Ekko and Ahri's Lost Identity: Why Ahri May Need a Rework

NOW, I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING RIGHT NOW, BUT PLEASE READ THE POST BEFORE YOU DECIDE TO DOWNVOTE IT. Carry on.

Recently I've taken a break from my usual Ahri-main life, and started playing Ekko. Same Masteries, same lane, same Summoner Spells, and similar builds (not identical). I've found that Ekko is kind of like Ahri in many ways, but better overall. Here are some similarities that I've found between the two:

1. Ekko's Timewinder is practically the same as Ahri's Orb of Deception, but with a slow, although it has slightly more range, and it has far better AP scaling on the way back.
2. Both champions have a dash of some sort, and they tend to do the same amount of damage with it, but Ekko's is on a lower cooldown.
3. They both have a form of hard CC, but Ekko's gives him a massive shield and is AoE, rather than a single-target skillshot, along with an extra passive. Also, the stun on Ekko's Parallel Convergence is longer until Ahri maxes her last rank on Charm at level 18.
4. Ekko has better ability synergy.
5. Ekko can be way more fun a lot of the time.
6. Ahri doesn't carry nearly as well as Ekko does. I've lost games with 25 stacks on Mejai's Soulstealer.
7. Ekko's ultimate ability is stronger and has more of an impact on teamfights due to the massive damage and heal he gets, along with invulnerability for a moment.
8. Ekko has more of a synergy with his items that he buys. Lich Bane is a perfect item for him due to the mana, Spellblade passive, AP, and movement speed, while there's no real equivalent for Ahri.
9. Overall, the spell costs for Ekko are lower and more reasonable.
10. The passive on Ekko makes even basic attacks do a lot of damage. You're always gonna be doing tons of damage, even if your spells are on cooldown.
11. Ekko gains magic resist per level, while Ahri doesn't. Also, he has a higher health stat overall, has higher attack damage, and gains a higher attack speed eventually, which matters because of #10.
12. For new players, it's easier to last-hit as Ekko.

Of course, that doesn't mean Ahri doesn't have some things going for her over Ekko. Here are some things that Ahri has that Ekko doesn't do as well.

1. Ahri has more sustain due to her passive ability healing her. Yes, Ekko has his ultimate, but Ahri is more reliable in her healing potential, while Chronobreak is more of an in-combat source for tons of damage and a quick uh-oh button for when you're losing health.
2. Ahri has true damage from the second hit of Orb of Deception, and it gives her movement speed for kiting and running away.
3. Ahri generally stays farther on the back lines of teamfights, so she'll take less damage overall.
4. Ahri has higher armor stat growth per level, but it usually won't make too much of a difference.
5. Ahri is better at kiting.

Anyways, another thing to consider is that personally, I have a much higher winrate as Ekko, despite being an Ahri main with way higher mastery points on Ahri. I also have gotten far more S's than I would've gotten in that same time with Ahri. So far, I have only lost 2 games as Ekko. Of course, I'm only one person, and I'm no master at the game, so I can't make too many reliable statements about him. Take this section with a grain of salt.

Yes, I do know that Ahri currently has a higher winrate by ~3% and is overall doing better than Ekko right now, but you must consider that Assasins tend to have the lowest winrate overall. All things considered, Ekko is in a good place right now. Also, this is post is also about the similarities between Ahri and Ekko, and the thematic similarities between them causing a conflict in their abilities.

Anyways, I have a few suggestions for a rework to make Ekko and Ahri different in playstyle, and overall better. Overall, Ahri's abilities are much more linear than Ekko's, so I think some changes need to be made for the synergy that Ekko has.

1. One of Ahri's biggest unique identities is her spell vamp included in her kit. Her Foxfire is somewhat underwhelming in its effects, and it is really just a source of damage in her kit. Instead of what we have now, I suggest making her Foxfire a skillshot, but also have it heal her for a portion of the damage dealt. This makes sense, because she is a soul eater, after all, so more spell vamp is the logical choice. It would add to her consistency between her lore and ability set, too. When I say making Foxfire a skillshot, I mean making it similar to Taliyah's ability on q.
2. Although this change is odd, I think swapping Charm and Spirit Rush as abilities may also work, making Charm the ultimate ability and Spirit Rush the ability on e. I know that it's odd, but it may work with changes made to both of the abilities, of course. Buffing Charm's damage or making it an AoE spell, while giving Spirit Rush only one dash and slightly nerfing the damage on it is my best suggestion.

Anyways, this has been an incredibly long post, so I'll call this the end of it for now. It's been nice, but I'm getting hungry for lunch! If I have anything to add to this post later, I'll be sure to change it! Feel free to express your own opinions in the comments, but make sure to be kind and courteous!

Thanks for reading! [slayer-jinx-catface]