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Thank You Riot For ABSOLUTELY Nothing...

TheMojoKiller·8/22/2019, 3:11:10 AM·24 votes·12,984 views
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/leagueoflegends/images/6/65/Aurelion_Sol_OriginalCentered.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/1215?cb=20180414201914

(Before this post begins, this is going to be a small rant and eye-opener sorta post, keep reading if you're interested) My desire to play this game anymore slowly decreases. A huge factor to that is it's because some of my friends still play this game (surprisingly). I mean I'll give Riot some bonus points for giving me the opportunity to meet some cool people and making all these cool champions (over 140+!). Over time though, Riot has been making questionable choices, so many in fact that it seems to be some sort of habit.

Let me give you some insight on the past and the not so long ago. -Many Client Issues/Bugs still persist as it seems like forever since the "new" client has gotten any treatment. -(Debate-able) Large Influencers/Streamers getting too much leeway when it comes to toxicity. -Questionable Balance Changes (again also debatable but honestly why did they even consider buffing yas & kindred) (Also yes I understand, the meta shifts and someone's bound to be strong, but I'm more concerned about the champions who seemingly have too many strengths than weakness with very little counterplay cough pyke cough) -The Achievement Eternals System (Are you really going to ignore community suggestions, come out with a half-ass achievement system, claim that you worked "so long" on the project and have us pay for it) -Reworks/Updates/Changes that the main community of said champion have no say in and ends up in ruining a champion's identity. (`Main Point of This Post)

Yea it's a lot huh? Unfortunately to bring this post to a clear point, I'm here to discuss on how Riot decides to handle rework/updates/changes. Let's see, some champions that would fit this category is... -Mordekaiser, Irelia, Aatrox, Akali, Malzahar, Galio, & Zac, (And soon to join the list... Aurelion Sol!)

What do all of these champions have in common? Their kits was chosen to get changed heavily or getting a mini-reworked, with most of them getting ripped of their identity before they were changed/reworked. For these champions, many mains pleaded with concerns, suggestions, questions for the team working on these changes. Funny enough, 99.9% of the time, they don't take the community's feedback into consideration (especially the people who have dedicated SO much time into those champions) only to have it go through what I like to call, The Roller-Coaster. These champions get reworked/updated and they are usually OP status either on patch release or the next patch after. Their popularity rises and they start to become problematic because of how good they are able to do something (like waay too good). Then Riot finally brings out the Nerf Hammer after hearing everyone's cries about_ said _champion and they get nerfed... BUUT after they milk in a skin or two (or you can be lux/ahri and getting to stay strong for so long because they make good $$.) And then they get nerfed again and maintain a whopping consistent balance struggle.

This could be common knowledge or not, but why do I make this post you may ask? For two reasons. -These kinds of decisions and actions Riot has been making has been doing on for a long time. -And they don't seem to stop when it comes to giving said champion's main community a chance to communicate with the team in-charge of_ said _champ. In this case, it would be Aurelion Sol.

About Aurelion Sol's Soon to Come Changes... On July 30, 2019, Riot AzuBK announced that he would be a part of the team that works on Aurelion Sol's current changes. If you don't know what they are, here's the link on another post I made about the changes and what I think about them down below. https://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/gameplay-balance/Me1sLuOX-aurelion-sols-future-please-read

I do have many issues with the changes themselves, but I have MORE issues with the fact that these changes came out of nowhere, and the explanation behind these changes have not been explained. Worse yet, the community who have expressed their feelings, concerns, and questions have not received a single-ounce of feedback at all. It's such a disrespect to listen to the people who've played the champ 30-45 at most to where you don't listen to the community who's mained him since or near release, or for a very long time.

Here's some of the feedback I gathered that are concerned or completely against the changes for Aurelion Sol. https://imgur.com/a/wv9Zhvu And all we got for some sort of 1-on-1 response was this https://imgur.com/a/xCFQ8JJ#R1IlFxg

As a person who've peeked a lot of interest for Aurelion Sol https://imgur.com/a/zO7TQOk (Bought on Release Date) https://imgur.com/a/nOFVFbR (Mastery & Dedication) since release and as of this day, I'm sad how much Riot disrespected my feedback and concern for the champion as well for others, and for those other champions listed above. Until said otherwise, this could all just be changes to make Aurelion Sol more "flashy" and popular so that Riot can make more money off of him. Basically changing him for the sake of popularity and not for the community. It's just a slap in the face, and it shows how much they care for their feedback.

"These are good buffs though what??" "He's going to be a lot stronger now since his stars dont get cancelled by cc, I approve of these changes" "His roaming was unhealthy and his wave-clear as well." (But there is champs like Malzahar, Anivia, Talon, etc. who can do just that )

Just some of the comments about the Aurelion Sol changes, mostly from people who don't play him at all or much. It's also funny how they also only take in positive feedback and possibilities in making more $$. It's disgusting. Maybe it's not too late to fix something, anything, or the whole thing Riot. Please.

TL;DR Riot has been making pish-poor choices and we're here today with Aurelion Sol soon to be joining in the mix of mishaps (changed, being op, nerfed to ground) all because Riot doesn't care about feedback from_ said_ champion's main community.

Here are some clips you might enjoy of my main before they ruin him :). https://streamable.com/wzku2 https://streamable.com/hztbk https://streamable.com/obvtu

25 Comments

figold6668/22/2019, 4:12:27 AM8 votes

RIP A Sol.... All good things must come to an end...

BLIGHTBRINGER8/22/2019, 11:30:42 AM4 votes

I am sincerely sorry that this is happening and that you and the rest of the ASol playerbase is being ignored on the feedback.

The best thing right now is to hope thay they will revert those changes at some point.

I myself also really am a fan of the current ASol, I would properly play him more often but I need a lot of practice to get used to him. And I respect the high skillfloor that is required to play him properly.

Amumu I just hope things work out for you and the rest of ASol players in the end

Bløød Zerø8/22/2019, 9:33:34 AM4 votes

Might I also add he is a lot like a burst mage with these changes. He loses that battle mage category. Why does everything in league need to burst? Cus it gets views on pro play and racks money in? Great. Like Vlad you don't even need to build tanky just build dmg. Ryze is another battle mage that burst.

I remember reading once Idk where riot themselves said they tend to go for bumping up damage because its easier for them and it makes pro viewership less boring to watch. Because viewers don't want to see slow and strategic pushing over constant action and fighting. That's why they buff and nerf specific champs not caring about solo play because they want viewers to see different champs more often than the same ones.

This is why aatrox lost his identity because pro picked him for his strengths AND the revive. Not just the revive. But riot decides its unhealthy. Aatrox still gets picked, riot decision nerf after aatrox already lost his revive. Riot on the case said it was far too easy to proc the revive and get away for free. As if tryn ult isn't the same bs. At least when they made aatrox kill before he could revive it made sense. Grrr.

NelsieLisnen8/22/2019, 4:03:08 PM3 votes

I feel you but I also feel like I have to address the mentioned champs one by one and why I think Sol is in a different league.

  • Irelia: I don't think her rework belongs in the rest of your category. Mechanics got changed but It was basically to put more weight on her dashing ability and to make her dueling less reliant on items. Even hardcore mains agree that she mostly retained her gameplay identity.

  • Akali is a tough one. If I mained her pre rework I'm sure I'd be bitter for the changes BUT, Akali was in a problematic state because of her fed-or-starved gameplay. She was too monotone, in need of at least a visual rework, most players hated going against her even back then and the only difference is she was nowhere to be seen. The rework surely was a success. Made her more fun although it's kinda subjective, skyrocketed her popularity and at least gave her a kit you can balance around. She's pretty much in a good spot rn.

  • Mordekaiser is in the same vein as Akali: Very problematic, visually unappealing to most players and in need of a kit you can balance around.

  • Aatrox: I loved his rework, although I have to admit that's because it fit me personally. It was a radical change but it was all to match his warlord identity and his draintankiness. I agree that maybe riot could have looked to make him more auto-attack heavy like he was but he's a really fun champ in his own right.

  • Galio: From what I've gathered, the champ was pretty much a meme pre VGU. He needed one either way but the problem lies with riot not deciding or which role they want to land him, dragging him through a rollercoaster of a balance history.

  • Malz/Zac: Frankly, I know jack shite about those two so I won't touch on them.

NOW, for the main issue. I DO think Sol's changes were unwarranted, because there are some differences between him and the rest of the bunch that make it a bad idea to change him so much:

  • Sol fills probably one of the, if not the most, specific niches in league. A 24/7 roaming battlemage. There is NO champ that remotely resembles his playstyle. His stars are one of the most unique mechs in the game and he's the only battle mage that operates that way. People have been saying that his playstyle is too uninteractive. Well, learn to abuse it then, here, it's not hard, just push your lane when he leaves and make him lose XP and gold for unsuccessful roams. And Sol can choose to play around that by faking roams and other such things. It's not uninteractive, it's just macro-heavy

  • Sol is in a spot where he can be balanced without big mechanical changes. Smaller QoL changes on his Q to stun at any distance/be faster or E with lower cooldown or higher speed could very well balance him out and make him even pro strong.

  • His changes might make him stronger, but as Fizzics also said, he's just not that fun anymore. Believe it or not, his W being constant/toggle actually IS a big deal. It completely turns his early game, which is his bread and butter and the reason most people play him, completely on its head. It also changes the pace of his teamfighting from slower but constant to burstier but in intervals. You no longer get to say, "sit while I push you" to the enemy. Sol is changed from probably the most unique mage in league to a burst Anivia.

Bløød Zerø8/22/2019, 9:17:15 AM3 votes

Tbh I like A Sol as he is now despite legit never seeing him played in my elo and also only playing him a few times myself. I think his simplistic design makes me wanna learn him but I have a feeling I wouldn't be great as I tend to not pay attention to myself often. I kind of hate Riot's new lets slap a paragraph worth of interactions between abilities for every champ.

A Sol despite, from what I know, being mechanically challenging is quite straightforward. His stars orbit and do dmg. His q stuns and can increase in size. His w allows him to change his star range. His e is good for roaming and ramps up speed if he moves forward. His r is a push back to his w star range.

Then you look at sylas, neeko, yuumi and even reworks like panth. They all have some kind of out of the box element and I get there are meant to be champs that are out of the box but basically every champ touched recently has been that way. A good out of the box example is jhin, well orchestrated and designed to be easier to balance. Then there are these nightmare to balance champs sylas, yuumi who get touched and changed so often since release. I prefer the more simple things and champs. Maybe that's why I like Vlad so much his abilities are pretty coherent to the player. Also f in chat for A Sol. Our fallen brother.

Jennifer4208/22/2019, 9:06:36 AM2 votes

riot: np mate you could buy a skin to pay us for all our hard work (you know the type of hard work we also put in dominion and twisted botline)

Sky Cardis8/22/2019, 3:45:01 PM2 votes

Riot would like to say "Thank you for your money come again"

Clone Is Friend8/22/2019, 10:56:43 AM2 votes

this is the same reason i am fearing for shaco changes. but as long as i can play other games and watch old shaco videos im satisfied with the current shaco so i really hope they dont ruin him too.

Void Kaiju8/22/2019, 2:31:33 PM1 votes

I heard the Sol mains community was cautiously optimistic about the changes? I play him and have him at m7 (not nearly as committed to him as you are, though! Cho'Gath is my one true love). Also, Mordekaiser mains had a decent amount of input on his update. Malicious Metal was literally flown in to Riot HQ to test him and provide feedback.

Rather than never giving an explanation for these changes, Rioters are on record saying that Sol has a very low playrate because he's unapproachable and difficult to understand, whilst often being too powerful in the hands of his mains. I think they're trying to bring him to a place where there is slightly less disparity between his best and worst performances, whilst windowing his power so that he is easier to balance but his stars feel like they still pack a punch.

What's so wrong about the changes in your eyes, if I may ask?

preternatural8/22/2019, 9:44:03 AM1 votes

all reworks are objectively better than their predecessors. so yeah lots of a muchness here.

DiscWizard18/24/2019, 1:15:46 AM1 votes

Did you just unironically flame riot for thinking about buffing kindred? The only champion who in the jungle meta, loses most 1v1 without red buff but still has to invade to build leads. She doesn't even have great clear speed until she finishes jg item. She such a high skill cap champ that she deserves to do more DMG than most adcs

Wonderloss8/22/2019, 3:19:11 PM1 votes

Most of the champs you mentioned that got reworked had tiny communities because for the most part they were too difficult to get into just werent that good, or had glaring issues (looking at you old Morde and Gallo). I like Aurelion Sol a lot, but that doesn't change the fact that Riot wants most champs to at the very least be approachable, A Sol is not, most will play a game or two, get destroyed, and never want to touch the champ again, because unless you went through the labor of learning him then you don't know how to properly survive with him. Things change, and instead of being constantly negative about it you could have at least some optimism about it, and before coming at me with the "but it takes away their identity!" Sometimes if their identity is problematic then it should be changed. Am i defending the likes of Irelia and Akali? No, but they have both been gutted and lost most of what they got after the rework. Then champs like Yas who seem so oppressive are a low skill floor but super high skill ceiling champ where while it is easy to get into them you will get so destroyed if you mess up it is ridiculous, but its bearable because it is satisfying. A Sol doesnt have that, he feels underwhelming when he does decent and when he does bad you feel like its because you had to deal with awful lane opponents. I hope the changes actually go well, plain and simple.