It's time to make Aatrox viable again.

I very much enjoy playing top lane. Even though almost everyone I've played with has given me a massive amount of shit for it, I almost always end up doing fairly well with him. That being said, I can definitely understand the grievances that people have with him, and that, in certain situations, he is ridiculously underpowered. What I am after here is, at the very least, a small buff for Aatrox. Here's a few things I have in mind that could return Aatrox to a state of being legitimately usable once again without being overpowered.

First off, let's talk about his E; Blades of Torment. This ability is what I like to get first, followed by Blood Thirst/Price, then Dark Flight, and then maxing Blood Thirst (depending on the situation). While skillful use of Blades of Torment in the early laning phase can be exceedingly deadly, as soon as you hit level 6 the damage becomes almost completely negligible. Sure, the slow is great, but is a small slow really worth sacrificing your own health for a minuscule amount of damage? In my opinion, no, it is not. I suggest a buff to the damage of Blades of Torment; perhaps something as small as a 3% - 7% increase? Even if this came with an increase of health sacrificed, I feel it would be well worth it.

Now, Dark Flight. I'll get straight to the point; the damage of this ability is literally pathetic. If a giant, winged monster jumped 15ft in the air and smashed into you in real life, you'd be cooked. But in top lane? You aren't even burnt; nary a blister shall be found upon your hide. Now, I would be perfectly happy living with this small damage if I wasn't immediately CC'd whenever I try to use the ability past level nine. At the very least, this ability should be either a) un - interruptable, or b) a hell of a lot quicker to complete.

Blood Thirst/Price is actually spot on imho. Anyone who complains about it being underpowered needs to get good and learn how to use it. Anyone who might say it's overpowered needs to stop being a little baby and learn how to counter Aatrox without calling "OP! Everyone, OP!" It is true that this ability makes extremely reliant on auto attacks, though, and as such, I'd very much like to see an increase in Aatrox's innate armor or health. Even if it came at the cost of slightly reducing Blood Thirst/Price's damge/healing.

Aatrox's passive, Bloodwell, is tricky to suggest a change for, because there is a very delicate balance between what people will even read before screaming "OP" at the top of their lungs, and what people actually consider fair. So, let me just say, that if somehow I had to choose a single one of the aforementioned changes to Aatrox's skill set, I would choose the damage increase on Blades of Torment. Dark Flight's change would be my second choice, then Blood Thirst, and then Bloodwell. If any change were to take place on this passive, I'd say it should be a reduction of the draining of the Bloodwell after not being in combat. I personally don't feel very opinionated on Bloodwell as it has served me very well, so I'll leave it at that.

As a sidenote; I think Aatrox needs a MAJOR animation update. When I read his lore, it touts that his fighting style is as smooth as can be, and is "hypnotic to view". I read that and think of a fighting style that lets your attacks fluently and seamlessly transition into eachother. Something flashy, something befitting of a character that like Aatrox that is supposed to be so very epic. But, when in game, all I get is pathetic little jabs and half - hearted slashes. Not cool, Rito.

Ok, that's my spiel. Anyone have any thoughts on this? -----see below for proof of skill with Aatrox-----