To be completely fair, Ahri is in a weird place where she may need changes. I do think Ahri could be in line for some work to improve elements of her kit that are inactive/uninteresting Passive and W while also just giving her a general better feel overall.
Ahri isn't weak nor has ever been weak. She is hands down one of the most safe and reliable mid laners in the game that I can safety blind pick into every single match up and never feel that threatened. Ahri shouldn't really lose any match and that's due to her tools that keep her safe, Q, E, R, Passive. Another important thing that would lead Ahri to being a good runner up for work is we really need to sit down and decide what we want Ahri to be. Is she a burst mage, an assassin, a kite mage, etc. We need to determine what her identity is and what is needed to improve that identity.
People like Ahris who just state Ahri is weak and don't point out anything to do are the problem. Ahri needs work. She needs a better Passive and W. Q+R+Passive give her too much safety so she needs less damage. Yet she is still kind of a pick, burst mage. So what do we want to focus on? I love the Q movement speed but I also realize it's pretty strong. Passive is uninteresting and a lot of hidden lane power. Ahri has clear problems and that has always lead to her being one of the best and most reliable champions. She needs better windows for opponents to act on. She needs true weak points so she can have better highs. People that want an all-round ringer don't understand that isn't healthy for the game. If you are having fun but at the cost of others, it's not good design. That's what's important about Ahri. She needs some serious work.
What I would do with Ahri if I had to chance, personal is something like;
Rework Passive - This passive could work better on other champions and I don't think it really is integral to her kit. No one is really playing Ahri just for her passive. I do think some kind of iteration of it could work though. Maybe some kind of essence collecting that still heals her but works differently. I don't think it needs to work like Thresh Souls or anything but maybe it's just a heal on killing enemies and after killing X minions she can heal or something. I am not sure just firing off the top of my head.
Minor Q change - This is like Ekko Q. You throw it out and then just rake in the farm. It could use some kind of change, maybe less damage to minions or something? This would help out the whole issue of just mindless wave clear. Though the changes to her passive may be enough.
Rework/Update W - This is just such a bland ability that does need work. As a minor update I could see landing E causing all Foxfires to instantly fire at the champion hit by E working as a way to skill check and give her more reliable damage. In the long run though this ability could be changed. I hate the idea of focusing on Auto-attacks since only really Riven feels okay weaving auto's into her gameplay. Auto-attacks aren't as satisfying as abilities in my mind. Unless you're Jhin.
E - Increase the duration but give buffs to make up for it either in this ability or else where. E is such a powerful pick spell and having a low cooldown is pretty silly. This is apart of the issue and if Ahri misses it should be considered a real punishment, not a slap on the wrist.
R - Just leave it fam. This is a great ult.
This is just off the top of my head (please read this Ahri mains god damn it) of what she could have to fix some of her problems and improve her overall for both ends. Though I don't main Ahri so I can't say if some of this would feel good or not. Ahri isn't weak, but she isn't OP. When she is stronger she is the best pick all-round as she doesn't have any weakness. Something needs to be done for her and I'm just tossing out ideas.
