Riot tries to experiment with new ideas and concepts with new champions in League of Legends. One of the most interesting champions in 2021 was probably Viego. Especially because of his passive ability, he was able to stand out. However, this also caused many problems.
What is so special about Viego? The champion Viego was released on January 21, 2021. His most interesting ability is his passive. When he secures a takedown, which means he eliminates an opponent or is involved in a kill, the soul of the opponent spawns for 8 seconds. If Viego clicks on the soul, he transforms into that champion for 10 seconds.
During the transformation, he cannot be attacked (except by turrets), and he also heals for a small percentage based on the target’s maximum health. In the 10 seconds of transformation, Viego has all the items, attacks, abilities, and stats of the champion (he cannot use active items).
Additionally, he can use his ultimate again in form and gains movement speed while approaching enemies.
That alone is quite strong, but his passive also caused other problems.
A unique passive with the potential for many bugs
What was the problem with Viego? When Viego was released in January 2021, it took a long time before he was allowed in the professional scene. It was only about 6 months after the release, in July 2021, that he had his first professional match.
This was due to Viego’s passive being quite prone to bugs. At the release, there were countless game errors, mostly caused by faulty interactions when he took over another champion. Sometimes he had infinite stacks of Dark Seal, and sometimes he could summon infinite turrets as Azir.
Some of his bugs can be seen in this video by Vandiril:
Viego’s passive was practically a breeding ground for bugs that could not be anticipated, which made it too risky to allow him in the professional scene. In normal ranked play, however, he was mostly playable, even though he was often temporarily removed to fix bugs.
Not only buggy but also really strong
How good was Viego at the start of his professional career? In addition to the bugs, he was really strong. His passive can turn team fights for his team. This is primarily because he can reset the pace of a fight. Even when he is close to dying, he can click on a dead opponent, take a breath, and then heal himself.
Another advantage is that Viego also takes over the items. If a player had a lot of gold and thus many items, the team gets punished if Viego captures the soul and eliminates the team.
Of course, as a Viego player, you need to have certain knowledge about all LoL champions; otherwise, taking over can also lead to losing the team fight.
What is Viego like today? Nowadays, Viego is no longer the huge problem he was at launch. However, if you look at his patch history, you will see that bugs are still being fixed regularly—especially when new champions are released. In 2024, a new champion was too strong among professionals and received a rework after just 6 months: LoL: A new champion has to be changed in less than 6 months because professionals are simply too good
