Storylines explored by Arcane that involve Vi include her history with Jinx, who was originally named Powder, as well as her eventual love interest, the Piltover noblewoman Caitlyn Kiramman.

Browning leaned on Kwon's illustration of Vi with oversized gloves, and as a result her gameplay mechanics are primarily based on the archetype of a punk girl with an aggressive personality.

[2] Graham McNeill was the writer responsible for coming up with Vi's backstory as an ex-criminal who assumes the role of a "bad cop" on behalf of the prosperous city of Piltover.

Vi was the first League of Legends champion to receive a login screen accompanied by an original, lyrical song track performed by Nicki Taylor and Cia Court, her English voice actress for the video game.

[4] For Linke and Yee, the starring roles for Jinx and Vi in the series' narrative is a natural continuation of their creative work on both characters which began nine years before the release of Arcane's season one.

In an interview with Engadget, Linke explained that Jinx and Vi were always intriguing characters to work with because they offer very different perspectives when paired with each other: not only do they possess opposing personalities with a sharp contrast in their visual design and in-universe role, they are more "grounded" compared to the game's more fantastical champions.

[3] Linke and Yee also used the existent mysteries set up by League of Legends, where their familial relations and enmity with each other are only hinted at in-game, to explore their pasts and the origins of their rivalry through the storylines written for Arcane.

[5] Linke and Yee intentionally kept the slower pacing of Vi and Caitlyn's relationship as they wanted to tell an organic story about the characters that feels true to their personalities and how they have been seen within the game.

Dot Esports noted while Vi's original moveset and statistics stood out for being more suited for the top lane, her abilities and their effects have remained mostly the same without any major changes.

[8] A “micropatch” was released in November 2021 to downgrade her base statistics and ultimate abilities, which were unintentionally boosted by a prior rescript that in Riot's opinion made her somewhat overpowered.

She learned to survive its rough conditions using her brawn and wits, and eventually took leadership of a street gang at a young age, though she has always adhered to a strict moral code she imposed on herself.

She disappeared during a time of great turmoil between Zaun and Piltover and was thought to be dead, only to reappear years later as Sheriff Caitlyn Kiramman's trusted partner in the Guardian corps.

Arcane establishes that Vi, confirmed to be shortened from Violet, and Jinx, originally known as Powder, are sisters who were orphaned following a failed rebellion by the inhabitants of Piltover's undercity against their upper-crust rulers.

Along with two other orphans Mylo and Claggor, they are both adopted and raised by Vander, the leader of the rebellion who abandoned his revolutionary ways after coming to regret the resultant loss of life.

Vi then sees Silco approaching Powder and attempts to return to her sister, but is chloroformed and abducted by corrupt Piltover Enforcer Marcus and imprisoned without trial.

After spending many years in a prison called Stillwater, Vi is released by Caitlyn Kiramman, a young upstart member of Piltover's security forces who requests her assistance in her investigation into Silco's criminal enterprise.

Returning to the undercity, now called Zaun, Vi and Caitlyn gather evidence on Silco with the help of the Firelight faction led by Ekko, an old friend who worked for Benzo, an associate of Vander.

Vi and Caitlyn manage to free themselves, and watch in horror as Jinx, having accepted her new identity and rebuked what remained of Powder, fires a rocket aimed for the Council of Piltover.

Using a toxic factory smoke called "The Gray", the strike force is able to succeed, and eventually locate Jinx in the sewers of the Underground, Caitlyn growing more and more unhinged as a result.

However, Vander, whose original personality was erased by Viktor as part of the evolution, attempts to kill Vi in another feral rampage, causing Jinx to seemingly sacrifice herself to save her sister.

[23] Drawing a favorable comparison to She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Indigo praised the handling of Vi's relationship with Caitlyn in Arcane, and the way that it shifts from distrust to intimacy gives "a profound touch of humanity within the series", serving as a metaphor for how it is possible to go beyond the differences between Piltover and Zaun.

[21] From Indigo's perspective, their tender moments are not completely left to subtext unlike in the video games, but made explicit by their dialogue and actions within important scenes, without an undue emphasis on stereotypes or having to ever use the term "gay" on the screens.