I usually try to write my champion impression posts as early in release week as possible. With Ahri, though, I had to wait. I just didn’t have anything significant to say. Almost every game I played with her was a mirror match in lane, and mirror matches with Ahri are devastatingly boring (also very hard to win because you just end up using your ult when your opponent does, either to try for a kill or to escape her attempt at killing you). I think I’ve finally seen her enough that I can say something meaningful about her place in the game, so here goes.

First off, the Akali comparisons just don’t work. While her playstyle may be similar, in that she relies on one big combo to blow up a target, the two are fundamentally different champions. Ahri is much more reliable and sustainable in lane, but much less so in a teamfight. Her spell vamp will occasionally work wonders for her in a fight, but for the most part it’s about negating lane attrition.

This is the part of Ahri that really annoys me. She has has nearly infinite lane sustain from level 5 on. I say level 5 because in my experience, that’s where her mana regen is enough to cast Orb of Deception fairly often and the spell deals enough damage for the Spell Vamp to really keep her alive. The range on Orb is also high enough that she can do the leeching from a safe distance. I don’t know what it’s going to take for Riot to realize that lane attrition is a good thing. I know some of you disagree with me on this, but the whole infinite lane sustain thing is just crappy design. Really crappy design.

I actually found Ahri to be a little difficult to gank with in lane, so long as my opponents were smart. The best opponents would bury themselves in their minion wave once I ulted, avoiding my charm. Without the charm, they could typically Flash off or use a CC spell to keep me at enough distance. Ahri is highly susceptible to CC, particularly when her ult is down, and a lot of champions can easily exploit that weakness.

To me, it seems Ahri works best as skirmisher and pub-stomper. She does really well against teams that like to have smaller fights in the jungle and away from minions. She’s great against disorganized players. Against a comp with some reliable CC, though, she’s just not all that strong. Her own CC can be devastating if she picks off an enemy, much like Blitzcrank’s grab, but it becomes highly unreliable in lane fights thanks to minions. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing – it would be insanely overpowered if it went through minions – just that it limits her effectiveness.

I really hope Riot leaves Ahri as she is. I think she’s fairly easy to play against in lane, but if they give her much more power she’ll be unbearable. Personally, I want to try a few strange builds on her. I could see a Deathfire rush giving her devastating power after level 6 by further bumping her skirmish power. I’m sure some solid Ahri players will pop up in the near future, but for the time being you just need to survive her lane phase and get to the teamfighting.

With Ahri’s release, Riot also implemented some sexy new champion screens to the PvP.net client. What are champion screens? You know, those screens you would look at to see who was getting new skins and…nothing else. Honestly, these things have been in need of an update for quite some time, an update that turned out quite nicely.

As you can see from the screenshot, the initial page still includes all of the old information – what archetype the character falls under, the relative strengths and weaknesses, and a brief look at abilities. The more exciting parts of the character screens are on the subsequent tabs. The Abilities tab has videos of each ability in action, and the Tips and Items page makes a nice addition for players ready to try out new champions.

I think the best part of these changes is that it will give players a quick, easy way to learn what they’re up against. As the field of champions grows, it only becomes more difficult for new players to learn the game, and the gap between veterans and newbies grows. This could reduce the barrier to entry, which can only be a good thing.

I would like to see some of the champion abilities used with more context. With Alistar, for example, the Triumphant Roar and Unbreakable videos don’t really show what the skills do. His health bar isn’t showing for Triumphant Roar, and the only numbers the video shows are the mana cost (and it isn’t explicitly clear that the number is the mana cost). The same goes for Unbreakable. I’d like it if the video showed that the skill could break Alistar out of crowd control effects.

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?

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.

It looks like the next patch for League of Legends will indeed include the Ahri release. Along with the new champion, Riot is introducing a variety of new rune options. This patch will also see dodge runes headed the way of the Wooly Mammoth (although, I hear those guys may be making a comeback).

Among the new runes will be some gold-per-10 seals. I can’t say I’m excited to see more options for passive play in lane, though it will make my GP10 builds even more interesting. There will also be Lifesteal, Spell Vamp, and hybrid Armor/MR shredding runes.

I’ll be interested to see the numbers on the Lifesteal and Spell Vamp. You’ll notice from the Patch Preview that Morello isn’t worried about the runes becoming sustain problems. I hope that’s truly the case. Personally, I’ve been having a lot of fun with flat AD runes on my carries with the new masteries. I would hate for Lifesteal to suddenly trump that decision.