The constant updates to League of Legends are arguably one of the reasons the game has managed to maintain its hype and player base more than ten years after release.
That said, these changes aren't always positive. With plentiful revamps and champion reworks, many abilities, spells or skills have simply disappeared; much to the delight of some and the misfortune of others.
Despite our nostalgia as veterans, we have to admit that this is part of the natural evolution of the game. Besides, it's never a good idea to look back for too long, because deep down you know they're never coming back -- at least not in the form you remember.
Still, sometimes a little trip down memory lane is a good thing - so here's seven skills that are gone, but certainly not forgotten.
Zac's strange rework
Zac wasn't always the bouncing ball of goop we know today. Between 2017 and 2019, the had a radically different ultimate.
R - Let's Bounce made it possible to scoop up enemy champions and carry them to the target area -- a trait that was enough to drive opponents mad.
Other ability rollbacks...
Canceled reworks are one of the main sources of canceled abilities, and the list is substantial. Other examples include:
- Rengar's Q - Savagery: Currently this ability remains very similar to the original, but for a while it was able to deal damage in a cone.
- Kog'Maw's W - Bio-Arcane Barrage: For a few patches, this ability doubled the champion's attack speed, while reducing his damage per hit.
- LeBlanc's Q - Shatter Orb: Transformed into a passive, this ability was used to mark enemies.
Old Aatrox
Riot itself considers the Aatrox rework be one of the worst changes League of Legends has undergone. It's not that Aatrox is bad after the rework, per se, but more that almost nothing of the original was retained.
It's hard to choose which skill we miss the most, although we have to admit that the old Q - Dark Flight is arguably the one skill that gave us the greatest sense of power. It was more or less a leap - allowing him to pass over certain walls - which looked like an overpowered version of his combo.
However, Aatrox was a nightmare to balance - he was either too powerful, or practically useless. This forced Riot to rework Aatrox twice, to the point where the current version lies now -- a shadow of his former self.
Mordekaiser taught us to count to three
One of the biggest monsters League of Legends has ever seen, the Mordekaiser born from the overhaul of colossus champions changed Riot's philosophy on reworks.
The old version of Mordekaiser had a very different kit than what you see today. The ultimate was retained -- a damage-over-time move which, if it eliminated a champion or an epic monster, summoned a ghost of that victim - even if it was the Dragon.
That said, many have also forgotten that his Q - Mace of Spades increased the damage of his attacks in succession, with the third hit dealing double... Brutal.
Soraka and the meteor shower
Soraka was the main protagonist of one of League of Legends' darkest (and shortest) eras.
In the form prior to her current revamp, her Q - Starcall ability hit all enemies around her position. In the botlane, this ability didn't make much sense, and often led to tension with the ADC due to it stealing minions.
However, it also made the Starchild a fantastic sololaner. The mana cost of her E - Equinox was extremely low, so she could silence her opponents and continuously drain their health -- all while healing herself.
Irelia had one of the rarest ultimates in the game
Irelia's overhaul is arguably one of the most successful to date, in that Riot managed to retain the identity of the champion while removing what was really problematic.
That said, we can't help but look back on her passive, which pretty much granted her immunity to crowd control. At the time, it granted up to 40% Tenacity based on how outnumbered she was.
In addition, she had a strange ultimate that allowed her to throw blades, much like Gwen does now. The problem with this ability was that it felt alien to the rest of the kit, and on many occasions it wasn't even fully exploited.
A common combo was to throw a blade at minions, eliminate them with her Q, then dash towards the enemy using the reset. After that, the rest of her actives (four in total) were just used to deal damage.
The age of the immortal Maokai
This is perhaps one of the most infamous abilities in League of Legends. Maokai's ultimate, Vengeful Maelstrom, summoned an area of effect that reduced all damage taken by him and his allies by 20% for up to ten seconds.
It was disproportionately overpowered, often allowing his teammates to win battles, while he was able to withstand anything thrown at him.
His new ultimate isn't bad at all, but it pushed the champion off the toplane by eliminating much of his tank characteristics. However, that wasn't necessarily bad news, as his presence in pro play was excessive.
At Worlds 2014, the peak of his powers, he was picked or banned in 92.3% of games, reaching an outrageous winrate of 63%.
Urgot, the most unlikely marksman
While the new Urgot has been moderately successful, the previous version was one of the least-popular champions in League of Legends. He didn't fit into any of the roles in the game, and had too specific a skillset.
The problem was primarily with his ultimate: he would choose a target, and trade places with it .
In a tank, this ultimate could be very useful, and we'd love to see it work again/ But for a relatively weak champion then played in the botlane, this skill didn't make sense.
