Was there any inspiration taken from the archers and the wishing well in Samurai Jack?

See, now this really disappoints me. It's a really cool concept you have but it feels frustrating and ultimately worthless because we all know that Varus will never move past this transitional state. He can't, because he has to remain in-game with his current kit and design. I'm not complaining really, I understand this as an unfortunate limitation of the type of game this is, but its really frustrating to see so much build-up put into a character when you know there can never be real development or resolution to their character arc. This goes for others too (like Viktor), but I think Varus may highlight the point more than any other champion. The Ashe/Trynd marriage was the closest you guys ever got to this but for players this seemed to ultimately result in two new skins without any fundamental changes to who the characters are.

tl;dr when do we get 'full corruption Varus' legendary skin?

So, once and for all, Varus's name was not based on any other meanings of the word? =)

As much as I would like to be able to think this way about Riven, this actually doesn't sound like her. She was serving in the Noxian military in the first place (and even in the invasion of Ionia) because she shares the Noxian "might makes right" mentality. So far as the attack upon Varus' village proved to a test of the strength and skill of the two forces, she wouldn't have objected.

P.S.: Remember that her primary (and perhaps only) objection to the Noxian army's actions was their use of chemical weapons and other less-than-honorable means to overcome their foes. She admired the Ionian warriors for their strength and spirit, but she was more than willing to battle against them.

Right... (cower)

As far as his paleness goes, we wanted to give him the appearance of a man whose life is slipping away or being drained. As far as his face, I think you could find people with many different appearances in all the respective regions of Valoran.

In establishing a world/story/setting, it's important to set the status quo before you break it. Though all the city-states are independent entities, people naturally want to give them a good/bad alignment, and this is important for helping introduce new players to the lore. We wanted to ensure that Ionia was viewed in a positive light before we created an exception to the norm.

Thanks!

This is a tough question to answer, though one I'm sure a lot of people are curious about. We value creative judgment most in Creative Designers. The key to our job is trying to make things as cool as possible. Writing degrees and creative writing experience are some of the natural precursors to this type of job, but it's also extremely important to immerse yourself in as much media as possible and to be able to coherently identify success and failure points in a variety of creative endeavors. Though video games are paramount here, movies, TV, books, comics, etc. also highly inform what people see as "cool." It's important to know that this is a moving target as well. Different age groups, genders, and cultures have very different tastes, and all tastes change as time goes on. It's a real bonus if you can be mindful of this variety.

Please note, my answer is only addressing what gives you a leg up as a Creative Designer at Riot Games. My own experience isn't broad enough to tell you about all companies, and I'm not speaking about writing in particular. Many companies divide the responsibilities of Creative Designers and Writers, we currently don't.

Checking to see if we can release this info. These things are weird sometimes. I can say we've had some voice actors in the past you might have recognized.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm...... =p

It's a manifestation of the corruption that suits his desires/needs. To me, Varus always felt like his hand was incomplete without a bow in it. To this end, I think where the bow ends and his hands begins could be somewhat in question.

In time, I'd love to answer this thoroughly for you.

I think they (and many other Ionians) would share a bond of similar experience that would speak volumes before they even had a conversation, however I think Master Yi resisted the temptations to lose himself that Varus succumbed to.

It varies. We believe there are three key parts to champions: gameplay, theme, and art. Any one of these things can be the launching point for a champion.

Looking forward to more details on this coming out in the future, sorry!

So...what's up with the art having him hold his bow in his right hand, but the in-game model has it in his left? Even if it's supposed to be a part of him, I kinda doubt he'd already have had the ambidexterity to switch on the fly like that.

What's the significance of the necklace he grasps on his in-game model? I don't see that anywhere else, nor can I find anything about it in his background story.

Making a guess: Nautilus and Varus were corrupted by the same/similar thing(s)

Out of curiosity, is Varus' design influenced by the Legacy of Kain series at all? Particularly his Blight Crystal skin?
(Are there Legacy of Kain fans at Riot? 8D)

Form your fingers in a gun shape, then point at something with your right hand as fast as you can.

Now do the same with your other hand.

There shouldn't really be a noticeable difference between hands, and I imagine Varus' bow would be something like this. The bow (as far as I can tell) IS him.