"In a good spot" does not mean a Champion doesn't have room for improvement
When I see people say "Ashe is fine" or "Irelia is fine", I do not disagree, but I also feel that despite their quasi-balanced positions, Champions like them can still see updates or improvements to their stale playstyles.
Take Ashe for instance. Permaslow might have been good in the past, but every time a Champion with a gap-closer is introduced, it gets less and less useful. And by comparison, slows that are not permanent tend to be greater in potency because of windows of downtime. Ashe's Q has no downtime, so it has to be a weak slow. Plus it does a poor job of actually keeping Ashe safe compared to, say, Jinx's Flame Chompers or Lucian's Relentless Pursuit or Kalista's hops.
How would you improve it? Change up Frost Shot to something like a stack system. I.E., If you get 3 stacks onto an enemy, you inflict a stronger slow than what she has on live. Boom, one tap from her won't slow you immediately, but if she focus-fires you, she essentially can still permaslow you unless you disrupt her attack rhythm. This way is healthier because it requires more gameplay on Ashe's part, but an opponent could reach her before she finishes it if she doesn't position well.
In Irelia's case, her problem is that opponents do not have a lot of counterplay options against her. If they poke her, Hiten Style lets her sustain. If they try to burst her, she can stun with Equilibrium Strike if you get ahead on health. Try to run from her, she Bladesurges to you. Try to push her with minions, Transcendent Blades will rip up your minion wave. The list goes on.
As much as people will dislike it, Irelia needs fewer things in her kit. Here's two things I'd do:
- Change Hiten Style's life-on-hit to a shield-on-hit. Irelia still retains her good auto-attack trading power, but poking her will cause damage to stick if it breaks the shield.
- Remove the stun from Equilibrium Strike and replace it with a snare. Now your opponent can fight back even if rooted by her.
Both of these things would allow Irelia some more power in other places, making her more satisfying to play as.
Bottom line is, just because an outdated Champion works now doesn't mean you can't update them.
