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Every League of Legends character in Arcane: a who’s who guide
This incredible guide tells you everything you need to know about the backstories of every Arcane character from League of Legends and how the champions are different in the game.
The wildly popular Netflix Series Arcane is a spectacular expansion and reimagining of some of League of Legends' beloved characters, known in-game as champions.
With Season 2 nearing its release. It’s the perfect time to re-immerse yourself in Arcane’s incredible version of the Piltover and Zaun regions and have a recap of all that has happened in LoL’s first animated series so far.
Ready to unlock the world of Arcane? Play our quiz and unlock exclusive Red Bull emotes.
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This article is a massive overview and the ultimate guide to all of the League of Legends characters that feature in Arcane, including a few cameos you may not have noticed and how these Arcane characters are connected to each other.
01
Vi
Vi has to battle both physically and emotionally throughout Arcane
© Riot Games
Everyone’s favourite pink-haired brawler. In League of Legends, Vi is a hot-headed cop who uses her knowledge as a former criminal and her fighting prowess to help Wardens keep peace in Piltover.
Vi was originally intended to stand for violence, which is very appropriate for her character in LoL. However, Arcane shows her softer side, and that story changes as she reveals in Season 1 that it’s actually short for Violet.
Another fun fact involving Vi is when she is in prison in Arcane. She is known as inmate 516, who spells out her name twice. VIVI, when you write out each number in Roman numerals.
Here’s everything else you could need to know about Vi.
Vi’s character development in Arcane
After Piltovan Enforcers kill both her parents, Vi is an angry kid who has no respect for authority figures and regularly gets into fights. She wants to get stronger to protect her sister Powder and adopted brothers Mylo and Claggor and take down Piltover to end the inequality Zaun faces.
However, her world is flipped upside down when the group of siblings try to steal from Jayce Talis’ apartment but accidentally causes an explosion. With the Piltovan public in an uproar, somebody has to take the fall, and when Vi tries to take responsibility, her adoptive father, Vander, attempts to hand himself in instead. Disastrously, he is then captured by crime lord Silco, who has his shimmer-riddled henchman slaughter the Enforcers.
A bold rescue attempt ends in tragedy as Powder’s Hextech bomb kills the sisters’ entire adoptive family. Vi loses it on Powder, labelling her a Jinx before staggering away. Powder is distraught, but Vi doesn’t get the chance to apologise as she is captured by corrupt Enforcer Marcus and arrested for roughly seven years.
Vi is eventually let out of prison by Caityln Kiramman to help bring Silco to justice. But upon her escape, Vi quickly learns that the consequences of her actions have had a big impact on those she cared about - particularly Powder, who is losing her mind and causing chaos for Silco under the moniker Jinx.
This guilt for allowing this to happen to the little sister she always tried to protect drives everything Vi does. She learns to control her temper and pragmatically work with others in order to bring Silco down. Through Caitlyn, Vi becomes more emotionally vulnerable and begins to see the topsiders in Piltover differently – they aren’t all bad.
Vi in League of Legends
In League of Legends, Vi is an aggressive cop
© Riot Games
In LoL, Vi is regularly played as a jungler – typically considered the hardest role in the game as it requires extra knowledge and the ability to impact the entire map. Her high mobility and knack for starting fights out of nowhere make her excel at roaming between lanes, looking for ganks (surprise attacks).
She is classified as a Diver, a subclass of the Fighter archetype. This means that, like most fighters, she is great at dealing damage from a short range and can take a few hits, but she is also more mobile than most and superb at singling out single targets.
Vi’s abilities truly make her feel like a Warden chasing individuals. Her Q, Vault Breaker, slows her own movement speed to charge up a dash that increases in range, speed, and damage when fully charged. When it lands, it knocks the enemy back, but she can cause even more displacement with her ultimate, Cease and Desist, which sees Vi lock onto a target, fly towards them, and then knock them up into the sky.
She also is just as proficient in-game with her fists. She wants to punch a lot as her basic attacks and Vault Breaker apply stacks which explode upon the third hit to cause extra damage, momentarily boost Vi’s attack speed, and reduce the cooldown of the passive shield she periodically gains after landing an ability.
As for Vi’s game’s lore, there’s remarkably no mention of Jinx being her sister. In fact, that wasn’t confirmed until Arcane was released though fans had suspected this for years thanks to a couple of voice lines.
Vi’s relationship with other League of Legends characters in Arcane
Vi had always been very protective of her little sister Jinx, formerly known as Powder. When a childhood game went too far, she told Powder, “No monster’s gonna get you when I’m here.” But after getting arrested, Vi couldn’t keep that promise.
Initially, the reunion between the two sisters is a happy one, but that changes when Jinx sees that an Enforcer is with Vi, meaning she can’t trust her sister and that strains their relationship. Vi is riddled with guilt and is determined to stop Jinx’s crimes so she can get her sister back.
Vi and Caitlyn have what appears to be a blooming romantic relationship as the two grow very close in Season 1. Caitlyn saves Vi from prison and shows her kindness, which eventually changes Vi’s opinion of topsiders. The two are very protective of each other and, for different reasons, want to stop Jinx.
Ekko looked up to Vi growing up; he learned how to fight and be tougher than her. Vi is shocked to see how strong and confident he has become when she gets out of prison after he kidnaps her, assuming she’s helping Silco and Jinx. The two remain close friends and strong allies who want to protect Zaun.
Vi surprisingly teams up with Jayce, the man she stole from when growing up, in order to stop Silco. Vi receives/takes her signature Atlas Gauntlets from him and his workshop. They fight together in one of Silco’s shimmer factories, but Jayce accidentally kills a child and gives up on the plan. Vi believes he’s naive about the struggles the people of Zaun face and thinks he’s wrong for withdrawing the military from the undercity where trouble is brewing.
02
Jinx
Jinx has a tragic character arc and becomes a violent agent of chaos
© Riot Games
Jinx is a menace. In the game lore, she’s constantly causing issues for the higher-ups in Piltover, whether cruel pranks or major, destructive crimes. She particularly causes issues for Wardens Vi and Caitlyn, which is why when they are on opposite teams in the game, the secret mission starts called ‘Catch me if you can’ where their players receive an impactful 1 gold for killing each other as a fun little Easter Egg.
Everything Jinx does is with child-like glee and energy, hence why she is the only LoL champion who has an exclamation mark after every ability name.
Jinx‘s character development in Arcane
Powder begins as a timid and clumsy kid. She wants to be strong and brave like Vi but physically struggles to keep up with her older siblings during their shenanigans. She had trauma from losing her parents at a young age, and this trauma becomes even more pronounced once she accidentally kills her adoptive family and believes Vi abandoned her.
She would see hallucinations of Mylo and Claggor, and these only become worse once she was adopted by Silco. She becomes slightly sadistic, taking joy in her crimes, and is a loose cannon in that no one can control or predict what she’s going to do next.
Jinx becomes even more mentally unstable once Singed gives her shimmer to save her life, leading to a lot of paranoia and even more erratic decisions. There’s a part inside of her that is still the weak and afraid Powder, something that the Jinx moniker hides, but eventually, Jinx finds her own strength and permanently commits to the chaotic side of her personality.
Jinx in League of Legends
Jinx is a fully insane criminal in League of Legends
© Riot Games
In the game, she is played as a long-ranged AD Carry (marksman), a role that typically needs time to grow strong and eventually become a team’s greatest weapon.
Interestingly, ADCs are usually played in the bottom lane alongside another player in the Support role whose job is to keep the ADC alive. The more you think about Jinx’s character arc in Arcane, the more fitting it seems she requires help.
But, like her story, Jinx can eventually become a fearsome weapon on her own. Her passive, Get Excited!, increases her movement and attack speed after she participates in a kill, which allows her to run teams down. While most ADCs want to kite backwards, Jinx is excellent at chasing enemies with the slow of her Zap, the boosted range of her rocket launcher Fishbones, and her ultimate Super Mega Death Rocket, which has unlimited range.
Her in-game lore doesn’t mention any of Jinx’s backstory. Not that she’s sisters with Vi or how she became crazy. Instead, it focuses on her current-day antics, causing chaos in Piltover and Zaun while maniacally laughing with glee.
Jinx’s relationship with other League of Legends characters in Arcane
Jinx and Vi still care about each other. Jinx is in disbelief when she is reunited with Vi and is momentarily delighted to see her. However, Jinx doesn’t want to play second fiddle as the little sister and instead continues on her path of crime and chaos to take Piltover down.
When Jinx tells her sister that Vi made Jinx not Silco, many take that as an accusation laced with venom. However, you could also see it as a thank you to Vi for helping Jinx become strong and independent in her own way. After all, in that same speech, Jinx then tells Vi: “You’re the reason I’m still alive.”
Jinx and Ekko were childhood friends, regularly playing and practising fighting moves together. In-game quotes actually suggest Ekko had a crush on Jinx, but this is never suggested in Arcane. The two eventually become rivals as Ekko forms the Firelights to try and protect Zaun from the likes of Silco.
Jinx immediately hates Caitlyn; she has a twisted perception of her before they even meet, as she can’t stand Enforcers like the ones who killed her parents. Vi’s intimate relationship with Caitlyn infuriates Jinx and makes her jealous, believing that she’s been replaced and that Vi’s attempts to reunite aren’t sincere.
Learn more about League of Legends characters
03
Caitlyn Kiramman
Caitlyn forges her own path with her own skill
© Riot Games
Caitlyn has a strong sense of justice. Raised in the Kiramman Clan, one of the ruling houses of Piltover, she abandons the comfort of a traditional, elite lifestyle in favour of seeing the world for herself as an Enforcer.
After being blocked by her family and the corrupt Marcus, she begins her own private investigation and gets much more than she bargained for.
Caitlyn’s character development in Arcane
Caitlyn grew up sheltered, but this made her feel that her growth was being stunted and that only made her more determined to forge her own path.
Compassionately, Caitlyn wants to protect the people and uses her exceptional shooting skills to join the police academy and become an Enforcer – determined to succeed on her own merits.
Caitlyn suspects her parents are using their influence to keep her on boring jobs as a guard, and corrupt Sheriff Marcus prevents her from investigating Silco. When Jinx’s explosion nearly kills Caitlyn, her mother uses her power to get her daughter fired.
However, being the maverick that she is, Caitlyn remains resolute in stopping Silco. She finds Vi in prison and gets her released so they can take down Silco together.
Caitlyn in League of Legends
In LoL, Caitlyn is the Piltover Sheriff and a lethal sniper
© Riot Games
The game gives us a hint about Caitlyn’s Arcane future as in LoL, she is, in fact, the Sheriff of Piltover and regularly hunts down criminals with her powerful Hextech Sniper rifle and metal traps.
Like Jinx, she is a marksman (ADC), but she prefers to keep a larger distance as she has the highest basic attack range in the game. After a few basic attacks, Caitlyn hones in her aim to make the next one a headshot, which does significantly more damage and has a higher chance of crit. If an opponent gets caught in one of her Yordle Snap Traps (which stuns) or 90 Caliber Net (which slows and sends Caitlyn backwards), she will automatically get another headshot charge.
It’s worth noting that her traps have cupcakes in them, seeing as cupcake is the nickname Vi teasingly gives her both in-game and in Arcane. This was always a hint of their close relationship, but their romance hasn’t been officially confirmed (though it’s obvious to anyone with eyes).
Caitlyn’s relationship with other League of Legends characters in Arcane
As we just mentioned, Vi and Caitlyn aren’t an official couple, but that certainly seems to be what is brewing. The two are very close and protective of each other, and they save each other’s lives on multiple occasions. Caitlyn’s kindness and compassion bring new viewpoints on Piltover and an emotional vulnerability out of Vi.
Caitlynn was good friends with Jayce when he was a student, thanks to a sponsorship from the Kirammans. When Jayce’s experiments with magic have him expelled, Caitlyn tries to still talk with him but is forbidden by her parents. They remain friends, and Jayce offers Caitlyn a job working for him, but she declines to continue as an Enforcer. He supports that choice and eventually helps her release Vi out of prison.
Ekko is understandably distrustful of Caitlyn at first, and Caitlyn isn’t fond of him either when he and the Firelights kidnap her and Vi. Ekko believes Piltovans are destroying his home, but Caitlyn explains the misunderstanding with the Firelights being framed for Silco’s crimes. Fortunately, Vi defuses the situation and vouches for Caitlyn, which leads to the two trusting each other. Caitlyn even convinces Ekko to give her the Hextech gemstone rather than violently weaponising it against Silco.
Jinx almost killed Caitlyn with her bombs, which leads to the latter’s parents getting her fired to protect her. Caitlyn believes Jinx is mentally too far gone for Vi to save but still hides Jinx’s crimes from the Council and later hesitates to shoot Jinx because of Vi’s wishes.
04
Ekko
Ekko toughens up in Arcane through necessity
© Riot Games
Ekko is a genius who uses his Z-Drive invention to rewind time to try and protect his home of Zaun. Though we haven’t seen him realise said creation in Arcane yet.
Of course, the name Ekko is a reference to echos and the fact that he is similarly able to repeat himself. But his name also references his rewinding time as the two Ks create the rewind symbol of the backwards arrows.
We’ve already seen glimpses of Ekko’s brilliance in Season 1, but he will probably play a much larger role in Season 2.
Ekko‘s character development in Arcane
Ekko starts off as a mischievous kid using his brilliant mind to repair mechanical items in Benzo’s shop. He was good friends with the gang of Vander’s adopted kids, who nicknamed him Little Man, and he particularly looked up to Vi in hopes of becoming stronger.
Skip forward a few years and he does in fact become tougher but through necessity. His guardian, Benzo, had been murdered, and all of his childhood friends had either been killed, gone missing or had become his enemies.
Ekko becomes a hardened leader, rallying the oppressed youth in Zaun to protect their home from Silco’s rule by forming the Firelights group. After learning to trust Vi and Caitlyn, he agrees to help them in a bid to stop Jinx, who he formerly knew as his childhood friend Powder.
He believes that Zaun has untapped potential, championing their ingenuity and resourcefulness. That’s represented by the Firelight base being located around one of the few trees in Zaun, which proves that life can grow and even blossom in the undercity.
Ekko in League of Legends
Ekko is a genius fighter with multiple self-created weapons
© Riot Games
Ekko is usually played in the mid-lane, where he battles one-on-one while making constant use of his abilities. While somewhat like a mage, he is classified as an assassin as his mobility allows him to fling himself into dangerous situations in order to take out high-priority targets.
He has no problem doing so because he can rewind time by a few seconds with his ultimate ability, Chronobreak. This rewind works by having a ghostly clone follow Ekko’s movements but delayed by a few seconds. Then, upon activation, Ekko’s body returns to the position of the clone; he heals himself and lets out an explosion that deals significant damage.
The rest of Ekko’s kit is all about hunting down targets. His W, Parallel Convergence, throws out a dome that, after a short delay and once Ekko steps into it, stuns all enemies caught inside. And this is pretty easy to proc as his E, Phase Dive, allows Ekko to dash forward before blinking a considerable distance right onto a targetted enemy within range.
As for the game’s lore, Ekko in-game has a slightly more wholesome backstory. For starters, he has parents. They recognized his genius at a young age and worked themselves to the bone so they could eventually afford to send him to a Piltovan school.
However, Ekko likes his life in Zaun and would rather help the region develop its own untapped potential instead. In one heartfelt story, his parents come home exhausted from work but bring him an expensive Piltovan dessert they can barely afford for his birthday. Ekko proceeds to use his rewind powers to sit at the dinner table with his family over and over again without changing a thing.
Ekko’s relationship with other League of Legends characters in Arcane
Vi was a mentor to Ekko, and he looked up to her like a big sister. She would teach him how to fight but also help hose him down after getting messy in the junk heap. Later in life, he kidnaps Vi and Caitlyn after seeing them with Jinx, but he quickly forgives them when he finds out Vi isn’t helping her sister. They still trust each other and work together to take down Silco.
After kidnapping Caitlyn, Ekko is unsurprisingly suspicious of her as Enforcers are attacking the Firelights, and she is angry at him because she thinks he is going to hurt Vi when interrogating her. Once Vi explains and vouches for both of them, they work together, and Ekko even helps Caitlyn return to Piltover as a gesture of goodwill. Ekko wants to weaponize the Hexgem against Silco, but Caitlyn convinces him that would only create a more brutal cycle of violence.
Ekko and Jinx were childhood best friends. In fact, in the game lore, Ekko grew up with a crush on her, but this is never suggested in Arcane. Still, in the series, he cares deeply about his friend to the point that he painted Powder as part of the mural in the Firelight base, believing she was gone. She would later become his enemy as he realised the threat she and Silco posed to the peace in Zaun, and they would end up fighting on the bridge. Ekko would usually lose his play fights against her as a kid, but this time, he came out on top, though upon seeing her face up close, he couldn’t deal the finishing blow, and Jinx used that sentimental moment to detonate a bomb which injures both of them.
After being kicked off the Council, Heimerdinger finds an injured Ekko underneath the bridge. They connect with each other as both try to help the people of their opposite cities but are rejected for doing so. Heimerdinger helps Ekko home and is astonished by the Firelights’ base and how much they’ve accomplished. This alliance will likely be important to Season 2.
05
Jayce Talis
Jayce has a lot of tough decisions to make in Arcane
© Riot Games
The Golden Boy. Pretty Boy. The Hextech Wonder Boy. From all his nicknames in Arcane, you wouldn’t think Jayce was a 31-year-old man in Arcane Act 2 and 3, but that’s all reference to his naivety.
The starry-eyed scientist only sees potential and all the good that could be done if he could harness the power of magic through science. Unfortunately for him, politics, greed, and bad-faith actors all get in the way of his intention to improve lives.
Jayce‘s character development in Arcane
We don’t know much about Jayce’s past, but we do see that when he was a kid, he and his mother got stuck in a snowstorm, and she collapsed. They appear to be in real danger until a cloaked man with finger tattoos, likely to be fellow LoL champion Ryze, uses magic to warp them away.
From there, Jayce dedicates his life to researching magic and trying to channel its powers through science to help mankind. He strongly believes in his ideals, ignoring Heimerdinger’s advice by admitting to the Council that he is researching magic, which leads to his expulsion from the academy.
However, he doesn’t give up his research, and with Viktor’s help, they are able to stabilize the Hex crystal and harness magic, which earns the support of the Council and leads to the creation of the Hexgates.
Jayce eventually joins the Council, but his naivety betrays him. Many began to want to use Hextech to create weaponry, which is the opposite of what he hoped for; he only wanted to save and improve lives. But he is challenged heavily when he tries to shut down his Hextech operations to protect people because of the money it was making other Councilors.
As tensions rise between Piltover and its undercity (Zaun), Jayce declares a total lockdown of the bridge connecting the two, which only causes more unrest on the other side of the city.
Extremely stressed by the situation, he eventually agrees to join Vi in a raid of Silco’s shimmer factories, but in the fight, using his newly made Mercury Hammer, he accidentally kills a young boy. Distraught, he leaves the conflict and later agrees with Silco’s terms to allow Zaun to become independent — much to the chagrin of the other Council members.
Jayce isn’t afraid to go against the Council’s wishes as he always makes what he believes to be the right decision at the moment, no matter how unpopular it makes him. He will always follow his ideals.
Jayce in League of Legends
In LoL, Jayce is very different as an arrogant loner
© Riot Games
As a playable character in LoL, Jayce is very flexible in that he can be played in either the top or mid-lanes. He is a unique blend of fighter and long-ranged mage (artillery) as he can switch stances, using his Mercury Hammer as either a melee weapon or a magical cannon. His ultimate ability from level one allows him to switch between these forms.
He can leap onto targets by smashing down with his hammer, or he can create smaller forms of the Hexgates with his cannon form E, Acceleration Gate, which creates a line of lightning that not only speeds up himself and his allies but also his projectiles that pass through. This increases the damage, speed, range and explosion radius of his Q, Shock Blast.
As for the lore, Jayce is very different in that he is arrogant, and people don’t want to work with him, so he refuses to slow down to allow his co-workers to catch up. The only person who can keep up with him is Viktor. The two meet at a party and bond over not wanting to be there, but later, the two become rivals, which could be a hint to both characters’ destinies in Season 2 should they survive Jinx’s attack.
Jayce’s relationship with other League of Legends characters in Arcane
Viktor would accidentally save Jayce from committing suicide after his expulsion from the academy. The two work together and successfully stabilize the Hexgem and become close working partners and friends. Later, their friendship becomes strained when Jayce berates Viktor for defying the barricade and crossing to the dangerous side of Zaun before Viktor reveals he was born there. After dealing with a terminal illness, Viktor also considers suicide but is accidentally saved by Jayce in a similar way to how they initially met. Together, the two try to bring peace between Piltover and Zaun, and Jayce promises, upon Viktor’s request, to destroy the dangerous Hex Core, even though that’s what is keeping Viktor alive.
Jayce was close friends with Caitlyn as her Kiramman family sponsored his studies and he came to see her like a little sister. After his expulsion, the social embarrassment it brought the clan meant Caitlyn was banished from talking to him for a little while. He later covers for Caitlyn when she uses his name to release Vi from prison; the two are still close friends, though they took separate paths.
Heimerdinger was someone Jayce always admired and looked up to as a mentor. However, the experienced Heimerdinger, who is over 300 years old, fears the dangers of magic, though Jayce is confident he’ll prove him wrong. Jayce eventually betrays Heimerdinger, an act he deeply regrets, and has him kicked off the Council so he can continue the dangerous Hex Core experiment in order to save Viktor.
06
Viktor
Viktor is driven to save himself and others, perhaps too driven
© Riot Games
Arcane showed us a much more human side to Viktor.
The ingenious inventor is devoted to improving humankind, and while in the game he focuses on humanity as a whole, in Arcane, a lot of his attention is spent on trying to save himself.
Viktor‘s character development in Arcane
Viktor grew up in Zaun with his poor family under difficult conditions. He was born with a limp, which made it difficult for him to play with other kids, but thanks to his brilliant mind, he would spend his time alone creating machines and toys.
One of these toys is a model boat which accidentally floats into the hidden lab of Singed, another LoL champion, and Viktor eventually helps him with his experiments on a creature. But after realising that the pain Singed is causing the animal to keep it alive, a young Viktor ran out of the lab crying.
Later, Viktor’s potential was recognized by Heimerdinger, and he would join him at the academy as his assistant. Through this, he would meet Jayce and discover his research into magic. He partners with the expelled Jayce, inadvertently saving his new business partner’s life, and together, they successfully harness the power of Hexgems and create many useful inventions.
Jayce eventually joins the Council and Viktor believes his time politicking is distracting from them progressing on their work that could help a lot of people. During this time, Viktor’s sickness becomes worse, and in desperation realises that the arcane doesn’t just have to be harnessed through tools; it can take on any form.
He begins developing the Hex Core, which can evolve and, he hopes, augment the physiology of organic matter and potentially save himself. However, he passes out during this work and wakes up in the hospital with Jayce, informing Viktor that he is dying from a terminal illness.
Jayce helps him with the Hex Core, but they haven’t made as much progress as Viktor wants. They show the item to Heimerdinger, who immediately becomes terrified of what it could do, so Jayce has Heimerdinger removed from the Council so he can’t get in the way. Still needing help, Viktor presents the Hex Core to Singed, who gives him a vial of the volatile substance shimmer so that Viktor’s body has a better chance of accepting the Hex Core and its transmutations.
Back in his lab, Viktor injects himself with more shimmer and tries to combine it with the Hex Core, but he loses control of the magical invention. His assistant, Sky Young, finds him and tries to pull him away, but her life force ends up being taken to power the transformation of Viktor’s hand. Through Sky’s notebook, he learns she had a crush on him, which leaves Viktor devastated, and he tries to destroy the Hex Core but can’t bring himself to do so. He later makes Jayce promise to destroy it instead.
Viktor in League of Legends
Viktor in LoL is unrecognisable from his Arcane character
© Riot Games
In LoL, Viktor is very different as you can see in his picture above.
Viktor augments himself with technology to make himself stronger and believes that only technology will help humans realise their full potential after noticing most work-site accidents in Zaun were due to human error. His readiness to remove people’s free will to create safer work environments is what causes him to fall out with Jayce in the lore.
In the game, Viktor used to start with the unique item called the Hex Core, as referenced in Arcane, which could be upgraded to give his abilities additional effects.
Viktor is played in the mid lane as a mage with many high-damage abilities, including his E Death Ray, which shoots out a laser from the third mechanical arm attached to his back.
Viktor’s relationship with other League of Legends characters in Arcane
As already touched upon, he has a key partnership and alliance with Jayce as they create Hextech, which turns Piltover into an international powerhouse. Both of them save each other's lives, and while they occasionally have disagreements, they remain close.
Heimerdinger found Viktor and brought him to Piltover to realise his potential as an inventor. Viktor was his assistant as the dean of the academy and had a great deal of respect for his mentor. Though they would regularly disagree, particularly on the use of magic, Heimerdinger particularly fought against the Hex Core despite Viktor’s terminal illness - failing to understand human mortality as a 300-year-old Yordle fully.
07
Heimerdinger
Arcane finally gave Heimerdinger some real lore
© Riot Games
The short and adorable Yordle scientist is an absolute genius. Heimerdinger is a well-respected figure in Piltover after three centuries of helping the region’s bright minds realise their potential, leading to him becoming the dean of the academy and the head of the Piltover Council.
His name is actually a blend of J. Robert Oppenheimer, father of the atomic bomb, and Nobel Prize-winning physicist Erwin Schrödinger.
Heimerdinger‘s character development in Arcane
We don’t know much of Heimerdinger’s past, though as a Yordle he has to come from Bandle City. He eventually arrived in Piltover and was inspired by seeing a scientist, so he decided to follow the same path.
Fast forward, and through his vast life experience, he becomes a staunch opposer of mixing science with magic – much to the chagrin of Jayce and Viktor and their work on Hextech.
After Hextech succeeds, Heimerdinger encourages the pair to be extra cautious and slow down on their potentially dangerous inventions, but they’re too driven and ambitious to listen. Eventually, Jayce joins the Council and has Heimerdinger kicked off as leader so that he cannot get in the way of the development of the Hex Core. Heimerdinger had recognized its similar kind of apocalyptic power in the past and was terrified of the potential repercussions.
Wanting to help, he travels to Zaun to try to aid the undercity and ends up meeting Ekko, who impresses him with the inventiveness of the Firelights.
Heimerdinger in League of Legends
Heimerdinger is a unique champion who lets his inventions fight for him
© Riot Games
Sadly, Heimerdinger has very little lore in the core game. In fact, it’s only four sentences long, describing him as an innovative and esteemed inventor who is dedicated to sharing his knowledge and teaching others.
Not one for hand-to-hand combat, Heimerdinger is another champion played in the mid lane. While he resembles a mage, he is classified as a Specialist who can’t be contained in one box.
His abilities are all about summoning turrets and firing powerful rockets from them as he works to upgrade his rather deadly inventions.
Heimerdinger’s relationship with other League of Legends characters in Arcane
Heimerdinger is a mentor to both Jayce and Viktor. After his fearful encounters with magic in his past, he tries to guide the two on taking caution with their Hextech inventions, and while sometimes they would heed his warnings, eventually, their ambition would cause them to push too far.
The Yordle meets Ekko towards the end of Season 1 and, like he did with Jayce and Viktor, immediately recognises his brilliant mind and potential as an inventor. Heimerdinger wants to offer his help to Zaun and is impressed with the Firelights, though he questions some of their inefficient methods, such as riding on dangerous hoverboards. Ekko explains it’s essential the people of Zaun get what they need to live as well as what they need to survive. That adrenaline rush is what keeps them going.
08
LoL Champions that you might not realise appeared in Arcane
Singed is a crucial character to Season 1 of Arcane
© Riot Games
Unsurprisingly, Arcane contains a ton of Easter Eggs involving other champions in League of Legends.
A substantial character isn’t named in the show, but we know it is Singed, the inventor of Shimmer, who helps both Silco and Viktor throughout the series.
Another relatively big character is Ambessa Medarda, mother to Mel Medarda and a formidable warlord from Noxus. At some point this year, she will be released as a playable champion in LoL after starting as just a character in Arcane.
We also get a rare glimpse of Kindred in their human form, donning the unmistakable mask while sat inside the Zaun brothel that Caitlyn and Vi enter.
As we mentioned earlier, the hooded figure who uses magic to save Jayce is very likely to be Ryze, one of the game’s original champions.
And finally, there are multiple references to one of LoL’s most iconic characters, Teemo. He can be seen in a book that one of Silco’s henchmen is flipping through during Act 2. You can also spot one of his deadly mushrooms, known as Puffcaps, in the first episode as part of a shop’s loot alongside caged Krugs (one of the game’s many jungle creatures).
