MAJOR SPOILERS for Arcane season 2 ahead. Proceed at your own risk.
League of Legendsseems to be entering a great period of change, both in terms of gameplay and lore. In gameplay terms, 2025 will changeLoLacross the board, adding a new neutral monster, an updated ranked structure, changes to the loot system, and much more. Meanwhile, the lore ofLeague of Legendsis rapidly transforming as a result ofArcaneseason 2, which was a dramatic departure from the previous canon and opens the door to more character updates and timeline changes. Interestingly, the game and lore changes have one thing in common: they have a lot to do with Noxus.
The fearsome imperialist nation of Noxus is the home of some of the game’s most iconic champions, like Darius, Draven, and Swain; it’s also very familiar toArcanefans who have never playedLeague of Legends, thanks to Ambessa and Mel Medarda and their difficult relationships with their homeland.Ambessa became a playableLeague of Legendschampionthis year to celebrateArcane’s second season, but that’s a little surprising, given that Ambessa dies at the end of the show.LoLdoesn’t typically feature canonically dead characters, but now that Ambessa has proven it’s possible, any number of dead characters could join the roster. That fact, combined with 2025’s Noxian theme, opens the door for Boram Darkwill, the former emperor of Noxus, to become a champion.
Ambessa Joining League of Legends Could Be Good News for Boram Darkwill
Boram Darkwill is a somewhat mysterious character, but lots ofLeague of Legendschampions' backstories are partially shaped by his actions. Not much is known about Darkwill’s rule as emperor, but by the time he reached old age, he was being thoroughly manipulated byLeblanc and the Black Rose, who made Darkwill obsessed with seeking immortality. As a result, he ordered the Noxian invasion of Ionia. The war was brutal from the start, but as the Ionian forces began to mount a resistance, the addled and desperate Darkwill resorted to more and more heinous tactics, like poisoning the land with chemical weapons and sending Noxian children to battle. Darkwill never lived up to his ambitions; he was ultimately assassinated in a coup by his disgraced general Swain, who put an end to the war in Ionia and instituted a new government for Noxus.
Given how important Boram Darkwill is to the lives of so many Noxian and Ionian champions, he seems like an obvious character to add to the game, but there’s an equally obvious obstacle: he’s dead. Historically,League of Legendschampions all seemed to be alive in-lore, which allowed any combination of disparate characters to interact during lore events and spin-offs liketheRuined KingRPG, but it’s clear now that that isn’t a necessity. Ambessa dies at the end ofArcane, but she’s inLeague of Legendsnonetheless. Now that precedent has changed, the floodgates are open for all kinds of dead characters from the depths ofLoLlore to become playable. Out of them all, Boram Darkwill is perhaps the best candidate, given how much light he could shed on multiple corners of Runeterra if Riot were to flesh out his backstory.
League of Legendsdoes feature a variety of undead champions, so he could come back that way, but depicting Darkwill during his life as emperor seems most appropriate based on his place in the lore.
Appropriate Times to Add Boram Darkwill to League of Legends
2025 would be a particularly fitting time to add Darkwill, given that the year is kicking off with a Noxian theme. The new neutral monster, Atakhan, is a demon bound to serve the Black Rose, and the rest of the map will be dressed up with Noxian details. It only seems appropriate that one of the most important people in Noxian history would join into those festivities.
However, it also wouldn’t be surprising if Darkwill didn’t crop up in 2025, since Riot might not want to overcommit to the Noxian theme. It just added Ambessa as a new Noxian representative, and it seems highly likely that her daughter Mel will also get added as an enchanter support, based on the empathetic magic she awakened to inArcaneseason 2. If Mel joins the roster, a third Noxian in the span of a year might be a bit much. Luckily, though, Ambessa also sets a clear precedent for when Darkwill could joinLeague of Legends,if not in 2025.Arcaneco-creator Christian Linke says a Noxus show is on the horizon afterArcane, so if that show features Boram Darkwill (in flashbacks or in his life), it’d make perfect sense to add him.
So little is known about Darkwill’s life that it’s hard to say what kind of champion he would be, but in a way, that’s a good thing. It leavesRiot Gameswith a lot of creative freedom, and could result in anything from a typical Noxian juggernaut top-laner to an offbeat tactical support. It remains to be seen if Darkwill really has any shot at becoming playable, but nevertheless, Ambessa andArcanehave improved his odds.
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League of Legends is one of the best MOBAs in the world, allowing players to duke it out against each other or bots in a variety of game modes. There are tons of champions to choose from in LoL, with favorites like Yasuo, Graves, Nasus, Poppy, and more, with new champions like Vex and Viego recently joining the crew.
