Venture to Bilgewater and face the Black Mist head-on. Join Captain Fortune, her crew, and with assistance from visitors from other regions as the frontline to fight against the Viego’s forces. This is the advent of the Ruined King’s awakening as he lets his mist encroach across Runeterra in search of his queen.
Main story
What was once the Blessed Isles is now corrupted when the mad king, Viego of Camavor, raided its Waters of Life to revive queen Isolde. However, the bloodshed caused by his obsession corrupted the waters which triggered the Ruination of Helia. He, his Iron Legion, and his queen are cursed with undeath but they lay dormant for centuries as they try to recover.
The curse of the Shadow Isles frequently spreads outside of its vicinity. Its most frequent victims are the people of Bilgewater and Shurima. Hundreds of forces tried to push back the darkness, including a few champions of League of Legends. Two of those brave souls are Captain Sarah Fortune and Illaoi who joined forces against the Harrowing.
After years with Captain Fortune, Bilgewater’s de facto leader, the Black Mist returns and is more dangerous than ever. Illaoi investigates this evil in the name of Nagakabouros and with help from other known champions. Witness the grand battle between an unlikely band of heroes against an army that is ruined by the Shadow Isles.
Gameplay
Ruined King has a unique spin on the classic menu-based combat of the role-playing game (RPG) genre. It incorporated some mechanics that are inspired by League of Legends, a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) that started the intellectual property for the Ruined King game.
Ruined King features six playable champions but only three can be active in a party at a time. Every champion has enough abilities to be offensive, defensive, or controlling but each of them excels in only one of those three. The best way to form a party is to determine which abilities can synergize or cover a champion’s weaknesses.
You and the opponent take turns issuing a command to their units. The initiative order is determined by the individual unit’s speed which can be affected by haste buff, slow debuff, and stuns. Abilities are divided into three menus. The one at the centre is called Instant which lets the champion perform that action as soon as you give the command.
Lane abilities at the right have delays so they will gain a new initiative depending on how long it takes to cast the ability. You can decide whether to speed the process, keep it balanced, or lengthen the timer. Speeding it up weakens the effects while taking your time means that it’s more effective. The menu at the left is the Ultimate which can only be used once you have filled the party’s shared gauge.
The game also includes hazard zones which make the initiative order more complex than deciding the order of character actions. Initiating combat in a hazard zone will cause it to appear in the battle. If there is none, then the game begins with a random buff zone that benefits everyone.
Playable characters
As stated, the six playable characters in Ruined King are champions from Riot Games’ flagship game, League of Legends. Each of them comes with its own strengths to add a specific element to the team. Other champions appear as side characters or antagonists but here’s everyone you’ll get to pilot.
Ahri
Ahri is from a long lost vastayan tribe from Ionia. She travelled to Bilgewater with Yasuo to look for a long lost artefact that Gangplank stole. As a playable character, Ahri has a high offensive potential thanks to her affinity for magic. She also has ways to be faster or use tricks to manipulate the opponent if brute force is not enough.
Yasuo
Yasuo is a nice person but he makes it obvious that he has no interest in making friends. He fights only because he feels responsible for protecting Ahri after agreeing to accompany her outside of Ionia. As a playable character, Yasuo’s kit is focused entirely on offense. However, he relies on building momentum such as flow and overcharge to strengthen his combos with critical hits.
Sarah Fortune
Captain Sarah Fortune fights to reshape Bilgewater into a new city by uniting all captains that support her cause and killing those who are foolish enough to take it from her. Just like Yasuo, her damage mostly relies on landing critical hits. However, she can fire at a wider area of effect. It’s best to let her eliminate small fries before focusing her twin pistols on a single target like the boss.
Illaoi
As the Truth Bearer of Nagakabouros, she enacts the serpent goddess’ will whether it is to indulge in desires or save Bilgewater from great evil. She has abilities that work for all occasions. If you are looking for a healer, a tank, or a damage dealer, then she’s your pick. Her tentacles attack on her behalf as well as increase the potency of her abilities. It’s better to summon as many tentacles as possible in the first two rounds but she can still be useful without them if you have to act fast.
Pyke
Pyke stalks Bilgewater’s docks as a ripper. He hunts down captains whose names appear on his list in a quest of vengeance for his death and an unknown god’s will. As a playable character, Pyke has a unique ability to turn invisible, making him immune from being targeted throughout the fight until exposed by a wide-range attack. He specializes in inflicting heavy critical damage to finish off targets that are weakened by his allies. Alternatively, his burst can take down small fries while the tanks distract the heavy hitters.
Braum
Braum is the heart of the Freljord and overall the friendliest man in League of Legends. He set on a quest to retrieve the Waters of Life to heal the sick in his village but the creatures of the black mist sank his boat and brought him to Bilgewater. His favoured weapon is a shield that can withstand every blow. His primary ability involves stacking shields for him and his allies. If given an opening, his punches and abilities can generate stacking concussions onto enemies that everyone in the team can trigger to stun the afflicted.