil" and "authoritarian" civilization when League was first released in 2009 but has slowly been made more of a morally grey area by Riot's writers over time, so it'd be interesting to see how it could be characterized in an MMORPG setting.
6 Tyari The Traveler's Climb & Ascension
Tyari is one of the few recurring non-Champion NPCs seen in any of the Riot franchises alongside characters like Cythria the Bold or Tianna Crownguard. Tyari Rakkor tribe (the main faction of Targon), but felt this was not their path so they undertook the climb to the peak of Mt. Targon to become the Vessel for a Celestial. This entire journey that Tyari took with their two companions, a Noxian and a Demacian, can be seen in a variety of cards from the Targon region in Legends of Runeterra. And, it's hinted at in the Arbiter of the Peak card art that Tyari was chosen as the Vessel for the Traveler "Aspect" and has now since joined the ranks of other Vessels such as Taric, Leona, or Diana.
Because this journey Tyari undertook has no canonical "timeline", players could easily join Tyari during their travels in the MMORPG or actually witness them "Ascend". Riot could also use this quest to reveal Tyari as a playable Champion in their base game, League of Legends, as well.
5 Reveal The Demons
Demons, what they truly are, and where they come from, are still largely unexplored in the Runeterra universe. Riot has released a number of Demonic Champions such as Fiddlesticks, Nocturne, Evelyn, and most recently Tahm Kench, but they're still mostly a mystery. Players know that there were originally ten Demonic "Kings" (of which Fiddlesticks was the first), that each one "feeds" on a different human emotion, and that many of them helped Mordekaiser in his reign, but that's about it.
So, the MMORPG could go more into demons like Tybaulk (the Demon in Annie's Teddie Bear), the Realm of Shadows that Nocturne apparently comes from, or just the concept of Demons as a whole.
4 Shaco & Zilean...Just In General
Out of all the Champions in League of Legends, two of the ones that are still mostly a mystery are Shaco and Zilean. Surprisingly, though both of these Champions are incredibly old, being among the first 40 Champions in the game, they have almost no lore. Even on League Universe, one of the premier places to comb over LoL lore, Shaco's entry is barely more than a single paragraph. Meanwhile, Zilean has more lore to uncover, originally serving as the Mage King of Icathia before it fell to the Void, but his story essentially stops there.
The League MMORPG could easily use Zilean as a narrative device to explore the event that was the "end of everything" that his bio speaks of, and they could also easily explore Shaco's lack of lore and answer the question of whether he truly is a Demon or if the "Demon Jester" moniker is just a name.
3 The Sun Disc Origins
The history of Shurima, Azir, and the Ascended will almost assuredly already be explored in the League MMORPG early on, as they're too interesting to be ignored. But, Shurima has a long history and many civilizations around it such as Icathia, Ixtal, and even Narimazeth. So, hopefully, Riot also explores these Regions and their histories, including how Narimazeth is where the Sun Disc was originally created, tested, and caused massive destruction in the past. In all honesty, Legends of Runeterra, Riot's League-based card game, has already added a ton to the Shuriman lexicon of lore so far.
Plus, the MMO could also explore the fan theories related to the similarities between Targonian Aspect Ascension and how Shurima used the Sun Disc to "Ascend" their prized Sunborn.
2 Show More Baccai
Speaking of Shurima's Ascension process, let's talk a bit more about it. So, when the best of the best in Shurima are picked for Ascension, they are brought to the Sun Disc, and this ancient power (originally stolen from Aurelion Sol) "Ascends" them into these anthropomorphic God-Warriors known as the Sunborn. But, when this process fails, in the rare cases that it does, the chosen is instead turned into a "Baccai".
Riot Games could further explore these "Baccai" in-depth, their culture, and if they're at all connected to the Darkin or the Void (especially now that Bel' Veth has been introduced). In fact, they could even use a Baccai conflict as a stepping stone into introducing the Darkin into the MMO plotline and go from there.
1 Let's See Some Nature Monsters
Ionia is already such an interesting Region of Runeterra. For one, it houses many Champions such as Zed, Shen, Akali, or Irelia. But, one of the main reasons this place is so intriguing is its connection to the Spirit World and to Nature overall. In an area of Ionia called Navori, Nature is especially magical, and this area holds many magical gardens where the fauna literally lives and breaths.
Players could travel to this area in the LoL MMORPG to explore places like the Garden of Forgetting (that Ahri has been seen in), Omikayalan (a sacred grove where human Ivern cut down the Spirit Tree and "became" the Green Father), or the phantom village of Weh'le (where Akali frequently visits).