Why is Aatrox unpopular?

Brascus·Feb 23, 2016·23 votes·7,191 views

I played him for the first time today and thought he was a lot of fun, so what's going on?

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/T68kzENkq0U/maxresdefault.jpg

89 Comments

World EnderFeb 23, 201633 votes

The core issue is this: Aatrox is about as feast or famine as it gets. I fell in love with Aatrox as well back when I was just learning the game, and he felt good to my pre-30 self. However, as I've come to experience more of the game, I realize that his kit is just too binary. If you get ahead, you destroy people. If you fall behind even the slightest, you're pretty much useless no matter what you build. I've tried all kinds of Aatrox builds. Full tank, full damage, mostly tank, mostly damage...the crux of it is, they all work if you're ahead...or don't if you get behind.

I played an Aatrox game this weekend and I absolutely demolished my lane opponent. By the end of the game I was 18/5/16, but we still lost because, while Aatrox has carry potential, his kit often feels as though it's "win more". You duel people forever, but as soon as you get CC'ed you're done for. Your only escape is your initiation tool, and even that can be interrupted by a knockup or a stun before you reach your target. If your team is useless and not following up on your engages then Aatrox can't do jack.

To top this off, Aatrox's only damage late game comes from his autos. It gets to the point where casting a spell mid-fight does nothing but harm you. Look at Xin Zhao or Master Yi for example. Their skills flow very seamlessly with their auto attacks, allowing them to use their utility and not sacrifice any damage. Aatrox cannot do this. Once you get into a fight, you ult and hope that you have enough damage and sustain to live long enough to win.

To sum it up, I think what Aatrox really needs is something that both makes him less feast-famine, and also allows him to do more than just auto attack people until they die. If Riot can do this, Aatrox will be in a much healthier spot and won't be considered a joke anymore.

La BarbotteFeb 24, 20162 votes

biggest problem on his kit is the Q not making him untargetable or unCCable while jumping, thats his biggest flaw, i hate when i could get a perfect four man knock up engage to be stopped by any cc or my own trundle XD

ÑapoleoniFeb 24, 20161 votes

Every champions dash gets interrupted unless it's an ult (besides Shyvanna's) Aatrox is no exception, by adding this mechanic into the game, people are going to wonder why more people don't have it.

JambajewzFeb 25, 20161 votes

The issue is that Aatrox's dash is a substantially longer cast time than the others. Xin's is less than half a second between when you start and when you hit your target, jax is the same way, Maokai is untargetable during his dash of a slightly shorter but comparable cast time. Aatrox doesn't need his dash to be uninterruptible, he needs it to be on par with the rest of the champions. Maybe if his dash was uninterruptible after he hit the peak height and started on his descent, or if it was interruptible throughout but it had a cast time on the order of a Xin E or a Jax Q he'd be balanced, but it's like they don't want him to be competitive.

ÑapoleoniFeb 25, 20161 votes

Well his dash is also a knock up so there is a reason it's cast time is so high.

roar2001Mar 7, 20161 votes

It is also his only mobility, engage, escape, and meaningful CC. He really needs it, but it gets stopped if spit at.

GreenLoreFeb 24, 20162 votes

I'd say his E is what feels useless. It has low damage(scales with ap,which you'll rarely build),low range and the slow isn't very powerful either.

It might be useful early on,but later it doesn't really do much.

La BarbotteFeb 24, 20162 votes

its your main tool in lane tho, some matchups so need to max this first cause you have to poke them down, and the based stats are good + being magic damage the ennemy wont build MR into aatrox so you still do dmg, and if they do build MR you hurt with everything else, its actually a good spell, just very awkward shape to land

GreenLoreFeb 24, 20163 votes

yeah,but I think it could be a overall something better,it is neat for the laning phase like you said,but afterwards it feels just awkward.

La BarbotteFeb 25, 20162 votes

keep in mind he got created and for a splitpush meta, and the patch after they decided that splitpushing wasnt the way they wanteed top lane so he got screwed by rito

JambajewzFeb 25, 20161 votes

And has been screwed ever since for more than 2 years even though they don't hate on split pushing as much as they could. They could make towers worth even less.

La BarbotteFeb 25, 20161 votes

towers ? you mean the big minions thats not moving ? (kappa)

ÑapoleoniFeb 25, 20163 votes

The problem with his E is that it has a cast time. Sure this is fine in lane, but when ur team fighting, your damage goes down by a ton, due to how much Aatrox relies on autoattacking

Yordle XayahFeb 23, 20168 votes

I actually know why...

See, unlike EVERY OTHER MELEE top laner at the moment, Aatrox can't just build almost 4K HP and still do damage. Aatrox has to make a sacrifice, building damage so he can get that life steal and trade in duels, but he isn't capable of fulfilling the role that every melee Top laner can, which is... build 3800 HP, work as a front line and also be a high source of damage.

Aatrox isn't popular because he's probably the ONLY top lane melee champion that is actually balanced. He has clear strengths and weaknesses, and when he builds the damage his kit requires, he's sacrificing tank stats. And if he builds tank, he doesn't have the damage his kit requires to be effective.

But that's why I like really good Aatrox players. They have these damage builds that make them super strong on reasonable levels of HP, they split push and can duel wonderfully. Yeah, he can work.

Serge THE GREATFeb 24, 20161 votes

Yeah, he's like Sion. Sion's got lots of clear strengths and weaknesses--and counterplay. And guess what the strong League champions lack? You guessed it: good counterplay.

BoulderoxFeb 24, 20162 votes

yea, because unlike many champs in league, lots of them can do both without a care... they don't need to sacrifice damage for sustainability or vice versa, they have innate sustain and damage built in...

Darius build full tank, have true damage execute to kill reguardless... Nasus Q's... DrMundo hp or bust Volibear need i say more?

ltmetalFeb 23, 20166 votes

Take a second to compare him to his champion counterparts-other sustain heavy melee carries-and you can immediately see why he is unpopular. Tryndamere is the perfect example of doing everything Aatrox can do, but being more reliable and better at it. Aatrox is in desperate need of strategic diversity. He needs a reason to pick him over any other champion, then his popularity and power will go up.

BoulderoxFeb 23, 20166 votes

I actually have been picking him up this season more, and I have discovered a nice trick to get out a cheesy blow without setting you back on hp. http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/leagueoflegends/images/c/cc/Grasp_of_the_Undying_mastery_2016.png/revision/latest?cb=20151103095059 ^ This glorious mastery makes him a lot better top lane if you ask me, more so than fervor. My reasoning is because it procs on Blood price's hit, meaning you do enhanced damage and heal, back a decent bit of hp, (cost is 15 / 23.75 / 32.5 / 41.25 / 50 (+ 25% bonus AD) ) and you heal for 3% of your MAX HP, which is VERY nice early game, and mixed with your own innate sustain, pairs very well.

I have evolved my gameplay to rush item 3077 FIRST. Then build an entire item 3812 , sounds weird but item 3153 isn't something i pick up unless there is too much tank on there team, and DD is so powerful when you mix it with item 2140 as long as you can output damage, you will win... ( =heals for 15% of the damage dealt + = Dealing physical damage heals for 15% of the damage dealt ) IDK if it is addative or multiplicative, but 2 15% sustains based on output damage is crazy, and late game find myself not needing to switch from blood price as you have so many things to heal it back.

http://imgur.com/75qgDSO Small example of effectivness, however there still is experimenting :)

La BarbotteFeb 24, 20161 votes

yeah since they nerfed Botrk i dont like picking it either unless im going jg sated, do you stick with the raevenous hydra ? cause i really like to get it untill i finish my DD then swap it for titanic

i go something like this on average

item 3077 -> item 3812 item 3074 ( item 3065 or item 3742 order based on what i need) then i swap my hydra for item 3748 and finish with item 3053 item 1001 (based on my needs)

BoulderoxFeb 24, 20161 votes

Yea, ravenous seems better but haven't tested too much with titanic honestly. item 3065 of course item 3111 or item 3047 . Last item is dependent on needs, stereks, dead mans, open at that point really to lots

La BarbotteFeb 24, 20161 votes

i get ravenous cause early the sustain is super good, but once i am done with death dance i feel like the HP benefits me more and the dmg scale with all the following items, try it out

BoulderoxFeb 24, 20162 votes

yea man will try it out :)

Duke AnaxFeb 23, 20164 votes

He is very difficult to play, which makes him appear weaker then simmilar champions.

H is less about mechanics than about decision making. Knowing when to go in and when not. He has large windows of weakness with somewhat short windows of strength.

Also his best builds are as diverse as they are non obvious. A lot people try building him with lifesteal, but melee carries are very feast or famine.

For me he works best with building no lifesteal, but AD/HP and AD/MR. Sadly there is no AD/Armor items so this build struggles in the current meta.

I think his state will change a lot with the new Warlords. Why building lifesteal on him is difficult due to the items available it is good having it.

ItsCalledALanceFeb 23, 20164 votes

because his abilities cost him health, and his starting stats are dogshit.

hes a weak version of Master yi who is hella lot easier to blow up.

WadeWilson1337Feb 23, 20164 votes

because hes garbage

Taric the GayFeb 23, 20163 votes

Kill Aatrox to proc his passive Wait for his revive summoner 14 Walk away counting your gold

JambajewzFeb 25, 20161 votes

And that's the problem, his base stats are so weak that this is pretty easy to do, any good cc and he's dead before it's up, even early. He's supposed to be high sustain, but he basically only sustains through the damage he deals to himself to use his moves until he has really high attack speed and doesn't get stunned. When riot talks about meaningful counterplay and doesn't incorporate that into other champions, then has a champion that's almost identical but incredibly easy to counter by comparison it leaves that champion feeling like they have a vendetta against it, and hate the people that actually enjoy that champion.

ZonkmanFeb 23, 20163 votes

There's no reason to really play Aatrox because the whole engage sustain play style is done better by xin and his base stats are horrible

Only Play DariusFeb 23, 20163 votes

Idk man every game I have seen him played lately he smashes (thanks to sated usually )

The problem is that he has low base stats so needs to build tank, but is almost completely autoattacks so needs to build damage (and loses damage when CC'd). He also has a confused identity as he is some mashup of a melee ADC, drain tank, and dive fighter. But Riot can't buff him because he is extremely frustrating to deal with as his kit makes him a very annoying lane opponent (imagine Nasus if he could actually kill you early game). He needs a rework.

VoidnerFeb 23, 20162 votes

I love this champion but... he needs an update or a buff because any other top laner is stronger late game

warpenguin555Feb 23, 20162 votes

Because everything he does other top laners and junglers do better

Billy VoHagenFeb 23, 20162 votes

He sucks. That's pretty much it.

Mr VulcanatorFeb 23, 20162 votes

Because his splash makes him look like an emo Aatrox

MKDkillaFeb 23, 20162 votes

He's shit.

BrascusFeb 24, 20162 votes

Here's another terrible question: what's ap aatrox like?

SH AzykanFeb 24, 20162 votes

item 3001 item 3157 item 3089 item 3151 item 3115 item 3020 <--true aptrox build. Poke with E's till the enemy is low enough for a Q+Ult, zhonya and hope your team finishes enough off for you to clean up after. sometimes buy a GA in place of liandry's

item 3124 item 3146 item 3115 item 3157 item 3135 item 3020 <--APAAtrox split push super fast and hard, keep guinsoo stacks up, hope you can kill people faster than they kill you. E poke is slightly worse, as is the ult damage. But if the enemy cant kill you fast enough you can run over all of them.

Problem is it is extremely squishy, and you can be blown up before you do anything meaningful (wasting your passive). Assassins will wreck you, adc's will melt you. Generally the first build is just a cheese lane build that plays super far back and hopes for a perfect tp flank for his ult in a wombo combo.

2nd build never wants to see anyone from the enemy team. just split and take towers ridiculously fast. then if someone shows up, throw an e if you have guinsoo stacks, Q+Ult and hope they die before they touch the ground from your Q

problem is build 2 is overshadowed by XinZhao who can do the same and with more effective healing from his W compared to you.

junglerboy16Feb 24, 20162 votes

Whatever he can do in the game, there's another champ that can do it better. Drain tanking lane bully/team fight diver? Scaling Bruiser-carry? Duelist? Try Irelia Olaf XinZhao Jax . And it's not just these 4, there are many other fighters who are just superior at doing the same thing he does. He has minor poke, unreliable engage, ok sustain (it's only worth noticing in the early lane phase or first jungle clears), and mediocre team fighting.

He is all about early game, but got nerfed because he was too much of a bully. His late game is atrocious because he has poor scalings and can't effectively build in a way to stay relevant; if he builds tank, people ignore him; if he builds damage, he blows up; if he builds a mix, he can't play effectively in any aspect because he deals irrelevant damage and is still squishy. He may be fun, but he is still a let down in every respect.

XeynidFeb 24, 20162 votes

Riot was smart enough to recognize that large amounts of self-healing is stupid in terms of game health and that you can't have a balanced champion with too much of it.

So they centered Aatrox's kit around self-healing because fuck you apparently.

Playing Aatrox is just a slog. You either outsustain your lane opponent, get fed, and then split-push to victory, or you get all-in'd by someone who understands how useless you are without a ton of gold and you lose the game.

eve candyFeb 23, 20161 votes

Weak late game :d

JambajewzFeb 25, 20161 votes

Yeah, kinda, but his 20 to 30 minute play is outrageous.

agbudarFeb 23, 20161 votes

ok personally i think it has to do with when he first came out his kit felt very clunky sure he had his strength's but his dash in particular received quite a bit of criticism its not like yasuo who has a very smooth and fluent kit that meshes almost perfectly together with everything.

that combined with nerfs to basically everything made him very unpopular.

sure lot of the new items could work very well on him but thats just it other champs are better with them.

JambajewzFeb 25, 20161 votes

So basically what you're saying is that he needs a buff.

agbudarFeb 25, 20161 votes

he needs a rework

Slamurai JackFeb 23, 20161 votes

Honestly, he's pretty hard to play. The hardest thing about Aatrox is knowing exactly just how durable you are. Because of how your W sustain works, your health below 50% is effectively worth far more than your health above 50% so long as you don't have your bloodwell popped or die. Finding the balance of when to commit to fights and abuse that sustain without dying takes a fair bit of practice. His Q is also unreliable and missing it tends to be very punishing. But he definitely has potential if those 2 things are taken care of.

kaltenashesFeb 24, 20161 votes

i have no idea what his ult does, even if someone tells i forget, and what is his second bar again?

BrascusFeb 24, 20162 votes

The second bar shows how close he is rage quitting

JambajewzFeb 24, 20162 votes

His ult does some aoe damage, gives him extra attack range and attack speed, it's pretty much just a way to make his autos better. Think of it like, an I want to hit faster and farther away button. The base damage on the aoe is pretty good though.

TonsOfGainsFeb 25, 20161 votes

I'm a jungle main, and gave Aatrox a spin a while ago. I like his kit, but he just doesn't hold up. As other people have mentioned, it has to do with base stats and the fact that there are other champions who have similar kits, who are simply better.

My guess would be that the issue is Aatrox is one of those champions walking on a tight rope between overpowered and crippled. It is difficult to give him some sort of buff without accidentally making him overpowered, as Riot has done with many champions. For example, buffing his attack speed or base attack damage could make W out of control. Buffing base health could make his passive out of control. Change his Q so that it can't be interrupted, or like most gap closers, is interrupted after it lands? You might end up with one of the most broken gankers in the game.

JambajewzFeb 25, 20161 votes

Yes his gap closer is also his knockup, and it makes it very strong, but it's also a skillshot unlike the gap closers that some other have like jax or xin. Jarvan has a similar gap closing skill shot knock up but if he gets snared it still drags him to his flag.

TonsOfGainsFeb 25, 20161 votes

Actually, Jax and Xin use target gap closers, while Jarvan's is a skill shot. Aatrox uses a target location, and there are implications with this that might contribute to why Riot allows it to be interrupted.

For example, Xin cannot ward jump or dash to allies to get away. Nor can he catch an enemy who's out of range. Jax can jump to wards and allies, but must have wards to place or allies nearby. Similarly, Jarvan must have his Demacian Standard up in order to dash. All of these champions have one thing in common with their gap closer: inability to use it in any situation.

Aatrox on the other hand can use his gap closer at any moment, to any location. He's not restricted by where his target is or whether there even is a target to jump to. Not saying this makes him overpowered, but it does make it difficult to buff.