League of Legends’ Ruined King will plague all of Riot’s games in new event

Riot Games is unrolling a major lore event across all of their games, and it all comes from the Ruined King. Viego, the ultimate wife guy and undead wraith, is going on the offensive in an event called Sentinels of Light Starting on July 8, Sentinels of Light will play out in League of Legends, Legends of Runeterra, Wild Rift, Teamfight Tactics, and even the completely unrelated shooter Valorant.

The event’s key art, which was revealed by fans through a puzzle on the official Riot site, shows off a few things we can expect from the event. Viego and Thresh, the bad guys from the in-game setting of the Shadow Isles, seem to serve a central role as the antagonists. The Sentinels of Light, a faction dedicated to battling back the Black Mist of the Shadow Isles, serve as our heroes.

Not only do we see Lucian and Senna, the most famous Sentinels who are also established League of Legends champions, but there’s a third guy who drew fans’ attention. This is another Sentinel, and he looks like a new champion that was teased in previous development roadmaps by Riot. This Lost Sentinel champion is named Akshan, and he seems to use a grappling hook to get around. The Sentinels will be joined by Gwen, a recent champion who is a childhood doll come to life.

Viego appeared to cause trouble in the Ruination cinematic, which was released in January 2021. He’s also the titular antagonist of Ruined King: A League of Legends Story, which is a turn-based combat game starring an ensemble cast of champions like Miss Fortune, Ahri, and Braum.

Riot will release more information on the Sentinels of Light event in the coming days. There will be an opportunity for players to contribute to the Riot Games Social Impact Fund, which previously raised $7 million with an Elderwood Ornn skin. Based off the key art, we can likely expect new Sentinel skins for monster hunter Vayne and shotgun-wielding outlaw Graves.

Update 12:15pm: Some new skins have been officially shown off by the League of Legends social media account. These include Sentinel skins for Irelia, Vayne, Diana, Olaf, and Riven. Meanwhile, Pantheon receives a Ruined skin along with a prestige edition.

Ruined is a skinline that started alongside the Ruination cinematic and release of VIego. It currently includes Karma, Draven, and Shyvana. Canonically, these characters have been mind-controlled. We’ll have to see how that plays out during the upcoming event.