Reworking League (Pilot Article): Aatrox

Hello Everybody!

My name is Electro522, and I am here to bring you a series of articles I hope to do in the future where I attempt to rework some of the problematic champions in League. These can range from the extremely annoying/overpowered (i.e. Yasuo, Vayne, or Zed), to the forgotten, and "trash tier" champs (i.e. Mordekaiser, Azir, Kindred).

As a starter for this series, I figured I would make my "pilot" article based on a champ that has gotten a surprising amount of attention from the community as of late.

#Aatrox

http://orig10.deviantart.net/5bcc/f/2013/190/b/e/aatrox___desktop_background__d_by_eoinart-d6crvtw.jpg

Before I dive into, I would like to make a few disclaimers:

• First, I am not affiliated with Riot in anyway, except that I play League. Everything in this article is of my own design, and ideas, and may not reflect what Riot wants to do or has planned for any particular champion.

• Second, any changes made to a champion may look good on paper, but might completely break a champion in game. It is impossible to properly make any balance changes without actually testing them, so any changes I make in one of these articles is purely hypothetical, and should be taken with a grain of salt (this is why I am posting in Concepts & Creations instead of Gameplay).

• Third, these "reworks" I present will not be on the same level of a Sion or Poppy scale rework. IN fact, they would be more in line with either Shen or Katarina (or possibly even smaller scope projects). My goal with these reworks is to build off of the champion's current identity, not change it completely.

• Foruth, this is meant to be a constructive, and thought provoking article. If you have any criticisms over any changes I make, I am completely open to constructive criticism, and I will simply ignore anyone who came in to this article just to rage.

Now that we have that out of the way....

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#Why rework Aatrox?

http://art-of-lol.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Aatrox-League-Of-Legends-Fan-Art.jpg

The intentions behind Aatrox was to release a champion who could dive into the middle of an enemy team, and cause mass havoc; all while being able to sustain through the damage with both built in healing, and a passive that could revive him if he were to die. If anything, Riot tried to create the ultimate "drain tank", or, a champion who does not have alot of health or resistances, but has so much built in sustain, that it makes him quite difficult to kill.

Unfortunately, this built in sustain came with quite a bit of damage packed into his kit as well. When you have a champion that can dish out an impressive amount of damage, all while being able to heal back all the damage said champion takes, it makes for a very unhealthy champion coughTryndamerecough. So, a few patches after his release, Riot nerfed Aatrox's passive attack speed steroid to scale throughout the game, which at first, gave him a flat 50% attack speed buff. This was a bigger hit than you may think. Aatrox is EXTREMELY dependent on Attack speed. The more attack speed you have, the more life steal you have, and the more you can proc your W: Blood Thirst/Blood Price.

Also, due to the amount of sustain Aatrox has in his kit, his other stats (such as health and health regen), are lowered to keep him from getting too tanky, and making him completely impossible to kill. However, this sustain built into his kit is so underwhelming, that even if he were to build full damage and lifesteal, the sustain makes little to no impact whatsoever. Also, tank items have become less reliable as whole, and damage has been steadily increasing ever since Aatrox was released, making it exceptionally harder for him to really deliver on his core fantasy of being a diver.

So lets list what problems Aatrox has:

• He is far too dependent on attack speed. If you haven't built any items with attack speed, than Aatrox's entire kit feels extremely underwhelming.
• His built in sustain is so underwhelming, its almost negligible. If you are meant to be the ultimate drain tank, you shouldn't only heal a couple dozen points of health on every third auto attack.
• Being a diver means you should be able to withstand most of the damage coming at you if you are to dive the enemy team. This is true for divers in general. Look at our newest champion, Camille, for example. She can get into the middle of the enemy team, cause havoc while she's there, and has enough durability to withstand the damage she will inevitably take. Aatrox can't do this due to having poor stats, and relying too heavily on attack speed, which only comes with damage items.

##Goals

My one and only goal with this rework is to deliver on that "ultimate drain tank" fantasy. This would include improving his base stats, his built in sustain, and tweaking his overall playstyle to really hit home on that fantasy.

#The Rework

• ##Base Stats If you are not familiar with how champions grow in stats, the formula for that is as follows: B=Base stat; G=Growth stat (the number in parenthesis); L=level Statistic= B + G x (L - 1) x (0.685 + (0.0175 x L))

• Current Stats Health: 537.8 (+85) Health Regen: 6.59 (+0.5) Blood: 105 (+45) Attack Damage: 60.4 (+3.2) Attack Speed: 0.651 (+3%) Armor: 24.4 (+3.8) Magic Resist: 32.1 (+1.25) Attack Range: 150 Movement Speed: 345

• My Updated Stats Health: 577.8 (+85) Health Regen: 6.59 (+0.5) Blood: 30% of Max Health (+2.95%) Will be explained further in Passive Attack Damage: 60.4 (+3.2) Attack Speed: 0.638 (+3.4%) Armor: 26.4 (+3.8%) Magic Resist: 32.1 (+1.25) Attack Range: 150 Movement Speed: 345

What I have done here, for people who may not really understand what is going on, is I have made Aatrox more durable. I've increased his base health and armor, that way he can withstand more damage over time. However, I have not increased his health regen, due to how I will be tweaking his kit. He will have far more built in sustain, so giving him even more innate sustain will likely be too much. If anything, his health regen or regen growth should be lowered with what I am going to do with his kit. Other stats, such as attack damage, attack speed, Magic resist, attack range, and movement speed have not been altered.

One of the largest changes, that you may have noticed, is to his Blood resource. For those of you that don't know, instead of having a mana bar, Aatrox has a "Blood" bar. This bar effects how much he is healed when his passive procs. I will go into further detail when I actually explain the changes to his passive below.

##Passive: Blood Well

http://orig11.deviantart.net/f323/f/2013/228/3/9/aatrox_by_sgfw-d6ifvco.jpg

• Current Passive
• Whenever Aatrox consumes health, he stores it into his Blood Well, which can hold up to 105 - 870 (based on level) health. The Blood Well depletes by 2% per second if Aatrox hasn't dealt or received damage in the last 5 seconds.
• Aatrox gains 0.3 - 0.55 (based on level)% bonus attack speed for every 1% in his Blood Well, up to a maximum of 30 - 55 (based on level)% bonus attack speed. * Upon taking fatal damage, Aatrox is cleansed of all debuffs, enters Stasis icon stasis and drains his Blood Well, healing himself over the next 3 seconds for 36.75 - 304.5 (based on level) health (+ 100% of Blood Well's stored health) up to a maximum of 141.75 - 1174.5 (based on level) health.
• My Updated Passive
  • Aatrox uses Blood as a resource for his abilities. The amount of Blood he can store is based off of his maximum health, up to a maximum of (30 to 80% based on level) maximum health. His Blood Well is restored when returning to base.
  • Aatrox gains 0.5% Life Steal for very 1% of missing Blood in his Blood Well, up to a maximum of 50% Life Steal.
  • Aatrox does not regen Blood passively. Instead, Aatrox restores 0.75% of his maximum Blood for every 20 points of potential Health gained through Life Steal.
  • Upon taking fatal damage, Aatrox is cleansed of all debuffs, enters stasis, and drains his Blood Well, healing himself over the next 3 seconds for 36.75 - 304.5 (based on level) health (+ 100% of Blood Well's stored Blood). Cooldown: 250/225/200/175 (at levels 1/6/11/16).
  • All Life Steal against monsters is 50% effective.

If anything, I have changed Aatrox's passive the most out of any ability on his kit. His current passive is meant to be an attack speed steroid that gets better as you use your abilities. However, more attack speed also means more damage, thus, this ability has to be quite weak in order to keep Aatrox under control.

By changing its focus to something based off of the life steal mechanic, and it not giving any extra damage, not only can we make it more powerful as a result, but we also bring Aatrox closer to that "Ultimate Drain Tank" fantasy. I have made it to where Aatrox gains more life steal based off of how much Blood is missing in his Blood Well. The closer you are to dying, the harder you are to kill, however, you have to constantly be dealing damage in order for that work. Also, coming out of your healing stasis after Blood Well is procced, you are immediately granted the maximum amount of life steal that Blood Well can give you, that way when you are revived, you can easily take on whoever is crowding around you. Alternatively, Life Steal is also the only way you can replenish your Blood Well (besides going back to base). However, I did make it to where the Blood Well is replenished off of potential Life Steal, that way, if you are at full health, you can still replenish your Blood Well.

However, coming out of the stasis from Blood Well is an extreme window of power for Aatrox. You would have so much life steal, that any damage dealt to you would be immediately healed from just a few auto attacks. Due to this, I have actually increased the cooldown on the revival effect of Blood Well, that way anyone playing Aatrox would be a bit more mindful of diving the enemy team.

Also, to make sure Aatrox doesn't run rampant through the jungle, I halved his life steal against jungle monsters. One of the more useful abilities to have in the jungle is sustain, and this much sustain that I have put into Aatrox's kit could quite possibly make him the king of jungling. Even just making it only 50% effective might not be enough.

##Switching Q and E

http://pm1.narvii.com/5806/2b4e299402670d348dafc2b50708c78f71e3b318_hq.jpg

If you have ever played Aatrox, you may have wondered as to why Aatrox's abilities are where they are. His most useful ability, and the ability that is normally maxed first, is his E: Blades of Torment; while his main source of mobility, and the ability that is usually maxed out last, happens to be his Q: Dark Flight.

Across most champions, their most useful abilities (or "bread and butter" as we call it), happens to be that champions Q ability; while any form of mobility or utility is usually left for their E ability. This isn't true for every champion, but it is a good guideline to use for whenever designing a new champ.

Aatrox is one of the few champs that doesn't follow this, and there really is no reason for it. Dark Flight is used for its quick dash, and utility as a knockup; whereas Blades of Torment is used in clearing waves, poking, and trading. Why Riot thought it would be an interesting idea to put these abilities where they are is unknown to me, but, in order to make Aatrox's kit feel smoother overall, I will be switching these 2 abilities in my rework. Generally, this should not impact his performance very much, unless the player playing him is a dedicated main (it will take some getting used to after playing many games with the current setup, but getting used to it should not take as long as learning a new champ all together).

Q: Blades of Torment

http://pm1.narvii.com/5806/bc1eb6963362450af9c3121eebcb6a2cee059f54_hq.jpg

• Current Ability
• Aatrox unleashes the power of his blade, dealing 75 / 110 / 145 / 180 / 215 (+ 60% AP) (+ 60% bonus AD) magic damage to enemies hit and slowing them by 40% for 1.75 / 2 / 2.25 / 2.5 / 2.75 seconds.
• Cost: 5% of current Health.
• Range: 1000
• Cooldown: 12/11/10/9/8
• My Updated ability
• Aatrox unleashes the power of his blade, dealing 75 / 110 / 145 / 180 / 215 (+ 60% Total AD) physical damage to enemies hit and slowing them by 40% for 1.75 / 2 / 2.25 / 2.5 / 2.75 seconds.
• Cost: 40/45/50/55/60 Blood.
• Range: 1000
• Cooldown: 10/9/8/7/6

For Blades of Torment, I made it an even more useful ability by lowering its cooldown, and having it scale off of total AD instead of just Bonus AD. Since I took away the damaging aspect of Aatrox's passive, this is my way of putting some of that back in. However, to make sure it isn't too useful, I made it cost a decent amount of Blood, and I switched the damage it deals from magic to physical, that way people can properly build against Aatrox.

Also, due to the changes I have made to Aatrox's passive, all of his abilities now cost Blood from his Blood Well, instead of health.

I also removed the AP scaling since it is effectively useless (sorry to anyone who may have played "hybrid" Aatrox......if that was ever a thing).

##W: Blood Thirst/Blood Price

http://img03.deviantart.net/6fbb/i/2014/273/b/9/mecha_aatrox_and_mecha_malphite_by_zippo514-d812dw7.jpg

• Current Ability
• Blood Thirst: Every Third Attack, Aatrox heals himself for 20/25/30/35/40 (+25% Bonus AD) Health. When below half health, the heal is tripled.
• Blood Price: Every Third Attack, Aatrox deals 60 / 95 / 130 / 165 / 200 (+ 100% bonus AD) bonus physical damage, and loses 15 / 23.75 / 32.5 / 41.25 / 50 (+ 25% bonus AD) Health
• My Updated Ability
• Blood Thirst: Aatrox passively increases his Blood Well restoration to 1/1.25/1.5/1.75/2% Maximum Blood per 20 points of potential Life Steal.
• Blood Price: Aatrox loses his ability to restore Blood, instead consuming 50/60/70/90/100 Blood to deal an extra 5/7.5/10/12.5/15% increased damage on each auto attack. If the Blood Well is empty, each auto attack costs health instead.

This is where things could get a bit crazy. This ability will be where Aatrox gets most of his damage. Even at earlier levels, the increased damage could easily win trades in lane. To keep it in check, though, I made the increased damage cost a significant amount of Blood, and even consume health when the Blood Well is empty. This is to ensure that Aatrox doesn't keep it set on Blood Price all the time.

That said, Blood Thirst does make it easier for Aatrox to restore his Blood Well, that way switching between the two in a fight constantly, might be an interesting tactic used by players. However, I removed the sustain from this ability, and essentially put it into his passive. Making this ability heal Aatrox in any way may just push him over the edge.

##E: Dark Flight

http://img08.deviantart.net/7244/i/2014/185/b/0/aatrox_by_alimika-d7p9jjo.png

• Current Ability
• Aatrox takes flight and slams down at a target location, dealing 70 / 115 / 160 / 205 / 250 (+ 60% bonus AD) and knocking up enemies at the center of impact for 1 second.
• Cost: 10% Current Health
• Range: 650 (225 damaging radius, 75 knockup radius)
• Cooldown: 16/15/14/13/12 seconds
• My Updated Ability
• Aatrox takes flight and slams down at a target location, dealing 70 / 115 / 160 / 205 / 250 (+ 60% bonus AD) and knocking up enemies at the center of impact for 1 second.
• Cost: 80 Blood
• Range: 650 (225 damaging radius, 100 knockup radius)
• Cooldown: 17/16/15/14/13

Out of all Aatrox's abilites, I have made the least amount of changes to Dark Flight. In honesty, its a decent ability, and doesn't need much changing. I did, however, slightly increase the radius of the "center" to knockup people, but also slightly increased the cooldown as a result.

##R: Massacre

http://img12.deviantart.net/2504/i/2013/329/1/c/aatrox__league_of_legends_by_r0binjonsson-d6vmvuv.jpg

• Current Ability
• Aatrox draws in the blood of his foes, dealing 200/300/400 (+100% AP) magic damage to nearby enemy champions and filling his Blood Well by 20% of its maximum value for each enemy champion hit.
• Additionally, Aatrox gains 40/50/60% attack speed and 175 range for 12 seconds.
• No Cost
• Range: 550
• Cooldown: 100/85/70
• My Updated Ability
• Aatrox begins to draw in the blood of his foes, dealing 10/20/30 (+8% Bonus AD) magic damage to every enemy champion within range every second for 12 seconds, for a maximum of 120/240/360 (+96% Bonus AD) magic damage.
• Aatrox heals himself for 60% of all damage dealt.
• If Aatrox is to take lethal damage, he is cleansed of all debuffs, enters stasis, and drains his Blood Well, healing himself over the next 3 seconds for 36.75 - 304.5 (based on level) health (+ 100% of Blood Well's stored Blood). If this is to happen, then Massacre's cooldown is increased by 50%, and the duration ends. This does not put Blood Well on cooldown, nor effect its cooldown.
• Additionally, any ally within range of Aatrox during the duration is granted an additional 20% lifesteal and spell vamp. Aatrox does not benefit off of this. *Additionally, Aatrox is granted 175 attack range during the duration.
• Cost: 150/125/100 Blood
• Range: 600 *Cooldown: 120/100/80

I would say that Aatrox's current ultimate is quite possibly the most underwhelming ultimate in all of League of Legends. So, I put ALOT of extra power into it.

On its own, it doesn't deal alot of damage (unless you sit right next to Aatrox for the entire duration). Instead, it is meant to give him even more sustain, and that sustain is even more potent if he is in the middle of the entire enemy team, where he is meant to be.

Also, since Aatrox's lore states that he empowers allies, several people thought that giving Aatrox some ability to do that in game would be quite interesting, and I've done just that. 20% extra life steal and spell vamp is pretty potent, but in order to get that bonus, you have to be in the thick of things with Aatrox.....somewhere you may not want to be.

Also, I gave Massacre the very interesting ability of giving Aatrox an extra revive, but at the cost of a shorter duration on Massacre, and a longer cooldown. This second Blood Well revive is separate from the original, and won't put Blood Well on cooldown. Yes, that does mean you can get 2 Blood Well procs off in a short duration, but doing that will cost you greatly.

#Conclusion

And that's it folks! If you have read all the way to the end, I must thank you greatly. I put alot of work into this, and hopefully, you can see it. If you have any feedback or question, feel to share. I will try to answer every question to the best of my ability.

If this article does a decent job at being interesting to the public, I may just do another one. We'll see. In the mean time, I leave you with a Poro dressed up as Aatrox.

https://static.lolwallpapers.net/2016/03/56dab0f39a32d-932x620.jpg