Ahri has finally made her way onto the League of Legends servers, though not without a few hangups. The North American servers were struggling under the weight of her massive tail and finally went down this evening. They’re back up now, though, as is the Ahri champion spotlight above.
I’m hoping I get a chance to play her in a game this evening. For now, I’ll say I think her burst is a little nutty in a skirmish situation. I’d imagine she would get smashed by a serious teamfighting comp, if only because that usually means a combination of a few tanks. She will probably be completely ridiculous in solo queue, though.
I’ll have more thoughts tomorrow when I actually have a chance to play her. Any of you had a chance to try her out or play against her?
Riot’s holiday-themed skins are among my favorite in League of Legends, so needless to say I was anxiously awaiting this year’s Snowdown Showdown. Riot didn’t make as big a deal about the event as they have in past years, but they still delivered a new winter map and four new skins for our enjoyment.
The skins this year are Toy Soldier Gangplank, Snowmerdinger, Mistletoe LeBlanc, and Festive Maokai. Of the bunch, I’d have to say the Gangplank skin is my favorite. I’m a sucker for classic toys (and, apparently, virtual representations of classic toys). Snowmerdinger is a close second.
This is a strange patch, indeed. It seems Riot has enabled the champion changes and new runes slated for this patch, but Ahri and the Snowdown Showdown skins won’t be in the game until tomorrow.
I’m not sure how I feel about the numbers on the new runes, with the exception of the hybrid penetration runes. Those seem fine. The spell vamp and lifesteal quints come in at 2 percent a piece, which means players can start the game with as much as 12 percent lifesteal with the added health from a Doran’s Blade or 9 percent spell vamp. Honestly, I think the lifesteal will just contribute to the current sustain problem on bottom lane. Giving a ranged carry 12 percent lifesteal on top of a healer will just be insane. Now, it could potentially help the non-sustain supports become a bit more viable, but I would bet non-sustain versus sustain will still be a losing battle.
The gold-per-10 seals grant .25 GP10, for a total of 2.25 from seals. It’s now possible to get 5.25 GP10 from runes alone. With another 2 GP10 from the utility tree, support characters can pull 7 GP10 at level one. That’s a serious amount of gold. By the 20-minute mark that’s almost 800 gold for just standing around.
Check back later today for a gallery of the Snowdown Showdown skins.
I’ll be around this evening for a few games if anyone would like to join. If you’re interested in playing with the other readers here, join the chat channel “Fearless Gamer” in the PvP.net client. You can also add me at “The Wiggin Boy” if chat rooms aren’t your thing.
Log in around 9:15 so we can check our numbers and get started. Hope to see you tonight!
I covered the upcoming rune changes in a post the other day but neglected to provide a breakdown of the champion and mastery changes slated for the Ahri patch.
Twisted Fate is getting a little much-needed love. He’ll have better range in lane and his Pick-a-Card will now require target selection. I have to say, I’m excited to see TF again. I can’t help but miss him around this time of year. This is when I started playing LoL and he was the first champion I really loved. Granted, he was OP as all hell, but still fun.
Tryndamere is also getting a small nerf, though I honestly doubt it will be enough. His healing-per-stack on Bloodlust will be reduced in the coming patch. Really, though, Trynd is just too strong in a solo situation. The fact that he has a heal at all gives him more sustain than just about anyone he faces. With the Cleanse change, I think his kit is just too problematic.
Morello also mentioned bringing back Strength of Spirit for Utility mastery lovers. I’m honestly not sure how putting it deep in the tree will make things any better. The tree is just way too focused on a stat that no one really worries about any more: mana. Because of the way blue buff gets passed around, a mana-focused build is only relevant on Singed and Ryze. Beyond that, we don’t need the mana, and the rest of the utility tree is bad enough that even Ryze and Singed would be better off speccing defense.
I’ll be interested to see how the TF buff plays out, but beyond that, I don’t see this patch having much impact on the game.
