I used to play her a lot pre DFG removal but since then i havent really played her much. Im seeing many people say that she is incredibly strong but i can't seem to figure out why as whenever i play her i feel like her W is useless and her damage is lack-luster for the mana cost and difficulty of landing skill shots. I understand her ult gives a lot of mobility, but i just don't see her as that god tier mid-laner that everyone else does.
imho she isn't "really strong"-- she's consistent (Q + AA clears casters even when you're somewhat behind), she's rather safe (Q disengage MS, amazing CC when enemy is charging you, and R as if that wasn't enough), she's always useful (land E on somebody, they almost always die if you're with your team).
I mean, that's a kind of strength in and of itself.
Her W is great for early dueling if you invest points in it, but if you just want to get out her E serves that purpose better-- these two things make her relatively versatile.
Why Is Ahri So Strong?
No other champion has a kit that's similar to Ahri's.
She fullfills a niche that's extreemly unique and very difficult to fill with anyone else.
i can't seem to figure out why as whenever i play her i feel like her W is useless and her damage is lack-luster
Her burst is 1154+2.24 @18 with her best-case scenario, which isn't that hard to land with her.
Average burst is ~1000+2.2, so it's not like Ahri is doing less than everyone else, she's capable of unleashing a little more damage than most if she's used optimally.
A solid chunk of that is also true damage from the return orb, making her combo actually much better than what her base values indicate. On that note: her multi-hit combo isn't really impacted by BV, her multi-dash charge isn't hit that hard by MS slows, and her chase capabilities aren't really hit that hard by QSS, making Ahri more resilient to counter-builds than most.
Add everything together and you've got a champion that's got a 5%~10% edge in doing most of the things she needs to.
Her AoE wombo-combo potential isn't as good as most mages, but that's all she really gives up for having a lot of minor advantages everywhere else.
"w is uselesss" well then you must be maxing out ur charm as a 2nd ability then
and the fact that she has been picked often in diamond and master along with zed.
while she has been at the 53-54% winrate for a long time. And in LC$ as well
She is very safe in lane with the mobility on her Q, R and her E charm as an extra bonus to make sure she gets out of the ganks
And scales hard late game being able to 100-0 squishy people with ult and W
