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The absolute worst thing about New Aatrox is that Riot will not listen to the Community

Tokogawaruf·6/13/2018, 8:42:37 AM·199 votes·28,803 views

They proved many times they simply know better. They delete a Champion, save his name, then release a completly different Champion with the same name.

Also, as someone who really loves Aatrox calm and collected manner, I really, REALLY hate him now. What happened with his godly VO, like:

"Fight. Or be Forgotten"
"This Battle will be my Masterpiece"
"Even those who have nothing can give their lives" <- I want to point this out specificly, as this is Aatrox in Perfection . "let fear become fury"

I mean, now he is just another generic "GrRrRr, Im sO AngERy At eVerYThiNg" Archetype Champion. At least Sion, who also falls under this, has Flashbacks or Realizations that make his Character much more sympathic. New Aatrox doesn´t. This is perfectly reflected by his new Title:

Aatrox, the World Ender https://i.imgur.com/iGsdTA3.jpg

This isnt a Rework, this is a puplic Execution of Old Aatrox

279 Comments

Teridax686/13/2018, 11:32:03 AM89 votes

What's all the more ironic is that the new Aatrox has a line criticizing Kayn for being too edgy. Meanwhile, one of his new quotes is also literally "Do you see my edge?! Your death awaits!" It's a mess.

I also remember a Rioter attempting to do damage control after his trailer got released: when everyone complained that he was too shouty and angry, their answer was that the trailer only showcased quotes of him in the middle of combat, presumably making him more excited than he'd normally be. Now that we have access to the full quotes, however, that attempt comes across as rather questionable, as all of Aatrox's quotes are, at the very least, really loud. He talks too much, talks too much about himself, and says even the most innocuous lines like he's frothing at the mouth with pure, unbridled rage. His VO is a complete thematic miss, in addition to being really low in quality by itself.

I also agree that this is all the more disappointing considering Aatrox's Live VO: if nothing else, his lines are competently done, and distinct from any other champion's, so "don't fix what ain't broke" should have applied in full force here. Instead, Riot decided to pull a Galio, and throw out a champion's unique identity in favor of something much less unique. The fact that they've made this mistake again, and on a champion whose main issue was that he was too generic, perplexes me to no end, and it really makes me wonder what kind of process led to Riot ignoring player feedback so completely on this.

Korijenkins6/13/2018, 8:44:12 AM80 votes

Look at what they did with Galio. They turned a tragic, sad character into a stupid jock.

What do you expect?

Jamaree6/13/2018, 8:48:27 AM52 votes

What about the people in the community who actually want and like this, or does their input not matter in this situation?

Lil Homie busta6/13/2018, 1:04:41 PM51 votes

+1. I may not be a main, but even so i can see how much of a failure this rework was, considering that the objective was to rework a champion, not create a entire different one.

The new chicken wings/sword holder in his back are ugly as fuck when you compare with the current resident evil-like/war banner-like unique wings. His leg armor it's so plastic-looking and flat that it looks more like black pants. Don't even get me started on how terrible and stiff his animations are - specially the cringe sword-in-the-back parade walk animation;** he looks like a 10 years old playing with his kitchen broom.**

Even if you ignore all of those issues, even if you ignore the awful VO, even if you ignore how downgraded his new model is from the current one, even then you cannot ignore the fact that he plays more like Riven (almost identical) than his current form of gameplay pattern. That alone is enough to you tell how bad this Rework was.

Urgot rework was awsome. They capture his gameplay pattern and core and enhanced on that, built on that. Xin Zhao rework was awesome too. Irelia (besides being overturned), Warwick, Shen, Yorick, Taric; all excellent reworks. But Aatrox one... It can't be called a rework. You guys didn't "re-worked" the champion, but murdered him and reused his name on a completely new champion.

What's even the point of rewoking a champion if he loses all that makes him be him? Why not create a new one instead?

It doesn't matter now, Riot will never listen. They'll just shove this ""rework"" down in the players's throats. Rest In Peace Aatrox, you'll be remembered.

Stars Shaper6/13/2018, 8:52:32 AM27 votes

Got to admit, I miss those lines and character too. They gave him a total different dept and a real demonic presence.

I guess that Riot changed their attitude towards the Darkin race when they started developing Rhaast, turning them into more joke-y characters... which brings me a huge fear about what they will do with Varus.

I'm expecting him being a total low grade while we'll hear more from Val and Kai and if it ever happens I'll demand a feature to mute character VOs in the settings because I'm not playing Varus to hear 2 inclusion tools talking about how they love eachother.

Ok sure but why6/13/2018, 8:50:15 AM24 votes

I think that's the worst thing about League in general

Also why'd they make him sound like a Hispanic wrestler smh

VICHEL CHAOS6/13/2018, 12:06:14 PM20 votes

My favorite "I know what lurks in the hearts of men".

F

Critmaster Garen6/13/2018, 8:50:27 AM19 votes

they already did listen. riot didnt originally plan an aatrox rework.

aatrox mains were unhappy and kept asking for one, since the champion was garbage.

then they decided to go along with it and wanted to throw him into the diver update that got canned.

aatrox mains still asked for a full kit rework. now they gave him a VGU to match his new abilities and animations.

as a juggernaut fan, i love what they did with him, even though i can understand the perspective of a lot of his mains who feel that hes changed too much. but his new kit is very promising when it comes to his viability overall.

when it comes to his voiceover and thematics, i can emphasize however. its basically the same thing that happened to Garen his calm and reserved demeanour was replaced by a more aggresive one, which i didnt really appreciate. some new parts of his voiceover are great and give him a bit more character depth ("this world needs hope"). but the old garen didnt use to yell as much.

dogehkiin6/13/2018, 1:41:29 PM17 votes

I love both but I wouldn't keep any of those 2.

I would keep most of old Aatrox lines but give him the new accent.

Remove all laughs new one has and make most of his lines more calmed with the exceptions of all those lines directed to Zoe or Panth. Remove mockery and keeo it for Tryndamere and Darkin.

Keep his lines for the other Darkin and add even more making him feel like the leader of a friend's group where he is the only rational one.

CURSEÐ REVENANT6/13/2018, 3:13:28 PM16 votes

Aatrox? I thought this was a new Riven skin.

Eeyore6/13/2018, 11:43:10 AM15 votes

Even those who have nothing can give their lives

His previous lore portrayed him as a Warden-class champion. A leader. A commander. The embodiment of morale.

When they said they were gonna try and better capture his fantasy - I honestly thought they meant deliver a kit for his champion, not deliver a new champion for his kit.

After Galio and Maokai - it seems Riot is just systematically removing Wardens.

AmenPerson6/13/2018, 5:49:52 PM14 votes

People hate old Aatrox, Aatrox gets reworked to be something new and better in terms of design. Suddenly every single person who hated old Aatrox changes to loving old Aatrox, and everyone who already loved old Aatrox comes out from the wood works.

Aatrox is something new, people are upset, understandable. But the community should not always assume that Riot needs to listen to all of our opinions and make every single change that we propose. Yes, we think most of what we say would improve the game, but this is still Riot's game.

I could care less about the old Aatrox VO. It sounded boring and unimpressive, like he went through "The Art of War" and just took lines from that. I do not see any of that 'calm and collective' stuff in his VO that people say was his best quality, except for him speaking in a low voice with the rasp of a smoker.

I honestly prefer his more angry and violent voice lines, because they sound like the lines of a man who has been tricked and trapped. This quote towards Zoe I like, because it's unique and shows just how much he hates Zoe, "I know it was you trickster! You gave them the tools to trap me! Come, let me kill you! A thousand times isn't enough!"

Muranodo6/13/2018, 4:10:47 PM13 votes

I went through this first with Trundle. Then the Maokai VO. Then the Galio VGU (voice has moments). Now, Aatrox will feel very unplayable to me. Because frankly his voice grates me. I'm slightly worried about the eventual Skarner VGU; they'll maybe keep the beautiful emotion and imagery they did in the last story --- maybe.

The responses are the same tired old affair. Oh, well I'm sorry it's not your cup of tea. We had internal data that suggested. In a few months, they'll say it was well-received. Which it probably will be from a kit perspective because lore and voice work are divorced from the rest of the meaningful data. More skin sales from a more approachable kit. It's a business, and it's logical. I wasn't attached to his old kit; I did like his personality and that he felt like an appropriately individualized and unique character (inspiring war commander / tideturner / ancient). Since the Darkin expansion, I find their race to be more of a lower tier set of entities bent on vengeance/an unleash of their emotions, but I suppose they work well as a legend or two.

I've listened to lots of regrets (i.e. Trundle isn't even touched on anymore in past fandom by Rioter comments (Still waiting on this new iteration of him to generate more stories because his story was finished in previous form) and I still remember Ironstylus pondering on if Elise could have been done better / more monstrous --- it was a disappointment after all the clamoring for an evolved original concept). I'm just aware I'm not the target audience; it's better not to get too attached to any character since they change as the team changes.

Camulos6/13/2018, 11:25:57 AM10 votes

I mean, all of those lines were made when Aatrox Aatrox was an old immortal who would appear to turn the tides of battle, and for some reason screwed over Tryndamere. The new Aatrox fits much better into the design of a demon hell-bent on annihilation. I mean, he doesn't really seem angry to me, he seems to be enjoying himself and has no qualms showing it. Except when Zoe Zoe is around, but hey, I get tilted by her and I wasn't trapped for millennia in a sword by her.

I reckon a Pantheon VGU would make much better use of those lines and attributes, as well as giving him a more starry, Targonian design; as opposed to the pizza-feet 300 reference he is now.

big boi edri6/13/2018, 5:10:09 PM9 votes

His new gameplay looks bad ass. I can't wait for him to be released.

Power Cosmic6/13/2018, 3:31:23 PM9 votes

Yup, this was never a rework for gameplay or balance. It was a desperate attempt to recapture his popular release for business reasons. The cost for that (Aatrox) was too high and intentionally turned a blind-eye to those that support this game; for something beyond wins and losses. We are not animals that need treats (unasked for flashy reworks) to be kept happy.

Make your game better through balancing and defining champ identities, not sugar rushes.

IcyPepper6/13/2018, 4:23:34 PM7 votes

You gotta remember that some of us are okay with it. The boards is not some hive-minded entity, but several people with different opinions.

They might tweak Aatrox if you're respectful about it, which is not too much to ask for. Opening up with "Riot will not listen to the community" is not likely going to make them listen. Even if you don't think they will listen, you might as well try to be polite, otherwise you're just setting yourself up for failure and making this just a generic complaint thread without any actual purpose.

Chef Lugh6/13/2018, 4:49:09 PM7 votes

Personally, the world ender voice sounds alright as a battle crying god of war. However I may be kicking a dead horse but I'd prefer the stoic aatrox with the blood crazed taking over when he ults or when he's in a team fight. The contrast between him being calm and collective to being blood thirsty in the heat of the battle sounds cool to me.

Netorare6/13/2018, 10:01:52 AM6 votes

I remember the old yorick that was something more than a split push bot, but some reworks succeed while others fail because this is how riot wants to manage things...

RedHeadTed696/14/2018, 2:38:52 AM6 votes

This rework leaves me incredibly disappointed.

I could care less about viability; old Aatrox was fun to play and that's all I needed. I'd much rather they keep what made Aatrox himself rather than ruin the character and turn his abilities into a worse Riven with a delayed death. Hell, JAX plays more like old Aatrox than this rework. He was the only melee champion I truly enjoyed, and now that's gone.

Old Aatrox had problems, yeah. I honestly hated the passive change, but at least he was still Aatrox. I'd play live over rework any day.

I hope they don't launch this rework; it's an insult to players who loved Aatrox. I'll f***ing pay Riot not to launch it.

dementionlord6/14/2018, 2:49:01 AM3 votes

yea this doesnt even feel close to what i hoped i mean wtf everyone wanted the W to stay right what is this. its not even funny.