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Rework concept: Aatrox, the Darkin Blade

Smithney·9/19/2015, 8:42:55 PM·10 votes·3,763 views

Motivated by Stonewall's video (see link), I decided to try to inspire Riot's approach to Aatrox's future rebirth. Feel free to comment and post your own ideas.

Anyway, let's dive into this:

Messaiga had a good idea on how to improve Aatrox's kit, and with some tweaking, together we eventually managed to tune it up into the state in which it is now, hopefully making Aatrox not just feel better to play, but also to cement his identity as a dedicated diver with focus on lategame teamfighting, hopefully making him a much more attractive pick overall.

Passive - Blood Well: Aatrox stores health lost from his abilities' costs and effects in Blood well. Upon taking fatal damage, Aatrox taps the well to heal himself and to heal all allied champions near him for a percentage of the health restored to himself. [very long cooldown – similar to live]

Q - Dark Flight: Aatrox takes flight and slams down, knocking up enemies in the affected area. Enemies in the center of the impact are knocked up significantly more (the knockup in the peripheral areas is miniscule). [medium cooldown – like on live]

W - Seed of despair: Aatrox applies up to five stacks of Despair with his basic attacks, dealing damage over time. Aatrox may activate the Seed on target enemy with five stacks, dealing physical damage, harshly slowing the target, and giving Aatrox an equal burst of movement speed. [medium cooldown]

E - Impalement: Passive – With every third basic attack, Aatrox deals increased physical damage. When hitting the enemy champion, this ability ignores a percentage of the target's armor, but drains health on every hit. Active – Aatrox's next basic attack gains slightly increased range and pierces through the first enemy hit, also damaging enemies behind it (resembling Aatrox's current skillshot). The ability drains blood from the enemies hit, restoring Aatrox's health for a percentage of the damage dealt (less health restored from minions). [short to medium cooldown, short on higher levels]

R - Massacre: Aatrox draws in the blood of his foes, slightly filling his blood well, dealing magic damage to all enemy champions around him and giving him a steroid for a duration. The steroid gives Aatrox attack speed and attack range, as well as making him deal physical damage to enemies to the sides of the target in a crescent shape, with its arc centered around Aatrox. [very long cooldown]

Whether you like our ideas or not, I'd love to get more attention to Aatrox. His current kit feels lackluster, while his character and lore are mysteriously intriguing. I hope our ideas (and yours if you dare ;) will help Riot reshape Aatrox's kit and turn him into a champion worth fighting for in the champion select.

Final note: As always, if you downvote, make sure to mention why, or come up with better ideas for Aatrox's skillset. Also, don't forget that downvoting the original post downvotes the entire thread, which means less attention to Aatrox.

Changelog:

  1. Highlighted Messaiga's rework idea. [9/20/2015]
  2. Marked my original idea as deprecated. [9/20/2015]
  3. Some "additing" [9/20/2015]
  4. Removed my original idea to move focus to the actual kit idea, removed my suggestions in italics and other redundant text, added healing effect to Blood well, reworked the W (including name change), tweaked E (both passive and active), tweaked R. [9/21/2015]
  5. Added a new AoE shape to Aatrox's ultimate. [9/21/2015]
  6. Changed E active, added tentative cooldown lengths. [9/22/2015]

47 Comments

WarlockLaw9/19/2015, 8:58:57 PM5 votes

Personally I imagine his fantasy as the "Demonic entity that inspired a losing army to persevere into an unlikely victory." As such I would like them to to rework him into some sort of team steroid fighter. I'm not sure how to work that out.

Their main problem with balancing him in the past is that he has been able to build full tank, have high levels of damage, and still be healing for everything dealt to him

Messaiga9/20/2015, 1:38:54 AM4 votes

I don't think this rework quite fixes... anything about Aatrox to be honest. He still has the toxic elements of his kit as he has now (poke + no cooldown sustain), but its just more spread among his kit. I like the idea of giving him sticking power with his W but he needs different changes to his kit to be strong without being overbearing like his current design.

I really like Aatrox's character too, and I feel his kit could use better execution to reflect it. To be a healthy (and fun!) design though, a few things must change.

  • Remove the "Heal for HP every 3rd hit" mechanic. This is part of why he is a problem. In lane he is very difficult to kill because of this, but he also requires it to be relevant with his current stats (and when he can't heal when CS'ing, Aatrox falls flat in lane).
  • Make his "poke" skill more interactive, his current E is boring (but effective) aside from it's hitbox shape.
  • Remove the double attack speed steroid, just have one strong steroid.

A basic idea of how I'd rework Aatrox:

Base HP increased (to be about the same as Wukong/Jax's). Increased base attack speed (from .651 to .668).

Passive - Blood Well: Same effect as current, but without the attack speed steroid attached onto it. Instead heals nearby allied champions for 75% of the HP Aatrox revives with.

Q - Dark Flight: Knock-Up works like Rek'Sai's. Lasts longer the closer to the center it is, but knocks up regardless (even for a minimum of .25 seconds).

W - Blood Thirst: Reworked to function similarly to Twitch's E. Apply stacks of "insert debuff name" for 4 seconds by dealing physical damage, up to 5 stacks total. Activate ability to deal magic damage and heavily slow enemies afflicted with the debuff while healing yourself for each enemy damaged. Damage and heal (per target) increase with the stacks of the debuff on the target. Less healing versus minions.

E - Blood Price/Impalement: Has a passive that acts like current Blood Price (the damage portion of W toggle) but with a twist. Against minions it has no HP cost, but against champions it costs some HP. In return, it ignores a % of a champion's bonus armor. Activating this ability causes his next AA to pierce through the target while damaging enemies behind them as well (like Lucian Q). If the passive (Blood Price) were to proc on the attack you use Impalement, then Blood Price's bonus damage applies to all targets (in the case of hitting multiple champions, it does not cost additional HP per champion hit).

R - Massacre (reworked): Works similarly to current. Aatrox deals magic damage in an AOE, gains bonus attack range, bonus attack speed, and his attacks deal AOE damage around their target (equal to 66% of the damage dealt on that attack). This lasts for 12 seconds.

What this rework does is:

  • Removes infinite (read: toxic) sustain in exchange for potentially large boosts of health. Talking like, sudden 800+ HP heal (on a proper cooldown of course). This gates his healing without it being ridiculous, but situationally is game-changing.
  • Removes dependence on his blood well for attack speed, so he does not feel weak when coming out of stasis.
  • Gives him strong team-fighting instead of split-pushing. In a world where top lane bruisers usually prefer to split-push over team-fighting, this helps him stand out among the crowd.
  • Fits well with his theme (inspiring bloodlust, slashing down ordinary soldiers 10 at a time, god of war).
  • Makes him more reliable and less dependent on snowballing to win.
  • Adds very high kit synergy.

Unfortunately he loses a bit of dueling potential as well as proficiency in split-pushing but this kit has a lot of interactivity and consequently, counter-measures that you can take to fight Aatrox properly. He still has strong DPS over a fight (and maintains relevance with built-in armor shred) and surprisingly does a very high amount of AOE physical damage over a fight. His W should be able to bring entire teams to a crawl for a couple vital seconds and his Q is much easier to make use of. His niche would be that of a diver (like Vi) who can keep his team alive (even in pseudo-death!) which allows insane turn-arounds in a teamfight and maintains relevance when behind.

Edit #1: Armor Shred on E (active) removed, replaced with attack speed steroid. I'll bolden the change in text.

Edit #2: Attack Speed (formerly Armor Shred) on E removed. Instead, proccing Blood Price ignores a % of bonus armor. Blood Well now heals nearby allies for 75% of the HP Aatrox revives with. Massacre no longer has a healing aura, instead grants bonus attack speed to Aatrox. Changes boldened.

Prospector Pete9/19/2015, 8:51:51 PM2 votes

Nice idea! One thing I would add is him being immune to cc whilst charging up his Q.

Shénzhì9/19/2015, 9:06:44 PM2 votes

If he's not to become a juggernaut and remain a fighter then I may argue for anti-cc. Right now he's something unique (but mostly a fighter).

the Anti-CC Ability: Self-sustain and landing hits is powerful and always needs to be countered. I do understand Aatrox's need to resist crowd-control. Sometimes that cc isn't overbearing and tolerable, and would argue for skill and tactical advantage over 'just anti-cc into an ability'. By giving him the option to remove those cc buffs into an ability may just set the seed for forum outrage Aatrox as he is.

Inspiration: So I came up with yet another Aatrox idea while scanning original post:

[P] Crimson Conquest: (passive) Aatrox channels the torrent of battle through him/blade.

Blood Well renamed to Battle Torrent. Aatrox and teammates hitting champions will charge-up Aatrox's Battle Torrent. It will charge-up slowly but noticeably through Aatrox visual effects and audio, maybe. Aatrox taking hits may deduct this charge-up. By letting Aatrox persist in battle will only secure his team's victory if they have not died already. This is consistent with his background/lore.

  • Battle Torrent grants <buffs> to nearby teammates.

For the duration of the buff's onset will replicate that duration in its offset. The buffs will downgrade during offset. (Basically, the buff will not immediately end after battle. It will desist gradually).

At 50% Aatrox and his team will let the enemy team know they're all buffed. From 50% to 100% only Aatrox receives additional buffs. At 100% he will levitate?

his Attack Speed buff: His Attack Speed taken from [P] Blood Well to [W] and stacks with each basic attack / ability. Simple. This was someone else's idea from another thread to box all Aatrox's melee-focused buffs into [W] Blood Thirst / Blood Price. I still like that idea. It's all in one place and know where to look as part of learning a new champion. It's also relevant to the heal or deal as we all know attack speed is needed for those 3rd hits to land more.

terkmc9/19/2015, 11:05:25 PM2 votes

https://www.reddit.com/r/LoLChampConcepts/comments/3ilcz0/aatrox_rework/

Stacona9/19/2015, 11:00:18 PM1 votes

My concept idea, I have changes a lot less severe: http://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/gameplay-balance/2OlNyVXV-aatrox-a-gameplay-update

Quick rundown: Passive - % max health instead of per level value, added another mechanic that his sword is a living sword that grows with bonus health Q - removed a dash and made a new flight mechanic, still can go over walls and such and can end the effect early for physical damage and knock-up W- completely changed; right now it is a line skill shot twice his basic attack range, has some % armour pen attached to it E- basically the same with slight changes to make it feel like a living sword champion R- can be a game changing ultimate when landed well ; a lot weaker early game much much stronger late game; feels about the same as it is now with big changes

RayHam11/1/2015, 1:33:13 PM1 votes

I think, after reading the lore, that aarox would be great as a support! I know this was not what he was meant to be but think about it! When aatrox comes on a battlefield, even though he is a monster, it is the people arround him that gain courage and start brawling. So first, why not make his ult MASSACRE! an Aoe attack speed boost (kinda like Warwick) and Make it give 10% life steal Aoe. Then, i like the concept of stacks on w, but instead of a slow, why not a fear? I mean, aatrox is pretty fearful ^^ I like the bloodwell you made and it does work well for a support so no comment on this. Finally, for his e, i think that focusing on his blade is a good idead, but focusing too much makes him lackluster. Give him an on-hit life-steal so that whne he brawls with massacre, he stays alive and maybe make his attacks slow on active. This is just a thought, but i think aatrox would shine as a support who gets in the fray and makes a battlefield...a Real BLOODBATH! Thanks for reading

Shroom Junkie9/19/2015, 11:35:32 PM1 votes

This just sounds like a nerf Imo. Makes his healing weaker so he can deal the extra damage during, plus the slow removal. Other than that its basically the same with a non-upgradable heal, so the heal would have to be as if max rank or at least upgrade per level.

Rand0mH3r0X9/20/2015, 1:00:14 AM1 votes

I find that Aatrox is fine the way he is? Do you see him as Overpowered or Under-powered? You don't state anywhere other than he was a failure...

I level 2 dragon as Aatrox. Because I can and he has massive sustain. I can clear my side red, enemy blue, and dragon all before 5min. You have to really understand that he plays best at half-health, with high attackspeed, and damage/health. Aatrox is really, really strong and I'd encourage you to try him without using the "Yi" mentallity. He's more of an assassin in the Jg than he is Bruiser or mADC.

In top lane I see people rush BotRK so often, it should just be a religion. You don't need lifesteal on Aatrox, just health and attack speed. He needs to store a percentage of his health in the blood well, as well as be able to tank the damage he receives so he can drop a massive 300 strike at level 5 every 3 autos.

I downvoted, because I feel like you didn't give Aatrox enough of a look at diversifying him. His recommended build is trash, as with most champions since the release of Titanic Hydra. Theirs optimal builds for Aatrox, Essential Items, Carry Builds, Glass Cannon Builds, but you really have to diversify yourself before you just use the recommended/glass cannon build and assume you'll do it right.

Certain things to point out: Mobility - Landing a Q is not as critical as landing E. Maxing E first should be a priority because 55% slow means nobody can run from you, it also sets up your Q for when it wears off.

Early Sustain - Aatrox has the best early sustain of any champion. He'll stay between 25%-50% health all through Jg, but, he'll never die.

Lifesteal is not critical on Aatrox. Aatrox needs AS and Health like crazy. Seriously Recurve and Phage should be the first items, not BotRK like some commandment. 3 Dorans highlights his Health.

Aatrox is a snowball champion, just like Tryndamere, since he does exist as mADC similar to him, and has a second chance ability. I prefer Aatrox to have his sustain, and nobody should expect to win with Aatrox being squishy and not being able to get the three autos in.

cFlame9/20/2015, 1:15:03 AM1 votes

I thought up a rework too, I put it in the original thread but I'll copy and paste it here as well. My rework concept for Aatrox would reflect on his lore, and fix the problems of his snowball sustain. Keeping some of his sustain, this is what I came up with: Give him some more health and armor since his sustain wont be snowbally. Blood of the Fallen: Aatrox gains stacks of Blood of the Fallen for champion assists and kills. He gains 2 stacks per assist, and 5 stacks per kill. Aatrox gains passive bonuses depending on how many stacks hes collected. 10 stacks: Damage increased by 10% against all enemies with less than 50% of they're maximum health. 25 stacks: Gain bonus movement speed equal to 10% of all damage dealt in the last 3 seconds. Bonus movement speed gained by damage applied by items is reduced by 75%. (item 3153 item 3068 and other items when this passive bonus is shared with allies.) 50 stacks: Ignore 25% of all armor and magic resistance of enemy champions, increased by 0.5% per additional stack obtained. Blood Well: Passive: Aatrox stores 80/90/100/110/120% of all self inflicted damage into the Blood Well, which can hold up to 105 to 870 damage. The Blood Well depletes by 2% per second if Aatrox hasn't been in combat within the last 10 seconds. Depletes by 15% per second after being out of combat for 15 seconds. Active: Aatrox stops gaining additional points into the Blood Well for the duration of 5 seconds, and gains 0.4/0.5/0.6/0.7/0.8% bonus attack speed per 1% in the Blood Well, up to 40/50/60/70/80% bonus attack speed. Whenever Aatrox obtains a stack of Blood of the Fallen while this ability is active, he heals for 10% of his maximum health over 2 seconds. If Aatrox takes fatal damage while this is active and has at least 50% of the Blood Well filled, Aatrox becomes untargetable and enters a 4 second stasis. He can still heal if he gains a stack of Blood of the Fallen. Halfway through the stasis Aatrox raises his blade to consume all in the Blood Well, dealing 30% of the amount consumed as damage around himself to enemies. After dealing the damage Aatrox can use items. (I was thinking of allowing him to use items anytime in the stasis but realized how annoying it would be to have a item 3153 to cast on an enemy champion under the tower slowing them to take turret shots while healing yourself.) If Aatrox has health at the end of the stasis he gets back up, if not he dies. Massacre: Aatrox draws in the blood of his foes, dealing 200/300/400 magic damage to nearby enemies champions. Additionally, Aatrox gains 40/50/60% attack speed and attack range for 10 seconds. Aatrox also emits an aura around him sharing all his passive bonuses from Blood of the Fallen. Just to clarify here, the duration was slightly weakened and I took out the Blood Well fill up effect because it would be very strong to have all that power in one ultimate. I think this rework concept would make him fit his lore a lot better, being an ancient warrior with lust for war and inspiring allies. I want to hear what you guys have to say about this, just like my other post of this.

Talll9/19/2015, 9:08:27 PM1 votes

Good idea, but personally i think Aatrox is fine. Build him with 2 Health/Damage items, one of these items MUST be a Titanic Hydra for the extra damage based on your health, a BoRK, or a Devourer based on whatever lane you are, and finally finish off with one Health/Magic Resist, and a Health/Armor item. Get armor or magic resist boots based on enemy team comp. With this build during team fights you can q in and use your W active to deal loads of damage without dying immediatly.

His problem is that people see his life steal from his W and over think about abusing that WAAAY too much, and end up building an assassin like build that gets him killed almost instantly in team fights if he gets stunned, or focused. Play him a fighter and go tanky for a pretty good build. But hey I'm just a S4 guy. :P

TheDevice9/20/2015, 10:10:22 PM1 votes

Okay so for the new rework post in OP, the E should remain somewhat the same I feel. Since aatrox has no built-in move speed this helps him to keep enemy from escaping. That E is also not very akin to his lore as that is focused more on a single target in any situation.

The W idea to me doesnt solve any identity issues it just shifts it to another category.

Aatrox should be a good duelist but not at the expense of his team fight potential.

If his Dive Fighter is to be more like a Vi, and J4 and others mentioned by Meddler himself, he should be less focused around attack speed. Shyvanna is another Dive Fighter and can also build sated in jungler giving her a massive boost to her kit, but its not what it is centered around. Aatrox should be the same.

Aatrox AS should be his late game power spike. Earlygame through midgame he should be more active-skill reliant like shv or vi or anyone by landing skills and out playing opponents.

P: The same but when his blood well is full the passive is changed to Blood Torrent. Changes back to blood well when out of combat for 4 seconds.

Q: The speed of the flight scales with attack speed.

  • Blood Torrent: Generates a bloody spell shield during flight. Shield amount is equal to the health cost +X/Level.

W: The same.

E: The speed of projectile scales with attack speed.

  • Blood Torrent: Deals bonus damage equal to health cost.

R: Massacre

Performs a quick succession of two vertical spinning blade attacks in mid air for 1 second, unable to use basic attacks, damaging enemies in front and behind Aartox and propeling him forward each time he hits an enemy. Enemies struck are knocked in the direction of the spin (knockback cannot occur on the same target within 1.5 after the first knocback). May be recast up to 2 more times within 8 seconds.

(The two spins proc as a basic attack for his W passive but only 1 proc per spin). Aatrox also gains massive AS boost and increased attack range for 12 seconds. (after initial use)

http://media.giphy.com/media/5Myzl7NEpYPfy/giphy.gif

Tails Doll9/19/2015, 9:55:21 PM1 votes

Nice concept but wont work on Aatrox. Doesnt fit his theme and fantasy at all.