Zed is getting some changes to make him less of a generalist. Can we do the same to Ahri?
Zed is a pretty badass champion already, but that doesn’t mean he has no room for improvement. In Zed’s case, we’re concerned that he’s a bit too consistent.
Whether Ahri is an assassin or not might be debatable, but she is probably the most generalist mid laner in the game and can do everything pretty well.
Some poke? Yes, but she is no Xerath. Good burst? Yes, but she is no Veigar. A bit of CC? Yes, but she is no Lissandra. Fairly high damage? Yes, but she is no Karthus. A little sustain? Yes, but she is no Vladimir. A form of mobility? Yes, but she is no LeBlanc. Good waveclear? Yes, but she is no Ziggs. Decent early game? Yes, but she is no Jayce. Decent mid game? Yes, but she is no Brand. Decent late game? Yes, but she is no Veigar. Etc, etc, etc.
While she might not be the absolute best in any of those things, it does mean that she doesn't have clearly defined weaknesses or strengths. When playing against Ahri I never think "Well, her lack of X is something I can exploit", and at the same time I never think "She is especially good in X, I need to play around that".
This extreme versatility has resulted in her being a top tier solo queue pick for pretty much ever (because she is not reliant on having a fitting team comp/playing against a certain enemy team comp/having your team peel for you/having to play around a single strength/etc.), and at the same time she is currently very rarely seen in pro play because of her lack of a clear niche (as pros generally play very specific poke/siege/teamfight/whatever comps, and Ahri isn't truly outstanding in any of those).
While it's probably too late to include this in the preseason assassin update, I would like to see some small changes to her, just like Zed, to give her more defined strengths and weaknesses and make her less of a "I'm first pick and I don't know who to play, so I just take Ahri" kind of pick.
PS: Just to be clear, I don't think Ahri is an extremely unhealthy champion up there with Galio, Urgot and some others in the "Rework ASAP" list, I just feel like she is a bit too much all-around (in my opinion even more so than Zed), so in that sense I think she could use some small changes.
