When it comes to League of Legends, how well a champion plays largely depends on the skill level of the players. There are champions that are not suited to playing ranked games, while others are too difficult to use without the right skill level. This has pretty much always been the case, and without too many issues — but recently there’s been a rise in champions who do not work in ranked games and completely dominate the competitive system.
Akali: The Unsolvable Problem
There’s one in particular who stands out when we think of this issue: Akali. Since the rework was released the champion has somewhat unsettled Riot Games. The developer released a playable patch which did not achieve what they had set out to do, and so the nerf that arrived in Patch 11.14 was inevitable.
The problem arises when considering Akali's performance in ranked matches. She hasn’t had a particularly good time in League of Legends, and now she’s taken a blow that has caused the ratio of games won to decrease to a win rate of only 46.5%.
Riot Games' approach to characters like Akali is to reduce their 'counterplay' as the player’s skill increases. An issue that has become an almost cyclical failure of League of Legends, and doesn’t seem to have a resolution.
With the Sentinels of Light event well underway Riot Games is ready to release another patch with a new champion, skins, buffs, nerfs and well-deserved balances
