Aatrox: Some Thoughts
http://imgur.com/tq4VJv0.png #Intro So, Aatrox is one of my favorite champions in the League of Legends. His design is one of the most interesting in the game, and all of his skins are worth the price tag. However, it seems that most people aren't too keen on his current power level, and if not that, then it's his "stat stick" way of balancing. He either is amazing or amazingly bad. While I don't agree with that too hugely, I feel he's fine how he is, but here's some thoughts on if Riot were to take a look at reworking him:
#Gameplay
Aatrox's standard game (at least for me) is as follows:
- Farm. Farm like your life depends on it. Use blood price to max out your blood well as quickly as possible to get that sweet, sweet attack speed, supplementing this with your E to chip away at the enemy while using blood thirst to heal up any trade they make on you. Don't get too aggressive, as you're weak early, so just continue the farming loop until either:
-You've chipped away at your opponent's health enough that you can jump on them and finish them/force them out of lane.
-Your jungler comes to
get you both killedgank, forcing them out of lane or killing them -You get bored and have 3000 gold. - Begin to chip away at your opponent's sanity. As they realize that killing you is a futile cause, they will almost certainly abandon hope entirely and AFK.
- Farm to the point where you become unstoppable.
It's a pretty stale game play loop, but it gets the job done. However, every once in a while there is a certian moment. That moment where two teams are bordering on the edge of a teamfight, with neither team really wanting to commit. Aatrox. high on farm and kruggs, dives straight into the backline, ults, and laughs as the puny carries scurry away in fear. While they are forced to deal with the Aatrox, his team sweeps in after him and cleans up what little resolve is left by the enemy team. It is the moment of high that fulfills Aatrox's fantasy of being an awe inspiring entity for his team.
#The Problem
I believe the big problem with Aatrox is his lack of counterplay. Any matchup that he faces is a simple stat check. Can you outstat him? You win! Can you not? Game over. Even if the Aatrox completely fumbles and loses a trade horribly, he can simply sustain his way back up to full and be ready to go for the next fight. His passive add to this I can't kill the lil fucker mentality. He is allowed to make mistake after mistake, and isn't really punished for it. If you're gonna kill an Aatrox, you better bring an army with at least two hard CC abilities.
However, even with all this, Aatrox is absolutely destroyed by a mere 800g. 
So, the problem? Either Aatrox is an unkillable machine or a useless knock up bot that has to be killed twice.
#Solutions and Fantasy
A couple of directions can be taken with Aatrox, some can fufil his fantasy, while others capitalize on his current play style.
The moment of high that Aatrox that he feels whenever he dives the back line and becomes the God of War that his fantasy depicts is the best moment while playing him. It feels good, and it's thematically appropriate. Doubling down on this aspect, while removing some of his long term survivability could make for a more interesting and interactive time.
The other aspect of fighting Aatrox is the realization that he will out sustain you. If this is going to stay, his opponent should be rewarded for fully committing to killing him in one fell swoop. Right now, his passive means that he can win a 1v1, and then play passively until it comes back up. A change there might make full engages on Aatrox feel better, while simultaneously rewarding Aatrox for chipping away at his opponent and waiting out his opportunity to strike.
tl;dr Aatrox's high feels good, but is a bit too inconsistent to make him feel truly amazing. He's good two good aspects on his kit, but if he's ever going to find a balanced state, one will have to be emphasized while the other is sacrificed.
I'm not a game designer- and tbh, I'm not very good at League. These are just some thoughts that could be absolutely wrong, but I'd love to see one of my favorite champions hit a spot where I'm not told, "You should just never play Aatrox" upon losing a game. Thanks for reading :D
