| “ | The only peace I seek... is death! | „ |
| ~ Aatrox |
| “ | Once in noble battle, I screamed against the silence. I stood as light against the darkness. Now... I serve a new master: oblivion. | „ |
| ~ Aatrox |
Aatrox, also known as The Darkin Blade, is a villainous playable character in the multiplayer online battle arena game League of Legends. He is the archenemy of Pantheon and Tryndamere.
A sentient Darkin blade, Aatrox is a fallen defender of Shurima, corrupted by his own magic until he became an even greater threat than the Void. After centuries of imprisonment, Aatrox was the first of his brethren to find freedom and now travels Runeterra in hopes of bringing about the apocalypse.
The 114th champion added to the game, Aatrox was released on June 13, 2013, and received a full visual rework on June 27, 2018. He is most commonly played in the top lane.
He was originally voiced by Erik Ireland prior to his rework, and is currently voiced by Ramon Tikaram, who also voices Jack Rackham in Tad the Lost Explorer and the Secret of King Midas, Ramattra in Overwatch 2, and Godrick in Elden Ring.
Biography[]
Lore[]
Long ago, in the ancient empire of Shurima, the warrior known as Aatrox stood before the great Sun Disc. Blessed by the power of the sun itself, Aatrox became an Ascended with golden wings and armor that sparkled with celestial magic. Like the other god-warriors of his time, Aatrox was a defender of Shurima from the Icathian rebels and the Void. But after the fall of Shurima at the hands of Xerath, the Ascended were left without an emperor to defend, and now that the Void was defeated, they had no purpose at all.
As time went on, factions within the Ascended began to clash with one another for control of the remains of the world, with the Sunborn Ascended facing off against the terrifying Darkin, as they were now known by mortals. Aatrox was one of these Darkin, and as the conflict grew worse, the Targonian Aspects intervened on behalf of the Sunborn, defeating Aatrox and his armies once and for all. As punishment, Aatrox was sealed within his own sword, his immortal being imprisoned and hidden away so it could do no more harm.
For many centuries, Aatrox was trapped, until one day the Darkin Blade was recovered by a foolish mortal, whom Aatrox manipulated into wielding the weapon. Aatrox forced his mind into the body of the human, possessing it and transforming into an imitation of his old form. The possession was successful, but Aatrox found he'd drained the life from his host too quickly. Over time, Aatrox perfected this technique with many more hosts, and was soon able to take control of mortals within a breath.
But as Aatrox traveled Runeterra, he knew he was incomplete. He knew his new bodies were just a pale mockery of his Ascended form and wanted nothing more than to be free from the blade and his immortality due to his endless torment. Realizing there was no way to ever break his curse, Aatrox know seeks to destroy himself the only way he knows how: complete and utter oblivion. Wherever Aatrox goes, his warpath will scorch the earth without mercy, and one day, when everything ceases to exist, Aatrox hopes that someday he will too.
Gameplay[]
In game, Aatrox is a juggernaut-type champion, a durable melee fighter that destroys any enemies that get too close. Aatrox's passive, Deathbringer Stance, makes his attacks periodically deal more damage with lifesteal. With The Darkin Blade, Aatrox can slam his sword into the ground three times, each time with a different area of effect. With Infernal Chains, Aatrox creates a vortex in the ground that deals damage and pulls enemies that can't escape in time. With Umbral Dash, Aatrox has lifesteal and can dash in any direction he wants. Aatrox's ultimate, World Ender, lets him go into his winged form, which fears enemies and grants Aatrox other bonuses to damage, healing, and movement speed for a limited time.
Personality[]
| “ | I touched the stars, and saw the glorious light of a thousand suns! Now, blinded by this elegance, how could my purpose be anything... but dark... | „ |
| ~ Aatrox |
Aatrox speaks like a character from a Shakespearean tragedy, mourning his cursed form and threatening people in a grandiose fashion. Aatrox hates himself and everything around him, and though he recognizes the cruelty of his own actions, he feels little remorse for them, seeing them as just a necessary step in his dark purpose.
As a Darkin, Aatrox does not have a high opinion of humans, viewing them as simple mortals who cannot match his own glory, and thus pays little attention to them. As the God Killer, Aatrox has a particular hatred for celestials and Ascended, especially Pantheon, the Targonian Aspect who helped defeat him during the Great Darkin War. Aatrox is very vengeful against the entire world of Runeterra for imprisoning him and will murder anyone he comes across.
A warrior at heart, Aatrox kills his enemies without mercy and brings war everywhere he goes. However, while on the surface it may seem that Aatrox just enjoys killing people for no reason, Aatrox's true purpose for doing this is because he hopes that either someone else will kill him or the oblivion of Runeterra will destroy him as well, as he despises his curse and sees his death as the only way to rid himself of his own immortality.
Gallery[]
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Trivia[]
- He is the archenemy of both Pantheon and Tryndamere, having battled both in the past.
- In their battles, Aatrox killed them both before their revivals. For Pantheon, he slew the Targonian Aspect of War, leaving the host Atreus to inherit the Aspect's powers. In Tryndamere's case, he was revived by his own undying rage after his defeat, possibly by being exposed to Aatrox's Darkin magic.
- Because he was one of the first Shuriman Ascended, Aatrox is somewhere between 4396 and 5996 years old.
- He was the first of the Darkin to become free from his weapon.
- The quote "Am I the abyss? Or did I gaze into it?" is a reference to Friedrich Nietzsche's Beyond Good and Evil.
- His design took inspiration from the Balrog and Sauron from The Lord of the Rings, as well as Amon from Devilman.
- Aatrox's rework has the distinction of being the only rework in League history that completely changed the character without keeping even a single ability intact, to the point where none of his older abilities survived at all. This has lead to the community jokingly calling him Boris The World Ender, since he is an entirely new character kit-wise.
