The highly anticipated Riot MMO is still in early development. The game engine likely hasn’t even been built. Yet we all want to know what the game will be like. Even though the game isn’t built, many hints have been dropped that give us an idea of what’s to come. As of yet, there are no Riot MMO leaks. So, you’re not going to see clips or screenshots of starting zones. Everything’s conceptual. Therefore, we begin by looking at Riot’s existing world.
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Know Runeterra to Know the MMO
We will look at Riot’s existing world to get an understanding of what starting zones will be in the Riot MMO. Riot Games has been hard at work with their worldbuilding. The Runeterra IP (intellectual property) has a deep and rich history. Runeterra is the world that encompasses many of Riot’s games. Including but not limited to League of Legends, Legends of Runeterra, and Ruined King: A League of Legends story. In fact, the League of Legends video game has it’s own lore website. This website will be our first stop shop for getting an idea of which starting zones will be in the Riot MMO.
13 Available Zones for the Riot MMO
Look at the Regions section of the League Universe website and you’ll see the 13 zones of Runterra.
The 13 zones are Runeterra are as follows:
- Bandle City
- Demacia
- Ixtal
- Piltover
- Shurima
- The Freljord
- The Void
- Bilgewater
- Ionia
- Noxus
- Shadow Isles
- Targon
- Zaun
Keep in mind, there are more areas in the world of Runeterra. Riot has yet to reveal some areas uncharted to us.
Secondly, it’s highly unlikely all of the areas above will be available as starting zones. Actually, we don’t think most of these areas will be playable at launch. That’s not because we think Riot is incapable. Rather, the opposite. Runeterra is a such a vast world, it would be incredibly difficult and unnecessarily ambitious to complete Runeterra on day 1. Take a look the the map of Runeterra and see how big is it.
Notice there are 12 regions in the image above. We listed 13. The region missing is the void. The void is an abyssal region deep underground. It hosts abominable creatures that wish to get out and wreak havoc on Runeterra. Let’s take a closer look at the map and uncover where the starting zones in the Riot MMO might be.
Three Most Likely Riot MMO Starting Zones
We used the League Universe Interactive Map to share these images. The site also includes features such as dragging the map, clicking on points of interest and animations. Below are the three regions that are most likely to be starting zones in the Riot MMO.
Demacia Is The Most Likely Starting Zone
Honestly, this is rather speculative. Nonetheless, Demacia is likely to be a starting zone in the upcoming Riot MMO. Firstly, Demacia is a fan favorite. We know Executive Producer Greg Street‘s philosophy to questions like ‘what will be in game?’ is, “What do you want to be in the game?” Player feedback is important to not only Greg, but Riot Games, Inc. So if fans want Demacia, don’t be surprised if we get it.
Also, the first official Riot MMO website was their recruiting page. The now iconic, featured image was a young Cithria of Cloudfield starting out in Demacia. This is likely a hint to the direction of this MMORPG.
Noxus will Probably be a Starting Zone
We use the same line of thinking with Demacia to guess Noxus will be a starting zone. Payers love Noxus! And Riot wants to give the players what they want. Noxus is a city that values strength above all else. Interestingly, it lacks a modern social structure. Ethics aside, anyone with enough courage and power can and will rise to the top.
Another reason why we believe Noxus will be a starting zone is related to the races that inhabit Noxus. In our article titled which races will be playable, we explained humanoid races are more likely to be playable.
Piltover & Zaun if we’re Lucky
Of these three regions, we think Piltover and especially Zaun are the least likely to be a starting zone. Still likely mind you. If you watched Riot’s movie, Arcane, you would understand that Piltover and Zaun and are a dual city. Physical above Zaun it’s a wealthy city with free trade and magically infused inventions called hextech. Conversely, Zaun is a dangerous slum filled with illegal activity and monopolistic exploitation.
It’s possible Piltover will be a starting zone and Zaun not. It would be easier to make the top side of a city accessible and the bottom not, than it would the other way around.
Not a Starting Zone in the Riot MMO
MMORPGs are a live service game. In order to succeed, massive multiplayer online role playing games need frequent updates. They need more than bi-weekly patched. Modern games are expected to have seasons and expansions. A season is a period of 2 to 4 months of a particular theme. An expansion is a period of roughly 1 to 3 years on a particular theme as well. This industry standard at this point and we can assume Riot will implement this. They already have in all if their games.
With that said, Riot will have to hold back on some zones and lore for future expansions. Naturally, they will leave the regions with minimal lore for later. Furthermore, the regions around the areas with minimal lore could be off limits for a while too. That is because the zones will ideally have some cohesion. For example, travel pathways and quest progression. Therefore, if Valoran provides a couple starting zones, then it would unwise to choose the Shadow Isles as a third starting zone. It’s just too far and disconnected. With these points in mind, we can do our best to role out several starting zones.
These Regions are Unlikely to be a Starting Zone
The Void
There is not much that is known about the Void when compared to other regions. Furthermore, the lore surrounding the Void has wide implications. We can almost guarantee Riot will not jump the gun on the most profound storyline.
Finally, the enemies that lie in the Void are treacherous. You don’t take on the final boss on day one. For that, we can rule this one out. The Void will not be a starting zone in the upcoming Riot MMO.
The Shadow Isles
Once again, we think the continent of Valoran will be the greater region that will host starting zones. With that said, the Shadow Isles is the farthest region from Valoran. We think it’s unlikely Riot Games would break immersion by having players port across maps.
Furthermore, the Shadow Isles is an incredible hostile zone. There are tons of powerful and aggressive spirits. Not quite fitting for a beginner starting a new journey.
Targon
There are a few reasons why Targon is unlikely to be a starting zone for the Riot MMO.
First, it’s location is on the continent of Shurima. Shurima is likely off limits because Ixtal of Targon are held back lore wise a bit.
On that note, the lore for Targon is delicate. Similar to the Void, interactions with Targon have far reaching implications.
Not to mention the region of Targon is incredibly challenging to endure. Generally, it’s a cold and uninviting region.
Ixtal
Another unlikely region. Probably just an unlikely as the Shadow Isles and Targon.
Firstly, we don’t know much about Ixtal. They tribe is a mystery. Ixtal is shrouded by a thick Jungle. Although, Noxus is closing in on its territory. The inhabitants of Ixtal are engulfed in their elemental magic. They appear to be a powerful tribe but we don’t know much more.
Secondly, Ixtal is on the eastern side of the continent Shurima. As you can see, more reasons are mounting against the continent of Shurima having playable regions day 1.
Bandle City
This point forward marks regions that could be used as starting zones. Bandle City would be a complicated choice for a starting zone.
Bandle City does not physically exist on Runeterra. It is a magical region that is traversed through portals. These portals seem to appear and disappear without pattern.
If that weren’t enough, in canon lore, the inhabitants of Bandle City and Yordles. Yordles can change their appearance from the viewers’ perspective. So other races may not truly know what Yordles look like. The rabbit hole goes deeper and as we said, it can get complicated.
Bilgewater
It is not out of the realm of possibility for Bilgewater to be a starting zone. Bilgewater hosts a vast number of pirates and the like. Its a cutthroat zone where ethics are often thrown out the window.
Players love playing as pirates. Bilgewater has tons of developed lore too. In fact, the second image posted on Riot’s MMO hiring page was a Bilgewater environment.
The reason Bilgewater didn’t make top three is because it’s somewhat far from Valoran.
We think Bilgewater would make a great expansion. Perhaps a flight path could open up from Piltover we will depart from there.
Three Regions that could be Starting Zones
Shurima
Shurima almost made the top 3. Shurima’s has so much lore it’s unbelievable. Almost everyone wants to roll a toon from the desert.
It’s just, while Shurima’s lands are vast, it’s not connected to Valoran. If Shurima were a playable region, there might be a lot of ‘invisible walls’ or mountains. The developers would have to block off access from Targon, the sea to the north and south, Ixtal, and the Void.
Lastly, the lore is so epic, they would have to hold back players from fully interacting with the world. For example, hostile Darkin and Baccai would obliterate us lowly peons. How would we meaningfully interact with the Ascended at such an early level, and so on.
Ionia
Ionia could definitely be an amazing starting zone. We have so much lore to experience in this region. There are tons of League of Legends champion fans want to interact and dialogue with too.
Now, keep in mind Ionia is an ancient Eastern Asian inspired region. It’s an island north-east of Noxus. So, it poses a bit of a transportation issue. Say you roll an Ionian assassin, and your friend rolls a Demacian tank. How will you run content together. Whereas, Demacia, Noxus, and the Freljord are in close proximity. This closeness creates a cohesion among people for new player experiences.
We’re unsure about Ionia. It’s possible.
The Freljord
The Freljord is a fan-favorite. Its rich with lore, characters, and beautiful environments.
The Freljord is north of Demacia. Thus, its in the continent of Valoran. If there were to be four starting regions, I would imagine the Freljord to be the fourth starting zone in the Riot MMO.
I didn’t list it in the top three because it’s not a close as Demacia is Noxus. And Piltover and Zaun were in the Arcane film. The developers may feel an urge to build areas where players will want to be in most. Not that the Freljord is not interesting. But Demacia and Noxus are fan favorites and Arcane put Piltover on the map.
We hope the Freljord will be a playable region.
Possibly One Starting Zone
Some fans online have discussed that The Riot MMO have one neutral starting zone, like RuneScape does. RuneScape is an sandbox MMORPG. After players finished their character creator, they find themselves in a universal starting zone called Tutorial Island.
All players come here. After you complete the tasks within Tutorial Island, you are teleported by a mage to another universal region. The town of Lumbridge. All players arrive at Lumbridge after completing the tutorial. This provides new players a welcoming first player experience for a few reasions.
- Other characters in the region are likely of similar experience and skill
- Players can interact seamlessly with other new players nearby
- Lack of interference with high level gameplay
It’s possible Riot could go the complete opposite way. Ironically, this idea would make the majority of the page moot. Nonetheless, we think the Riot MMO team will have several starting zones. Simply because it would be too disruptive to the world of Runeterra as we know it. Here’s why.
Currently, there aren’t any neutral regions that exist in Runeterra. Each region has unique tribes, culture, and history. I doubt Riot would create a new non-canon region for this purpose alone. We don’t think players would be motivated to explore this theoretical neutral areas a say, Shurima. It would be a waste of developers’ time and ultimately, the company’s resources.
Final Thoughts
It is worth noting that we highly doubt all regions will be available to play upon launch. The Riot MMO team will need to hold back and let player’s discover the most known areas first. Allow us to experience the world and learn the lore. Over time, dungeons and regions can be unveiled. Not everything will be, or should be accessible.
What starting zones will the Riot have might even be limited based on race. For example, you might not be able to roll a Yordle in the Freljord or Targon. This will depend on the balance the team strikes between maintaining lore integrity and allowing player agency.
Wherever starting zones the Riot MMO includes, we plan to explore them all!
