Vi

Lore & Background

As established in flavor text written by Graham McNeill, Vi grew up in one of the poorest areas of Zaun. She learned to survive its rough conditions using her brawn and wits, and eventually took leadership of a street gang at a young age, though she has always adhered to a strict moral code she imposed on herself. She disappeared during a time of great turmoil between Zaun and Piltover and was thought to be dead, only to reappear years later as Sheriff Caitlyn Kiramman's trusted partner in the Guardian corps.

Vi's relationship with Jinx, another Champion who would taunt her whenever they encounter each other, was the focus of speculation and fan theories for many years prior to the release of Arcane. Vi also has specific interactions with Caitlyn, who is presented as her ally and colleague within series lore; their respective lines of dialogue were interpreted by some players to be of a romantic nature, which were confirmed by the release of Arcane in 2021.

Reader's Guide

Vi's main weapons are the "Atlas Gauntlet", two massive gloves powered by Hextech that increase her physical strength to superhuman levels. Her gameplay mechanics have undergone a number of revisions since her introduction on December 19, 2012. Dot Esports noted while Vi's original moveset and statistics stood out for being more suited for the top lane, her abilities and their effects have remained mostly the same without any major changes. The character was banned from professional play for a time in early 2020 due to a potentially game-breaking bug. A "micropatch" was released in November 2021 to downgrade her base statistics and ultimate abilities, which were unintentionally boosted by a prior rescript that in Riot's opinion made her somewhat overpowered.

Did You Know?

• Vi was the first League of Legends champion to receive a login screen accompanied by an original, lyrical song track, performed by Nicki Taylor and Cia Court.
• Riot Games designer Josh Singh originally conceived the character as a girl named Ruby, who wears roller-skates; the concept was discarded after two years of development.
• Vi's code name during development was 'Piltover Enforcer', given by designer Paul Kwon.
• Christian Linke and Alex Yee, who worked on Vi's lyrical song track and the 'Get Jinxed' cinematic, later served as showrunners of the animated series Arcane.