The Ruin Sentinels are another boss that will eventually show up as regular enemies, and they are one of my first big arguments against the "the bosses are just dudes in armor" criticism. First of all, because they don't... seem to be dudes. Or rather, their armor is designed to be slender, with a narrow waist creating an hourglass shape, which to me evokes a certain femininity, in contrast to, say, the brick sh**houses that are the dragonriders.
And it's also where the thematic storytelling of Dark Souls 2's designs kicks in, because their armors are hollow - animated only by magic. And the armor is gorgeous, complex, decorated and detailed, clearly the product of wealth like the Dragonriders... but down the back runs a spine and the chest is a ribcage.
These are jailers of Vendrick's regime, and they are, in the most literal sense, hollow, they are avatars of death, empty shells merely going through the motions, in essence no different from the hollows they imprison.
And the idea that Vendrick's regime is ultimately hollow, or the image of something dead carrying on as a shell of itself, is imagery that Dark Souls 2 will return to over and over and over.
RACHEL RANKS: DARK SOULS TRILOGY BOSSES FROM WORST TO BEST
#32: Ruin Sentinels (Dark Souls 2)
“It is only an empty soul that haunts the armor.”
I'm not a fan of SOTFS for many reasons. And while this gripe might be a minor one, I'm very miffed about them gating the Ruin Sentinels behind a fragrant branch statue. It's a real shame, because it means that most players won't even bother fighting one of my favorite DS2 bosses until they're massively overleveled for it. Don't get me wrong, the Ruin Sentinels aren't perfect; I can't abide a drop in a boss arena that leads to mandatory health loss, among other things. But I do like the fact that you can choose your field of engagement up to and including the ability to take out the first enemy without it turning into a gank fight right away. Their designs are great to look at, their theme is fantastic (thank you once again Yuka Kitamura,) and their movesets are consistently fair. I do have to dock it points for that second chunk muddying the waters with a questionably placed gank, but it's a fight I always look forward to and that I'm really sad passes most players by. Give 'em a shot on your next playthrough!
Ive noticed there’s like nowhere for people to scream about this movie without spoiling it for others so Im creating a spoiler server, it’s almost finished I promise
It funny how much I can look at a character look at all their actions and what they’ve done, figuring out the trauma and hardship they went through and I’ll still hate them.
Does an inkling of me pray they get better? Yes
But the overwhelming consensus is “Kindly jump into the nearest pit to Hell and BURN”
Well here's to this mini comic being TWO years old! I remember being very active during the sentinels event, because the plot per-se was really compelling, it just needed some tweaking imo. I've drawn a bazillion comics about Viego and the gang. I kind of miss this storyline a bit.
A Mini Rant about Yasuo’s Lore and what could be done with it
There were so many missed opportunities here and examples Riot could have drawn from, and I’m gonna lay it out.
The main problem is that Yasuo’s story premise was based on him being ‘The Unforgiven’, and through progressing his story via Confessions of a Broken Blade and Yone’s return, in order to have that same conceit he can never fully forgive himself, and therefore literally every story arc he has gotten since Spirit Blossom had been him learning to forgive himself again and again and again. Ruined King did it, the Yasuold skin is implying it, Riot won’t let him do anything else.
And I just. Ok there are ways to do this and I think the premium example to point to is Graves.
Graves was also released with a specific concept; he was hunting Twisted Fate for revenge. That was his whole thing. And in Burning Tides, he actually confronts Twisted Fate and moves his story forward. Riot would’ve been arguably more justified in keeping Grave’s lore state the same than in Yasuo’s case, but no; he and Twisted Fate legitimately start working together again and their story permanently moves forwards after that. And just - Yone’s release and the whole Spirit Blossom event was PERFECT to do that for Yasuo.
Imagine if Yasuo decided to hunt the Azakana with his brother - maybe in an effort to redeem himself in his own eyes even if Yone doesn’t want him dead, maybe to help his brother learn what he’s become, there’s many reasons why he would do this. Imagine a Demon Hunter Yasuo lore skin that shows him in a better mental place, travelling alongside Yone killing Azakana. Honestly you could make that happen in current lore - it would not be hard to have the brothers meet each other again. But just - do ANYTHING with him, have Yone’s return MEAN something. Yasuo is a popular champion and a lore update like that could be a great marketing ploy as well, if we’re also thinking from the business side of things.
Another option would’ve EASILY been giving him a Sentinel skin. The event kind of sucked, yes, but there was legitimate set-up for him to be there. As it is, he returns Braum to the Freljord and then goes to free Riven… only for the Sentinels to get there first. The Sentinels could’ve burst in mid-jailbreak with both Yasuo and Riven there, and there’s no reason for Yasuo NOT to join them if that happens. Again, missed lore skin potential for a popular champion (I do not count Sea Dog Yasuo, that’s just… ok why? Sentinel would’ve been a better fit), he would’ve been an interesting personality to add to the mix, and if he returns with Riven to their village at the end of it, it could’ve been an ACTUAL book-end to his character arc with him CHOOSING to return to his hometown instead of staying the wanderer.
Either of these could’ve actually done shit with him but. Eh. Anyways I have brainrot so I may actually end up drawing either a Sentinel or Demon Hunter Yasuo for the fun of it. Probably Demon Hunter, I have a way you could theoretically get him to that point from his current place in the story so. Anyway.
Taking a break from Mermay again to start prepping some stuff for artfight this year. Wanted to update the singular character I used in 2021 along with the sentinel and ruined version they have. An absolute little gal who does crime since it's a living.
Sorta a yordle OC but also what I have in mind for goblin as well since I have a setting outside of league of legends for all these OCs.