Top 10 Potential Icathia Void Raid Bosses for the Riot MMO
Riot MMO | Lore Speculation
The Unknowable Threat
Screaming into existence with the birth of the universe, the Void is a manifestation of the unknowable nothingness that lies beyond. It is a force of insatiable hunger, waiting through the eons until its masters, the mysterious Watchers, mark the final time of undoing. To be a mortal touched by this power is to suffer an agonizing glimpse of eternal unreality, enough to shatter even the strongest mind. Denizens of the Void realm itself are construct-creatures, often of only limited sentience, but tasked with a singular purpose—to usher in total oblivion across Runeterra.
For players in the Riot MMO, the corrupted lands of Icathia and the encroaching Lavender Sea of Bel'Veth promise a raid zone unlike any other. Here, we speculate on the horrors that await, from mindless swarms to the Empress of the Void herself.
The Fall of Icathia
Of all the cataclysmic events that have scarred Runeterra, few are as tragic as the fall of Icathia. For nearly a thousand years, the proud nation lived under the heel of the mighty Shuriman Empire, their culture suppressed and their greatest minds denied the honor of Ascension. This simmering resentment finally boiled over into a rebellion fueled by desperation.
Ignoring the warnings of pragmatists like the warrior Saijax (the man who would become Jax) and the chrono-mage Zilean, Icathia's leaders chose to unleash a power they could not comprehend: the Void. They believed it to be a weapon that would grant them freedom. They were wrong.
I pressed myself to the battle-churned earth as the wail burrowed deep into my skull, as though the world itself were shrieking in horror... The sky, once bright and blue, was now the color of a week-old bruise... I saw flickering afterimages burn themselves onto the back of my mind. Slashing claws... Gaping maws... All-seeing eyes...
~ Axamuk Var-Choi Kohari Icath’or, from "Where Icathia Once Stood"
The Void did its work, annihilating the Shuriman god-warriors, but it did not stop there. The weapon turned on its masters, swallowing Icathia whole and leaving a gaping wound in reality—a permanent gateway for the horrors that now spill into the world. It is into this wound, and the new one torn open at Bel'veth, that players will likely venture.
Top 10 Void Raid Bosses
10. The Xer'sai Swarm
Minions of the Queen: The Xer'Sai
Xer'sai Dunebreaker
While all xer'sai are able tunnelers, only their dunebreakers have the mass and power needed to break through the veins of solid bedrock that snake through the Great Sai, and open up the lands beyond for further hunting.
Raid Encounter Analysis
The first encounter in a Void raid would likely not be a single entity, but a relentless swarm. An encounter with the Xer'sai would be a chaotic council-style fight, forcing the raid to manage multiple target types simultaneously. Players would have to prioritize the high-pitched Xer'sai Callers to prevent them from summoning endless reinforcements, while tanks grapple with the heavily armored Dunebreakers. Meanwhile, swarms of Hatchlings would assault healers and ranged DPS, making positioning and crowd control paramount to survival.
9. The Defenders of Bel'veth: Koyemi & Shalatai
Void Blaster
The Void eruption in the city of Belveth was both sudden and terrifying. Most of the civilians were terrified by the chaos that quickly enveloped the city, and fled for safety as fast as they were able. Most, but not Koyemi.
Raid Encounter Analysis
This encounter would be a tragic narrative turning point. As players fight to defend the city of Bel'veth from the initial Void incursion, they are joined by two powerful locals: Koyemi, the Void Blaster, and Shalatai, the Belvethi Elder. This fight would be a desperate defense against waves of Voidlings. The objective wouldn't be to defeat the two defenders, but to survive alongside them. The encounter would climax with an overwhelming surge of Void energy, forcing Shalatai to make a heroic sacrifice, creating a barrier that allows players and a wounded Koyemi to escape the city's final consumption. This sets a somber tone and establishes the stakes for the rest of the raid.
8. Kog'maw, the Mouth of the Abyss
“Belched forth from a rotting Void incursion deep in the wastelands of Icathia, Kog’Maw is an inquisitive yet putrid creature with a caustic, gaping mouth. This particular Void-spawn needs to gnaw and drool on anything within reach to truly understand it.”
~ From Kog'Maw's Champion Page
Drawn by a "baleful beacon" that led him to Runeterra, Kog'Maw is a creature of unsettling curiosity, driven to understand his new environment the only way he knows how: by devouring it. His journey is a swathe of destruction, not born of malice, but of an insatiable, childlike hunger.
“The enchanting colors and aromas of Runeterra intoxicated Kog'Maw, and he explored the fruits of the strange world the only way he knew how: by devouring them.”
~ From Kog'Maw's Biography
Raid Encounter Analysis
Drawn to the immense Void energy, Kog'Maw would serve as a grotesque and unpredictable mid-boss. The fight would take place in a corrupted landscape, where Kog'Maw's caustic enzymes have turned the ground into a hazardous mess. The primary mechanic would revolve around his unending curiosity and hunger. He would periodically target and attempt to devour players, who must be freed by their allies before being digested. The arena would be littered with consumable objects; if Kog'Maw eats them, he gains new, dangerous abilities, forcing the raid to control his diet while avoiding his artillery-like acid attacks.
7. Kassadin, The Corrupted Walker
Kassadin's story is one of profound loss. Once a simple Shuriman guide, his life was shattered when the Void, guided by Malzahar's followers, consumed his village, and with it, his wife and daughter. Believing them dead, he swore vengeance.
“He clawed at the debris until his hands bled, screaming out his wife and daughter’s names, though no answer came. Days later, Kassadin’s companions caught up to him, now just a broken and empty man weeping beneath the scorching sun.”
~ From Kassadin's Biography
To fight the abyss, he armed himself with forbidden artifacts, including the legendary Nether Blade of Horok, a weapon that could harm the Void itself. Now he walks the darkest paths, a man with nothing left to lose, singularly focused on destroying the Prophet Malzahar.
Raid Encounter Analysis
This wouldn't be a fight to kill, but to save. Deep within the Void, players, guided by Kai'Sa, would find her long-lost father Kassadin on the brink of being fully consumed by the very power he fights. The encounter would be a desperate race against a corruption meter. Players must fight off waves of Void entities that are trying to overwhelm Kassadin. Periodically, Kassadin himself, lost in a Void-induced nightmare, would lash out, forcing players to dodge his powerful Nether Blade attacks. The goal is to survive his phases and cleanse the corruption before it's too late, freeing him from the Void's grasp and gaining a powerful ally for the final confrontation.
6. Malzahar, the Prophet of the Void
A gifted seer, Malzahar grew disillusioned with the endless cycle of suffering in the mortal world. He sought answers in the ruins of Icathia, and gazing into the abyss, he found what he believed to be salvation: the promise of oblivion.
“Malzahar had seen in the abyss an end to all the suffering he had witnessed in his mortal lifetime. He realized the future he had believed hidden from him all this time was in fact a vision of his true calling: to accelerate the world toward inevitable oblivion.”
~ From Malzahar's Biography
As the herald for a new, evolving Void that craved a leader, Malzahar orchestrated the complete annihilation of the port city of Bel'veth, sacrificing its people and their memories to serve as the raw material for his empress's birth.
Raid Encounter Analysis
As the herald who orchestrated Bel'Veth's birth, Malzahar would be a major encounter. The fight would be a battle of attrition against his endless swarm of Voidlings and his mind-bending powers. Players would be afflicted with "Malefic Visions," a debuff that damages them over time and can spread to nearby allies if not properly managed. Malzahar would frequently open Nether Grasp portals, attempting to suppress and disable key players like tanks and healers, forcing DPS to switch targets and destroy the portals quickly. It's a fight demanding constant movement, spatial awareness, and add control.
5. The Void Abomination
"We had heard tales of Void breaches before, and the devastation that came with them. But to see it myself... I don't know that I will ever rid my eyes of that sight, or my heart of that horror."
~ Belveth survivor
Raid Encounter Analysis
This is the quintessential "gear check" boss. A hulking monstrosity of raw Void matter, the Abomination would be a straightforward but punishing encounter. Its attacks would be slow but devastating, requiring precise tank positioning and timely cooldown usage. The raid would need to deal with a stacking debuff applied by its AoE stomps, forcing tank swaps. The main challenge would be a soft enrage mechanic: the longer the fight goes on, the more unstable the Abomination becomes, pulsing raid-wide damage with increasing frequency. It's a pure test of the raid's raw healing and damage output before the more complex fights ahead.
4. The Camouflaged Horror
"As the assault continued, larger and even more ferocious creatures poured from the widening gate. The city of Belveth was lost, though, as the cruelty of fate would have it, its name would live on."
Raid Encounter Analysis
This encounter is all about paranoia and perception. The Camouflaged Horror would be an ambush predator fought in a dark, cavernous arena. For most of the fight, the boss would be invisible, its location only hinted at by subtle environmental cues like shifting dust or dripping ichor. It would periodically emerge to strike a random player, applying a deadly bleed before vanishing again. Players would need to use flares or magical light sources to reveal the Horror, creating short windows to deal damage. Failing to reveal it in time would result in it pouncing on a player from the shadows for a one-shot kill.
3. Rek'Sai, Queen of the Xer'sai (Final Showdown)
“Fear not ambush from the hills, nor winged beasts from the skies. The true terror of Shurima comes from the sand, and gives no warning of her presence.”
- Sivir
Rek'Sai in Legends of Runeterra
Rek'Sai
"Young Jhuraa was exploring, as is his way, and in a small hidden cave, discovered some ancient texts! We took them to a translator in Marrowmark, and the scrolls... they speak of an ancient terror who stalked our ancestors. A queen. A xer'sai queen!" - Fezhaur, Vekauran elder
Raid Encounter Analysis
Having likely faced her once before in Shurima, this would be the final, definitive battle against the queen of the Xer'sai. The encounter would be a high-stakes game of cat and mouse in her personal nesting ground. Rek'Sai would spend much of the fight burrowed, using Tremor Sense to hunt players. Raiders would need to use sonic emitters or cause localized cave-ins to force her to the surface. Once exposed, it's a frantic burn phase before she burrows again, leaving behind a network of tunnels she can use to ambush the raid from any direction. In this final encounter, she would periodically enrage, gaining immense speed and damage, forcing the raid to use all their defensive cooldowns to survive until she calms down. It's a fight that demands constant vigilance and control of the battlefield.
2. The Hive Herald
"It spoke to me as... as if it knew me. Like it wanted me to meet... something..."
~ Kai'Sa
Raid Encounter Analysis
The penultimate boss and Bel'Veth's chief lieutenant. The Hive Herald is not a brute, but a conductor. The encounter would take place on a platform overlooking the Lavender Sea, with the Herald itself channeling power from a massive Void Gate. The Herald would be largely stationary and shielded, invulnerable to direct attack. Instead, it would summon waves of elite Voidborn. The raid must defeat these adds in specific locations to overload the conduits powering the Herald's shield. Once the shield drops, the raid has a brief window to damage the Herald before it restores its defenses and summons a new, more dangerous wave of minions. It's a tactical encounter focused on add management and burst DPS windows, all while the voice of Bel'Veth echoes promises of oblivion.
1. Bel'Veth, the Empress of the Void
Bel'Veth is the horrifying evolution of the Void. Born from the collective consciousness of a devoured city, she is a sentient cancer whose goal is not just to erase Runeterra, but to consume and remake it in her own image. She represents a new kind of threat: a Void with a mind, with wants, and with a terrifying, singular purpose.
“Fascinated by the world of existence and eager to create one for herself, Bel’Veth is like a dark cancer that has metastasized within the heart of the Void, through which all of Runeterra will be consumed and rebuilt in her own twisted image.”
~ From Bel'Veth's Biography
“The raw components of their lives served as the genesis for my birth. Memories. Emotions. History. I am as much Belveth as they were, and I claim the title as my own.”
~ Bel'Veth, from the story "Pinwheel"
Raid Encounter Analysis
The final boss of the raid, an epic multi-phase encounter against the sentient heart of the new Void. Bel'Veth, created from the memories and matter of an entire devoured city, represents a terrifying evolution of her kind. The fight would begin against her deceptive, humanoid form, a fast-paced duel of dodging her royal maelstroms and dashes.
Upon reaching a certain health threshold, she would reveal her monstrous true form, transforming the arena into the "Lavender Sea." The floor would become a damaging hazard, with only small, shifting islands of solid ground. In this phase, she would summon echoes of devoured lifeforms and use massive, sweeping attacks with her wing-like fins. The final phase would see her attempting to consume the raid entirely, creating a reality-warping vortex in the center of the room. Players would have to fight against the pull, destroying Void Remora adds to weaken her and finally deliver the killing blow, silencing the empress and saving Runeterra... for now.
Allies Who Will Test Us
Jax, The Grandmaster at Arms
Once known as Saijax, he was a respected weapons master of Icathia. He witnessed firsthand the folly of unleashing the Void and survived the destruction of his homeland. Overcome with guilt, he now wanders Runeterra, testing warriors with his iconic lamppost—a self-imposed handicap—searching for those strong enough to stand with him against the coming darkness.
"Grieving and ashamed, Saijax Cail-Rynx Kohari Icath’un forsook his old name, and from that day was known only as Jax."
~ From Jax's Biography
As the last weapons master of Icathia, Jax is driven by the guilt of his home's destruction. Before any adventurer can be allowed to face the heart of the Void, they must first prove their worth to him. This encounter would be a trial by combat, a mechanics-heavy duel where the goal is not to kill Jax, but to survive his onslaught and demonstrate mastery of combat fundamentals. He would test tanks' ability to mitigate damage, healers' endurance, and DPS's ability to avoid his "Counter Strike." Only by passing his test will players be deemed worthy to carry the "last light of Icathia" into the darkness.
Kai'Sa, Daughter of the Void
“My appearance may frighten you, but make no mistake—I am on your side, and we fight to the bitter end.” ~ Kai'Sa
Unbeknownst to Kassadin, his daughter Kaisa survived the Void's attack on her village. Dragged into the abyss, she merged with a living Void carapace to stay alive, emerging years later as a deadly hunter. Her entire existence is a battle to keep the two worlds apart.
Once an ordinary girl, now a symbiotic hunter, Kai'Sa would be the raid's primary guide and quest-giver. Having survived the abyss herself, she understands the threat like no other. Her involvement would be woven throughout the entire raid experience, from leading the initial assault to helping players find her father, Kassadin. Her personal questline would culminate in the final battle against Bel'Veth, where Kai'Sa fights alongside the raid, perhaps providing a crucial buff or performing a key mechanic. She is not a test to be overcome, but an indispensable ally in the fight for survival.
Zilean, the Chronokeeper
“Over many years, Zilean established a network of promising young mages from different times, all of whom were capable of seeing out his life's work should the unthinkable happen. Although a kind and encouraging mentor, deep sorrow creased his brow when he sought solitude, and there was a weariness in his eyes that only someone who has lived multiple lifetimes could hope to comprehend.”
After defeating Bel'Veth and stemming the immediate tide of the Void, players might encounter the enigmatic Zilean. Trapped outside of time since he saved a fragment of Icathia from its destruction, he offers a tantalizing proposition: the chance to go back. An encounter with Zilean would be the hook for a future "Chronokeeper" expansion. He would task players with entering temporal rifts, re-living the fall of Icathia not to prevent it, but to recover lost artifacts or knowledge. This would open up new dungeons and raids set in the past, with Zilean acting as a guide through the paradoxes of history, all in the desperate hope of one day finding a timeline where his home was saved.
