Red Post Collection: April sales schedule, Hextech Crafting live on NA, Hextech Crafting guide, & more

Posted on at 5:24 AM by Moobeat
This morning's red post includes the April sales schedule, Hextech Crafting's launch on NA (with launch on other servers next week), a look at Riot Support's Hextech Crafting guide, discussion on Jhin's color text, an interview with a master level Orianna main, and more!
Continue reading for more information!



Table of Contents


April sales schedule 

As we are half way through March, the April sales schedule and early sales schedule has been published!
"Check out all the champs and skins on sale this April. Like previous sales schedules, we’re not posting the exact dates for each champ and skin, but they’ll all be on sale sometime next month, so keep an eye out. 
Just a heads up – since we’re publishing these in advance, we won’t offer partial refunds on champs and skins purchased before they go on sale."
The March sales schedule can be found here. 

Hextech Crafting is now live in NA! 

After extended testing on the TR server, Hextech Crafting is now live on the North American server!  For other servers, the new system release will likely be next week!
"Hextech crafting and loot are now live in NA! We’re introducing the new system to reward you with loot-filled chests through Champion Mastery when you or your premade perform well and also provide a way to pick up randomized content at large discounts. 
Craft, earn, or purchase content like champions, skins, ward skins and summoner icons in new loot chests you earn by performing well across a variety of champions or as part of a premade. When you or someone in your premade party earns any S rank, you’ll acquire a chest. You can earn up to four chests each month, and each champion you play can earn you one chest per season. 
Each time you win any matchmade game, there’s a chance you’ll earn a key and winning with friends increases the chance of a key drop. Generally, you can expect to earn a few keys each month. 
For those who just want to pick up content at a significant discount, we’re offering chests and keys individually in the store. All chests contain random loot worth more than the cost of the chest (well, depending on how you feel about Teemo) so you can purchase with the confidence of knowing you’re getting a good deal (but a direct purchase from the store will still be the best way to pick up specific items). 
We’ve been testing Hextech Crafting and loot for over a month, and we’re excited to bring the system live around the world. We’ll be rolling out Hextech Crafting to each region throughout the next few weeks, starting with NA (Turkey has already been live for the beta test). While this is the official launch, as with any part of League, Hextech Crafting and loot will continue to evolve (including tuning drop rates and the loot mix of each chest). 
One important note: if you use Hextech Crafting or loot, anything you unlock (shards, essence, even permanent content that you craft) using the new system WILL NOT transfer with you if you leave the server. We’re planning to remove this restriction once all regions have Hextech Crafting. 
When Hextech Crafting and loot launch on your server, all players will receive a special First Day chest, which includes a skin shard for a champ you own, a ward skin shard, and enough essence to permanently unlock one of them. Trying to explain Hextech Crafting and Loot can be kinda tricky, so visit the 2016 Season Update or check out the FAQ below if you still have questions. GLHF and we’ll see you on the Rift!

FAQ 

What happens if I get a skin for a champion that I don’t own?

If you’re not interested in unlocking that champ, you can re-roll a skin shard with three others for a shard guaranteed to be for a champ you own or you can disenchant the skin shard and use the new essence to craft something that better fits your playstyle (permanent loot disenchants into more essence than shards). 
Do chests include stuff I already have?

Yes. Chests are random, and contain loot that might be duplicates of content you’ve already picked up. You’re not stuck with it, though. At launch, you can re-roll or disenchant extra shards, and we’re investigating ways for folks who have every champion to find a use for champ shards they pick up. When you re-roll, you’re guaranteed not to receive a duplicate. 
Can I earn chests or keys with champs from the free rotation?

Champion Mastery is about expressing depth with champions you play as part of your champ roster. If you want to earn chests or keys with a champ on free rotation, you’ll need to unlock them and add them to your collection. 
What’s the difference between the two essences?

Blue essence is currently used to upgrade champion shards into a permanent addition to your champ roster. Orange essence upgrades everything else in the crafting system from skin shards to ward skins. 
I got something in my chest I haven’t seen anywhere yet: what’s a gemstone?

Gemstones are very rare crafting materials that you can use to forge a chest and key combo that might drop an additional gemstone! Down the road, gemstones can be combined to access exclusive hextech crafting loot. 
I own all of the champions. What can I do with champion shards?

At launch, you’ll be able to disenchant extra shards you find in chests for champion essence. We’re currently exploring ways for players with every champ to use the shards they earn but we haven’t settled on the final form of the plan yet. As Hextech Crafting and loot continue to evolve throughout the season, we’ll keep you posted on any new features we add. 
Can I still earn Champion Mastery chests when my account is restricted for unsportsmanlike behavior?

No. Players who are chat or ranked restricted or currently banned from play cannot earn or unlock chests through Champion Mastery. Once they’ve reformed, they’ll be eligible for rewards again. 
What do you mean, content I craft using the new system will not transfer between servers?

Because Hextech Crafting is a new system that isn’t available on every server, crafting material (anything used at the crafting table, like shards or essence) DOES NOT transfer should you choose to leave the server you’re currently using Hextech Crafting on. If you earn or craft permanent content, you can redeem it to add it to your collection (which WILL transfer), but if you leave it unredeemed, it would not follow you. Once crafting and loot is live in all regions, we expect to lift this restriction."
Following the announcement, several Rioters hoped on the boards and reddit to answer questions and comment on the new system!

With the launch of Hextech crafting, every one gets a special releases chest containing a skin shard, ward skin shard, and a handful of cosmetic essence.  Mirross explained:
"Yes, the day one chest is a special chest with three items (skin, ward skin, essence). Regular chests contain one item, with some exceptions (some contain additional essence, or a gemstone)"
When asked about the estimated release date of Hextech Crafting on other servers, Socrates noted:
"Other regions will get staggered releases with few days between each if we don't see any issues NA. We intentionally did a slow roll out with this feature because there is a real money component."
Mirross chimed in:
"To set expectations - we won't be in other regions this week. Next week is looking good right now."

When asked specifically about the EU launch, Mirross noted:
"We're not ready for EU yet - it won't be this week, next week is looking likely right now."
Mirross continued:
"Most Riot regions should be next week (except Korea)"
As for why the delay between releases, Mirross explained:
"EU is bigger. This is a pretty big system with that is pretty deeply integrated into Champion mastery and the store, so we're rolling it out gradually."
Chager added:
"Turkey got it first about 4 weeks ago. Going there allowed us to get confidence in the system and player feedback, make some meaningful changes for players and get it ready for larger environments. 
Like Mirross said, its a huge complicated system and we're going as quickly as we can given the complexity of it. Soon we'll get it out everywhere!"

When asked if you can get shards for content you already own, Wingfield explained:
"You can get duplicates when you open a box, since the shards have several other uses (disenchant for essence or re-roll). 
However, when you re-reroll, you'll always get an unowned piece of content of that content type :)"
As for if any of the crafting content expires or is on a timer, Wingfield  noted:
"The loot shards and essence you get now will not expire. 
Some shards may expire in the future (say as part of an event), but we'll make it very clear if there's an expiration in that case"

Wingfield also clarified you can get legacy skins from crafting but not limited skins:
"Legacy skins are included. Limited are not."
As they are legacy, this also includes "traditional" skins such as Traditional Sejuani and Karma:
"Traditionals are legacy, so they are included in the loot tables :)"
When asked if you can earn chests from co-op vs ai games, Mirross noted:
"No, nothing from bot games. Matchmade only."
Mirross also noted that players who have been recently punished will not be able to earn crafting rewards until they get their account in good standing:
"We view champ mastery chests and keys as a reward, as we did with the end of season rewards last year. We're holding players to a higher standard of behavior for rewards than having just completed the specific restrictions they were given. 
Great job working off your restrictions. If you keep up the good behavior then you'll become eligible for chests and keys soon."
On behavioral restrictions in the new system, RiotNeuroCat added:
"We're working on putting out a better explanation for this. For players that are punished by the Instant Feedback system and work off the punishment, they will still be restricted from earning Hextech chests or keys for a period while the system ensures that they have reformed their behavior. There is no fixed interval here - if you continue to play with sportsmanlike behavior, you'll eventually get back into good standing. We're looking into making a player's status more clear/visible to help avoid this kind of confusion."
When asked what to do with champion shards if you already own all champions, Wingfield noted:
"There will be additional uses for champion shards in the future. Just save them for now."

When asked about the status of the next champion mastery ranks, Socrates noted:
"We are still working on this. It didn't make the launch cut but we didn't want to delay getting hextech to everyone for it."
Wingfield also added they are not going with the previously discussed system:
"We aren't going with the PBE system. Nobody panic! :)"

For those curious, here are the chest, key, and bundle prices -
A fan made reference for essence and disenchant values can be found here.

Riot Support's Hextech Crafting Guide

Still confused with the new Hextech Crafting system? Check out this guide from Riot Support for an overview of the system, glossary, and more!
"Earn Hextech Chests through high Champion Mastery scores, or purchase them through the store. Earn keys by playing any matchmade game; keys drop more frequently when you group with friends. Unlock chests with keys to reveal shards, permanents, and essence. Turn shards and essence into permanents, turn permanents into content. That’s it!

The Hextech Crafting table comes with its own inventory separate from your current inventory. You can’t disenchant content that you’ve purchased from the store, and anything you earn in Hextech Crafting must be manually redeemed into your personal inventory before you can use it. It also means that there’s some new content types, so there are a few terms you need to know.  
HEXTECH CHEST
Earn these through achieving a Mastery rank of S or higher, or purchase them in the store for RP. A chest requires a key to open, and will contain a shard and possibly some amount of essence (more on all that later). Some details: 
  • You can earn up to four chests at a time, with one chest slot regenerating each week. Purchasing chests doesn’t contribute to this limit, so even after earning four chests in a week, you can purchase another. There is a daily limit on purchasing chests. 
  • Once you earn a chest from achieving S rank on a champion, you won’t be able to earn another with that champion until the end of the season. You can see which champions you’ve earned chests with in your profile’s Champions tab. This chest cap resets each season. 
  • If someone in your premade group earns an S rank, you’ll receive a chest as well! The chest you receive is tied to the champion you’re playing, so that champion will be unable to earn more chests for this season.

HEXTECH KEY
Keys, perhaps unsurprisingly, open chests. Key fragments will sometimes drop after victory in any matchmade game mode--unlike chests, you can earn keys in ARAM or Twisted Treeline. Three key fragments can be forged into a single key; you can also purchase keys through the store for RP. Key fragments drop a little more frequently when you play with friends! 
ESSENCE
Use Essence to forge shards into permanent content. There are two types of essence, each unique to the corresponding shard type. Disenchanting a champion shard provides champion essence, which can only be used for unlocking champions. Disenchanting a skin shard provides cosmetic essence, which can only be used for unlocking skins. The essence cost of unlocking a piece of content scales with its RP cost.
PERMANENT
A completed piece of content in your Hextech inventory. As with shards, you can disenchant a permanent, or combine three permanents to receive a random new permanent. Of course, you can redeem it to add it to your account...permanently. Once activated, permanents disappear from your Hextech inventory and are available for use immediately.
GEM
Forge gems into a key-and-chest bundle, or use ten gems to unlock Hextech Annie. You’ll sometimes find gems in chests alongside another reward, and they can also spawn as a result of crafting.
CHAMPION SHARD
Used to unlock champions. You can do the following with a champion shard:
  • Upgrade a shard to add the champion to your collection. You’ll need a certain amount of the right kind of essence (explained below) to upgrade a shard.
  • Activate a shard to “rent” a champion for 7 days. This does consume the shard, so you won't be able to use it again until you find another.
  • Reroll three shards to receive a random, permanent piece of content to add to your collection.
  • Disenchant a shard to turn it into champion essence. Shards are worth an increasing amount of essence based on their RP cost.

SKIN SHARD
Similar to champion shards, skin shards unlock skins. You can discover cosmetic shards for champions you don’t own, but to redeem them permanently you must first purchase the champion. Cosmetic shards can be any non-limited skin. This means you might find DJ Sona, but you won’t find Victorious Jarvan IV. You can find a list of excluded content here. 
WARD SKIN SHARD
You can upgrade, activate, reroll, and disenchant these shards, same as the rest.
CRAFTING WALKTHROUGH 

IT STARTS WITH S
High scores are worth more than just bragging rights. You'll get a chest when you or a premade partner hits S rank with a champion for the first time that season. If your premade partner gets S rank, you'll unlock a chest as though you hit S with the champion you're playing in that game.

You can also purchase chests in the store. 
FIND A KEY
Keys drop in fragments after victories. Three fragments forge into a single key. Like chests, you can purchase them in the store.

WHAT'S IN THE BOX?
There's a reasonable limit to what you can find! Most boxes contain a single item, but some boxes have more to offer. Looks like we found a LeBlanc shard this time.

THE CRAFTING TABLE

Now that we've picked up a shard, we have some options:
  • Re-roll your shard (and two other shards of the same type) into a random permanent piece of content of the same type. To reroll our LeBlanc shard, we would need two other champion shards (any champion would do).
  • Upgrade your shard to permanently add that item to your collection.
  • Disenchant shards to turn them into essence, which helps you upgrade other shards.
  • Activate shards to "rent" the item for seven days. This action does consume the shard, so you won't be able to use it for anything else.
LeBlanc's pretty cool, so once we have the essence, let's add her to our collection. 
CONTENT UNLOCKED!
The Black Rose blooms full this day.

So ends today's crafting journey. The glossary contains a more-detailed version of Hextech Crafting's components, so head back to the top of the page for more. "


Between Two Turrets - Come chat with Ex Libris! 

ExLibris has jumped on the boards for a Q&A in the latest installment of Between Two Turrets!
"Welcome to the latest installment of Between Two Turrets, a Q&A series through which we connect you with various Rioters to chat about League, life, and anything in between. You can expect an installment every two weeks or so, with Rioters from all over jumping in to spend some time with you on the Boards.

This week, we’ve got Publishing Writer Ben “ExLibris” Snyder!

Greetings and salutations,

I’m ExLibris, or at least I am until I figure out a slightly less obscure reference to use as a nom de jeu. In real life, my parents decided to call me Ben. They were a little more confident in their choice than I’ve ever been with my various online handles.

I’m a writer on the central publishing team, which means I help write and edit posts, articles, announcements, and the other sorts of things you find on the front page or in the client. I’ve been at Riot just a shade under four years, kicking off my career hand-crafting over four hundred job descriptions as Riot grew and new Rioters joined weekly.

On the Rift, I’m almost exclusively a solo ranked player. I made Gold earlier this season than I ever have before, so I’m looking forward to a slow grind towards Plat. I’ve come close before, but the seafoam green border has always remained out of my grasp. Other than the three pentakills I’ve managed to earn over the years (the first one of which, I am unashamed to admit, is a life event on my Facebook), my favorite League accomplishment is when I won a ranked game with every champion during Season 3.

Anyway, enough about me. Although I guess this whole thing is mostly about me? That seems odd. Let’s make it about Magic: the Gathering and cats. But seriously, I’ll probably wax most poetic over questions about writing or the history of Snowdown rhyming websites. Ever wondered if professional writers scribble unofficial non-canonical fan fiction on the side? (I totally do.)

I’m here for the next few hours, so to start things off, I want to know: is Drew Goddard’s The Cabin in the Woods the perfection of metanarrative or pretentious hogwash?"
Check out the boards thread for more from Ben!

Meddler on Janna PBE Nerfs & Hextech Gunblade

When asked for context on the Janna E bonus AD nerfs on the PBE, Meddler commented:
"Just a straight power hit. We like Janna overall, she's over performing though and has been for a significant enough period of time. Also worth mentioning that in addition to the E nerf we're also reducing the duration the R stuns enemies as they're knocked back to 0.5s (from 0.75s). That removes a bit of power in a way that keeps the ult focused on its primary functions (getting people away/healing allies up, versus locking them down briefly during a fight)."
Meddler also commented on the Hextech Gunblade "Bolt" unique passive naming we briefly saw during the 6.6 PBE cycle, noting:
"That's a bit of an oops on our part, that wasn't intended to go to the PBE (should have been an internal test environment only, at least for now). We're experimenting with possible AP item changes for the mid year patch that will include the mage updates amongst other things. As part of that experimentation we're investigating possible changes to Revolver, WotA and Gunblade."

Ask an Orianna Main - interview with Plasma Lemon

Next up we have SandalwoodGrips interviewing  Plasma Lemon, a master tier Orianna main!
"Hey everyone,

It’s our distinct pleasure to introduce Plasma Lemon, a Master level Orianna main who’s logged 1400 games on the Lady of Clockwork since Season 3. 
We picked his brain about his intro to League, why he loves Orianna, optimal item builds, runes/masteries, matchups, and much more. 
He’ll be hanging out for the next few hours to answer your Orianna questions, so go ahead and ask him anything! 
------ 
How did you get into League of Legends? 
A group of friends that I met on another game played League together, and they started telling me that I should try it. I had never played any game similar to League, so it took a few months of encouragement from my friends for me to finally try it. Before I knew it, I was spending all my free time playing it. 
Where does your Summoner name come from? 
So I came up with "Lemon" to use as my nickname for summer camp back when I was 9 or 10. After that, I started using "Lemon" in the usernames I created for various games and websites. One day I thought of "Plasma Lemon" and loved it. I feel that it's unique and interesting, and I don't think I'll ever find something better to use for my name. 
What got you hooked on playing Orianna? 
Playing Orianna forces you to keep track of more things than you do while playing most other champs. When planning your moves, instead of considering how your abilities will interact with the game, you have to consider how your abilities will interact with your ball, and how your ball will interact with the game. It adds a whole new layer of complexity. 
Who is your go-to champion if Orianna gets banned? 
If Orianna isn't available for me to pick, I try to look for another champion with a playstyle similar to Ori's. Lately, that champion is Lux. 
If you could describe Orianna’s playstyle in a sentence, what would it be? 
Orianna's playstyle involves considering all the different things you can do, and deciding which is most worth doing. 
Suppose your Jarvan ults the enemy Kogmaw. You could shield Jarvan and ult to try hitting Kogmaw with it but you know Kogmaw has his flash up, and is probably watching for your ult. Or you see the fed enemy Tryndamere heading towards your team's Lucian. You could shield Lucian and help him kite the Tryndamere. Would it be better to focus on helping Jarvan deal with the enemy Kogmaw, or would it be better to focus on helping Lucian? 
As you can see, when playing Orianna, it's not just about whether you hit your skills or not. It's also about hitting your skills in the best possible way they can hit. 
What runes and masteries do you run on her? 
Generally, my default runes for Orianna are magic pen marks, hp/lvl seals, cdr/lvl glyphs, and flat AP quints. You really can't go wrong with that page. For masteries, I always take 12 points in Ferocity and 18 in Cunning, with Thunderlords as the keystone. 
What is Orianna’s core item build? 
Orianna wants CDR+mana, and then she wants damage. Athene’s gives plenty mana, so it's a pretty good item for Orianna to rush. However, the MR given by Athene’s is not useful if you're laning against an AD champ, so you should buy Morello instead against AD. 
But with just Morello, managing mana is hard. That's why it's not a bad idea to pick up a Rod of Ages before building Morello. If you complete the RoA and get it stacking up early, you'll hit a very nice spike with your power after finishing Morello. But you should only build a RoA if you're confident that the game is gonna last long enough for your power spike to show up. 
After Morello/Athenes, you want Deathcap and Void staff (and you should upgrade your boots to Sorcerer Shoes somewhere in between). If you can get both of those, you will be able to do a ton of damage. 
So if Orianna has a complete 6-item build, I would say that these four items should pretty much always be there: Sorcerer Shoes. Morello OR Athenes. Deathcap. Void Staff.
The other two items are situational, and can be any combination of these: Abyssal, Zhonyas, Ludens, Rylai's, Liandries, RoA, Banshees, GA. 
What are Orianna’s easiest matchups? What are her toughest? 
Orianna's easiest matchups are ones where she outranges her opponent, AND her opponent doesn't have any reliable way of getting close to her. The most noteworthy examples are Twisted Fate and Annie. 
Orianna's toughest matchups tend to be ones where "staying back" isn't enough to avoid fights with her opponent, champs like Zed, Fizz, LeBlanc, Syndra, Ahri, Talon, Diana. 
What is Orianna’s main job in lane? What about Teamfights? 
In lane, Orianna's main job is to get the gold and experience she needs in order to be useful for teamfights. 
If she can do more, like put pressure on her lane opponent, and roam to help other lanes, then of course that would be great. But keeping up in farm and experience should be Ori's top priority. Because if Ori can do that, then she's gonna prove to be very powerful in teamfights. 
Orianna's job in teamfights is to use her skills in the way that best helps the team. Whether that's playing aggressively and looking to catch the enemy carries out with her ult, or playing defensively and help protect your teammates from being caught. 
If someone is playing Orianna for the first time, what is the most important thing to bear in mind? 
I think the most important thing to keep in mind is that that getting your spells to hit the enemies is just the first step to learning Orianna... Once you get that down, start paying attention to how you get your spells to hit!

What do you think is the most powerful part of Orianna’s kit? 
The most powerful part part of her kit... I'd say it's how Orianna's ball is pretty much indestructible! Even if Yasuo intercepts the path of the ball with his wind wall, the ball just resets and goes back to Ori. 
The only thing that limits the ball is the leash range. If the enemies want to walk somewhere, and Orianna's ball is blocking their way there is absolutely nothing they can do to the ball to move it. They can try to find Orianna, and force her out of the area so the ball resets to her, but the ball is invincible. 
What do you look for in a high-quality Shockwave? 
Generally, you're only gonna get one ult to use in a teamfight so when I'm looking to Shockwave, I'm looking to make it count. If I'm strong enough to kill the enemy carries with a rotation of my spells, then I'll always be looking for an opportunity to catch them out with my ult. But if I'm by myself, and hit all 5 enemies with a Shockwave, and none of the enemies even have to back, then that Shockwave didn't really count for much, even if it hit 5 people. 
I would say that a high quality Shockwave is any Shockwave that turns the tides of a teamfight, and helps your team win a fight that they would have otherwise lost. 
What’s a neat trick about Orianna that players may not know? 
While you have the ball with you, you can press R, and flash right before the ult finishes casting. This can really catch people off guard, and if they were watching for your ult and ready to flash away from it if they saw it, ult-flashing on them can be your best shot at hitting them with the ult. 
Thanks for taking the time to chat with us! If readers want to reach out, where can they find you? 
Thank you for having me! I always love for a chance to discuss about my favorite champion. If any reader wants to reach me, coming to my stream - www.twitch.tv/plasma_lemon - is probably their best bet. And if they can't seem to catch me when my stream is live, they're free to send me a message on Twitch. 
-----------

Stick around in the comments and ask Plasma Lemon any questions you have about Orianna! 
Find more Ask a Champion Mains here!"

Jhin's Color Text Q&A Thread

Following the Jhin's full story being published yesterday, WAAARGHBobo jumped on the boards to answer all sorts of questions on Jhin and the four part story!

As for Jhin's obsession with four, WAAARGHBobo noted:
"Quote:
That's the first thing that came to my mind (I'm a composer), but then I remembered the movie. I was hoping it would be some weird really low key reference but it's just his obsession with 4 apparently.
It's both! We started with the idea that Jhin liked four-- as an internal joke. But the more we looked at it, the more central it became and the more we doubled down on it, the more we found new ways to use it-- both in game and symbolically."
When asked about the previously mentioned ESRB rating issues, WAAARGHBobo noted:
"Quote:
What issues did the original story have that there were problems with the ESRB rating of it?
From Jhin's POV, as an unreliable narrator, I described him giving someone "a show" worth remembering."
WAAARGHBobo  continued:
"Quote:
Since this is the NA boards, we are tough, can we know what was changed to fit the ESRB Rating?
sigh.. sadly no. 
Even if we put out stuff on a completely separate webpage, only vaguely related to the game, in a different language-- it could still affect our ESRB. yay! international law. 
Also 'cause that chapter was waaaaaaaay worse than Gangplank or Grave's cigar-- my bosses would kill me."

When asked if Sander Cohen from Bioshock was an influence for Jhin, WAAARGHBobo commented:
"Quote:
Jhin reminds me very strongly of Sander Cohen, from Bioshock. Was there any inspiration drawn from his character?
Strangely he wasn't on any of our mood boards -- but did come up after Jhin was in flight. I think he was made with a lot of the same inspirations. In general we favor references from myths, movies, TV shows, books, and comics."
WAAARGHBobo continued:
"Quote:
He reminds me of John Doe from David Fincher's Seven, he was played by Kevin Spacey. But instead of being artistic, he kills people because more of a phylosophical intention, how people embody the seven deadly sins. He lacks the artistic part Jhin has - but it strikes me as they have a very, very similar personality.
So when we make a champion, art and narrative make giant mood boards illustrating our influences-- (I'll ask to see if we can share one). We are trying to define a clear archetype and find a place to make the character a totally unique expression of that archetype. Kevin spacey, Mads Mikkelsen, Michael C Hall, Tatsuya Nakadai, Phantom of the Opera, and many dozens more were on that board."


When asked about Jhin's suit, WAAARGHBobo commented:
"Quote:
I'm asking this one too so we might have an answer:
I have to ask about the weird leather bodysuit, is this some kind of weird obsession, does he feel good when he's restricted physically? He loses his depht perception and has a harder time breathing... is it for just ehh, comfort, or does it make him focus more on the upcoming performance, he got all excited as if just trying on a costume for an awaited scene?
Odd obsession.
yep.
yep-- and sorta.
It's part of his "ritual." It builds the anticipation for him."

WAAARGHBobo also commented on Jhin's bullets:
"Quote
So Jhin's bullets literally shape his victims' flesh into artwork of his choosing, the trees and such?
yep. Or turn the parts of flesh to gold, or make it move, and other things. It is macabre.."

As for Jhin's father, WAAARGHBobo  noted:
"Quote:
I have two questions myself. 
What happened to Yi and Jhin's father's dojo rivalry stuff? I remember someone vaguely alluding to that in Jhin's Q&A. Did that get retconned?
Are we going to see more? The cliff hanger is real, and I have to admit the suspense is killing me!! 
Also, great work, lore team! Glad it's finally out!
This is deep backstory. Jhin's father did run a dojo-- its ruin is part of the mystery Shen must uncover.

Hopefully. If you guys keep demanding it-- rito will prioritize it."



When asked how Jhin might view Gangplank, WAAARGHBobo noted:
"Quote:
So how would Jhin view Gangplank? sure both are like . worlds away from each other but the two of them just looove carving knives into people and calling it "art". would they enjoy each others work and be like best buds? or say, gangplank thinks jhins work is grotesque. and visa versa would jhin think gangplanks bone carving be very primitive?
In personality I think Gangplank is probably much closer to Zed. Both men do horrible things to scare people because they believe it needs to be done-- "examples need to be set." Which isn't the same as actually wanting to do horrible things.-- or in Jhin's case beingcompelled to do horrible things."
and Kindred:
"Quote:
What would Jhin think of Kindred if they ever meet?
Unlikely to meet Kindred unless you are in the moment of dying. 
More likely Jhin would be inspired by stories about kindred and do a performance based on one of their tales."
and Shaco:
"Quote:
Not quite a question about the color text, but there are some major similarities between Shaco and Jhin. Any connection?
Nope.
Shaco is a jester. Jhin is a greek tragedy.
I would say Shaco and Jynx have more in common. They are both in the emotionally manic /" Yay anarchy!" area. Jhin is calmer and a control freak. Jhin doesn't want chaos."
and Swain:
"Quote:
What would Jhin think of Swain, personally?
He would see him as a Broadway performance--- desirable but needing enormous resources to be worthy of that giant stage."

As for what Jhin might think of the reanimated, WAAARGHBobo  commented:
"Quote:
Anyway, if I may chime in - how does Jhin perceive Urgot, Sion and alike?
As a potentially interesting artistic challenge."

As for the idea of Jhin working with other champions, he commented:
"Quote:
If Jhin was forced into a situation where he had to team up with someone, who would it be? Is there such a person that he would actually respect?
It's easy to imagine him working with any of our less scrupulous champs-- esp champs looking to make a quick coin. But obviously Jhin wouldn't reveal his real identity and would plan on killing them. --personally, I think TF and Graves would make a great protagonists, or minor characters story where Jhin is the villain."
When asked about Zed and his involvement in the Noxian Invasion of Ionia, WAAARGHBobo
commented:
"Quote:
Zed mentions to Shen that Ionia could no longer afford his fathers ideals, and that is why he had to die. This seems to indicate to me that while the experience with Jihn was what broke him the Noxian invasion of ionia was Zeds point of no return.
How big of a role did Zed play in repelling the noxian invasion I wonder.
He was very active in it-- and you're correct the actions and horrors he saw and committed during the war were a big part of his downfall."
he continued:
"Quote:
So this is confirmation that Zed is apparently human under his helmet, huh?
yep"
As for Zed's back story in general, he added:
"Quote:
I'm in love with how utterly done Zed seems to be in this story.
Dude is tired as heck and probably sick.
Also this is a groundshaking character development. Zed can still be noble when the situation calls for it.
A story for Zed and giving him new depth was probably the first thing I worked on when I joined riot two years ago. Hopefully his story will be told soon. Zed is much more than a power-mad ninja. He's still doing what he thinks needs to be done for Ionian-- but the strain has broken him and taken all that he loved. Shen was his brother and best friend. Zed knows he will never be forgiven for killing Kusho-- especially by himself."





When asked if they had considered art along with these stories, WAAARGHBobo replied:
"Quote:
I got a question.You guys ever thought about presenting art along side the color texts?
Would like too. But right now that is out of the range for what narrative department can request."




Group Questions #1:
"Quote:
Is this for general Lore questions or just on the topic of Jhin's Color Text. Meh, either way....
1) Jhin is on his way to Zaun? Oh lordy are we going to see some vs
or vs shenanigans?
2) How old is Akali relative to Shen, Jhin and Zed?
3) What exactly is the Spirit World that Shen attempts to balance with the Physical World? Is it the afterlife or just a separate parallel reality? Do Kindred and Bard do their thing in this world too?
4) Is there an updated Map of Valoran currently in development? It's something that I would love to see as we have no indication of where locations are positioned relative to each other save for "Zaun is kinda close to Piltover".
5) Is there any interest in trying out different ways of expanding the lore other than text based stories? Perhaps a weekly web-comic ala Dawngate Chronicles?
1) Maybe, (only in passing) but he will be more a problem for VI, Cait and someone who can't be named at this time.
2) She is younger than them -somewhat significantly. I don't know her age off the top of my head, but they look at her as young.
3) not my champ. But I do not believe it is an afterlife-- more a parallel reality. 2cents
4) kinda' but much cooler (sorry can't reveal the surprise)
5) Well I want too. It is something we've been looking at for longer than I've been at riot. A lot of the promo's have been test runs for this sort of media. (Seeing what people like) Text has an advantage currently for my department as it has the lowest tech and art needs."

Group Questions #2:
"Quote:
  1. When Jhin kills, does he delight in making it painful and agonising for his victims, or would Jhin prefer his victims to die quickly? Since he dislikes messy things and likes being in control, I'd imagine he wants them dead as soon as possible.
  2. Jhin mentions in-game, "I get nervous before every performance, but I need that feeling.", but also "I cannot be good, I must be perfection." Can we take this characterisation to mean that Jhin isn't just cold-blooded, and knows he's fallible? Or is Jhin completely convinced he's above others? The story also seems to imply he's put in measures to deal with Zed if it came to that, but he also seems a bit arrogant in staying around to watch Shen's reaction. How does Jhin exactly see his own skills? Does he rate himself highly? (One of his other lines talks about 'my Jhinius', which does imply he thinks of himself highly...?)
  3. Jhin's hired to take out certain targets, but how do his employers feel about collateral damage like the maid he brutalised?
  1. He is disinterested in other people's pain-- unless it adds to the performance. He doesn't rule out messy-- if it makes a big impact- So he's up for spraying a wall with blood a'la a Kazoo Shiraga artwork or he could do the hyper detailed work of Gustave Klimt-- if he thinks it's right.
  2. Jhin does know he's fallible (he was caught after all) but more than that I think he's very insecure and searching/fighting for validation. The temptation of the last scene is the desire to see his work's affect--- even if it puts him in a bit of danger.
  3. To a certain extent- You hire Jhin when you WANT the maximum collateral impact. He's a tool for terror and control. When you want to scare a whole town, or silence a clan etc... you send Jhin."

Group Questions 3:
"Quote:
Jhin is my favourite champion,thank you very much for the creation of such...perfection
I have 3 questions to ask
1) In the story it says Jhin held his gun in his right hand,but in game he is seen wielding it in his left,is that a mistake or is that how he lost his right arm?
2) Since we know Khada Jhin is more of a title than his real name,is there a possibility of someone inheriting the title of Golden Excellence?
3) How mad does Jhin get when a Teemo blind ruins his perfection?
1) He is ambidextrous. Keep in mind he kinda has 3 guns, and uses his cane gun in his right hand in game. --which if your like me --you miss with constantly.

I suppose a copy-cat is possible-- but khada jhin set the bar pretty high-- so it would be hard from someone else to pull his stuff off.

He is more annoyed by how artless teemo's mushrooms are."

Group Questions 4:
"Quote:
Well, Jhin is creepy. Also, I have some questions about the Kinkou (sorry Jhin). 
1) Are Shen, Akali and Kennen the only fully trained ninjas that the Kinkou has after Zed's attack, or are there more that just aren't as prevalent in the lore? 
2) Considering Poppy's relation to Demacia, has Kennen been in the Kinkou since they were founded, or is he still a fairly recent addition? 
2.5) Will Kennen be featured more in the lore any time soon? Most of the Kinkou lore seems to be structured in a way that leaves him out of the loop. 
3) Would Jhin have decimated the Kinkou if Zed hadn't gotten there first, or would he just be doing the same thing with Kusho instead of (or as well as) Shen and Zed? 
4) If Kusho had still been alive, would Jhin have tried to kill Akali as well, just so he'd have four ninjas in his sights?
1) Those are the leading characters--- but it's question for champ up- or foundations. I'm not sure how big the organization is now. It feels small to me.
2) I think of poppy as fulfilling the ideal of "humble warrior" for Demacia. Kennen is a yordle which relates to similar concept for Ionia. (not a cannon-- comment! -- just my 2cents )
2.5) only as a guest star--- not as recurring character.
3) Jhin doesn't really care about politics.
4) huh? (not sure what you mean) He would have liked to kill Kusho-- not just because he was extremely famous. He only recently became aware of Alkali."
Group Questions 5:
"Quote:
Great work, honestly. LoL's lore is amazing in many aspects. Keep it up.
I'd like to ask a lot of stuff, but prolly they're eluding me now. What I definitely wanna ask: 
1) "Then Zed leaned over the table, well within Shen’s range—his neck intentionally exposed." So, Zed, did that on purpose- knowing Shen struggles to be emotionless as the Eye of Twilight but still mournes his father's death at his hands? To torture him? 
2) Jhin passing from Zaun. Hmmm... Should Vi (and her fans, me being one) worry about her life? We've been told that the teasers were Jhin imagining/dreaming how it would be if he actually killed these champs (the perfect way in his mind) and the team didn't necessarily want to go along with lore. But still... could one of his crime lord a la Kingpin masters issued him a death contract for Vi? :o :c I bet many people would want her dead. 
3) Not having to do with Jhin specifically but- I remember reading about custom games being played for quite a while regarding Noxus invading Ionia- and the results shaping lore. In the end, Ionia was declared the victor and Noxus had to give back the 3 island-like provinces that it conquered. Ionian boots were added in the game and the players who took part in the Noxus vs Ionia custom games received various rewards. I'd love to see lore and gameplay interacting so close again. Can you make it happen? :3
1) Zed leaned into range to after he told Shen, that the golden demon had escaped. That's the key to his dramatic beat.
2) Vi and Cait fan's should be worried-- but they aren't the target he was sent to make an example of.
3) that'd be cool. I'd play it! But sadly out of my job description. -that's a note for gameplay modes."
Group questions 6:
"Quote:
I can't comprehend how you guys are so amazing. Standing ovation, seriously. This is the best piece of story I've read since a long time, I'm all over the top how messed up Jhin is. 
I'd love to know more about him! 
1; Is there physically something wrong with him?
I'm referring to this: "The woman’s eyes widened as he exited his room. Jhin was well aware of how he looked. Normally, it elicited pangs of self-conscious loathing, but today was a performance day." He loathes his own appearance? Or did the maid see his masked face? 
Also, he uses the cane (which I thought simply to be a part of his weaponry, not a cane) to aid his walk, or just to conduct the rythm? It would've been fun to see sometimes marching and tapping the cane along. Not that his walking animation isn't fun to watch already. 
2; He has this distinct slender figure, but the story says "Today...", so he can just change his height/weight at will, or what? Changing clothes? Or is this some exquisite acting skillz? I'm loving the fact that he can change his face due to training his facial muscles, it's fitting so much. And simply by being a stagehand... Is he ambidextrous by the way? 
3; Does he hallucinate the effects the gun makes, or do those effects actually happen? Flowers, butterflies, ect.? Since the audience only sees the aftermath of the performance... Which I can only imagine as very very messed up gorey versions of the effects. 
Also, I have to ask this and this fits with the hallucinating - on the splash art, when he sees himself in the mirror, he has reddish brown eyes. But on his model, he clearly has at least one blue eye. Does he think he has those red eyes? Or he can change eye color too? Ionians seem pretty Asian to me, so bright blue eyes would be pretty... unique, right? 
4; Are we going to have the whole storyline wrapped up? Just too many cliffhangers, I'm soooooo interested how he became this monster of a man, and how Zed&Shen cope with the sights they have seen - and how Master Kusho, this mysterious side(?) character figured out who was the
Golden Demon. Will Zed and Shen reunite to take him down and if yes, how? Are we going to get any of this? I'd LOVE to see it in comic form, seriously. 
I have been drawing so many theoretical fanarts about him, including how he looks like under the mask, and this color text has been a huge eye opener. 
Just... thank you.
Nope. But he thinks he's ugly and deformed.

He knows how to disguise himself, but more importantly he is a great actor-- even without a mask he can seem like a totally different person.

eyes. I don't know. sorry-- never really thought about it. He is attempting to make his visions real. So what we see is kinda different from what he sees-- but its not a hallucination-- more like a method actor performing on a stage or in a movie. He is emotionally disconnected from our reality and within his own performance/reality.

hopefully.
--drawings = cool! Nagakaboros wills it on the interwebs!"
Group Questions 7:
"Quote:
A few (first time in a Q&A)
How much older than Shen/Zed is Jhin?
How skilled is he at his blades?
And finally, Can we expect something like a Zed lore that will continue the story?
1) 4 years ;)
2) Very, but he doesn't use them anymore.
3) I'm not sure where Zed's lore is in the production pipeline. There is more Zed, Shen stuff in the works -I believe."
 Group Question 8:
"Quote:
This is amazing! Seriously, it was a great read and well worth the wait.
1) What exactly makes people go mad when they look at 's "art"? Is it because it's just so gory and disgusting? I've always assumed Jhin was someone who wanted to bring simple, unexpected deaths by shooting people with a gun, but from what I've read, he seems to have a fascination with blades, so does he love cutting up his victims in grisly ways instead?
2) Will Jhin have an impact on any other champions apart from and ?
3) Please tell me there's more. You can't just end on a cliffhanger and say that's the end of the story!
1) It is f'd up. Not just gory, disturbing-, symbolic, and strikingly beautiful. It is the combination that makes it so horrifying. How would you react to seeing your mom's body completely destroyed --but at the same time more beautiful than it's ever been? His work F's you up bad.
2) yep.
3) hopefully. If you keep asking for it-- rito will prioritize.
-- have not read-- will give it a look when I have free time."

Group Questions 9:
"Quote:
I have a few questions:
1) In the story, Jhin says that the maid's face would make a horrible mask....Is this uh...is this a hint on how he made the mask he currently wears?
2) What is Kennen and Akali's take on the Gold demon?
3) What would Jhin think of Jinx if the two ran into each other?
4) Are there times where Jhin could "snap" and lose his usually calm attitude? like for example if you ruin his performance i take it he would be furious.
1) he does take trophies.
2) They know of him. They know the experience broke Shen.
3) I'm pretty sure I made a VO line for this.
4) Yep-- it's in his VO. He gets frustrated and angry when things don't go as planned."

Group Question 10:
"Quote:
I have some questions, and it would help, either another person or Rioter. Also, sorry if the questions I have may be answered in the lore, or someone has already asked. 
1) Has Jhin encountered any other champions? (Besides Zed and Shen.) 
2) Where was Kennen in this story? 
3) Did Jhin teach himself, or did he learn from someone else? (How to attack, weapons.) 
4) in the future, does Jhin kill any one of the champions? 
5) Was Jhin 'good' when he was young, then something caused him to kill, and think death is beautiful? Or, was he always like this from birth? 
6) Finally, how new is Ionia's magic? (Technology of Ionia.) 
Thank you for your time :).
1) Yes but they didn't see him, He was too cautious.
2) Ninja!
6) ? How new is technology? or Magic? Magic is old. Tech has been around for a while-- but was never widely embraced -- as pure magic fulfilled its function."
Group Questions 11:
"Quote:
Will C appear in next history?
Will we explore more the character that comforms Ekko?
Could this event mean that we could have skins for Shen, Zed and Jhin without mask?
Will you make an event like Burning Ties?
Could Yasuo appear on the story?
Will i ever find true love?
Sorry for how bad my english is, but i am not a native and i am also tired after all day in university
Love u all
Most of these aren't Jhin lore questions... 
Hmmm 
but here we go. 
No.
Not sure what you mean.
That would be neat! I would tell skins/make a poll saying you want that.
Probably not. Burning tides was a big affair with 37 departments. It would be cool-- but I wouldn't hold my breath.
Maybe-- but he's busy in another storyline currently (he he he)
Probably. But probably not on the boards. ;)"
Group Questions 12:
"Quote:
First of all thank you so much! His colour text is just fantastic, it was completely worth the wait. I'm still pretty new to League, but Jhin in terms of story has quickly become my favorite character. He's the reason I've found myself going and reading world lore and the stories of other champs, and I'm definitely loving it. So again thank you. Now for some questions: 
1) Jhin's father ran a martial arts school, what kind did he teach? And did Jhin learn his techniques and baldework from him or did he learn elsewhere? 
2) On the topic of family, are Jhin's parents still alive? Does he have any siblings? 
3) Does he use the name Khada Jhin for everything? Since we know it's not his real name. Does he use it only for his work and gives another when he's trying to blend in? He was staying at an inn in the story, so would their staff know that the man in room whatever is named Khada Jhin? Or does his employers set those things up for him and no one really asks questions? 
4) Due to his unique costume choice, how good is his aim? How often does he miss?
1) not revealing right now. ;)
2) See #1
3) No. He has many "masks." When he is trying to blend it-- he can. He is unfortunately a very cautious, very intelligent psychopath. --which makes him hard to catch.
4) Ha. Do you play him? If you miss -- its not perfect."
group questions 13:
"Quote:
Love the New lore and I am curious about a few things.
Desperate to counter the power of the ninja and Wuju swordsmen, a cabal within the ruling council conspired to secretly free Jhin and turn him into a weapon of terror.
It says in the lore that Jhin was hired to possibly face shen, zed and yi. So are the people who hired him are from Inonia or noxus? Whose side is Jhin exactly hired for?
“And you know that we are the only two people who can get close enough to stop him.”
2.Does this imply that Jhin might be possibly more skilled and powerful than the ninjas?\ 
3.We know that yi trained in the wjuju style and shen and zed practiced the way of the kinkuo order, did Jhin's father also teach another form of martial arts?
He is being used to consolidate/demonstrate power by a cabal within the ruling council. Other groups within the council are aligned with various temples, ninja, martial art schools etc...

No -- He roughly on their level in a fair fight.... BUT he doesn't fight fair- -and honestly neither does zed, yasou etc.. What makes him dangerous is his intelligence and planning."
Group Questions 14:
"Quote:
I've been trying to parse out exactly what mental problems jhin is suffering from, and if any rioters could clue me in i'd love a comment. 
So far, the obvious ones are ocd and sociopathy, he refuses to go anywhere without an extensive plan, counts everything in fours and now with this lore we know he even cleans compulsively. As for sociopathy, that one's almost assumed- he doesn't see people as conscious beings for the most part, but rather as potential performances. 
However, that doesnt really explain everything, so I'd like to know- is he also suffering from either split personality or schizophrenia?
I say this because his VO involves a few lines alluding to him being a different person when he's performing- "the face of your killer is identical to mine" 
"it is only during the performance that I am truly alive" etc. (sorry if I misquoted those, reciting them from memory) 
If i missed anything or there's anything anyone would like to add, I'm all ears, I've just been having fun disecting the character. Really awesome work on him guys.
Not split personality-- those are lines about his insecurity and the salve that wearing a mask and killing people applies to his ego. 
The only thing I think you missed-- is there are more than a few lines alluding to the fact that Jhin on a subconscious level wants to be stopped/caught."

Group Questions 15:
"Quote:
Amazing. Zed and Shen are two of my favorite characters in League, so I got absolutely giddy when I got to the part where they met. I cannot WAIT to see more of this fleshed out and thank you guys so much for the hard work you have put in to make the characters feel so natural and complex.
My questions: 
1) With this, Zed seems to be the only character of the trio (Shen/Zed/Jhin) who does not have a larger color text. Are there any eventual plans to add one for him in which we can find out more about what really happened in the temple with Kusho (if that's still canon)? 
2) Seems like the text is inferring that Akali is significantly younger than Shen with this passage:
“No,” Shen said as he blocked her path. “What makes you think I’m not ready?” Akali asked, annoyed. “Because I wasn’t when I was your age.”
How old is Shen/Zed, compared to Jhin, compared to Akali (and even Kennen)? 
3) From the description of Jhin's gun, Ionia seems to heavily rely on magic for their weaponry. Does this also reflect the individual in that Ionian weaponry would function better with someone who can use magic vs. someone who can't? Is Jhin an individual who is magically gifted and his powers are amplified by the gun? 
4) Jhin's last Q&A asked about his martial art and I was wondering if you could give us some information about it now. It seems to work with swords--how many? What is the definition of chi in Runeterra--is it an internalized energy as is believed in our world, or is it something more..magical? 
5) I'm a little bit confused about the purpose of the red and white lanterns that Jhin requested early in the story. Why did he need white lanterns in the event that Zed appeared? Do they have some magical ability that nullifies Zed's shadows? 
Once again, thank you so much for getting this out and making it so enjoyable. I really appreciate the work that the team is putting into each story.
1) Eventually.
2) Akali is younger. Kennen is technically many many times older than the rest of them.
3) Ionia is wealthy in magic. Sometimes magic is put into weapons, sometimes it comes from or is channeled by the user, sometimes all three. Jhin was impressed with hextech and he knows how to put magic in stuff has some limited channeling ability.
4) He worked with blades -- not swords. In my mind his father's school was devoted to the "100 daggers style." -but that's pure head-cannon and hasn't even been explored by me yet. --so could change if something is more thematic.
5) Measuring distances before setting up a kill zone. An old sniper/hunting/military trick."

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