Shimmer - Universe | League of Legends Wiki (2024)

Shimmer is a potent and corrosive techmaturgical, serum-like substance with a wide range of uses. It is popular amongst Zaun's rebellious youth and was distributed as a street drug during Silco's reign over the undercity. (Arcane)

Lore[edit | edit source]

Notable users[edit | edit source]

• Singed constantly uses Shimmer on his research subjects to test their survivability. (Arcane)
• After sustaining severe injuries in his fight with Vander during their youth, Silco would be forced to periodically inject a small amount of Shimmer into his left eye to combat the river toxins poisoning his body. (Arcane)
• After being fatally stabbed by Silco, Vander took Shimmer in order to save Vi from being killed by Deckard. He would later be injected with a perfected version of Shimmer by Singed during the experimental procedure that turned him into Warwick, which gave Vander the ability to instantaneously regenerate from any damage that he took in battle. (Arcane)
• After losing her left arm, Sevika had it replaced with a mechanical prosthetic and used Shimmer as a fuel source to power it in battle. (Arcane)
• Viktor used a variant of Shimmer given to him by Singed to survive his transmutation experiments with the Hexcore. (Arcane)
• After sustaining near-fatal injuries in her battle with Ekko, Jinx was resuscitated by Singed using an advanced version of Shimmer. This permanently changed her eyes from blue to pink, enhanced her physical abilities to superhuman levels, and (possibly) exacerbated her mental instability. (Arcane)
• Vi ingested a small amount of Shimmer that was mixed with a healing potion that Caitlyn obtained from a local potion maker. (Arcane)
• Turbo Chemtanks inhale a constant supply of Shimmer in gas form through their helmets, which allows them to possess superhuman levels of strength, speed, and durability for extended periods of time. (Arcane)

Possible users[edit | edit source]

• At some point in the past, Dr. Mundo was forcefully injected with large quantities of a purple liquid resembling Shimmer, which drastically altered his brain and physical biology.
• Renata Glasc has been speculated to use sSimmer. However, this has been proven otherwise and she actually uses several different variations of a secret chemtech formula that her parents developed before they were murdered.^[1].

History[edit | edit source]

History in Arcane[edit | edit source]

In Arcane, Shimmer was originally created by Singed from a species of glowing purple flowers that he found in the caves of Zaun as one of his many attempts to find a way to cure his comatose and terminally ill daughter Orianna. His first known test subject was Rio, his Waverider pet. After several years of work, the drug would ultimately be put to use during his employment under Silco.

Shimmer was originally designed to serve as a healing drug. Under Silco, however, it was used to create an army of superhuman soldiers as part of his plan to wage war against Piltover and eventually force the Topsiders into granting Zaun its independence. After Vander's death, Silco began dealing shimmer as a street drug in order to fund his illegal ventures.

Shimmer's first known human test subject was Deckard, one of Silco's teenage thugs. He would use the drug at least three times and was eventually killed when Vander also took the drug out of desperation and brutally strangled him to death for trying to kill Vi.

• See Also

  D&D 5e - 2024 Dungeon Masters Guide - Book Scan_ocr - PDFCOFFEE.COMCada personaje de Arcane de League of Legends: una guía de quién es quiénSavage Worlds - Flash Gordon PDF - PDFCOFFEE.COM

  Shimmer Factory Worker 1

• Shimmer Factory Worker 2

• Shimmer Factory Worker 3

After Silco flooded the Lanes with Shimmer, it became a popular recreational drug throughout the undercity, especially for many of Zaun's disreputable characters. It also led to an addiction epidemic in Zaun, with many Zaunites becoming deformed, desperate junkies forced to live in squalor. On the other hand, the profits generated from Silco's investments in Shimmer allowed many of his high-ranking subordinates, especially the villainous chem-barons, to obtain vast amounts of wealth and immense power over the Zaunite population.

Due to the extremely negative effects that Shimmer had on the citizens of the undercity, Ekko and his gang of rebel guerillas, the Firelights, made it to their mission to eliminate the drug from Zaun altogether as part of their plot to take down Silco's criminal empire. Later on, Jayce and Vi, accompanied by a small squad of Enforcers, raided one of Silco's Shimmer factories and successfully destroyed it.

Believing that the undercity stood no chance in a war against Topside, Jayce attempted to broker a peace treaty with Silco and offered to finally grant Zaun its independence. In exchange for this offer, one of Jayce's demands was for Silco to completely shut down any remaining Shimmer factories. However, due to Silco's death, this deal never came to pass and Shimmer production continues to the modern day.

Properties[edit | edit source]

Properties in Runeterra Legacy[edit | edit source]

Shimmer is an extremely potent liquid and its potency is so great that just slathering on the skin is enough to stimulate the emotions of its subjects. In doing so, the drug creates an assortment of shining colors that correspond to the emotions that the subject is feeling. Although frequent application of shimmer in this manner can result in several physical changes, the demand for the drug has only increased over the years due to a rumor that shimmer can grant its users unnatural abilities.

Properties in Arcane[edit | edit source]

Much like the flowers it was created from, Shimmer is a bright purple liquid that radiates a soft, purple glow. It is shown to be addictive and is also flammable, producing bright pink flames as it burns. Although most users tend to either drink the drug directly or inject it into the bodies using syringes, it can also be inhaled in gas form, as demonstrated by the chemtanks.

In small quantities, Shimmer can accelerate the healing process and enhance the user's physical constitution. In larger amounts, it can grant superhuman levels of strength, speed, and durability. A full dose can cause the user to temporarily grow dramatically in size; however, the resulting transformation can be extremely painful. In addition, those who use shimmer in this manner seem to display a sharp loss in cognitive abilities and increased aggression for the duration of the drug's effects.

Frequent use of the drug can cause progressive degeneration of the skin and muscle tissue. Overuse can lead to permanent physical deformities, such as large tumors protruding from the skin.

Generally, Shimmer will temporarily turn the user's eyes pink, purple, or blue. It can also cause one's veins to appear dark purple, and these color changes can even produce a glowing effect. Overuse can make these changes permanent.

Despite the fact that it is mainly used as a drug, sSimmer can also be used as fuel. As a result, many Zaunites exploit the drug as a power source for their chemtech devices.

When Shimmer is combined with Hextech, the results can be unpredictable. As an example, when Viktor first discovered the hexcore, it looked very mechanical and runic in nature. However, after Viktor used Shimmer in conjunction with the Hexcore in an attempt to cure his illness, it morphed and took on a much more organic appearance.

As revealed by Singed, Shimmer has several different variants, some of which are more advanced than others. He would give one of these variants to Viktor to help him find a cure for his illness and use another on Jinx when he resuscitated her, which permanently altered her biology. In time, he would also create a perfected version of Shimmer which he called "Apex Shimmer" and use it on Vander, which caused his blood to develop unique healing properties that enabled him to near-instantly heal any wounds that he suffered in battle.

Trivia[edit | edit source]

• While Shimmer was brought to the forefront by Arcane as a narrative tool for the show's story, Shimmer as a concept has existed in the lore long before the show was released. Shimmer was first mentioned in the Journal of Justice article "A Shimmering Future?" (5th journal release).
  • The Zaun Universe entry for Shimmer mentions the existence of Shimmer Traffickers.
  • Shimmer has also been mentioned in several short stories: Dr. Mundo's Do No Harm (as shimmerdrops), Janna's Deep Breath, Urgot's Son of Ur (as both Shimmer and Shimmerwine), and Progress Day.
  • Shimmerwine is a beverage from Zaun. Although it has not been established whether it has a connection to Shimmer, it is referenced in Son of Ur and Progress Day, in which one character shortens the drink name to just "sSimmer." Shimmerwine also appears in Ruined King as a meal item.
• It is unclear how much the lore behind Shimmer will be changed in the main canon after its introduction in Arcane, since most of its original lore was from the non-canon Journal of Justice materials. Current canon descriptions of sSimmer have some similarities with old non-canon descriptions, while also incorporating elements that would be present in Arcane.
• Although not officially stated or confirmed, with the release of Arcane, fans have speculated that Shimmer may have a connection with the Void and the Voidborn, mainly due to the fact that the drug showcases visual elements and properties that are usually associated with the Void.

References