#Hit-and-Run, Poke, etc. — Whittling Down Playstyle

Irelia is supposed to have a hit-and-run playstyle" (as quoted from Riot in the champ reveal) which is what most top laners have ragged on about for the preseason (and before, to lesser degrees)

• This was the playstyle (that's still present) characterized by comet in conjunction with spammable ranged cc which allowed the whittling down of laners without any room for counterplay (Sion, Malph, Olaf, etc.)

• Also the playstyle of the Kleptomany abusers (Illaoi, GP, lesser degree Fiora) who would do the same thing

• Aery abuse (Panth, Teemo). Q/autoattacking you, run away, get you low, all in, you die, with little you can do about it.

• Most significantly, it's similar to the widely loathed ranged top laners, who just keep autoattacking you from afar and running/dashing away whenever they feel like it, giving their lane opponent no agency.

Mobility Creep

Yes, champs are getting more mobility/peel/whatnot. Is the best answer really to add more mobility to the game instead of toning it down? There was a post a while ago listing all the champs with blinks/dashes. That list has been continuously growing, when it should probably be shrinking instead. I think most people already hate the way Akali's R works with her chaining targeted dashes. Irelia will probably be hated for her chaining of targeted dashes too.

Shielding

Riot has recognized that shielding is a problem. Why, instead of toning shielding down for everyone, just give that benefit to irelia? The anti-shield is to help Irelia make more successful dives, but why fix the problem just for this new Irelia, and not for everyone else, too?

#Fervor of Battle

Most bruiser players have been asking for fervor of battle back since the beginning of the season, claiming it was essential on many of their champs. Riot literally gave Irelia a better fervor (aptly named "irelian fervor"). Why not just bring back the original fervor for all the other bruisers in the beginning of Runes Reforged, instead of trying to make some new, unique keystone (conquerer, Grasp rework)? Giving Irelia her own fervor is practically admitting that fervor is essential on bruisers, so why the need to experiment and risk screwing up the meta/certain champs instead of bringing back old fervor?

#Damage Reduction Supplanting Stats

This is a problem not exclusive to Irelia and has been present for a long time; tank stats/itemization just aren't keeping up with damage anymore. Purely getting tank items is not enough of an answer to the dmg dealers in this game. No, now you have to have some passive or ability that gives you either %dmg reduction or insane stats to even be remotely as tanky as you should be. Ali Ult, Stoneplate, Aftershock, Sej Passive, Galio W, and Nasus R. And now Irelia. %dmg reduction and its ilk should not be used to replace the effective of armor/mr; either make armor/MR more effective or lower dmg. Don't toss a bunch of steroids everywhere like you're running the Olympics.

Of course, the alternative to even needing to be tanky is just doing enough damage that you don't need to tank in the first place.

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Irelia isn't necessarily going to be a toxic champ. In terms of being a relevant top laner compared to other lanes, her new kit shows that Riot recognizes the problems many top laners face in terms of being useful for their team (especially as the game progresses).

The only part of Irelia's rework I don't really like in terms of the laning phase is the hit-and-run playstyle. I think she's going to feel good to play as because she has elements in her kit that address the faults top laners struggle to deal with in the current meta. Riot did a good job of revamping Irelia's kit, removing some unhealthy parts and adding in tools to help her thrive in the current meta

What I dislike is the way those elements are integrated into her kit and how this suggests that future champs may share those same elements in their kit.