Many players debate whether the reworked Aurelion Sol is broken or a failure.
League of Legends’ 13.3 patch notes highlights Aurelion Sol’s rework. Originally featured as an orbit with three stars, Aurelion has finally received the changes he deserves with a more straightforward kit. The rework was touted to be so horrible by players with League of Legends accounts that they accused Riot Games of making him borderline unplayable. They were initially glad to see the celestial dragon with a coat of new paint for the first time, but that all changed when they quickly learned how unintuitive he was to play. The community has much to say about it, so we’ll discuss why the rework was a complete flop.
Comparing the Old to the New
The Star Forger has always been one of the more specialized champions in LoL’s pool of characters due to his specialized build paths and unique playstyle. Because of that, the pompous dragon has never been a beginner’s pick, nor was he the choice for versatile players.
Gameplay-wise, Aurelion Sol’s previous kit was far from perfect; all his elements were utility-based. To make matters worse, his restricted damage and stun range make him difficult to control in the mid-lane. In the past, the star dragon used to have a group of stars that continuously orbited around him, dealing damage to any enemy that came in close contact. However, this essentially turned Aurelion Sol into a moving object requiring some finesse. Thankfully, that passive ability has been eliminated from the redesign.
Riot hopes the “improved” version tested by players with PBE accounts beforehand will make Aurelion Sol more approachable for newbies and seasoned veterans. In his latest rework, the devs made the star dragon into a “late-game monster” who’s infinitely scalable.
Aurelion Sol is More Popular Than Ever
According to the recent total gameplay update, Aurelion Sol’s playrate skyrocketed through the roof thanks to his overhaul. A few days after his rework, his pick rate in the solo queue jumped from 1% to 16%, making him a popular choice for midlaners of Summoner’s Rift. The only reason why it only increased to 16% was because of the higher ban rate, which sits at 55%. Based on U.gg—a stats site for League of Legends—that’s the highest ban rate percentage among all champions.
Despite these high numbers, however, Aurelion Sol’s win rate has steadily plummeted. After the overhaul, the champion’s overall win rate has dropped below 50% for the first time in months. This is likely because most of the influx of players trying him out don’t have any experience with the dragon’s former iteration, resulting in many defeats.
Temporarily Disabled
Two days after Aurelion Sol received his rework, Riot Games hit him with a hotfix, nerfing him to the ground. Riot Yelough, a game designer at Riot Games, stated that the nerf was much-needed because far too many players with Legends accounts were stomping ranked queues with the celestial dragon’s new abilities.
Here are the adjustments Riot made for Aurelion Sol:
- Base Stats: Health per level reduced from 106 to 100
- Breath of Light (Q): Burst Proc AP Ratio reduced from 50% to 40%
- Singularity (E): AP Scaling reduced from 40% to 25%, Stardust stacks from units dying inside Singularity’s vicinity decreased
- Falling Star (R): The Skies Descent (Powered up R) slow reduced from 75% to 50%
Two Sides of the Same Coin
When Aurelion Sol’s update was released in Patch 13.3, players had a lot of opinions about it. Some expressed that the rework may be a flop. According to them, while the champion now has unlimited scaling and access to equipment that can turn him into a tank, Aurelion’s playstyle remains the same. Others state that the Star Forger suffers from the same pattern that made him problematic, where you can just dump two abilities, clear waves, and use his mobility to roam around the map. Plus, the champion’s roams are less telegraphed now that Astral Flight has been tweaked.
On the other side of the spectrum, some players with Legends accounts believe that Aurelion Sol isn’t a flop—he’s downright overpowered. Losing a teamfight with the celestial dragon on your side is nearly impossible. Now that he has access to easy-to-hit spells and high-scaling numbers, Aurelion Sol doesn’t just contribute to the damage numbers; he’s the entirety of it. Add the effectiveness of tank items to that, and you’ve got an unstoppable dragon.
