The Ails of Aatrox
It's no secret that Aatrox isn't highly regarded. By all accounts, he SHOULD be a good fighter. He's got the built in sustain, he hits like a truck, and he melts turrets and tanks with the best of them.
So why is he regarded as one of the weakest champions in the game? Seriously, why?
I've made multiple threads about my crusade to Mastery 5 with all champions. Aatrox ended up being the next on my list in terms of top laners while I try to think of others I want to do immediately, and it gave me the opportunity to figure out why even I don't like him all that much, even though I do actually like him. By all accounts, he should be one of my favorite top laners, but I think of the struggles he has in the early game and it almost deters me from playing him entirely. Almost.
Aatrox's kit isn't that bad, as far as kits go. Yeah, it's not very creative; this was still in the small transitional period between pre and post Riot 2013, when they finally nailed down what they wanted to do with the game and everything suddenly saw a huge spike in quality. A major rework isn't really called for here, but rather some tweaks to give Aatrox a little more versatility, maybe even something as mundane as some number fixes.
First off, Aatrox's Blood Well doesn't feel very powerful. The problem I've found with it is how inflexible it can feel at times. In a way, it's comparable to Renekton or Tryndamere's rage meters, but where they enhance the strengths of their skills, Aatrox's Blood Well fuels his second wind and raises his attack speed. Unlike their meters, though, I find myself struggling to fill it up, and for someone who is supposed to thrive off the bloodlust of combat, this can be a little frustrating at times. I have to choose between Blood Thirst and Blood Price when I'm farming just to fill up the Blood Well when it should just fill up on the third hit regardless of which one it is. I get that he's filling it up with his own essence, but Aatrox is supposed to thrive off of combat. It also feels like I'm going to lose the entire Blood Well the instant I get out of combat. At least with Renekton it feels like he has more retention on his rage, and even if he loses the whole thing it's relatively easy to get it back up to max again. It doesn't feel that way with Aatrox, that I have to cut myself more than a thousand emo teens by throwing spells everywhere to get the Blood Well to max. Aatrox is the god of war (or the closest thing to one). It's terribly unbecoming of him.
My suggestion is to change the passive so he gains some Blood Well points by killing; how much is restored is based on what was killed. Minions would give a small amount, large minions would be a bit more, champions perhaps a third, and epic monsters a full Well. This would probably resolve most of the issues with him in general in terms of his offense.
The second issue with Aatrox revolves around his core identity. Aatrox is designed as a lifesteal tank. He's meant to rush lifesteal items and then just slice away at the enemy like a spaz, healing himself faster than Blood Price and the enemy team combined can deplete him. And he can be REALLY good at this. Perhaps too good at it. Without being fed, I managed to fight my way back from near death and kill an enemy champion at full health. Maybe he should have gotten Grevious Wounds?
At the same time, Aatrox has miserable durability. At max level, his durability is comparable to assassins and ADCs, and he's a frontline fighter. That means he will last in melee about as long as an ADC. He's SUPPOSED to tank through sheer lifesteal, but you quickly run into problems when you get stunned by the enemy. His main defensive factor is instantly negated, and he simply melts. Taking away some of his lifesteal and giving him more health and armor would be nice to perhaps balance him out.
All things considered, though, Aatrox is NOT weak. Built with attack speed and lifesteal in mind, he can tear through enemies like wet tissue paper, granting he doesn't get STUNNED or something. In the last game I played, one of my teammates said that Aatrox was the weakest champion in the game next to Yorick. I ended up having a positive score at the end (Also got an S-rank) and as I moved to make the killing blow on the Nexus, I turned my attention briefly to Tahm Kench to cut him down to prove a point. He melted in just a few seconds, even with his and Karma's shields.
Aatrox's biggest issue is he's too much of a feast and famine champion on a minute to minute basis. If no one can stop his healing, he's invincible, but at the same time, he lacks any inherent durability to survive getting dunked on by some upstart with a stun or two. I think if you were to adjust him to have more natural defense at the cost of sustainability, it'll do wonders to making him a more viable and popular champion. Also that whole thing with the Blood Well I mentioned up there.
