Just gonna point this out about the Aatrox Rework

Ragnaveil··41 votes·14,690 views

He's become what you aimed to fix with this rework Riot: A balancing nightmare. And here we are, giving him the very gutting that happened with the two previous renditions of Aatrox because he became too good at his job, leading to being slowly but surely forgotten in the realm of soloqueue.

If you want one crucial thing to be pinpointed on why this rework has become a nightmare, here it is: You put too much emphasis on his Q to the point his Q is all he is, nothing more and nothing less. Its clear the rework has failed to do what it was set out to do. At this point, you might as well throw out a semi revert and experiment with the old kit on the PBE for a better fix. I want to make sure Aatrox avoids a Kalista/Azir/Ryze situation where he basically gets left in the dirt because of pro play. I loved this champ in his previous form and stuck it up with this version, and the last thing I need is losing another champ I love playing in norms and ranked (Already lost Maokai).

I just want to hear from a rioter on the balance team if they might consider a semi revert as an option, and make sure they will avoid putting him, Akali, and Irelia on the track of being the next Kalista/Azir/Ryze. No person should have their main ruined and torn like those 3 have.

80 Comments

AirKingNeo10 votes

Imagine reworking a champion, who's been historically balanced and in fact underpowered, for "being unbalanceable" and making him an actual champion who is unbalanceable.

Ragnaveil4 votes

Might as well revert him. He's going to remain like this as long as he's stuck with this kit.

AirKingNeo3 votes

I'd rather have a new champion for him. There are people who like the new Aatrox, so that's fine.

I just want my old kit back.

Ragnaveil2 votes

Sad thing is, they dont seem motivated to use the old kit as a backup if this rework turns out to be a failure. They still want to experiment and put more power into it if it isn't doing good. Like, where the hell in Aatrox's kit right now can you put power? Not really anything but his E heal and W, but buffing the E heal will just cause more problems that they dont want to deal with, therefore making that an impossible reality.

TyroneWatermelon1 votes

They never revert reworks. too much shekels have been spent on the new Aatrox development wise. and don't say kog, it was just 1 ability that wasn't changed at all except the numbers of damage and that allowed to break the attack speed cap.

The Oasis1 votes

{quoted}

They never revert reworks. too much shekels have been spent on the new Aatrox development wise. and don't say kog, it was just 1 ability that wasn't changed at all except the numbers of damage and that allowed to break the attack speed cap.

Leblanc. Not saying I want an Aatrox revert though, and I think she was the only one with a major revert.

TyroneWatermelon1 votes

how could I forget, the 2 cancerous assassins Rengar andLeblanc ... of course they got reverted. the most toxic champions with the most toxic playerbase cried for months and got their attention but bullshit like mordekaiser shaco and skarner will never be reverted

Snowbrand21 votes

{quoted}

"been historically balanced"

Lmao! That was funny, but not true

AirKingNeo3 votes

at what point was Aatrox overpowered? If so, when and why?

HopeStartsWithU3 votes

That doesn't mean unbalanced. Something/someone is unbalanced if Riot can't hit the sweet spot without making the champ either completely broken OR completely garbage. They kept Aatrox garbage because Riot knew that buffing him would just make him OP, just like old Yorick. Aatrox was reworked to make him more balancable. Which is also the reason why his passive went into his ultimate and his W is completely changed.

Moody P12 votes

Aatrox wasn't kept garbage. He just wasn't popular.

HopeStartsWithU7 votes

He wasn't popular simply because of that reason. They refused to buff him for a very long time and said he would need a rework to fix his problems. His kit was problematic. He had a pretty strong phase after a few buffs right before his rework and then his popularity sky rocketed (especially since hashinshin played him a lot)

Ragnaveil2 votes

That and Conqueror happened. Although I never swapped over to it. I was a Lethal Tempo user from start to finish lol

AirKingNeo6 votes

his buffs were like a 6-12 months before his rework.

People not knowing Aatrox's balance history is why discussions like these are impossible.

HopeStartsWithU3 votes

And that's why we gonna ignore the fact that he was kept shitty for several seasons? They made small changes to him before his rework (6-12 months isn't much). Additionally at this time blade was buffed (or changed in his favour) and conquerer was discovered. Those made Aatrox strong. But yeah if you wanna say that from release point to season 7-8 Aatrox wasn't kept garbage by Riot on purpose because of his hard-to-balance kit then so be it.

AirKingNeo1 votes

And that's why we gonna ignore the fact that he was kept shitty for several seasons?

Does that matter? I can give my reasons for why I did something, but those reasons aren't necessarily true. Those reasons can be wrong.

But yeah if you wanna say that from release point to season 7-8 Aatrox wasn't kept garbage by Riot on purpose because of his hard-to-balance kit then so be it.

RIot was wrong to keep him weak on purpose because he was not hard to balance. Season 7 and 8 Aatrox is proof of it.

HopeStartsWithU1 votes

It does matter if you want to ignore FACTS. Riot was wrong in many topics. Doesn't change the matter of fact that he was kept garbage for several reasons before his small scale rework. Peroid. End of discussion.

AirKingNeo1 votes

But the reasons he was kept weak were Riot's opinion, and therefore do not factually prove that Aatrox was "impossible to balance" or "hard to balance".

You are automatically assuming Riot's opinion in these case to be true, despite not proving the opinion true from themselves nor yourself.

Meanwhile, there is proof that Aatrox is balancable. He's was more balanced than most champions who are meta these days. Aatrox isn't even close to Zoe, Pyke, Irelia, or new Aatrox.

HopeStartsWithU1 votes

And how much proof did you provide for Aatrox being "balanceable." In fact, he was insanely busted after the mini rework. I didn't want to say it that way in the discussion but you don't seem to understand. He was extremely unfun to play against, had 0! weaknesses other than shitty numbers thanks to Riot. Playing against range? Press E. Getting poked or low on health? Switch W to heal up. Free revive, gapcloser with a knockup (which was unstoppable btw) or an escape.

New Aatrox has a higher skill ceiling and actually counterplay other than hoping that the enemy doesn't know that his W can heal him back to full life. Comparing him with other busted champs doesn't change the fact that he was busted in his own ways.

I also could provide you video material from youtube but you would mostlikely say "those are situational moments so these don't count", so I won't even bother tbh.

AirKingNeo1 votes

I gave you 2 pieces of evidence. 1: Aatrox was never overpowered except on release. 2: Aatrox was statistically balanced during season 7 and 8.

He was extremely unfun to play against, had 0! weaknesses other than shitty numbers thanks to Riot.

Says the guy who did not play him. Says the person who literally does not understand the champion.

Playing against range? Press E.

If your opponent is ranged, they can dodge it.

Getting poked or low on health? Switch W to heal up.

If you're getting poked, then it's hard to get near the wave to start healing. Afterall, you are being poked at.

Free revive, gapcloser with a knockup (which was unstoppable btw) or an escape.

Revive had a cooldown and required 5 stacks of bloodwell. The knockup could be dodged with its long wind up. It was only unstoppable during the descent.

New Aatrox has a higher skill ceiling and actually counterplay other than hoping that the enemy doesn't know that his W can heal him back to full life. Comparing him with other busted champs doesn't change the fact that he was busted in his own ways.

New Aatrox is harder to balance than old Aatrox. Which brings me to the third piece of evidence I have put: New Aatrox has been statistically harder to balance than old Aatrox ever was.

I also could provide you video material from youtube but you would mostlikely say "those are situational moments so these don't count", so I won't even bother tbh.

What does a youtube video have to do with numbers and data? What about your video material to prove your point?

HopeStartsWithU1 votes

LMAO, WHERE the fuck did you provide ANY data??? You didn't. Waste of energy and time.

FCJAAAAGOOOO1 votes

[{quoted}](name=Moody P,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=bLag77dR,comment-id=00030001000100000000,timestamp=2019-02-07T02:12:50.891+0000)

Aatrox wasn't kept garbage. He just wasn't popular.

Yeah. Honestly? He was an okay champion. A bit bland - there's not much to a basically-melee champion that just heals and comes with a GA - but perfectly fine otherwise. They could've added a mechanic to his projectile to give it some more purpose other than "deal damage in a straight line eventually", but eh.

Now he's an abomination. I dare someone to say otherwise.

Same as Galio - Galio was clunky and there wasn't much to him, but he still had flair and was unique enough. Now Galio is an equally unbalanceable mess.

At least Urgot's rework did well. A champion that was as equally unpopular as he is OOM was just silly. Thank goodness only ADs like Wu are the only ones left that are that tier of mana-gated now.

Snowbrand2 votes

{quoted}

That doesn't mean unbalanced. Something/someone is unbalanced if Riot can't hit the sweet spot without making the champ either completely broken OR completely garbage. They kept Aatrox garbage because Riot knew that buffing him would just make him OP, just like old Yorick. Aatrox was reworked to make him more balancable. Which is also the reason why his passive went into his ultimate and his W is completely changed.

Yea, pretty much this

AirKingNeo3 votes

Something/someone is unbalanced if Riot can't hit the sweet spot without making the champ either completely broken OR completely garbage

Oh, so you mean Season 7 and Season 8 pre-rework Aatrox? Where is wasn't broken not garbage, just unpopular.

Aatrox was reworked to make him more balancable. Which is also the reason why his passive went into his ultimate and his W is completely changed.

But his old kit was more balanceable. There still isn't any concrete evidence or argument to say it wasn't.

Meanwhile, we can see right now that his new kit is, in fact, harder to balance than the old kit ever was.

HopeStartsWithU3 votes

Just because the winrate is fine doesn't mean the champ is fine. Go on Aatrox mains reddit and scroll down the timeline until those buffs. Everyone will agree that old Aatrox had a bad kit that needed changes. And I dont even give a fuck about Aatrox at all, I just explained to this guy what it "unbalancable" means. I dont even understand what you want from me. I couldnt care less about Aatrox nor did I ever struggle against new Aatrox. At least the new kit has counter play and isn't just pure right clicking with unlimited sustain.

AirKingNeo1 votes

Just because the winrate is fine doesn't mean the champ is fine. Go on Aatrox mains reddit and scroll down the timeline until those buffs. Everyone will agree that old Aatrox had a bad kit that needed changes.

No, most people in that mains subreddit wanted buffs. I would know, I was there.

Maybe you should see the threads after his rework, asking for a revert and telling Riot Jag to fuck off.

And I dont even give a fuck about Aatrox at all, I just explained to this guy what it "unbalancable" means.

You don't care about Aatrox nor do you have any knowledge about him since you never played him. You have not proved Aatrox is unbalanceable.

I dont even understand what you want from me. I couldnt care less about Aatrox nor did I ever struggle against new Aatrox.

Mission to civilize. Also, you're the one arguing with me. I just want my champion back who is framed under false claims.

At least the new kit has counter play and isn't just pure right clicking with unlimited sustain.

Old kit had counterplay. 2 skillshots means he had 2 opportunities for counterplay. Sustain that requires him to attack the wave means you can zone him off it. That's counterplay.

HopeStartsWithU1 votes
  1. Wrong, they hated the rework because it didn't do justice to Aaatrox. Doesn't change the fact that everyone wanted Aatrox to be viable.

  2. I don't care about his rework simply because I didn't play him ENOUGH nor did I play against him enough. He was a wreck. Every significant buff would make him op. The subreddit wanted a rework, NOT BUFFS. You can just use the search function here on the boards to find evidence (I did and made my arguments on these posts and the subreddit)

3)Civilize but attacking me for my "opinion" about the definition of unbalanceable and Aatrox? YOU ANSWERED TO MY POST. People should be civilizing you ffs. You are biased towards your favourite champ which is why you can't see the truth

  1. "2 skillshots"???? You mean that one spell that is impossible to miss and the one that is there to gapclose/escape and at best case knock someone up??? His entire kit was based around sustain (his w which was COMPLETELY REMOVED). And how do you wanna zone someone off if he is the lane bully??? You have NO idea how your champ worked and it shows. You didn't even play your own fucking champ before season 7. In fact you had a bit over 20 games on him with a SOLID 50% winrate in S7.

That's about it from me. I answered the guy who didn't understand the meaning of balanceable. I won't discuss with a blind ignorant wanna be Aatrox main who didn't even play his champ.

AirKingNeo1 votes
  1. Wrong, they hated the rework because it didn't do justice to Aaatrox. Doesn't change the fact that everyone wanted Aatrox to be viable.

Aatrox was viable 6 months before the rework and even boardline meta 1 month before it.

  1. I don't care about his rework simply because I didn't play him ENOUGH nor did I play against him enough. He was a wreck. Every significant buff would make him op. The subreddit wanted a rework, NOT BUFFS. You can just use the search function here on the boards to find evidence (I did and made my arguments on these posts and the subreddit)

Why would I use the search function on the boards if I want evidence on from a subreddit? Keep in mind, I, once again, was part of that subreddit. They didn't want a rework. They had a Discord Chat literally named, "Whine ABout Rework Here", and that was a year before his rework.

3)Civilize but attacking me for my "opinion" about the definition of unbalanceable and Aatrox? YOU ANSWERED TO MY POST. People should be civilizing you ffs. You are biased towards your favourite champ which is why you can't see the truth

You aren't able to define unbalanceable. You have used zero statistics to make an argument for what counts as unbalanceable. You have not used this proven definition nor statistics to prove Aatrox can be defined as unbalanceable.

By forcing the assumption that Aatrox was unbalanceable, you are acting uncivil by using unsubstantiated claims.

Acting towards a bias is not uncivil. After all, to defend something at all means you favor it over another; to defend is to have bias. Is giving a defense based on facts rather than assumptions uncivil?

  1. "2 skillshots"???? You mean that one spell that is impossible to miss and the one that is there to gapclose/escape and at best case knock someone up??? His entire kit was based around sustain (his w which was COMPLETELY REMOVED). And how do you wanna zone someone off if he is the lane bully??? You have NO idea how your champ worked and it shows. You didn't even play your own fucking champ before season 7. In fact you had a bit over 20 games on him with a SOLID 50% winrate in S7.

Shall I quote you saying, " I don't care about his rework simply because I didn't play him ENOUGH nor did I play against him enough." Also, using number of ranked games is a pretty shitty stat for someone who barely played ranked. How the fuck did I get 95k mastery points in just 30 games?

You admit you did not play Aatrox enough. Who are you to claim how his kit and gameplay worked? You didn't fucking play him! I did!

That's about it from me. I answered the guy who didn't understand the meaning of balanceable. I won't discuss with a blind ignorant wanna be Aatrox main who didn't even play his champ.

Pretty pretentious statement for someone using inaccurate statistics about my account and someone who still refuses to prove his point with actual facts.

HopeStartsWithU1 votes

Honestly buddy, it's a waste of energy talking to you. Clinge to that old Aatrox. God bless, they will never revert a rework like that. Nobody needs champions like that in the game. And everyone (except old Aatrox mains) agree with me here on the boards. Keep dreaming about that "balanceable" Aatrox of yours while also only playing him in normals in which nobody gives a shit about winning or losing.

Facts are everywhere. You just want to ignore them. Riot has changed several champs and reworked classes to make them less frustrating to play against. Even if it doesn't please the mains nor does justice to the champions, they did it anyway. You can like it or not.

Oh, before I forget. You don't need statistics to define balancing in a video game. You just have to understand a bit of game design ;) Something you clearly don't (but I don't blame you! The majority here doesn't understand).

Anyway for you again but a bit clearer this time without mentioning Aatrox:

A champion or an item is hard to balance if said champion/item doesn't give much room for counterplay, is either too strong or too weak when buffed or nerfed or is too frustrating to play against EVEN WHILE maintaining a healthy winrate/pickrate ratio.

(for example Yasuo who is hated by everyone! Or Riven (my main) who is also hated by everyone. Or Zoe for a champion with less mechanics than Yasuo, or Akali who had a shitty winrate and yet has been gutted simply because of how oppressive she was.)

As a last tip: Bias is never good, I love Riven and would like it if she would be beyond broken but that doesn't mean it's okay for her to be too strong. Right now, I would say she deserves a nerf because she is doing too well statistically.

AirKingNeo1 votes

So basically, you don't have an argument and refuse to disprove my points. You haven't used facts, you have cited no facts, you keep assuming Riot's opinion is fact, you keep making a false claim about a group of people to someone who was in that group, you think bias automatically invalidates someone's argument, you openly insult people irrationally (for what? ego points?), and you think that statistics are meaningless when talking about game design.

You don't understand game design because you cannot discuss it. You don't understand game design because you deny statistics, what is literal fact. You should not discuss gameplay until you learn to properly discuss it.

HopeStartsWithU1 votes

No statistics provided yet, nor is your opinion a fact. If the game developer decides that Aatrox future is THIS rework because of said reasons, THAN IT IS A FACT. Because THEY MADE THE GAME. The majority and game health >some boys on a subreddit crying about their main champ having a bad rework.

Oh yea btw, new Aatrox can't be a worse issue than old Aatrox simply because new Aatrox isn't out as long as old Aatrox was but anyway. You were not part of the group and it sadly shows. Having 95k isn't much on a main champ. Your input is irrelevant. You can go open up a new discussion here and ask how much of an issue old Aatrox was. People will love to stomp you on the ground here. Have a nice day, you clearly need that.

AirKingNeo1 votes

I've stated the statistics, but here's the graphs: https://www.leagueofgraphs.com/champions/stats/aatrox

As you can clearly see, Aatrox had not been a balance issue ever until his rework. Meanwhile his rework has been one of the most problematic champions the game has ever seen.

If the game developer decides that Aatrox future is THIS rework because of said reasons, THAN IT IS A FACT. Because THEY MADE THE GAME.

The Framers wrote the US Constitution. Is everything they wrote in it fact and unchangable because it was backed by their reasoning? If you believe that the maker of something has a believe about their creation is factual, then should every amendment to the US Constitution that changes something (rather than add to it) be removed? Should we abolish the 17th because it's against the Framers, who are the makers of it, original ideas?

Of course not. No person's ideology is fact. To assume that a game designer's opinion is automatically fact is to hold him above all people, but he is not above anyone and is certainly able to be criticized.

Oh yea btw, new Aatrox can't be a worse issue than old Aatrox simply because new Aatrox isn't out as long as old Aatrox was but anyway.

Gross misinterpretation of how data works.

You were not part of the group and it sadly shows. Having 95k isn't much on a main champ. Your input is irrelevant. You can go open up a new discussion here and ask how much of an issue old Aatrox was. People will love to stomp you on the ground here. Have a nice day, you clearly need that.

Did I ever claim to be an Aatrox main? He was my second most played champion in 2017 and 2018.

Why should I care about what a bunch of ignorant people think? People here still haven't picked up on Mage items being absurdly broken. Meanwhile, when I talk with the people of these boards who actually understand the game, they agree that old Aatrox wasn't an issue.

You don't have an argument.

HopeStartsWithU1 votes

{quoted}

I've stated the statistics, but here's the graphs: https://www.leagueofgraphs.com/champions/stats/aatrox

As you can clearly see, Aatrox had not been a balance issue ever until his rework. Meanwhile his rework has been one of the most problematic champions the game has ever seen.

The Framers wrote the US Constitution. Is everything they wrote in it fact and unchangable because it was backed by their reasoning? If you believe that the maker of something has a believe about their creation is factual, then should every amendment to the US Constitution that changes something (rather than add to it) be removed? Should we abolish the 17th because it's against the Framers, who are the makers of it, original ideas?

Of course not. No person's ideology is fact. To assume that a game designer's opinion is automatically fact is to hold him above all people, but he is not above anyone and is certainly able to be criticized.

Gross misinterpretation of how data works.

Did I ever claim to be an Aatrox main? He was my second most played champion in 2017 and 2018.

Why should I care about what a bunch of ignorant people think? People here still haven't picked up on Mage items being absurdly broken. Meanwhile, when I talk with the people of these boards who actually understand the game, they agree that old Aatrox wasn't an issue.

You don't have an argument.

Sorry buddy, but only Aatrox mains agree that old Aatrox was fine. And yes, mage items are broken which is why they had to nerf them over the years but that's not the topic.

The problem with statistics are that they exactly work like that: A small amount of player base means usually that only their mains play that champ. Aurelion Sol mains had almost a 60% (consistent) winrate and he was considered garbage by the majority of players (bronze, silver, gold makes up the majority). Yet his mains still played him pretty well, too well and Riot decided to nerf him (ofc they gutted this champ but he still had a dedicated playerbase, even if pretty small, that was pretty successful with him).

To come back to Aatrox in terms of statistics: You said in an earlier post that he was unpopular not bad or kept bad (or someone else said that idk anymore its somewhere above). This should automatically mean that only his mains play him or people who are willing to play him consistently since nobody else would like to play him and that would/should mean that he should have a high winrate if played by mains. Yet his winrate was just ok (let's just say it wasn't bad compared to other champs with small playerbase***), except for the time he got his mini rework and buffs and several other changes that impacted his build (it also fits your source you just posted). That time his winrate spiked to over 65%. This is too much. He was completely broken and got prob nerfed back until he once again below 5% pickrate and a winrate of below 55%.

Now, statistics with small playerbases aren't always reliable. It could just mean that the Aatrox player base doesn't know how to play him to significantly climb with him or it could just be that the champ is too weak to climb with or the champ is out of meta (which he kind of was for a long long while). That's why nobody picks statistics from diamond and above but platinum and above. Diamond and above is way too small of a sample size to analyse and since platin is considered the top 10% (or it was like that back then idk how it is now) it gives a "good" enough sample size to make decisions.

I hope you understand that perspective of mine a bit better now.

***(actually it was bad because low pickrate --> more mains simply because everyone else refuses to play that champ--> less noobs playing him-->automatically boosting the winrate high but yet his winrate was always barely beneath 55%)

EDIT: And the thing you wrote about the consitution is most likely right, but I can't confirm any of it because it's not much of a big deal here in europe. So I will just ignore it since I don't anything from it. I hope you don't mind

AirKingNeo1 votes

Sorry buddy, but only Aatrox mains agree that old Aatrox was fine.

That's not an argument. It's like saying "only people who've played Pokemon games agree that Pokemon games are good". Like, no shit people who have experience, typically positive, with something will like it.

The problem with statistics are that they exactly work like that: A small amount of player base means usually that only their mains play that champ.

The fact he had a small pickrate with a decently good winrate is proof that he was balanced.

To come back to Aatrox in terms of statistics: You said in an earlier post that he was unpopular not bad or kept bad (or someone else said that idk anymore its somewhere above). This should automatically mean that only his mains play him or people who are willing to play him consistently since nobody else would like to play him and that would/should mean that he should have a high winrate if played by mains

He did have a high winrate when he was played by mains. You can see the spikes on the graphs.

Now, statistics with small playerbases aren't always reliable.

That's a decent argument, but his pickrate was much larger than Mordekaiser who seems that problem very often. Aatrox's winrate was mostly stable, unlike Mordekaiser who saw fluctuation.

EDIT: And the thing you wrote about the consitution is most likely right, but I can't confirm any of it because it's not much of a big deal here in europe. So I will just ignore it since I don't anything from it. I hope you don't mind

Basically, US consitution was intended to be able to be changed because the authors (The Framers) knew that ideas in the future could be different than theirs; that their own ideas are not infallible.

GayFluffyUnicorn4 votes

That's about the biggest lie ever.

Before his rework he was played LCS a few times. Was he completely broken dominating the gamen DESPITE being good? NO HE WAS NOT. That mini rework they gave him made him kinda okay. Not too good not too bad. He still had his weaknesses.

More than your favorite champions we have now. Kha, zoe, xin. All champs who destroy solo AND pro play.

Yet aatrox is unbalanceable nightmare. Yeah right. Coming from people who never played as or against him and just repeat what riot told them.

Why isn't vlad gutted btw ? He is ACTUALLY unbalanceable and ALWAYS crops up to be broken and destroys the game because his entire design is pure fuckin garbage and the mini rework didnt fix anything besides making him more popular.

HopeStartsWithU2 votes

I don't know what to say, honestly. Aatrox was completely broken for a while with that "mini rework" in combination of conquerer and blade (yes, blade because it got buffed back then). He was a nightmare for every melee toplaner with 0 counterplay. He would drain your life away while healing up just by rightclicking.

I tried to avoid saying he was busted because obviously people love the old Aatrox here but if you want proof you just have to look at a few highlights about Aatrox post those changes. It was so absurd that even hashinshin picked him up. At that time he was the best toplaner.

And aren't you a Camille main? You should be the number 1 guy hating old Aatrox lol

Snowbrand6 votes

{quoted}

at what point was Aatrox overpowered? If so, when and why?

He was a drain tank and as such pretty much impossible to balance. Either too strong or too weak. I'm suprised you haven't heard about it, but I think that was one of the main reasons why riot reworked him

AirKingNeo5 votes

He was a drain tank that relied on melee range auto attacks, which has plenty of counterplay.

There is no evidence showing that Aatrox's old kit was "impossible to balance". All statistical data shows Aatrox was very much balanced for almost a year and otherwised forced as underpowered. At no point, besides release, was Aatrox ever an issue statistically. Thus, the "too strong or too weak" argument fails, because there is zero evidence to support it, as Aatrox was in fact balanced during seasons 7 and 8.

I'm suprised you haven't heard about it, but I think that was one of the main reasons why riot reworked him

I heard. It's stupid reasoning that Riot refuses to defend because it's easy to take apart, as I showed above. Riot will say it though, they just don't defend it.

Chembaron Yamada2 votes

Melee auto attacks are not really efficient counterplay in top lane, where the majority of his match ups are melee too. Especially since his ultimate gave him additional attack range, meaning that you couldn't kite him, but he actually was able to kite you instead.

Drain tanking is a problem in general, even if it is on a melee champion. Warwick is more melee than Aatrox has ever been, but they still changed his passive to heal alot less if he is high on health and more if he is low. Because now he actually has a window in which you can say "I should use ignite now to reduce his healing".

Same with Swain. His old ultimate made him a drain tank, being able to heal constantly. This got changed, his ultimate now has a meaningful cooldown and he can heal from his passive and W, which requires him to land skillshots.

Accept it, Riot is removing the drain tanks from the game and this is a good thing in my book.

GayFluffyUnicorn1 votes

I hope adcs get removed from the game soon then.

Rightclicking from range to draintank with Bork and BT has no counterplay and should be removed.

Chembaron Yamada4 votes

Something that dies instantly from any kind of burst whatsoever can hardly be described as a drain tank, imo.

AirKingNeo1 votes

Reminds me of the meme that ADCs "draintanked" tanks, and that justified Thornmail fucking bruisers.

Fuck this balance team and their shit.

Ragnaveil1 votes

All they literally had to do, was make thornmail work only against ranged users, therefore bruisers would not be fucked.

iv iron iv1 votes

aatrox has been overpowered ever since his rework, they nerf him once, still hella strong, nerf him twice, still hella strong, nerf him 3 times, still hella strong, get rid of his jgling potential, still hella strong, gets rid of his 2nd e, OMG HES SO FUCKING BAD EVERYONE OMGOMGOMGOM HES SO BADD NOWW OMGGG, how about you just, not use your e until they flash or something because his kit basically cc locks you in one place so you can hit all 3 qs unless your literally bronze pretty easily..

AirKingNeo1 votes

talking about pre-rework. Please read context before commenting.

3TWarrior2 votes

the only time aatrox was ever an issue was during the sated devourer meta and even then it was rare that he'd get it to work in higher divisions

GayFluffyUnicorn1 votes

Cuz sated devourer was entirely a low elo issue and pro play issue.

Higher elo soloQ you just lost because you played 4v5 for 20 minutes.

flibitydoo9 votes

Aatrox turns out lumping all of a champions damage onto their third part of their Q is a really bad idea

Mordekaiser good thing they never ran into this balance issue before

Ragnaveil1 votes

Wait, which Morde are you talking about? Old or Juggernaut?

More from Gameplay

More by Ragnaveil