League of Legends fans have not been too thrilled with Seraphine, the game’s newest playable champion. While early criticism called her out as being a “Sona 2.0,” other players have pointed out an issue in her Runeterran lore. Riot Games co-founder Marc “Tryndamere” Merrill assures that her backstory will be getting a more tasteful update in the future.
Seraphine’s abilities are based mostly around her musical talent. The Starry-Eyed Songstress is a popstar hailing from the Runeterran region of Piltover. She gets her power from a Hex Crystal, crafted from a Brackern Namestone. The Brackern, a Runeterran race of crystal scorpions, including League champion Skarner, had countless Namestones stolen from them. The Crystals are now used throughout Runeterra to provide magical power, at the expense of Brackern lives.
Seraphine’s lore states that she can hear the music of other people's souls, and sense the Brackern souls contained in her Hextech Crystal. When Seraphine was young, her parents crafted her a device made of the Crystal that would help dampen her overwhelming hearing ability. Once the device was fashioned, the young singer “heard something - someone,” the lore states, “the crystal had a consciousness, born of brackern blood.”
Seraphine is characterized as an empathetic figure, who “amplifies the voices of all with a fresh force of optimism, because to her, everyone deserves to be heard - especially those who are struggling.” She uses her music to connect with her adoring fans across the Runeterran region, all while using the Brackern Crystals to gain a hold on her own powers.
Through the Hextech Crystals, Seraphine can hear the stories told by the lost Brackern souls. The Crystals “sung an elegy of what hatred left unchecked could accomplish.” While depicted as a caring individual, Seraphine does nothing to help the Brackern, despite hearing their anguish constantly. Instead, she uses the power of the Crystals to build up her own music empire.
This disconnect between characterization and lore has left fans unsatisfied with Seraphine’s arrival. “Seraphine is Sona, but spoiled,” writes one Reddit poster, while a Twitter user called her “basic” and “bratty.” Another Redditor called the lore "disturbing."
In response, Riot Games co-founder Marc “Tryndamere” Merrill has confirmed the champion’s backstory will be revised. He says the lore “wasn’t cool” and was “supposed to have been removed from the IP.”
Seraphine stepped on to the Summoner's Rift on October 29th. Merrill did not give a date for when the updated lore will be released.
Source: Twitter, Riot Games