The Top 5 Best Champion Lore in League of Legends

League of Legends definitely has one of the most massive storylines in video games with over ten years worth of world-building. Each champion in the game has their own chunk lore that contributes to the overall story of the Runeterra universe. While there are some champions in the game that have terrible lore, today we’ll be taking a look at the top 5 best champion lore in League of Legends.

The Best Champion Lore in LoL

The best champion lore in League of Legends depends entirely on how well their story is developed. There are champions who have pieces of lore that have great story-telling and direction but we’re not left with enough pieces of information to get a satisfying story. However, there are some stories that are short but stir up our imagination a lot and give us a satisfying story even though the overall narrative is nowhere near being done.

Choosing our favorite champion lores in the game is probably purely subjective. However, we’ll choose the ones that make a lot of sense and give out some reasons why they belong on the top 5 list of the best champion lores in League of Legends. Riot Games really gave a lot of focus to designing these champion’s stories. They are probably the biggest successes that Riot Games has had when it comes to their characters.

5. Miss Fortune

Miss Fortune isn’t just fan service in the League of Legends universe, she also has one of the best stories in the game. Riot Games gave her a lot of motivation to develop both the aesthetic of her character (a beautiful pirate lady) and a convincing goal that was really well told. Riot Games decided to conclude her story by “killing” Gangplank, another champion in the game. The fun part about this story is that Riot Games actually disabled Gangplank from the game when this change in her lore happened.

This gave a decently satisfying ending to her story but at that point, everything was just mediocre pirate revenge story stuff. The real fun began when they expanded on her story in the Ruined King: A League of Legends Story game with Gangplank returning to take back his pirate empire. This back-and-forth between the two characters and how they gave us a deeper look at how she’s trying to rebuild Bilgewater makes her one of the best-written women in the game.

4. Azir

We can’t talk about the best champion lore in League of Legends without mentioning Azir, the Emperor of Shurima. In terms of Runeterra Regions, Shurima definitely has the richest lore in the game with so many storylines outside of the region having some point of relationship here. As for Azir, he is the the beginning and the end of the great region with the current iteration of the kingdom being built upon his character.

His backstory is probably the best storylines in the game. Despite being linked with so many other characters in the game, his enigmatic existence as the last emperor of Shurima has just enough juicy pieces of lore that he basically has a complete storyline behind him. His rise to becoming the emperor and the supposed “betrayal” of his most trusted friend and their reincarnation into current society are masterfully written by Riot Games’ story team.

3. Zed

Zed probably got the better end of the deal when it comes to the Twilight Brothers storyline. Shen also has an equally rich story but the direction of his storyline fell flat when the writers insisted that he stay a pacifist. On the other hand, Zed gives us an action-packed dark adventure where we get the POV of League of Legends’ true anti-hero. His motivations and backstory are extremely convincing and even relatable at some points.

Zed definitely gets a cheat since his backstory is heavily linked with parts of Shen’s lore. Together, they have one of the best storylines in League of Legends with a strong possibility of taking the top spot. Zed’s existence as a shadow-based ninja cult leader carries him to an extent though so he still deserves his spot here. Besides, we love the part where Zed is simply trying to be the necessary evil to ensure that Ionia isn’t filled with pacifists who won’t fight for those they love.

2. Viego

Viego, the Ruined King, is undoubtedly the best-written character in the game. His original character backstory is extremely unique and modern, despite the setting being far back into the past. The downfall of his character is extremely well-paced and his inevitable transformation into one of the biggest villains in League of Legends allows for the story to even exist. He has his own standalone video game and a novel that tells his origins and motivations. Both of which were epic.

He should have been the top character on this list if not for Riot Games giving him a terrible ending in the Ruination event. His destruction didn’t feel meaningful with fans feeling very little emotion when the Sentinels of Light finally took him down. Luckily, there is still a chance for redemption since Riot Games hinted that Viego might break free from the seal that binds him. Until then he doesn’t have the best champion lore in League of Legends.

1. Yasuo

There’s no doubt that Yasuo would make the top of this list. Riot Games has added Yasuo in so many pieces of media and storylines that his epic adventure can’t be ignored. The writing team has given this champion so much focus and attention that he has become one of the most popular champions in League of Legends. Having a large volume of stories isn’t the factor that makes his lore great, it’s the fact that most of his appearances tell an epic tale of a wandering samurai that deserves his spot on this list.

Yasuo’s story is great because it introduces his disgrace and concludes with his redemption. The introduction of Yone with one of the best cinematics in the game secured Yasuo as one of the best characters in the game. Even though Riot Games is pushing Yasuo toward a new story arc, the first part of his storyline is already cemented as one of the greatest storylines in video game history.