Who is Viktor in Arcane?

Arcane, League of Legends’ brand new animated series, made in collaboration with Netflix and Riot Games, finally expands on the lore of the MOBA game. One familiar name that cropped up quickly in the first three episodes is Viktor. But far from the semi-robotic scientist we know from the game, this Viktor seems far more reasonable and coherent.

So who is Viktor in Arcane? And what drove the man to become the way he is in-game?

In Arcane, We’re first introduced to Viktor when he helps investigate the break-in at Jayce's lab. The break-in, was of course, perpetrated by Powder, Violet, and their gang. Viktor is the Assistant to the Dean of the Piltover Academy, Heimerdinger, who is also Head of the Council.

Initially seeming benign, Viktor becomes enamoured with the work on Hextech that Jayce is researching, ultimately helping Jayce make a huge breakthrough. In this capacity he defies the Dean of the Academy at the end of episode three.

Viktor seems to have a thirst for power and knowledge. His intrigue and desire to pursue these things pushes him to break the rules. This ultimately links the Viktor of Arcane, to the familiar champion from League of Legends.

In episodes four to six, we see more of Viktor’s backstory. The now-former assistant has developed a close relationship with Jayce, and both strive to use Hextech to help the regular people of Piltover. In this effort, he creates the Hextech Core.

However, when Jinx’s attack on the city prompts the council to use Hextech in more offensive ways, Viktor finds himself torn between his beliefs and ambition. Additionally, Viktor discovers that Hextech is more than what it seems, and has the potential to learn and adapt. Driven to unravel the secrets of Hextech, and seemingly betrayed by Jayce, Viktor quite literally spills blood for his work. Battling an unknown and terminal illness, he collapses during his work and his blood mingles with the Hextech.

Ultimately Viktor remains unable to discover how the Hextech and biological matter interact, and Heimerdinger threatens to destroy the Hextech Core. With no other options, Viktor turns to a man he’d encountered in his youth: Singed, a mad scientist rejected by Piltover.

Viktor was first released in December 2011 and has now been a Champion in League of Legends for around a decade. A far more mad-scientist-like character in-game, Viktor is usually seen as a midlane mage. His abilities control the Rift and zone out opponents, but his burst damage is nothing to be sniffed at.

His central playstyle revolves around The Hex Core. The Hex Core is a powerful crystal, empowers his abilities. This Hex core has gone from being an item, to a passive ability, with its power in game as hard to balance and control as the equivalent crystal is in Lore.

Speaking of lore, it’s stated that “Viktor defeated Jayce and stole a powerful arcane crystal to power his creations. Jayce later created the Mercury Hammer and counter assaulted Viktor's lab.” This hints that later in the series, Viktor and Jayce will go from allies to enemies, and find themselves battling for control of Hextech technology."In episodes four to six, we see more of Viktor’s backstory. The now-former assistant has developed a close relationship with Jayce, and both strive to use Hextech to help the regular people of Piltover. In this effort, he creates the Hextech Core.

However, all this is speculation. We’ll have to see if the story of Viktor, and rival Jayce, change as Arcane continues.

Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest coverage on Netflix's Arcane and League of Legends news.