Throughout League of Legends history, several major reworks have been applied to Champions who were created in the earlier years of the game. Ranging from the complete overhaul of Sion early into Season 4 to the revamped Heimerdinger skill set to the zone-heavy new Gangplank and much more, a lot of changes to old champions have been done. Along with these changes come several discussions regarding game integrity, meta enforcement, and at the issues’ forefront, game balance. Revamping or reworking a previously released champion seems to always achieve a split-consensus on whether they improve or take away from the game.

Often times, the most outspoken in the community are the two extremes of the issue: those who approve greatly of the change to the champion, and those who believe the opposite. No side, however, is fully correct nor completely off. In most, if not all cases of Champion reworks bring both positive and negative aspects in the game. Here are a few approaches to help you form proper observations and draw your own conclusions on how these reworks affect you.

Photo courtesy of SarahJaneArt

1. The Rookie Effect

One way to view these champion reworks are through the lens of “The Rookie Effect”. As seen in many professional sports such as Basketball and Football, notable rookies seem to be very dominant just out of the gate. Their new approaches to the game look to be the most effective style at the time and people benchmark them as indicators of the evolution of the game as a whole. Often times, though, the rookie’s impact on the game seems to normalize over time and is often seen as just another good player. Those who do really change a competitive scene are too few and far between. The reality is that, while those players may be good, the trend for their high stat line at the start of their careers are usually due to opposing coaching staffs, players, and researchers not being used to their style of play.

Over time, they get studied more and enemy teams find more ways to handle or contain them. The same is true in League of Legends. It is unavoidable that new champion releases and reworks will have unforeseen effects on the game, but this, by no means, indicates that they are ground breaking in what they bring to the table. While it may be true that in some occasions some Champions do need to be balanced more, most times the player base just needs to get accustomed to his/her new abilities in order to know what to do. When the Rookie Effect wears off, it becomes easier to see the Champions for what they really are. Over time, weaknesses will be exposed, counters will be formulated, and a proper understanding of the champion will be achieved. When this happens, the then unidentified threat becomes little more than regular competition.

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2. Knowing your enemy

When reworks are released on live servers, players usually rush to pick that champion be it regular or ranked queue. The interest in these reworked Champions comes from a plethora of reasons including intrigue, hype, and pressure. One of the worst reasons among these is to “take advantage of the overpoweredness” of the reworked champion. Jumping to the conclusion that the only reason you lost last game was because the enemy used the new Garen or Gangplank will surely spell disaster. A likely reason win rates sometimes sky rocket after a champion is reworked is a blend of “pioneers” quickly getting knowledgeable about the Champion’s new strengths and their opponents being too uninformed and ill-prepared to handle them. The harsh truth is true champion balance may never be achieved, but keeping yourself informed and ready is a good way to prevent enemies getting easy victories over you with reworked Champions. Read the patch notes before queueing up. Take the initiative to watch a few streams before going blindly into a ranked match. Do not be afraid to play a regular game to prepare yourself to deal with the rise of the reworks. Stay ready so you don’t have to get ready.

3. Don’t let reworks redefine the game

Many times, a large group of players get caught up with the flavors of a certain patch. More often than not, reworked Champions get boosted up to the front of the line when it comes to this. As a player with your own judgement and opinions, you do not need to fall into this sheep mentality. Know the strengths of your own picks. While they may have first picked the newly revamped Skarner, chances are your enemy only has a few games experience on this champion (because who really picked Skarner 2 or 3 patches ago?) All joking aside, knowledge based from previous matchups and mastery of a champion fare far better than any “over powered” reworked champion. Be familiar with your own style of play. When so much unfamiliar changes take place on the Rift, you do not always need “new”. While keeping informed and getting to know what changed about any given champion is pivotal in being a successful player, not forgetting that non-reworked Champions can be just as efficient. In the pursuit of the new, do not forget the power of the reliable.

In the end, Champion Reworks help keep even the oldest Champions relevant in a game with an ever-changing meta. These changes keep the game from getting stagnant and adds aspects of excitement and change into League of Legends, and allows it to grow and evolve as a game. Whining about changes and balance will not get anyone very far. What will help one succeed, though, is preparation. Whining will definitely not lead to an immediate change or nerf to a champion, but practice and study can be able to yield immediate results. As the great Victor Frankl once said, “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”

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