MeinMMO editor Nikolas Hernes likes how Riot handles old champions, but he will never forgive the developer for a distant
dragon in League of Legends.
League of Legends is already 17 years old, which is why it is not surprising that there are already 173 champions. However, some of them are a bit outdated, which is why Riot relies on reworks. These are basically sometimes weak, sometimes stronger revisions.
Sometimes modern champions are affected too, and to this day it makes me angry what has been done to Aurelion Sol.
A cosmic dragon god
Aurelion Sol was already a special champion at release. Before he existed, there was Ao Shin, who was hinted at by Riot back in 2013. He was a thunder dragon who never made it into the game as a champion, and from him, Aurelion Sol emerged, a cosmic dragon who manipulates stars.
Ao Shin was a popular idea in the community, which is why high expectations were placed on Aurelion Sol. And I loved his kit.
I’m not a mid-laner or have played him much in the meta, but I find his kit brilliant in gameplay concept.
He is a gigantic cosmic dragon. In gameplay, this was reflected by 3 stars that revolve around him. All his abilities are based on this. He could increase the radius, move far with his stars, and with his ultimate, push opponents exactly into the radius.
Leaving aside values, this is a great kit that not only works beautifully together but also thematically fits perfectly with the champion’s lore.
On February 8, 2023, patch 13.3 came, and Aurelion Sol was reworked, mainly because he had a very low playrate, but in doing so, they robbed him of his identity.
Easily replaced
With his rework, Aurelion Sol’s core abilities changed. He now stacked, which improved all his abilities. Instead of building everything around the revolving stars, they removed these and gave him a laser, a black hole, and a large star impact as ultimate.
This Aurelion Sol is okay, easier to use than the old one, and not bad at all – but he is also somehow lame, without his own identity. The old Aurelion Sol might have been a bit clunky and wasn’t played by many players. But does it matter if not every one of the 173 champions is used by many players? There are so many options that it cannot be perfectly balanced.
Don’t get me wrong, I like many reworks. Dr. Mundo, Udyr, and Shyvana received a strong and modern update but kept their identity that they had since release. With over 170 champions, you can’t make everyone popular anyway, which is why I actually think it’s cool that we had champions like Aurelion Sol who leaned into an unusual gameplay mechanic.
This is how the game also becomes interesting outside of the meta and dry numbers. I don’t always want to choose what is strong; I also want to see playable ideas. And exactly this potential should Riot Games continue to expand and develop champions that may never be played in the competitive field or used by countless players but implement interesting mechanics.
But what about you? Do you miss an old champion who was heavily modified in League of Legends, or are you only interested in meta picks and statistics? We would love to hear your opinion in the comments. Sometimes massive changes also come after a few months: LoL: A new champion must be changed in less than 6 months because professionals are simply too good
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